Music An Italian Group Is Accused Of Doing Cocaine On Live TV During Eu... Italian rock band Måneskin, who won the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest on May 22, will be taking a drug test for allegedly doing cocaine on the show’s<doc-sep>Drake, on the other hand, planned multiple steps ahead. He knew that people were watching for his response, and three days after Meek’s tweets, he used his Beats 1 show OVO Radio to release a warning shot, “Charged Up.” “I stay silent when I’m at war, and I’m very patient,” Drake ominously warned over the murky production by Maneesh and 40. He played the song on repeat for what felt like hours that Friday evening, taking over the conversation of the weekend. When four days passed without a response from Meek, who was on tour with Nicki Minaj at the time, Drake doubled down with the more pointed “Back To Back.” Drizzy had a bouncy beat that was perfect for radio and clubs, and he had a lineup of punchlines that were instantly tweetable. Even the cover art depicted his hometown Toronto Blue Jays defeating the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1993 World Series. Meek Mill released “Wanna Know” the following day with Funkmaster Flex, but it was too little too late: it relied on the same ghostwriting claims that fans had already shown they didn’t care about, and said that Drake was urinated on at a movie theater. But it wasn’t as bouncy or quotable as “Back To Back.” Drake’s song climbed to the top of the Billboard charts, further cementing his victory. He delivered the final kill later that summer at his OVOFest performance, using the big screen to show memes that fans had come up with to clown Meek. Drake spoke to the audience on their terms with 140 character-ready bars and radio bangers, and used his own self-controlled outlets - OVO Radio and OVOFest - to assert his dominance. It was a classic chess vs. checkers situation, and Drake wasn’t only the better rapper in that battle, but he was better prepared. But this time around, Pusha T was the rapper who got his Coach Popovich on. He and Drake had peppered subliminals toward each other for years, and now Pusha was ready for the kill. First, he released his new album DAYTONA, which ended with a song called “Infrared.” The track was bookended by accusations of Drake’s ghostwriting, while praising J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar, but it was a great song first and foremost, a sinister Kanye West beat similar in tone to the stirring broodiness of “Charged Up.” It was perfectly-placed bait for Drake: it used the ghostwriting accusations that Drake had already proved capable of overcoming, it pointedly refused to mention him in the same lyrical conversation as his contemporaries, and it was released a month before Drake was scheduled to release his new album, Scorpion. Drake responded in less than 24 hours with “Duppy Freestyle,” a zinger that accused Pusha T of exaggerating his drug dealing past, called him out for being under Kanye West in rank at G.O.O.D. Music despite being older than him, and hinted that he's less talented than the rest of the label’s roster. “I had a microphone of yours, but then the signature faded I think that pretty much resembles what's been happenin' lately,” he quipped. Ouch. He even mentioned Pusha T’s fiancee, Virginia Williams, by name. And after ending the song by claiming he would be sending Pusha T an invoice, he did exactly that, posting an invoice addressed to Pusha T’s manager Steven Victor on his Instagram. Drake used many of the same ingredients that helped him defeat Meek Mill: timeliness, quoteables, a great beat, and an understanding of social media. But Pusha T was better prepared. He responded with “The Story of Adidon” three days after Drake’s diss, using the same tactics Drake had three years earlier. And unlike Meek Mill, Pusha wasn’t relying on the ghostwriting barbs that were already proven to be insignificant to fans. He brought extra ammo, and took a shot at Drake’s integrity in a way that couldn’t be chalked up to creative differences: he accused him of hiding a child he had with a porn star, implying that Drake was a deadbeat dad. Rumors of a Drake love child had previously made the rounds but never gained much steam, making the information brand new to most listeners even as it felt like confirmation for those who'd previously heard the gossip. And Pusha T used real names, making the allegations appear to be more than just lip service. “We’re talking character, let me keep with the facts,” he said. He then took shots at Drake’s loved ones, dissed his mother for staying unmarried and taunting his producer 40 for having the deadly, incurable disease multiple sclerosis. He also dug up some skeletons from Drake’s closet: he accused Drake of being uncomfortable with his blackness as a child, and used a photo of Drake in blackface as the song’s cover. He also performed the song over the beat to Jay-Z’s racially-fueled “The Story of OJ” to keep up with the theme. He also expertly used social media, tweeting a link to the website of the photographer who shot the blackface photo to verify its authenticity. Pusha T baited Drake with “Infrared,” and when it came time for his kill shot, Push responded with a full house. While his warning shot just used the same ghostwriting quips from before, “The Story of Adidon” completely ignored them to focus on new information. Pusha had quotables, but more importantly, he had tea and disrespect. The accusations were damning, and the disrespect was shocking -- whether they were true or not, they were going to fuel people’s adrenaline for drama and make them scour the web to confirm the information. Dissing 40’s health condition the day before Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Day shows a heartlessness that no one expected, but that many crave after the nostalgia of songs like 2Pac’s “Hit Em Up.” But aside from the shock value, Push found a way to further advance an age-old theme under fresh new terms. He and Meek Mill bring up Drake’s usage of ghostwriters as evidence of poor integrity: in an area like hip-hop that thrives off of authenticity, you’re supposed to write your own rhymes. But having collaborators can be chalked up as a difference in approach to creativity - an approach that has clearly been working for Drake with his historic runs on the Billboard charts, so many people were able to move on from it. But “The Story of Adidon” accuses Drake of being a deadbeat dad - an allegation that snipes at Drake’s character in a way that can’t be so easily explained away. And in one of the most racially divisive times in this country’s recent history, blackface photos are equally jarring. Now, when Drake begins the press runs for Scorpion music won’t be the primary reason people are listening. Interviewers will be asking Drake about this secret child, about the background story behind these blackface photos, and how he feels about beefing with Pusha T. (Drake used his Instagram story to release a statement about the photo shortly before this story was published, claiming that it was an artistic attempt to highlight racism in the TV and film industries.) Push didn’t just take over the beef itself, but he took over the narrative, and Drake is going to have to strategize well if he’s going to take it back by the time Scorpion drops in June.