Pusha T is clearing the air after people appeared to have gotten the impression that the rapper had shaded Cardi B on his latest album, It’s Almost Dry, released last month. On the track Dreaming of the Past, the 44-year-old is heard rapping, “Award shows the only way you b*****s could rob me,” which some people had interpreted as him making a dig at Cardi for beating him among other Hip Hop acts to win Best Rap Album with her record, Invasion of Privacy, at the 2019 Grammy Awards.
Cardi faced some intense competition from the likes of Mac Miller’s Swimming, Nipsey Hussle’s Victory Lap, Pusha T’s Daytona, and Travis Scott’s Astroworld. Yet, she still came out on top, subsequently making the impressive feat the first time a solo female artist had won a Grammy in this category. But during a candid conversation with TIDAL’s Elliott Wilson, Pusha explained that he wasn’t throwing shots at Cardi with the rap line as he praised her for the historical achievement.
“Come on, man. Cardi deserved that,” the Mercy lyricist said. “When you just look at the lineup, you had Cardi B, you had Travis Scott, you had Mac Miller, you had Nipsey Victory Lap and you had DAYTONA. Anybody could’ve won! And I couldn’t have argued! Cardi actually won and I would never argue with [that]. I actually was going to the gym with her joint in my headphones like, ‘Oh yeah, she killed this joint.’ It was just about what the final voters gravitated towards. But it was fair. The lineup was fair.”
The New Yorker proceeded to say that while he didn’t believe his album had received the recognition it deserved for what he deemed to be one of his most substantial bodies of work at the time, he couldn’t deny that Cardi’s debut project was just as good and it had the mainstream attraction behind it. “What I’m saying is, Cardi was popular as hell. Pusha T wasn’t as popular. But to even put DAYTONA on the levels of… I feel like it had all tiers of great rap music in that category.”
After being announced as the winner of Best Rap Album at the Grammys, Cardi appeared to be in disbelief as she took to the stage to give her acceptance speech with her husband Offset in tow. The Bronx native could barely contain her emotions as she shared a few words following her triumphant achievement.
“Oh my goodness,” she began. “I’m sorry. Woo, the nerves are so bad! Maybe I need to start smoking weed. I just want to say, thank you to everybody that was involved.”
Invasion of Privacy became one of the best-selling rap albums of 2018, with hits including Bartier Cardi, Be Careful, I Like It, Ring, and Bodak Yellow, which became Cardi’s first No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100.