Pusha T has a very intriguing hip-hop background, one that involves contributing jingles to well-known fast-food restaurants.
The Virginia native collaborated with his brother, another Clipse member, No Malice, to write the controversial “I’m Lovin’ It” commercial for McDonald’s back in 2003, when the group was still at its peak. Even though they were paid, the couple didn’t feel they were fairly treated, especially after it was discovered that Justin Timberlake had received a check for $6 million to record the hit.
But in March 2022, Pusha T recorded a song in response to the “one-time fee, no royalties” contract he had signed with McDonald’s for their longest-running advertising campaign.
In the commercial, dubbed the “Spicy Fish Diss Track,” the rapper from “The Story of Adidon” was heard etherizing McDonald’s.
He raps, “I’m the reason the whole globe love it. “Now I have to crush it/Filet-O-Fish is sh*t and you should be disgusted/How can you ask us to trust a square fish that you are selling/A half slice of cheese, Mickey D’s on a budget? Simply put, Arby’s Crispy Fish is the best. With queues around the corner, a guest list may be necessary.The sandwiches taste fresh, exit stage left, and a simple fish cube from a clown.
The most amazing thing is that Pusha T still receives royalties from Arby’s for the use of a brief excerpt from a song he produced many years ago in a current advertising campaign.
Steven Victor revealed that information in an interview with Idea Generation, which was published on Monday, June 19. It was discovered that Victor, a former GOOD MUSIC executive who had collaborated with Pusha T throughout his career, thought it was one of his best commercial concepts.
He smiled and remarked, “I suppose getting Pusha to rap on Yogi’s beat, and it ended up being the theme song for Arby’s. (Victor is referring to Pusha T’s appearance on Yogi’s song “Burial”).
Victor continued to explain it after seasoned journalist Noah Callahan-Bever appeared a little perplexed.
He said, “If you watch an Arby’s commercial, it ends with, ‘Arby’s – we have the meats. That music is the one! Not even Pusha’s segment is used. But since he owns 50% of the song, they must compensate him. Therefore, they must request our agreement each time they want to sync the song.
Arby’s has been using the song sample for seven years and counting as of this writing. However, it’s unknown how much Pusha T has earned in royalties so far.