Pusha T does an interview with the Joe Budden Podcast on episode 188. The interview, occurring during a important moment following the May 2018 release of his Grammy-nominated album "Daytona" and his high-profile feud with Drake, covered his responsibilities as president of GOOD Music (Kanye West's record label under Def Jam Recordings), his Virginia musical influences (citing The Neptunes, Timbaland, Nottz, and Bink), and the controversial "The Story of Adidon" diss track where he revealed the source of Drake's fatherhood information came from producer Noah "40" Shebib rather than Kanye West. Additional revelations included his co-authorship with brother Gene "No Malice" Thornton of McDonald's "I'm Loving It" jingle for a one-time $500,000 payment (which he called a "super L" given its longevity), his 40% ownership of Arby's "We Have The Meats" campaign, his political differences with Kanye West (calling the MAGA hat "the new Klan hood" while maintaining their professional relationship), his defense of "Daytona's" seven-song format as challenging streaming-era trends of bloated albums, his observations on GOOD Music artists Desiigner and Teyana Taylor, his demanding tour schedule (approximately 275 days annually), and his perspectives on hip-hop's competitive culture, citing Meek Mill's career resilience following his 2015 Drake battle as evidence that rap conflicts don't cause permanent career damage.
Pusha T does an interview with the Joe Budden Podcast on episode 188. The rapper detailed his responsibilities as president of GOOD Music, the record label founded by Kanye West under Def Jam Recordings. Pusha T explained that his executive appointment stemmed from his willingness to challenge Kanye West's creative decisions: "I'm not anti, but I always play devil's advocate."
Born in the Bronx but raised in Virginia Beach from age two, Pusha T strongly identified with Virginia while discussing his musical influences. He proclaimed Virginia as America's premier producer hub, citing The Neptunes (Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo), Timbaland, Nottz, and Bink as evidence of the state's musical dominance. When asked where Virginia ranks among states for producing talent, Pusha T emphatically stated: "Number one."
The interview occurred during an important moment in Pusha T's career, following the May 2018 release of "Daytona" and his high-profile feud with Drake, which had escalated through a series of diss tracks including "Infrared," "Duppy Freestyle," and "The Story of Adidon." As GOOD Music president, Pusha T straddled dual roles as executive and artist while maintaining his position as one of hip-hop's most respected lyricists focusing on drug-dealer narratives.
The interview's most significant revelation came when Pusha T definitively addressed the source of information for his controversial diss track "The Story of Adidon," which exposed Drake's previously undisclosed fatherhood. Contradicting Drake's claim on HBO's "The Shop" with LeBron James that Kanye West had leaked this personal information, Pusha T attributed the intelligence to Noah "40" Shebib, Drake's longtime producer and OVO co-founder .
"The information came from 40," Pusha T stated unequivocally. "40 is sleeping with a woman who begins to... he talks to her daily, five, six hours a day... With that also came the fact that Drake has a child." This disclosure represented a major development in what many hip-hop critics consider one of the most consequential rap conflicts of the decade.
Pusha T further revealed that Drake's team allegedly attempted to gather compromising information about him, offering $100,000 to individuals from his past. "It's this woman, this girl up there... talking about a hundred grand for information on you," Pusha recounted, adding that the search extended to people he knew from "2001, a different time in your life." Despite these efforts, Pusha claimed they "didn't come back with nothing."
The rapper expressed frustration with Drake's appearance on "The Shop," criticizing Maverick Carter for biased questioning that omitted Drake's own controversial lyrics: "I don't see how you could breeze or say anything, not say anything about any of those things," referencing Drake's "Two Birds One Stone" which mentioned Pusha's wife and Kid Cudi's mental health issues. Pusha also disputed Drake's claim that Pusha had wished death on producer "40" Shebib (who has multiple sclerosis), stating: "I wish death on nobody."
Pusha T's Grammy-nominated album "Daytona," released on May 25, 2018, formed part of Kanye West's "Wyoming Sessions" that produced five consecutive weekly album releases from GOOD Music artists. The rapper revealed that "Daytona" wasn't originally conceived as part of this strategy, explaining: "I go collect beats, I put down verses, I go back to him. He be like, 'Oh, I fuck with that, I don't fuck with that.' I came back, I'm like, 'Listen, I think I got my album.' Next day he calls me, he says, 'Yo, I think I can do your album better.'"
