Pusha T and Drake’s beef (or competitive rap) entered a new level after the release of “The Story Of Adidon.”
On the diss, Pusha connects the dots on many aspects of Drake’s life including his parents’ strained relationship, the health of his close friend and producer Noah “40” Shebib and claims the rapper fathered a child with a former adult film star.
On the surface, the track can be seen as gossip, but Pusha T has proven to the game that he has cunning skills in and out of the booth. “The Story Of Adidon” reflects this with the instrumental, bars and rollout telling various “truths” about music’s most-adored figures. “Let’s deal in real truths,” Pusha told Vulture before the release of DAYTONA. “My truth was questioned, and I’m gonna deal in truths all summer long.” It’s a sentiment to what was over the horizon, which was the album’s final song, “Infrared.”
If you’re just tuning into Pusha’s lyrical series, then a binge session is needed. His bars over the years have always been in the spirit of menace and vigor, including “Exodus 23:1,” where his beef with Lil Wayne and Drake was at its peak.
Now that we’ve sat with the track, there are plenty of elements that fell under the radar. Check them out below.
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7. The “Artwork”
Push refused to call the image artwork for “The Story of Adidon.” Either way, it was hard to ignore.
Photographer David Leyes confirmed that the decision to wear blackface in the photoshoot was Drake’s. The cards seemed to fall into place. The image was perfect for the track, as it used JAY-Z’s “The Story of O.J.,” a crafty take on blackness and humility as the instrumental. The parlay was already in effect.
Drake released a press release of sorts Wednesday (May 30) and tried to give context to the photos.
“This was not from a clothing brand shoot or my music career,” he wrote. “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 typecast. The photos represented how African Americans were once wrongfully portrayed in entertainment.”
The rapper says he and his close friend at the time Mazin Elsadig were trying to convey the difficulty black actors face when they’re designated to stereotypical roles. “This was to highlight and raise our frustrations with not always getting a fair chance in the industry and to make a point that the struggle for black actors had not changed much,” Drake wrote.
From minstrel shows like Amos ‘n’ Andy to old Disney cartoons, the controversial use of blackface is one of America’s favorite past times. While black creatives like Spike Lee and Little Brother have spun it into art in a digestible and informative way, Drizzy’s attempt appears to be tasteless and juvenile. It all circles back to Push’s “Adidon” track, which points out the rapper’s alleged struggles with his blackness.
6. Kanye & Pusha T’s Adidas Connection
Baby reveal aside, Push brought to light Drake’s upcoming line with Adidas titled, “Adidon.” The line was reportedly named after his son with former adult film actress Sophie Brussaux. The information regarding the Adidas deal more than likely came from a reliable source. Kanye and Push both have relationships with the brand so someone at the company may have spilled the beans.
Like journalist…
