Pusha T & Kanye West Beef, Explained

Pusha T and Kanye West were a highly acclaimed musical duo for almost all of the 2010s. The G.O.O.D. Music alumni made dozens of songs together, several of which are considered classics in contemporary hip-hop fan circles. However, a rift between them opened in their final years together after increasingly vitriolic statements from West at the expense of several marginalized communities, resulting in Pusha’s complete departure from the label and West’s creative orbit. 

In recent months, Push has made his thoughts on West painstakingly clear, with a clear lack of respect for the man West has become in the last few years, and has been emphatic in his disinterest in a potential reconnection. After fellow G.O.O.D. Music alum Consequence recently claimed that Pusha T was dissing West to draw attention to Clipse’s comeback album and that any public disrespect was nothing more than an act, we are going to look back through the relationship between the two. How did they come together? And how (and why) did things get so sour between them?

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Clipse previously rapped over Kanye West’s beats in the mid-2000s for some of their mixtape cuts. However, it was not until 2009 where they'd get the man himself on a song. West appeared on the track “Kinda Like A Big Deal,” the first time the eventual co-workers officially rapped together. In September 2010, after months of teasing, Pusha T signed with G.O.O.D. Music, becoming a fixture of the now-iconic G.O.O.D. Fridays string of singles released ahead of West’s opus, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. On the album itself, he provided features on “So Appalled” and, famously, “Runaway.” In 2012, he made appearances on the G.O.O.D. Music compilation album, Cruel Summer, most notably on the tracks “Mercy” and “New God Flow.”

By 2015, Pusha T became the president of G.O.O.D. Music, a position he held for the rest of his time on the label. In 2018, he and West connected for his third album DAYTONA, a seven-track LP from the infamous “Wyoming Sessions.” 2018 was also the year where West began to dig deeper into his right-wing politics, calling slavery a “choice,” aligning himself with Donald Trump, and parading around his “Make America Great Again” hat, which Pusha likened to a Ku Klux Klan hood in an interview with The Guardian. Push didn’t directly condemn West, but he mentioned that the two didn’t talk politics in the studio very often. Upon release, DAYTONA received immediate acclaim, with several outlets calling it one of the best hip-hop albums of that year. The project also netted Pusha his first solo Grammy nomination, for Best Rap Album. But, the seeds for a split had already been planted. By 2022, it became pretty clear that the run was coming to an end. G.O.O.D. Music, as fans had known it for nearly two decades, would not continue to exist for much longer.

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In April 2022, Pusha T delivered It’s Almost Dry, his fourth solo album. Half of the album was produced by Pharrell, while the other half was handled by Kanye West. It was the second-to-last album to be released as part of the G.O.O.D. Music/Def Jam partnership. In October of that year, Def Jam cut ties with the label following several controversies with West at the center, including the promotion of the “White Lives Matter” t-shirt and blatantly antisemitic ramblings in various videos and tweets. In a November interview with the Los Angeles Times, Pusha T addressed West’s string of hateful remarks, calling them “very disappointing.”

"Definitely affected me,” he said in response to West’s antics. “To describe it, I’d say it’s been disappointing, very disappointing. You know, just as a Black man in America, there is no room for bigotry or hate speech or anything like that.” The interview was the first time Pusha T directly criticized West’s words, and signaled a shift in their dynamic going forward. 

Read More: Pusha T "It's Almost Dry" Review

In early 2022, Pusha T fueled speculation that he was leaving G.O.O.D. Music after making a post thanking Kanye West for releasing him from his contract. That was not the case, as per Pusha’s manager, Steven Victor, he’d only fulfilled his obligations to Def Jam. However, after the release of It’s Almost Dry, Pusha T confirmed that he’d actually completed the terms of his deal with G.O.O.D. He was no longer on the label, ending a partnership that lasted over a decade. Push also revealed to XXL that he and West were not on speaking terms at the time. 

