Pusha T is back, here to make a statement in the form of an Arby’s ad and to let everyone know the truth behind your favorite fast-food restaurant jingle.
The 44-year old, Virginia rapper claims that he and his brother co-wrote the McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It” jingle in 2003, but received “peanuts” from that very deal. The jingle was the causal launch of McDonald’s ‘I’m Lovin’ It’ campaign, which has since been a crucial component of McDonald’s marketing startegy and has contributed to the influx of billions of dollars in yearly revenue for the mega-conglomerate.
In the Arby’s promoted diss-track, titled “Spicy Fish Diss,” Pusha T does not hold back from letting McDonald’s hear it about their lack of fair compensation, as well as the quality of their food as a whole. The first lines of the one-minute long rap verse reads, “I’m the reason the whole world love it/Now I gotta crush it/Filet-O-Fish is ****/And you should be disgusted.” T clearly makes reference to the fact that he and his brother birthed the jingle and subsequent campaign that’s helped McDonald’s acquire its lucrative fortune, and now it’s his responibility to make this known while simultaneously endorsing McDonald’s competitor.
It’s been reported that a reliable figure in the music industry, Steve Stoute, confirmed in 2016 that Pusha T and his brother, No Malice were the writers of the jingle, in addition to Pharrell Williams and Justin Timberlake. However, it’s been confirmed that the company had already paid Timberlake $6 million to record him singing for the “I’m Lovin’ It” jingle, while Pusha T claimed that he was only paid a one-time fee but no royalties. Thus, Pusha jumped on the opportunity to directly diss McDonald’s in a new Arby’s ad, similarly to when he joined the Arby’s “We Have the Meats” campaign with a 2014 EDM hit featuring the rapper. Although his voice never actually appears in the ad, Pusha confirms that he owns 40% of the track and is compensated every time it airs to this day.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Pusha explains how at the time, he and his brother were in the early stages of their career and weren’t as well-versed on ownership rights and adequate compensation of labor. Now, he’s fed up, and feels that it is time to speak on the fact that this multi-billion dollar corporation’s profit margins are a direct result of he and his brother’s shared creative genius.
Pusha T co-wrote the modern McDonald’s theme song and now he gets checks from Arby’s to write a Filet O’ Fish diss track. He needs to be studied at Harvard Business School.
