Surely Drake dropped “Duppy” to defend his pride, but his social media flexing also suggests he’s having fun and taking this beef in stride. It’s no secret that Drake is set to drop his new album, Scorpion, in June - he even warns Pusha not to “push me when I’m in album mode” on “Duppy Freestyle.” He’s already topped the Billboard Hot 100 with two singles in 2018, and his latest, “ I’m Upset,” will probably pierce the Top 10 this week.
(Not to mention, he almost certainly knew about "Infrared" in advance to cook up such a blistering diss track on such short notice.) And hey, it works. Considering Drake spends 100 bands the way I spend $2.50 on an Americano, this gesture probably amounts to little more than a cheeky promotional tactic. Music a $100,000 invoice for “promotional assistance and career reviving.” Or, at the very least, he filled out an invoice and posted it on Instagram.
If anything, Drake’s highly publicized barbs will only boost his stature.ĭrake knows that, too, which is why, at Pusha’s behest, he followed through on his promise and sent G.O.O.D. Push’s fans will continue to bump his records because they’re loyal and have come to expect a certain level of quality from him. He’s not on the cusp of stardom like Meek was in the summer of 2015, and thus he has less at stake. DAYTONA is on track to move 65,000-75,000 units in its first week - a respectable figure, but nowhere near the 505,000 units Drake’s More Life moved in its first week, or the 1.04 million units Views shifted in its debut.
It helps that Push isn’t jostling for the same space as Drake either. Music's 2012 compilation album Cruel Summer.) He’s earned a reputation among hip-hop fans as a “real” rapper and based on the airtight, explosive lyrical content of DAYTONA, he’s clearly got bars to spare if this beef lasts for weeks or months. Push has been in the game for more than two decades, first making a name for himself alongside his brother, No Malice, in the hip-hop duo Clipse before signing to GOOD Music as a solo artist in 2010. Pusha T, on the other hand, didn’t bother to air his grievances on Twitter and instead targeted Drake the best way he knew how: on the mic. He punched above his weight, and he learned the consequences the hard way. He should've been able to hold his own against Drake, but for whatever reason - taken by surprise, distracted by his touring schedule, afraid to fail on a global stage - he completely whiffed on his diss track, “Wanna Know.” Meek used Twitter to pick a fight with the most commercially viable rapper in the world when he was feeling his most vengeful and insulated. But now, the “God’s Plan” star has picked a better time and a more formidable opponent on whom to launch his latest attack.īy 2015, Meek Mill had paid his dues on the mixtape circuit and earned a reputation as a ruthless battle rapper in his native Philadelphia. Given Drake’s outsized reaction to Meek’s Twitter diss three years ago, the savagery of his “Duppy Freestyle” should come as no surprise. 3 and moved less than half of Dreams in its first week.)
His latest album, 2017's Wins & Losses, opened at No. ( Dreams Worth More than Money had become Meek’s first No. Drake had lyrically obliterated Meek Mill, humiliated him before a global audience and knocked him off his throne before he could even get comfortable. Meek eventually fired back at Drake with the half-baked “Wanna Know,” but the damage had already been done.