Infrared by Pusha T Lyrics Meaning – Peeling Back Layers of Hip-Hop Controversy
Lyrics
Infared, yeah you know what I mean
The game’s fucked up
Niggas beats is bangin’, nigga, ya hooks did it
The lyric pennin’ equal the Trumps winnin’
The bigger question is how the Russians did it
It was written like Nas but it came from Quentin
At the mercy of a game where the culture’s missing
When the CEO’s blinded by the glow, it’s different
Believe in myself and the Coles and Kendricks
Let the sock puppets play in their roles and gimmicks, shit
Remember Will Smith won the first Grammy?
And they ain’t even recognize Hov until “Annie”
So I don’t tap dance for the crackers and sing Mammy
‘Cause I’m posed to juggle these flows and nose candy (yugh)
Ferrari, my 40th, blew the candles out
Tom Brady’ed you niggas, I had to scramble out
They be ridin’ these waves, I pull my sandals out
Jefe Latin my Grammy, I went the Spanish route
Oh now it’s okay to kill Baby
Niggas looked at me crazy like I really killed a baby
Salute Ross ’cause the message was pure
He see what I see when you see Wayne on tour
Flash without the fire
Another multi-platinum rapper trapped and can’t retire
Niggas get exposed, I see the cracks and I’m the liar?
Shit I’ve been exposed, I took the crack and built the wire
Now who do you admire? Your rap songs is all tryin’ my patience
Them prices ain’t real without inflation
I done flew it, I done grew it, been a conduit
Moynat bags on my bitches, I done blew it
See through it, neck, igloo it
Habla en español, I y tú it
Let Steven talk streamin’ and Shazam numbers
I’ll ensure you gettin’ every gram from us
Let’s cram numbers, easily
The only rapper sold more dope than me was Eazy-E
How could you ever right these wrongs
When you don’t even write your songs?
But let us all play along
We all know what niggas for real been waitin’ on, Push
(I do, so feel it)
Infared, yeah you know what I mean
Infared, yeah you know what I mean
Infared, yeah you know what I mean
I’m gone, I’m gone, you hear me!?
I’m gone!
In a landscape teeming with subliminal messages and fierce competition, Pusha T’s ‘Infrared’, off his 2018 album ‘DAYTONA’, rises as an incendiary flare, illuminating the dark corners of the music industry with its piercing analysis. The track, produced by Kanye West, serves as a gritty compression of the Virginia rapper’s nuanced perspective on authenticity, legacy, and the art of hip-hop itself.
Through precise lyricism wrapped in a cloak of minimalist beats, ‘Infrared’ is less a song and more a clarion call, examining the blurred lines between commercial success and artistic integrity. Pusha T doesn’t pull any punches as he digs through the modern ethos of rap to uncover uncomfortable truths, sparking conversations that reverberate beyond the confines of his bars.
The Modern Rap Game Under Microscope
In the opening salvo, Pusha T sets the canvas with a broad stroke, ‘The game’s fucked up.’ This line punctures the facade of a hip-hop scene suffused with banging beats and catchy hooks, suggesting that a superficial sheen masks a deeper problem. ‘The lyric pennin’ equal the Trumps winnin” draws a parallel between the unsettling nature of political events and a rap landscape that seems to value the packaging over the message.
The track’s title ‘Infrared’ itself alludes to the invisible radiation that the human eye cannot see, but with a certain lens becomes apparent, just as Pusha intends to reveal the unseen aspects of the industry. His sharp critique of CEOs who are ‘blinded by the glow’ indicates a top-down industry issue where profit eclipses culture, leading to an environment devoid of the authenticity that once defined hip-hop.
The Ghostwriting Controversy Exposed
‘It was written like Nas but it came from Quentin’ stands as one of the track’s most controversial lines, as Pusha directly calls out the use of ghostwriters in hip-hop—a practice he views as a threat to the genre’s realness. Quentin Miller’s alleged clandestine role in penning lyrics for Drake becomes the epitome of this betrayal to the craft, challenging the notion of what it means to be a real MC in Pusha’s eyes.
This isn’t just a jab for the sake of creating a buzz; this is an indictment of a system and an industry that, in his views, rewards the visual and the viral over the substantial and sincere. His comparison of ghostwriting to the fabrication of a lie, however, draws a counterproductive irony as Pusha acknowledges his own relationship with the drug trade, raising the question of the line between art and reality.
A Nostalgic Look at Authentic Icons
Pusha T’s respect for originators and true artists bares itself when he references the belated recognition of rap legends like Will Smith and Jay-Z. ‘Remember Will Smith won the first Grammy? And they ain’t even recognize Hov until “Annie”‘ speaks to the historical oversight and under-appreciation of hip-hop by the mainstream. Yet, he refrains from pandering, ‘So I don’t tap dance for the crackers and sing Mammy,’ asserting his refusal to compromise for the sake of acceptance.
The nod to contemporary peers ‘Believe in myself and the Coles and Kendricks’ highlights Pusha T’s respect for artists who represent the authenticity he feels is missing from others. Such lines illustrate a generational bridge that Pusha sees between the forebears of rap and the modern standard-bearers of its core ethos.
Decoding the Metaphorical Brilliance
‘Flash without the fire / Another multi-platinum rapper trapped and can’t retire’ – Pusha T here uses vivid imagery to speak on the paradoxical bind of major artists, seemingly at the peak of their careers, yet bound to an industry that offers wealth without freedom. The fire is their talent and passion, now lost to the ‘flash’ of instant fame and hollow successes.
The brutally honest ‘Shit I’ve been exposed, I took the crack and built the wire’ captures the complexity of Pusha T’s persona—he owns up to his past involvement in drug dealing but frames it as a foundation for the narrative he spins, a ‘wired’ connection to the genuine street experiences that form the backbone of his street-savvy lyricism.
Memorable Lines that Sting with Truth
‘How could you ever right these wrongs / When you don’t even write your songs?’ – with these lines, Pusha T levels a stern accusation at the stage-managed, synthetic nature of some mainstream rap careers. It’s a powerful punch that resonates as an ethical question within the music industry and among fans, challenging our tolerance for inauthenticity.
This indictment is not just professional but almost moral, as it looks to unearth what listeners truly value in their artists. Is it the catchy rhythms and the seductive melodies, or is there a yearning for the raw, unfettered truths that hip-hop, at its inception, promised to deliver? Pusha T leaves these questions smoldering in the wake of ‘Infrared’s’ burning passage, ensuring that the heat of his message is felt long after the last verse fades.
