The year was 2010.
Barack Obama was just getting his into term as President, LeBron James was preparing his talents down to South Beach and Drake had just released his debut album, Thank Me Later. The highly-anticipated freshman project was littered with features ranging from Lil’ Wayne to The-Dream, but fans had their fingers ready to press play on track 10, “Light Up” featuring Jay-Z.
“Drake, here’s how they gon’ come at you/With silly rap feuds, tryin’ to distract you,” Hov rapped with no hesitation.
Since then, Drake has had many feuds with Common, Meek Mill and others, but fans typically point to his back and forth with Pusha T as the most explosive. Six years removed from that all-out battle, Pusha T is offering similar advice to TDE’s rising star Ray Vaughn.
“Listen, Ray Vaughn, be clear of your peers/’Cause in a couple years it’d be musical chairs,” Pusha T raps to Ray Vaughn on their first collaboration called “Problems.”
Produced by Rayo and WizzleGotBeats, the nearly four-minute lyrical exercise finds the TDE rapper reflecting on where he’s coming from and highlighting how those experiences have carried him to the point where he’s as hungry as ever to reach the top of Hip-Hop and beyond.
“I took a chance like Monopoly, now who’s stoppin’ me?/I’m watchin’ out for all the weird vibes and the animosity,” he raps.
“Just holdin’ on to God’s hand, the whale on dry land/F*ck they time span, in my season, I won’t die bland/’Cause in a way my whole lane is free like I-10.”
From his TDE debut EP to his litany of short videos on Instagram, Ray Vaughn has shown time and time again that he has the skill, charisma and style to conquer everything that may confront him along the path to stardom. Don’t believe it? Listen to him trade bars with Pusha T below on “Patience.”