“He’s not speaking to me. If you ain’t with it, you ain’t down. And I ain’t with it,” he told the magazine. He also said that he’s never had a filter when it comes to speaking with West, nor were these new statements the first time the two disagreed politically. “It's nothing to tap dance around. It’s wrong. Period. But to me, it’s just me and him having a difference of opinion yet again. ’Cause we done had this for years.” However, it seemed as if their working relationship came to an amicable enough conclusion, as Pusha said that West expressed gratitude for Push never running to the media to “kill him in public,” despite their disagreements. Though the split seemed (publicly) on good terms, it still marked a disappointing end to what had been a highly productive musical rapport for most of the preceding 12 years.

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In February 2023, a photo of Pusha T and Canadian personal trainer Harley Pasternak having dinner together surfaced. Pasternak has worked as a trainer to many celebrities, including Kanye West. Pasternak previously called emergency services on West during a 2016 workout, which contributed to West’s eventual hospitalization and bipolar disorder diagnosis. 

West believes he was incorrectly diagnosed, and later shared messages from 2022 he claims were from Pasternak, in which the trainer reportedly threatened to have West institutionalized a second time. He also mentioned West's kids, allegedly saying that future play dates won’t be the same if they “medicate the crap out of” him. Their feud continued through the rest of 2023, after both sides accused each other of stalking, and Pasternak reportedly called security on West at a Dubai hotel. We will never know the truth of their situation. However, Pusha T having dinner with a man West has long been feuding with and does not feel comfortable around felt like a sign that the rift between the ex-collaborators was even worse than originally thought.

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In 2018, a documentary about Kanye West began production, but never saw the light of day in an official capacity. Five years later, a clip from the unreleased project hit social media. In the brief, 90-second excerpt, West criticizes several artists whom he believed were using him for collaborations during the “Wyoming Sessions.” He did not name Kid Cudi, but he did speak on Teyana Taylor, Pusha T, and Nas.

“The f*ck I’m doing giving [‘Gonna Love You’] to f***ing Teyana? What the f**k I’m doing giving that DAYTONA album to Pusha?” he said. “That s**t was three Dark Fantasies that I gave away. ‘Cops Shot The Kid’, Nas rapping all godd**n offbeat on it, don’t even wanna shoot a video, then shoot the video, don’t even tell me. These motherf**ers don’t appreciate me. All these motherf***ers is tryna use me.” West has been candid about people in his life using him for money or fame, but it was still disheartening to hear him suggest that even those he thought were there for him may have only been in the picture because they saw aligning themselves with West as advantageous due to his superstar status, no matter how old the video was at the time of it being leaked.

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In January 2024, an alleged text Pusha T sent to Kanye West leaked to the public. The exact date of the message is still unknown, but we know it came after “The Story of Adidon” because Pusha directly mentioned the clash with Drake. “I put out the song because he dissed me and mentioned my wife in a song,” Pusha allegedly sent to West, referencing their beef and lengthy history with the Toronto rapper. “You let Drake disrespect you, your wife, and your family. That’s why you can’t get your wife to respect you. Don’t blame me, Kanye. I would never shoot anybody for you, you would snitch on me. Shyne changed his name to Moses and turned Jew. Please don’t compare me to him. Puff was better off without J. Lo., she was a whore. I’ve held you down, and you don’t appreciate me.”

The text was the signature brutal honesty that Pusha T is known for, a noticeably different approach to handling situations involving West than those who continue to defend his actions. The leaked message also showed that the two had a much more difficult dynamic to understand than what fans believed they knew. It is not entirely clear where Drake and West stand after Drake sneak dissed him for several years straight, but the two did come together for the “Free Larry Hoover Benefit Concert” in 2021 and West showed $ome $exy $ongs 4 U some love on X when it dropped earlier this year, so they may at least be cordial to some degree. Push recently confirmed that he had no desire to re-engage with Drake unless he wanted to. 