The Wyoming recording sessions took place at a remote ranch where artists focused exclusively on creation. Pusha described this environment: "Wyoming is actually really good in regard to just being in the middle of nowhere and you have nothing else to do but make music." He detailed how Kanye West would search through "six thousand records" of samples while creating beats for the album.
Pusha T defended "Daytona's" seven-song, 21-minute format as an intentional artistic choice rather than a limitation. When asked if he wanted more than seven songs, he admitted: "I did," but acknowledged the strategic value of the concise approach: "Sometimes you do have to change the silhouette... in 2018, as far as bar fest, rap fest, chop shit the fuck up... we're competing against everything else that's going out there—25 songs of repetition." This approach challenged the streaming-era trend of bloated albums designed to maximize play counts.
The rapper expressed particular pride that 85% of his audience purchased "Daytona" rather than streaming it—a statistic that Joe Budden noted he "stared at for a long time because I thought it was a misprint." This purchasing behavior aligned with Pusha T's positioning as an artist who prioritizes quality over commercial concessions.
The interview uncovered surprising information about Pusha T's involvement in major advertising campaigns. Pusha confirmed that he and his brother Gene "No Malice" Thornton wrote McDonald's "I'm Loving It" jingle in the early 2000s: "Steve Stout basically brought us the whole idea of doing the McDonald's jingle. When he brought it to us, he gave us the 'I'm loving it' tagline, and we basically just wrote to that."
However, he expressed regret over accepting a one-time payment rather than negotiating for ongoing royalties: "One time payout... me and my brother, half a million." When Joe Budden suggested this was "a pretty good payout," Pusha emphatically disagreed: "No, what? It's not. No, it is not." He described the decision as a "super L" (major loss) given the jingle's longevity and global reach.
In contrast, Pusha revealed owning 40% of the Arby's "We Have The Meats" advertising campaign, demonstrating his evolution in understanding music licensing and intellectual property rights. This business growth reflected his maturation as an entertainment entrepreneur beyond his recording artist identity.
Pusha credited his manager Steven Victor for encouraging him to pursue electronic dance music (EDM) collaborations and synchronization deals: "A lot of my business is in syncs and in movies and commercials." This diversification strategy has provided substantial revenue streams outside traditional album sales and touring.
The interview explored Pusha T's relationship with Kanye West, particularly focusing on their political differences during West's controversial support of President Donald Trump. Pusha acknowledged their ideological disagreements while explaining why these differences wouldn't undermine their professional partnership.
Pusha recounted calling West after his Saturday Night Live appearance wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat, asking: "What are you trying to accomplish?" While Pusha stated he considers the MAGA hat "the new Klan hood," he contextualized their relationship: "We've been disagreeing with each other since we met." When asked if West's potential campaigning for Trump's re-election would affect their relationship, Pusha responded: "I definitely can have a relationship with Ye because we have different political views, hell yeah."
The rapper clarified limitations in their association, noting: "I can't be in the studio when Drake's there... I'm not allowed. Everybody else can be there. I can't. Because I don't play neutral." He explained: "When they go to Wyoming, I'm there from the 1st to the 7th... Next thing I hear, on the 8th, Drake here." This statement illuminated the complex dynamics between the artists during their public conflict.
Pusha T's explanation of their working relationship demonstrated his pragmatic approach: "Everybody's not built like me, bruh. Everybody's not built like me. And you can't make people be built like you." This perspective has allowed Pusha to maintain his position within the GOOD Music organization while preserving his artistic integrity.
As GOOD Music president, Pusha T addressed criticisms regarding the label's artist management, particularly concerning Desiigner following his 2016 hit single "Panda" and Teyana Taylor's 2018 album "K.T.S.E." (Keep That Same Energy).
When questioned about Desiigner's career trajectory following "Panda" (which Kanye West sampled for "Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 2"), Pusha initially deflected before acknowledging the May 4, 2018 release date of Desiigner's "L.O.D." (Life of Desiigner) EP.
