J. Prince wasn’t the only label boss who wanted to end the Drake vs. Pusha-T beef. During a recent appearance on Ebro in the Morning, the Rap-A-Lot Records CEO claimed Kanye West had given him a phone call in an attempt to de-escalate the highly publicized feud.
“This was something Kanye didn’t want,” Prince said, before revealing that ‘Ye called him prior to declaring the beef dead. “He let me know, ‘I’m a family man. I don’t want this.’ […] With me analyzing the whole pie, I’m like, ‘Hey, why say these things that are about to be said and destroy this man’s livelihood?’ We not about that.”
Ebro asked Prince if believed Drake’s counterattack would’ve included shots directed at Kanye. Prince replied: “No doubt about it.” However, he did not confirm the rumors of a Drake and Lil Wayne collaborative response.
“I can’t speak for the Lil Wayne song, but I do know Drake was moving forward by himself,” Prince explained. “He was ready to move forward. You know, when something like that is said about you, your emotions and feelings is involved. I explained to [Drake] it ain’t about emotions and his feelings. [Push] has crossed the line where music is concerned. I called it a pig-pen mentality. You know what I mean? We could get in that pit and wallow and slop with him, or we could move on. We chose to move on.”
Prince went on to say he never heard the diss track Drake had up his sleeve, but he did hear the “ingredients.” He also reiterated his claims that it was him who convinced the Toronto rapper to let the beef go.
“I feel like [‘The Story of Adidon’] crossed the line of music with the disrespect, when it reached [Drake’s] mother, it reached his father, it reached his sick homie, you know what I mean? I felt that crossed the line,” J. Prince said. “[…] When it gets to that extent, you need to pull the plug on it.”
He continued: “I didn’t even want him to go that extent, because he had to go somewhere that was out of his character. You know what I mean? He had to go somewhere that could affect our movement. And we’re not about a moment; we’re about a movement.”
Prince, who was promoting his new book The Art & Science of Respect, said the Drake-Pusha situation went beyond lyrical sparring, and that the “Duppy Freestyle” was not as hard-hitting as “The Story of Adidon.” He acknowledged that Drizzy mentioned Pusha’s fiancée, Virginia Williams, but it was not in a “vulgar” manner.
“I wouldn’t had an issue if [Push] spoke about [Drake’s] mom or spoke about 40 if it wasn’t in such a vulgar moment,” Prince said (9:56).
Prince also discusses his introduction to Drake, building Rap-A-Lot Records, and his dispute with Cash Money. Watch the full interview above.
