Drake dropped his highly-anticipated fifth studio album Scorpion on Friday, June 29 and fans seemingly couldn't get their hands on it quick enough. The double album, which is the follow-up to his 2016 Views project, has been long-awaited for many reasons. However, there was perhaps no reason more pressing than to find out if Drake would reference his feud with Pusha-T on Scorpion.
The 25-song project, which contains an A-Side and B-Side is filled with plenty of Drake-esque hits that will quickly top the charts per usual including the pre-released singles, “God’s Plan” and “I’m Upset.” And while Drake doesn't call Pusha out by name on any track in particular, there do appear to be subtle references peppered throughout the album which seem to address his issues with the "If You Know You Know" rapper.
Drake seemingly sprinkled responses to Pusha throughout the album, and despite not addressing the issue head-on, Vulture theorized that Drake attempts to explain why he's kept quiet on Scorpion's opening track, "Survival." In it, he seems to say that he prefers not to use his personal life "for some content." The lyrics below indicate the care the rapper wanted to take with his words:
“I’ve seen this movie a hundred times, I know where it’s headed / Realize someone gotta die when no one will dead it / N*ggas gambling with their life for some content / That’s the type of lottery that could get your top picked.”
He also appears responds to Pusha's "Adidion" diss, which referenced Drake's father's wardrobe, in "Survival," saying:
"Always got a ace up my sleeve for whatever was dealt / Daddy got suits like Bernie Mac, he dresses himself / I stopped askin' myself and I started feelin' myself / Now I gotta deal with all this drama and deal with myself"
Although Drake ultimately took the high road in the Pusha drama, he was sure to touch on some of the subjects that have been circulating in the media, namely admitting to being a father — something that Pusha brought to light in his "Adidon" retort.
Drake makes many references to the young child throughout Scorpion and dedicated the song "March 14" to the him.
On the track “Emotionless,” Drake appears to respond directly to Pusha's implication that he was keeping his child a secret, saying:
“I wasn’t hiding my kid from the world / I was hiding the world from my kid / From empty souls who just wake up and looked to debate / Until you starin' at your seed, you can never relate”
Throughout the song "March 14" Drake confirms, “She’s not my lover like Billie Jean but the kid is mine. He also reveals what life has been like since finding out that he has a son, rapping:
"I'm out here on front lines just trying to make sure that I see him sometimes / t's breaking my spirit / Single father, I hate when I hear it / I used to challenge my parents on every album / Now I'm embarrassed to tell them I ended up as a co-parent / Always promised the family unit / I wanted it to be different because I've been through it"
Drake's decision to focus on his son and not his feud with Pusha-T could be a signal that whatever animosity the two artists had is now irrelevant. That said, it might take more than a few songs and a hit album to end this rap beef. According to Missinfo.tv, their issues kicked off in early to mid 2000s when Pusha, then still half of the rap-duo Clipse, began sending thinly veiled shots Young Money boss, Lil Wayne and later Drake. For more than a decade, there have been tons exchanges between Drake and Pusha, though they were a lot more spaced out and somewhat subliminal in tone. The feud quickly kicked into high gear on May 25, with the release of Pusha-T's album Daytona, specifically the track "Infrared," which not-so-subtly aimed at Drake and his ability to write his own lyrics.
In less than 24 hours, Drake immediately fired back with "Duppy Freestyle," calling into question the validity of Pusha's street cred and alleged drug dealing past. Then on May 29, Pusha-T nearly broke the internet with the release of “The Story of Adidon,” which featured a throwback photo of Drake in blackface as its cover artwork. (Drake later explained that the photo "represented how African Americans were once wrongfully portrayed in entertainment”). In his lyrics, Pusha implied that Drake was “always afraid he wasn’t black enough.” And that wasn't all — in one of Pusha's scathing verses, he also suggested that Drake allegedly fathered a child with an adult film star, something Drake seemed to confirm on Scorpion.
Now that he has finally broken his silence, maybe Pusha and the fans will finally be able to put this entire feud to rest.
