Travis Scott Delivers a Mid Response to Pusha T

K. Dot’s Super Bowl performance is officially nominated for four Primetime Emmys. In other news: 

• Billboard Hot 100 📈 

• Travis, try again 😬

• Drake’s LeBron tattoo is MIA 👀 

• Industry Insights 🔎 

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Billboard Hot 100

The above chart shows Billboard’s Hot 100 ranking for this week. The Hot 100 ranks songs based on streaming activity, radio airplay audience impressions, and sales data —all measured by Luminate.

Thanks to his “suppressor” Alex Warren, Drake’s “What Did I Miss?” is unable to clench the top spot on this week’s chart. Meanwhile, his other smash hit “NOKIA” continues to fall down the chart as other hits like K. Dot and SZA’s “luther” and Doechii’s “Anxiety” also decline in rank.

When Clipse dropped the track “So Be It” on June 17, things immediately got messy between Pusha T and Travis Scott. Pusha can be heard rapping that he “Heard Utopia had moved right up the street, And her lip gloss was poppin’, she ain’t need you to eat…” 

Subtle? Not even a little. And instead of pulling a classic “y’all reaching” backpedal, Pusha doubled down and gave the world a full PowerPoint presentation on why Travis’s loyalty (or lack thereof) had him heated. At one point, he even called him “a whore.”

Everyone immediately looked towards Scott for his own version of “Like That” (that he so eagerly requested at Rolling Loud). Sure, Houston’s very own Bun B said that La Flame wasn’t going to back down — but time was passing by without a peep from him towards Pusha. 

On July 13 though, that silence might’ve finally cracked with the release of JACKBOYS 2. While it’s not the scorched-earth diss fans were expecting, Travis may have finally said something — sort of.

Is Scott’s phone really “on DND?”

On “CHAMPAIN & VACAY” featuring Don Toliver and Waka Flocka Flame, Travis laces in a not-so-subliminal that sure sounds like it’s meant for Mr. “So Be It” himself:

“Yeah, man, I swear these old n***** kill me , Know my YNs feel me, They just want the real me, yeah, Blue Bugatti, I'm dodgin' TMZ [a reference to Pusha’s TMZ leak lyric], Made a hundred off pushin' T's, Now my phone on DND…” Scott raps on the track. 

Let’s break that down:

• “Old n*****” = Hi Pusha!

• “Dodgin’ TMZ” = Referencing Pusha’s TMZ bar from “So Be It.”

• “Made a hundred off pushin’ T’s” = Wordplay around Pusha T’s name that also doubles as a petty flex. 

• “Phone on DND” = AKA leave me alone, I’m not entertaining this beef.

Except… the internet is absolutely entertaining it, and the early reviews are in: not strong enough, bro. People expected a fireball. They got a flicked match.

Ironically, Scott might’ve just proved Pusha’s point—almost word for word—from that Clipse interview with Apple Music.

Talking about La Flame, Pusha didn’t hold back: “…We don’t even want you here, to be honest. We aren’t here to hobnob with any rappers and I personally don’t like rappers who don’t rap. I don’t want to hear that,” he said back in June.  

Pusha might be facing “old” allegations, and he didn’t make a hundred off pushin’ tees, but the new Clipse album leaves no doubt about his or Malice’s ability to rap. Nevertheless, La Flame is continuing to push through and promote JACKBOYS 2, even dropping three new digital tracks, including “Da Wizard” by La Flame and “Trip Out” by Sheck Wes and Yeat. Cool. But if Pusha spins the block again? Yeah... that DND mode might not save him next time.

Drake’s Wireless Set Gets Petty, Personal, and Packed

Drake has been working hard to put the major L he took in his beef with K. Dot behind him (that lawsuit is still happening, though). He dropped $OME $EXY $ONGS 4 U with fellow Canadian PARYTNEXTDOOR just in time for Valentine’s Day. He broke the record in May for the most RIAA-Diamond certified singles with 10 total. He also recently confirmed ICEMAN as his next album era. 

However, starting on July 11, Drizzy brought out the classics along with some new teasers and guests galore to celebrate Wireless Festival’s 20th anniversary. In true Champagne Papi fashion, though, you know he couldn’t leave the stage without calling out his biggest opps (currently). 

