"Truth like cuts deep" — Pusha T says Kendrick Lamar talked to Drake’s soul and that is why he threatened to sue UMG

On Saturday, December 7, Pusha T sat for an interview with journalist Ari Melber during Art Basel in Miami, where he shared his take on several topics, including the sensational beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake. While mentioning that he thought Lamar was the clear winner in the rap battle, he complimented Lamar's lyrics in his tracks.

Pusha further stated that Lamar's lyrics hit hard and that he told the truth through his verses. The rapper told Ari Melber:

"I think that Kendrick is a lyricist and a lyricist that talks to your soul. Like, you can be clever… you can say cute things, you can do things in cadences, and so on and so forth, right, but the truth really hurts, and the truth, I mean, the truth like cuts deep."

He also believed that Kendrick Lamar's lyrics possibly talked to Drake's soul. Pusha T continued:

"I think what Kendrick was doing was really talking to his soul. I believe that, and I believe that’s, you know, that would cause you to tap out, that’ll cause you to sue, that’ll cause you to do a lot of things. It’s crazy."

The rapper referenced the recent lawsuits filed by Drake. In the first one, he alleged Universal Music Group and Spotify of boosting Lamar's track Not Like Us through illegal schemes. Meanwhile, in the second one, Drake sued UMG and iHeartRadio for defamation.

Elsewhere in the interview, Pusha T praised Kendrick Lamar's performance and stated that his rap battle with Drizzy was "an awesome time," adding that Lamar "being a fan of Hip Hop" probably considered it the same.

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Pusha T had previously complimented Kendrick Lamar for his performance during the beef

This wasn't the first time that Pusha T shared such a take on the beef between Drizzy and K.Dot. He spoke to Vulture, in an interview dated June 19, 2024, and described Lamar's performance to be "incredible" during the rap battle. The 47-year-old talked about Lamar's diss track euphoria, saying:

"Incredible. Incredible display. Incredible display of battle raps. Listen man, Kendrick…"

Furthermore, in his latest interview on Saturday, while Pusha T particularly acknowledged Kendrick's lyrics, he also talked about the verses from euphoria, which was released in April 2024. Pusha specifically referred to the lyrics of the track that read:

"I don’t like you poppin’ s**t at Pharrell, for him, I inherit the beef/ Yeah, f**k all that pushin’ P, let me see you push a T/ You better off spinnin’ again on him, you think about pushin’ me?/ He's Terrence Thornton, I'm Terence Crawford, yeah, I'm whoopin' feet."

While giving an explanation for the aforementioned lines, the Mercy artist said:

"I guess he was just telling him, you know, he needed to address me before [he] comes back and try to go at him."

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Meanwhile, in September, when Pusha T was at a panel at the Revolt World in Atlanta, he again spoke highly of Kendrick Lamar. He appreciated the lyrics of Lamar's songs and even gave him the title of the "lyric king." The Nosetalgia artist seemed impressed with Lamar's lyrical skills back then and apparently holds the same thought now.