Read More: Kanye West Disses Drake On "Like That Remix": A Break Down Of Lyrics

In April 2024, Kanye West appeared on Justin LaBoy’s podcast, The Download. LaBoy asked him where things stood with Pusha T, following Pusha’s departure from G.O.O.D. Music and the leaked text message. West revealed that they’d spoken somewhat recently. "It was good to talk to him. It was the first time talking to him in a couple months. We made G.O.O.D. Music together,” he said. “I thought that somehow because I made beats and made music for somebody that when I couldn’t see my children, these people would use their platform, ‘cause I used my platform on their behalf. Now I realize no one owes me anything. If you depend on somebody who is not giving you what you need, you’re the one that’s in the wrong.” The surprisingly reflective response also came off as if West was suggesting that those in his circle were not as real as he thought.

In an interview with Complex, Pusha detailed why he believed artists continued to work with West, even after he embraced the alt-right. He gave West props for his musical chops and continued stardom, conceding that a West co-sign still came with increased looks from the public. “I believe that there’s a level of visibility that comes along with being next to somebody like Ye,” he explained. “At the end of the day, it’s a level of musicality and genius-level production that comes along with being next to him. So you get a lot of things that I think artists are looking for these days in being next to him.” Though he and West were not on the best of terms, Pusha still gave him some rather diplomatic praise, even after all they’d been through.

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In April, Kanye West went live to express his displeasure at being left off of Playboi Carti’s then-forthcoming album, MUSIC. After starting his erratic rant by directing his emotions at Carti, he shifted the focus to instead take digs at Pusha. “Pusha T, all that tough guy s**t. Where the tough guy s**t?” he asked. “I bled for you. I asked for one thing: Use your voice, your stability. People don't think you're crazy. People respect you. You stood on my shoulders to take Drake out.” Those were West’s first direct words for his former friend in over a year, and they saw him voicing what he viewed as a lack of appreciation from Pusha T. Perceived lack of appreciation from one side to the other was a bit of a recurring piece of their breakdown in communication, from the leaked clip to the alleged text.

Read More: Kanye West & Playboi Carti Beef, Explained

In the lead-up to Clipse’s Let God Sort ‘Em Out, their first new album as a duo since 2009, they dropped “Ace Trumpets,” the first proper taste of what fans could expect from the project. On the track, Pusha mentions Kanye West. "Look at them, him and him, still waiting on Yeezy / I hope you got your squeegee," Pusha T raps. "At your interviews, I just kee kee, life's peachy." Shortly after the song dropped, West took to X to extend a partial olive branch, though it did not come with anything that could resemble an apology. “I miss me and Pusha’s friendship,” West wrote. The comment opened the door for reconciliation between the two, but that door only opened one way. As shown shortly after West’s tweet, Pusha did not miss his old musical partner at all.

Read More: Clipse "Let God Sort Em Out" Review

During the rollout for Let God Sort ‘Em Out, Pusha T and Malice sat down with GQ to discuss the new release. When the question of where things stood between him and Ye arose, Pusha put forth a scathing takedown of his former collaborator. He started by saying that his split from West was on the horizon for years, and that the last few months of their partnership were Pusha playing the “industry game.” He then made a more direct comment toward West. “It's like, bro, you've been mentioning me, screaming about me…. You got every soul believing that I've done such a great injustice to you. And that's a lie [...] So when he gets up there and with his KKK mask and he's screaming behind it like a pro wrestler—he got to scream behind a mask. He don't talk to me like he talks to others.”

The comments did not stop there, as Pusha continued the smack talk. The Virginia MC said, point-blank, that he does not think West is “a man,” a highly personal jab that exemplified just how bad things got between them. “He knows I don't think he’s a man. He knows it. And that's why we can't build with each other no more. That's why me and him don't click, because he knows what I really, really think of him. He's showed me the weakest sides of him, and he knows how I think of weak people.” In a later interview with the New York Times, he also asserted that he and West never got along when it came to anything except music. “Outside of that, his morals, his principles, his mindset [...] We don’t see eye-to-eye hardly ever.”

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Pusha and Malice sat down with Ebro Darden for an interview with Apple Music released the day before Let God Sort ‘Em Out, where Push went into even greater detail about his falling out with Kanye West. “I feel like me and Ye, we don’t gel,” he told Ebro. “Where I am right now in my life, I’m not with anyone who ain’t on my team, especially when I’ve been on your team.” He also pointed to Kanye going back on his words and judging the music they made together. “He obviously, for whatever reason, has an issue. I don’t even care what his issue is,” he stated. 

