Hip Hop/ Rap
UMG Allegedly Blocked Pop Smoke’s Album Over Suspected Drake Diss by Pusha T
The tension between Drake and Pusha T just keeps resurfacing—and this time, it nearly sidelined the release of a highly anticipated posthumous project from late rapper Pop Smoke. In a stunning new revelation reported, Pusha T’s manager and label head, Steven Victor, claims that Universal Music Group (UMG) threatened to block the release of Pop Smoke’s debut album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, due to lyrics they believed were dissing Drake.
“What happened on the Pop Smoke song is that UMG thought that he [Pusha T] was dissing Drake,” Victor told the outlet. “He wasn’t, but they thought he was.”
The controversy centers around the track “Paranoia,” by Pop Smoke, which was initially set to include verses from Pusha T, Young Thug, and Gunna. However, before the song’s release, UMG reportedly demanded that Pusha T either change his lyrics or be removed from the track entirely. According to Victor, UMG’s threat was explicit: “Either he changes these lyrics, or we’re not putting the album out.”
Despite Victor’s protests—insisting that the verse wasn’t even about Drake—UMG held firm. Pusha T’s verse was ultimately scrapped from the version released to streaming platforms. Still, the original song leaked online, and many fans speculated that the verse did in fact include subliminal shots aimed at Drake.
The drama didn’t end there. Young Thug, who also featured on the track, took to social media to voice his disapproval of being dragged into the beef. “I don’t respect the Pusha T verse on the song with me and Gunna, ‘cause I don’t have nun to do with y’all beef,” he wrote.
Pusha T fired back, suggesting that Drake himself had alerted UMG about the verse. “The label heads that stopped it didn’t even know. They only assume because [Drake] told them,” he posted. “If he’ll tell record executives about rap verses, God knows what else he’ll tell. I don’t deal in police work, police rappers, or police n—as!!”
This revelation opens a broader conversation about corporate interference in creative expression, especially in hip-hop. While record labels often step in to manage brand risks and avoid controversy, this situation underscores the extent to which artist rivalries and industry politics can impact the final product.
Even in death, Pop Smoke’s name remains tied to industry power struggles beyond his control. And for fans, the question lingers: Was a potential rap classic censored just to protect Drake’s image?
