UMG Once Protected Drake by Blocking Pusha T Verse on Pop Smoke Album, Steven Victor Reveals

Drake’s recent criticism of Universal Music Group (UMG) might be dominating headlines, but according to a revealing new interview, the label once took drastic steps to defend him. In a candid conversation with Billboard, Steven Victor — longtime music executive and manager to Pusha T — shared an untold story about UMG’s efforts to shield the rapper from perceived lyrical shots, even if it meant compromising a posthumous Pop Smoke release.

During the interview, Victor was discussing his management of Pusha T when he addressed comments made by the Clipse rapper in GQ. Pusha had opened up about two major collaborations that fell apart due to lyrics thought to target Drake. One of those tracks was Rick Ross’s “Maybach Music VI” and the other, Pop Smoke’s “Paranoia” — which ultimately didn’t feature Push at all.

Victor provided context: “What happened on the Pop Smoke song is that UMG thought that he was dissing Drake on that song. He wasn’t, but they thought he was.”

The tension put Victor in a tight spot. “Pop Smoke was released on my label [Victor Victor], and obviously I managed Pusha. So, they came to me and said, ‘We’re not going to put this out now, unless you get Pusha to change these lyrics.’ Even though it had nothing to do with Pop Smoke, they were like, ‘Either he changes these lyrics, or we’re not putting the album out.’”

Victor expressed his frustration at the situation, challenging what he saw as censorship. “What happened to freedom of speech? First of all, he’s not dissing Drake. But how do you get to tell him to just change his lyrics or you’re not putting this album out?”

Despite Victor’s pushback, UMG ultimately got its way. “Paranoia” was released as part of the deluxe edition of Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon — but without Pusha T. Instead, the final version featured appearances by Gunna and Young Thug, both high-profile names but lacking the lyrical tension that Pusha’s version would have carried.

While UMG succeeded in protecting Drake from a potentially controversial verse, they didn’t win every battle. Victor revealed that Def Jam, another UMG label, lost the rights to Pusha T and No Malice’s upcoming Clipse album, Let God Sort Em Out, due July 11. The fallout reportedly stemmed from further attempts to control Pusha’s lyrical content — this time, surrounding a verse with Kendrick Lamar that some felt might again reference Drake.

Though Drake may have grievances with UMG today, this story paints a different picture — one where the label was actively working behind the scenes to protect his brand from perceived lyrical threats. It also highlights the growing tension between artist freedom and label oversight, particularly when high-profile names like Drake, Pusha T, and Kendrick Lamar are involved.