<doc-sep>Kanye adds his two cents to the Pusha-T v. Drake beef According to Ye, the feud is officially over. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for adidas) Are you Team Drake? Or Team Pusha-T? Breaking his silence, rapper Kanye West took to Twitter on Friday to weigh in on Drake and Pusha-T’s ongoing feud: I’ve never been about beef I’m about love lines were crossed and it’s not good for anyone so this is dead now — KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) June 2, 2018 Less than 24 hours after Pusha-T released his new Kanye West-produced album, DAYTONA, Drake dropped the diss track, “Duppy Freestlye” following Pusha-T’s claims that the Toronto rapper doesn’t pen his own rhymes. “If you rebuke me for working with someone else on a couple of V’s, what do you really think of the nigga that’s making your beats?” raps Drake. “I’ve done things for him, I thought that he never would need/Father had to stretch his hands out and get it for me.” Drake, whose fifth studio album, Scorpion, is slated for a June release, later hit Pusha-T with an invoice for $100,000, citing “Promotional assistance and career reviving” as reasons. READ MORE: BREAKING NEWS: Rapper Chief Keef shot at outside hotel in Manhattan But the rappers’ feud only escalated from there when Pusha-T dropped “The Story of Adidon” on Tuesday (May 29), using a photo of Drake in blackface dating back over a decade ago. “Confused, always felt you weren’t Black enough/Afraid to grow it ‘cause your ‘fro wouldn’t nap enough,” Pusha-T raps over JAY-Z’s “The Story of O.J.” track, before alleging that Drake fathered a child with a porn star. On Wednesday , Drake attempted to explain the controversial blackface photo. Part of his statement reads: “This picture is from 2007, a time in my life where I was an actor and I was working on a project that was about young Black actors struggling to get roles, being stereotyped and type cast. The photos represented how African Americans were once wrongfully portrayed in entertainment. Me and my best friend at the time Mazin Elsadig who is also an actor from Sudan were attempting to use our voice to bring awareness to the issues we dealt with all the time as black actors at auditions.” Let’s hope that ‘Ye’s comments diffuse the tension between the rappers. West’s eighth studio album, Ye,is already No. 1 on iTunes after Friday’s release. Share<doc-sep>
Pusha-T just dropped his third studio album, DAYTONA, and we at Highsnobiety love it. With rhymes covering everything from life in the coke game to working with Kanye West, Diddy, and Nas, it only made sense for us to break down some of the record’s best lines. Over the years, King Push has proven no stranger to calling out industry favorites. Here, the rapper takes shots at Drake’s ghostwriting controversies and the feud between Lil Wayne and Birdman, gives props to Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole, and even offers West the chance to explain his MAGA hat. Other topics include Harvey Weinstein and the #MeToo movement, and Meek Mill’s legal circumstances. Before the breakdown, you can listen to the album below. “It was written like Nas, but it came from Quentin” It’s no secret that Pusha-T has a strong stance on authenticity, especially when it comes to rappers penning their own lines. On “Infrared,” the rapper takes a shot at Drake, who was called out by Meek Mill for ghostwriting back in 2015. Quentin Miller was identified as the ghostwriter, which he denies. Pusha, in effect, is telling Drake that his bars will never match the greats. “Another multi-platinum rapper trapped and can’t retire” Also on “Infrared,” Push highlights Rick Ross’ diss track “Idols Become Rivals,” which took shots at Birdman and his business dealings at Cash Money. An ongoing feud over pay between Lil Wayne and Birdman has stunted the Southern rapper’s career. “Remember Will Smith won the first Grammy? And they ain’t even recognize Hov until Annie” In 1989, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince became the first hip-hop artists to win a Grammy. The Recording Academy, however, chose not to air the hip-hop segment, causing the pair to boycott the event. Again on “Infrared,” Pusha talks about how hip-hop artists don’t get the recognition they deserve unless working outside of their “domain.” JAY-Z sampling the musical Annie on mega-hit "Hard Knock Life" is a prime example. “I’m top five and all of them Dylan” In the early aughts, Diddy made the reality TV show Making the Band, which gave young hopefuls a chance to sign to Bad Boy Records. In one series, rapper Dylan became a notable figure after comedian Dave Chappelle used the series as part of a skit on Chappelle’s Show. The line, from “What Would Meek Do?” is a reference to both Diddy and Chappelle’s hilarious sketch. “If you ain’t driving while black, do they stop you? Well, MAGA hats let me slide like a drive-thru.” This last one is a Kanye West line, but it’s worth noting nonetheless. On “What Would Meek Do?” West touches upon the viral photo in which he wore a Donald Trump MAGA hat. Here, West addresses the irony of race relations in the U.S., specifically how a black man driving solo is seen as a threat, but when he allies himself to a movement regarded by many as an expression of white nationalism, society will give him a pass. What are your favorite bars from DAYTONA? Drop them in the comments below. In case you missed it, check out some of the Twitter reactions to ‘DAYTONA’ here.