Pusha T’s New Song Is A McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish Diss Track For Arby’s
Back in 2016 there was a rumor going around that Pusha T wrote the McDonald’s jingle “I’m Lovin’ It” alongside his brother and Clipse partner Malice, Pharrell Williams, and Justin Timberlake. It’s true that Pusha’s longtime collaborator Pharrell was credited on the version of the song that appeared on Timberlake’s debut solo album, and Pusha did indeed rap over the jingle in a McDonald’s ad, but many involved with “I’m Lovin’ It” later denied that King Push wrote the song. Now he’s getting his revenge.
In a new song called “Spicy Fish Diss” that doubles as an advertisement for the Arby’s fish sandwich, Pusha ethers the McDonald’s Filet-o-Fish, which is getting its annual Lenten season promo push right now. “Filet-o-Fish is shit/And you should be disgusted,” Pusha raps at one point. Elsewhere, he delivers the scathing verdict, “A little cube of fish from a clown is basic/ Say less, this argument is baseless/ Drowned in tartar, that Filet-o-Fish is tasteless.” He also manages to impressively work in one of his signature cocaine puns: “If you know me and you know me well/ Our fish is gonna tip that scale.” Ronald McDonald will surely be commiserating with Drake by day’s end.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Pusha says he did the ad partially because he’s upset about not receiving more financial compensation for his role in writing the McDonald’s jingle: “I am solely responsible for the ‘I’m Lovin’ It’ swag and the jingle of that company. That’s just real. I am the reason. Now I gotta crush it.”
He elaborates:
I did it at a very young age at a very young time in my career where I wasn’t asking for as much money and ownership. It’s something that’s always dug at me later in life like, “Dammit, I was a part of this and I should have more stake.” It was like half a million or a million dollars for me and my brother — but that’s peanuts for as long as that’s been running. I had to get that energy off me, and this [ad] was the perfect way to get that energy like, “You know what? I’m over it.”
Below, behold “Spicy Fish Diss.”
Pusha’s voice previously appeared in a 2018 Arby’s ad when the company licensed “Burial,” his collaboration with Skrillex and Yogi.