Day 1: R&B Drake is back in his bag

Night one was R&B Drake in full bloom. PARTYNEXTDOOR and Summer Walker were the big guest reveals, but they weren’t alone. Leon Thomas warmed up the stage before being joined by his label boss Ty Dolla $ign, who declared himself the “King of R&B.” UK newcomer kwn brought smooth vibes, along with Kehlani for them to perform together. Summer Walker came through to deliver as well, but once PND started singing “Come and See Me,” it was the Bat-Signal for Drake to hit the stage.

“This is the first time in my life that I’ve done three different shows on three different days…You came to a very special night. It’s night one. It’s a celebration of all things R&B. All things melodies. All classics,” Drake told the crowd. 

Drizzy then went deep into the catalog — “Jungle,” “Marvin’s Room,” and more sadboi staples — before reuniting with Giveon and Bryson Tiller for some live heartbreak karaoke. However, the true shocker came when Lauryn Hill emerged (on time!) to perform “Nice For What” with Drake for the first time ever.

After a set like this, who wouldn’t be feeling the love? However, “The Mandem” brought petty Drake back out in full force the next day. 

Day 2: It’s too late for all that lovey-dovey shit

“London, tonight is different…All that sweetheart, singing s—? That s— is over tonight. This is for my motherf—ing dogs. I see my dogs came out tonight,” Drake declared as he kicked off Day 2. 

Enter: Rage Drake. He started the night off with “IDGAF” (ft. Yeat), then debuted “What Did I Miss?” from his upcoming  ICEMAN project, before diving headfirst into bangers like “Headlines,” “Energy,” and “Nonstop” — where he casually rewrote the lyrics just to clown LeBron James.

Changing the original lyrics, Drake rapped to the crowd, “How I go from 6 to 23 but not LeBron.” 

Another sign that he’s done playing games with the Lakers superstar? Eagle-eyed fans spotted that Drizzy’s James tattoo has been replaced by another basketball hero — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Wonder who the rapper will choose to replace Gilgeous-Alexander if the basketball player ever “betrays” him.

The shade then moved towards K. Dot once the crows began a chorus of “Fuck Kendrick” for Drake to hear. Instead of telling them to calm down, he decided to take a shot during it instead. 

Despite all the pettiness, Drake had some love left in him after all and shouted out UK rappers like Skepta, Dave, and Central Cee (who performed “Sprinter” together). 

“Nobody can out-rap London — nobody…No disrespect to America. No disrespect to my country. But, nobody can out-rap London rappers. This is the best, this is the highest level. This is what I aspire to be,” Drake proclaimed. 

He ended the night with a wild range of guests: PARTY came back for “SOMEBODY LOVES ME,” Latto and Sexyy Red lit it up with “Big Mama” and “Rich Baby Daddy,” and of course, Drake couldn’t leave without summoning 21 Savage for “Knife Talk” and “Rich Flex.”

And then, Drake closed out this hard-hitting set by serenading the crowd with “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton. Don’t ask why. Just accept it.

Day 3: Drake’s global set is short but sweet 

For his final (and short) set, Drizzy got into his culture bag as special guests like Burna Boy and Ms. Lauryn Hill (again) warmed up the crowd before his arrival. He started off with a bang after finally performing the previously teased new track with Central Cee (that apparently will drop on July 18th). 

He also brought back his verse on Rihanna’s “Work” (hello, nostalgia), and dusted off crowd favorites like “Passionfruit” and “One Dance.” Rema came through for a mini-set, and then things went full karaoke party as Drake invited everyone onstage for “Hotline Bling.” He saved his most dramatic move for last, though: flying above the crowd to Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.” 

While Drake saw the Wireless run as the “best three nights of my performance career,” other reviews are a mixed bag to say the least, especially with his final performance time only being 40 minutes. Regardless, Drizzy showed once again that he can deliver plenty of surprises (and drama) wherever he chooses to perform. 

• This year’s ESPY Awards have a stacked performance lineup. Clipse, GELO, Busta Rhymes and more are set to perform during this year’s awards ceremony.

• Thugga is looking for modifications. Brian Steel has officially filed a motion to have Young Thug’s 2024 sentence adjusted.

• YNW Melly’s retrial is moving forward. The retrial is scheduled to officially begin on September 10th. 

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