Regarding Teyana Taylor's album, which concluded the five-week Wyoming Sessions releases, Pusha revealed: "We weren't even going—we were going out there for my album... We found Teyana's album first." He explained how Kanye West discovered Taylor's sound during the Wyoming sessions: "Before we knew it, it was five records and he was like, 'Yo this Teyana whole album. Call her, tell her we got it.'" When Budden questioned Taylor's marketing budget, Pusha acknowledged: "I mean, I don't know. I... where did it go?"
Pusha defended his approach to label leadership while acknowledging operational differences from traditional record company structures. He distinguished between street principles and music industry expectations: "I take street principles out of music industry as much as possible... If you ain't from it, you not gonna understand it, and most people in the business are not from it."
Throughout the interview, Pusha T offered commentary on the evolving music industry landscape, particularly regarding streaming's impact on artistic decision-making. He criticized the trend of extremely long albums designed to maximize streaming numbers, calling it "cheapening the art."
"I make an album trying to knock your head off regardless if it's 7, 13, 10, whatever," Pusha stated, advocating for quality over quantity. "I don't feel like these longer albums are doing that. It has nothing to do with the stream or whatever the case may be. Now they're doing it because of streams probably."
When discussing his content focusing on drug dealer narratives, Pusha acknowledged potential commercial limitations: "I feel like there's a ceiling to the content that I have." He referenced Jay-Z's evolution beyond drug-centric lyrics as an example of commercial necessity: "You had the Hove era, right, and you know his content, all that, it reached the ceiling... He definitely went a little more pop. His B-sides were that content, his singles were not very much." Despite these limitations, Pusha maintained that this content "preserved me... it's preserved everything that I stand for."
Pusha supported the concept of a rappers' union when asked by Budden, comparing it to the Grammy's rap coalition: "I feel like if we could implement that type of mentality, I wouldn't be complaining about 'oh man, the BET Hip Hop Awards didn't recognize Daytona,' right?" This indicated his interest in structural improvements to industry practices beyond his individual career concerns.
The Joe Budden Podcast conversation also addressed Pusha T's personal life, including his extensive touring schedule and recent marriage. He revealed performing approximately 275 days annually, an exceptionally demanding regimen even by professional music industry standards. "I'm traveling 250 days out of a year. 275," he stated, explaining the physical toll: "I'm sick now. I think I have like a respiratory infection."
Pusha acknowledged the necessity of better health management: "I usually travel with like a trainer, workout... and I have not done it for the past month maybe... I totally will never do it again. That's part of my rider from here on out."
The rapper offered brief but revealing commentary on his recent marriage, suggesting it provided stability: "All of that dies once you do it. She won't care anymore... Peace of mind." When Joe Budden asked if this was why he was getting married, Pusha confirmed: "That's all you needed to hear. Peace of mind."
The conversation also briefly touched on Pusha T's approach to fatherhood, with Pusha indicating he wanted children but would be reluctant to encourage them to pursue music careers: "I wouldn't tell my kid go be in music. I would definitely support them, but reluctantly. And I would go in my room and, like, beat on the bed or some shit."
The interview concluded with discussion of hip-hop's competitive nature, including Pusha T's perspectives on battle rap culture and career resilience following high-profile conflicts. He rejected the notion that rap battles cause permanent career damage, citing Meek Mill's recovery after his widely publicized 2015 loss to Drake.
"Look at Meek right now, Meek looks great, Meek looks amazing now," Pusha observed, challenging the narrative that losing a rap battle constitutes career destruction. He positioned battle rap as a specialized skill set distinct from commercial success: "The sport of competitive rapping, like battling, is not for everybody who's a fan of music." This nuanced perspective acknowledged the cultural significance of rap battles while recognizing their limited commercial impact.
When discussing rules in rap battles, Pusha referenced Styles P's perspective: "There are none," adding "Drake is coming down to that era with this battle, he can't make the rules." He maintained that battles remain fundamentally about skill rather than popularity or commercial success.
The interview concluded with Pusha emphasizing that success in hip-hop transcends commercial metrics: "This podcast is living proof that like, yo, it ain't always gonna be 500,000 out the gate, and you can have a life in this shit and be ill in this shit and be respected." This statement encapsulated his career philosophy, positioning artistic integrity and longevity as equally valuable to commercial dominance.
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