In a separate interview with Complex, Push was asked for his feelings on West saying he missed their friendship. “I don’t care about that at all,” he said. “It’s fine. I’m sure. I would miss me too, I really would.” He also suggested that West lacked principles and loyalty, adding that he does not want to get involved with him again because he’s back to creating with Malice and Pharrell. Push also addressed the leaked text from the previous year, saying that he did not leak it himself. However, he had an idea of who did. The new comments suggested that he’d outgrown West and moved on because their friendship/partnership was no longer productive. It seemingly became easier to do so because he got back to making music with his family.

Read More: The Clipse’s Comeback Is Impeccably Executed: How Pusha T & Malice Mastered Luxury, Legacy & The Long Game

Clipse spoke with The Guardian in early August, and Pusha T once again reminisced on the G.O.O.D. Music era. "Just as a rap aficionado, well, being there was special!" Pusha told the newspaper. "Creating ‘So Appalled’ and ‘New God Flow’ were some of my favorite memories. The G.O.O.D Friday series, that was crazy, too. The albums I dropped during that time, like DAYTONA and It’s Almost Dry, they are very, very strong offerings. It goes without saying that me and Ye made great things together."

However, he reiterated that It’s Almost Dry would be their last outing together. “Yeah, that’s in the past, that’s definitely in the past,” he said when asked if working with West again would ever be a possibility. “If I diss someone, it’s a very real thing to me. I watch other rappers use disses as a gimmick and s**t like that, but that ain’t what this is to me.” After saying that he didn’t believe West was a man and the flippant reaction to West saying he missed Pusha’s friendship, it would be very surprising if Pusha went back on his word. Still, fans of both artists were not any less disappointed in the confirmation.

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Consequence entered himself into the Pusha T-Kanye West feud during a Hot 97 interview on August 15, where he called out Pusha directly. He shared more alleged texts from a group chat featuring himself, Push, and West. The chat apparently started in 2021, shortly after the release of Donda. West reportedly said that he and Push were still not “100% in the right” with each other. He cited the “mental harm” that “The Story of Adidon” caused. 

Pusha allegedly apologized for any trauma caused by the track. He also reportedly said that harming West and his family was not a goal with the song. Cons implied that Pusha does actually respect West, contrary to his recent interviews, because he gave him an apology. In a later tweet, Consequence doubled down on his new issues with Pusha T. He called Pusha a “liar with no integrity” and said he stabbed West in the back for “clout.” He claimed there are more texts out there, though, as of writing, he has not shared any of them. 

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In 2011, Pusha T released “My God,” the lead single for his first mixtape, Fear of God. After the single dropped, New York rapper Consequence took to Twitter to claim that Pusha stole his flow from an unreleased song, titled “The Last Supper.” Cons then followed that by releasing a song called “The Plagiarist Society.” There, he took more jabs at Pusha, insinuating that he was lying about being a coke dealer. Push responded to the song on the Chicago-based WGCI. He said that no one was checking for Consequence, and that he’d get nothing out of it if he actually sent a song in Cons’ direction. Later that day, Consequence dropped “Everybody Told Me 2 (Straighten It Out),” where he dissed Pusha and the G.O.O.D. Music roster at large. Pusha responded on the remix to Ace Hood’s “Go ‘N Get It,” where he made fun of Consequence’s teeth.

The two briefly squashed the beef at the end of 2011, but Consequence reignited it in early 2013, after a Breakfast Club interview where he called the G.O.O.D. Music roster “p***ies.” Pusha T followed that by appearing on Hot 97, where he doubled down on the claim that Kanye West bought Consequence’s teeth after initially mocking him for it on Twitter. He then did an interview with the ThisIs50 YouTube channel, where he responded to Consequence’s biting allegations by saying that Cons did not have a style to bite. “Who the f**k is he?” he asked. The pair once again put their differences aside in 2015 to work on West’s album, the eventual Life Of Pablo, but clearly, there’s no love lost.