UMG allegedly tried to block Pop Smoke’s posthumous album over a Pusha T verse which they believed was a Drake diss

On Tuesday, June 2, music executive Steven Victor's interview with Billboard was published, where an instance about UMG's effort to protect Drake was highlighted.

Victor was asked about the removal of Pusha T's verse on Pop Smoke's Paranoia - part of his posthumous 2020 album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon.

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UMG allegedly nearly blocked Pop Smoke’s first posthumous album over a Pusha T verse they believed was aimed at Drake 👀

"UMG thought that [Pusha T] was dissing Drake on that song. He wasn’t, but they thought he was... So they came to me and said, 'We’re not going to put this out now, unless you get Pusha to change these lyrics.' Even though it has nothing to do with Pop Smoke, they’re like, 'Either he changes these lyrics, or we’re not putting the album out.'"

— Steven Victor (via Billboard)

In his answer, Victor agreed that UMG's attempt to block Pusha T's verse as they thought it was intended as a Drake diss, which it originally wasn't.

Steven recounted that UMG approached him (as he managed Pusha T at the time), stating that they wouldn't put the song out unless Pusha changed the lyrics, adding:

"What happened to freedom of speech? First of all, he’s not dissing Drake. But how do you get to tell him to just change his lyrics or you’re not putting this album out?"

While Paranoia's official version doesn't contain Pusha T's verse, there are other versions where it can be found online. Victor also talked about Pusha T no longer trusting UMG after the blocking attempt, and ultimately paying them a significant amount to end their deal.

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Pusha T thinks Drake's UMG lawsuit "cheapens the art"

Besides Steven Victor recalling UMG's blocking attempt to allegedly protect Drake, Pusha T has also spoken about the God's Plan rapper in a recent GQ interview (published June 2, 2025).

Pusha T and Malice recently sat down with the outlet in the wake of the release of Let God Sort Em Out - the Clipse reunion album with Malice. Pusha mentioned the UMG lawsuit while speaking about a Lamar feature almost removed from the album.

He then recalled facing a similar pushback over his verses on several songs in the past, including Rick Ross' Mayback Music VI and Paranoia, saying:

"If [Drake’s] adamant to have a lawsuit, it’s only because he knows all the things that they did to suppress everything that was happening around ‘Adidon’ and the verses and the records and things that were happening back then... Damn, it’s like it just kind of cheapens the art of it once we gotta have real questions about suing and litigation. Like, what? For this?"

The Alone In Vegas rapper was then asked about his beef with Drizzy (in 2018) and if he would reignite it in the future. Pusha T said:

"I think after everything that had been done, I don’t think there was ever anything subliminal to be said ever again in life."

For the unversed, Drizzy's beef with Pusha T reached its peak in 2018, when the latter dropped his album Daytona. The last song on the album, titled Infrared, the Santeria rapper Drizzy's writing talent, hinting at Quentin Miller working as his writer behind the scenes.

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Drake also made headlines for announcing a new tour with PartyNextDoor - $ome $pecial $hows 4 UK. The tour will take place in July, where the rapper will perform in Birmingham on July 20, 21, and in Manchester on July 25, 26.