N.O.R.E. is becoming an impressive journalist. The Queens emcee-turned-successful podcaster recently revisited a heated moment that unfolded behind the scenes involving Pusha T, Pharrell Williams, and the long-running tension with Drake. In a recent sit-down with Bootleg Kev, the Drink Champs host opened up about a rare occasion where Pusha T let his emotions show, all sparked by Pharrell’s attempt to stay neutral in the highly publicized feud.
Get this: while recalling the 2020 episode of Drink Champs featuring Pharrell, N.O.R.E. revealed that things got intense off-camera after he asked Pharrell a seemingly simple question. “When we had Pharrell on the show, is the first time I ever heard Pusha T raise his voice,” N.O.R.E. explained. “I said to Pharrell, ‘Pusha T or Drake,’ and he said ‘both.’ I don’t know if I’m supposed to say this, Pusha. I’m sorry man, but I’m in the zone right now.”
But wait, that answer didn’t sit well with Pusha, who immediately reached out to N.O.R.E. to express frustration. “Pusha called me like, ‘How the f**k is our boy doing this? How’s he doing that? How’s he saying both of us? Drake wouldn’t have picked both of us, Drake would have picked him!’ And I’m like ‘Pusha, this is the one time I’m shutting the f**k up. I’mma let you vent.’”
So, the way the story is told, Pharrell was essentially Switzerland in this beef, and Pusha wasn’t interested in any nonaggression treaties. C’mon, y’all, just a bit of world history analogies at play!
Anyways, N.O.R.E. used the moment to highlight how Pharrell has always stood firm on his personal values and approach to conflict. “I say that to say that’s how much of a human Pharrell is. He told me for years, N.O.R.E., don’t do no crime in front of me. Who the f**k thinks like that? He said, ‘I’m going to tell…’ He literally told me that from the beginning.”
Check this out: Pharrell has also spoken publicly about how uncomfortable the rift between the two artists has made him. “I didn’t wanna see that go that way. That didn’t make me happy,” he said. “I hate to see what him (Pusha) and Drake are going through—or what they went through. I hated to see all of it, every bit of it … it wasn’t good.”
Well, back on the ranch, as fans wait for the upcoming Clipse album Let God Sort Em Out, produced entirely by Pharrell and scheduled to drop on Friday July 11, this candid backstory adds even more layers to a creative partnership shaped by loyalty, love for the culture, and occasional tension that runs deeper than the music.
What you think, did Pusha have a point with Pharrell’s position or nah?