According to a new report from Rolling Stone, there’s another layer to the Drake and Pusha T beef that may not be readily apparent from the chronology of their respective releases. While Drake’s confessional “March 14” seemingly confirmed the rumors of a secret son that Pusha used as ammunition on his biting diss “The Story Of Adidon,” as it turns out, it may not have been released as a response to that record after all.
Drake producer T-Minus tells Rolling Stone that the reflective track was actually recorded much before Pusha’s scathing reply to Drake’s “Duppy Freestyle.” In fact, the producer surmises that it’s probable that an early version of “March 14″ is where Pusha got the info in the first place. “I’m assuming [Drake] called the record ‘March 14′ ’cause that’s when he did the record,” he says. “I never even heard the content of the song until the album dropped. It was something private; it was supposed to be kept secure. The information got out and I’m assuming that’s how Push knew.”
Malik Yusef, a Chicago poet, rapper, and longtime collaborator of Kanye West, who was present at the recent Ye recording sessions in Wyoming — which Drake also participated in, before things went south due to Pusha’s needling on Daytona closer “Infrared” — corroborates at least part of T-Minus’ account, saying, “I was not there, but I do know that story: [Drake] played early versions of those songs and so on and so forth. You gotta be careful how you move, I think. Not I think, I know: You gotta be careful how you move, what you say to people, what gets out, and the whole nine.”
He goes on to say, “When Kanye called Drake to come out [and work], that was a good moment, but there were unresolved issues between him and Pusha that people should have paid attention to. You gotta have your ear on a swivel in this game – in this world period, but in this game. [You gotta know] who works with who, who talks to who, all that.”
The piece also notes that many of Drake’s producers on Scorpion, where “March 14” eventually landed, were worried that their tracks would be scrapped in the wake of the battle, that Drake would return to the drawing board and spend the album returning fire. Ultimately, “March 14” made the cut despite Pusha’s spoilers. While Drake may or may not feel some sense of disappointment about Pusha’s involvement with the reveal, one thing is for certain: Neither the beef nor the spoiled revelation stopped Scorpion from becoming a record-breaking success.
