Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
One of the worst decisions you can ever make as a parent is introducing your children to McDonald’s chicken nuggets. Why is it a bad decision? Well, as soon as you make that introduction—typically when they’re toddlers—you are ruining kids’ meal options from all other fast-food restaurants. Why? Because McDonald’s chicken nuggets are undefeated.
Which is why I enjoyed Pusha T’s latest cultural offering, an Arby’s sponsored diss track aimed at McDonald’s and, more specifically, their Filet-O-Fish sandwich in favor of Arby’s look-a-like Spicy Fish Sandwich. Obviously, this has nothing to do with chicken nuggets, but sit tight; we’ll get there.
Now, look, Pusha T has history with McDonald’s, which seems to have at least partially inspired this collaboration. Though it’s somewhat in dispute depending on who you ask, Pusha T had some part (and he claims a substantial part) in McDonald’s famous “I’m lovin’ it” campaign. And he was paid, compared to what I presume was the campaign’s financial haul, peanuts. If I were King Push, I’d be annoyed, too. And if another company, perhaps a competitor even, came to me with a bag (I have no idea of the facts, but I have no doubt Pusha got paid a BAG for this), I might be inclined to go on ahead and take aim, using my considerable talents, skills and the fact that Fast Food Twitter Wars are a thing to join the fracas.
So we get this one-minute long Arby’s-commercial-slash-McDonald’s-diss where, in the first line, Pusha T basically says he has to crush McDonald’s and then continues to trash their Filet-O-Fish sandwich, calling it sh– and square (though Arby’s sandwich looks fairly…geometric, as well). Either way, it’s quite entertaining and even fun, really. The visual of a sad clown, an obvious reference to Ronald McDonald, is *chef’s kiss.* Somebody get this song and video-short a documentary, stat.
Now, typically, I don’t like talking about people’s families and especially their kids, but this is all public knowledge, some of which has been put out there by Pusha T himself. Plus, he outed Drake’s kid (and killed any chance of Drake ever working with Adidas again), so I suppose he’s fine putting info in the streets for the sake of discussion. In June 2020, Pusha T and his wife welcomed a baby boy into the world. That makes their young son almost 2 years old at this point. I have no idea how long this diss record has been in the works, but let’s assume not for the past two years. I have a 17-month-old (almost 1 and a half for the non-parents who don’t understand why parents talk in months; true story, I don’t either), and because he has older siblings, he was introduced to McDonald’s chicken nuggets and fries, and let me tell you, he already has a discerning palate when it comes to other nuggets.
My kids do not like nuggets (or stuff really) from most other fast-food restaurants. I don’t know what McDonald’s puts in their nuggets, and I’m not going to try to guess and end up in a lawsuit, but once you get a kid a McDonald’s nugget, issa wrap. Perhaps Pusha T has his kid (and his whole family) on a plant-based diet where they only eat the finest of fine foods. Though, since he’s out here making Arby’s commercials, I’m assuming he isn’t opposed to eating fast food on occasion. Look, no shots fired, but I seriously doubt the baby is eating anything from Arby’s. Arby’s is a fine restaurant, but I actually have no idea if they even have a kids’ menu or what’s possibly on it. And I frequently eat chicken sandwiches from there. I look at the menu. You know whose menu I do know by heart? McDonald’s. So assuming this diss track hasn’t been two years in the making and assuming his family does have the occasional fast food while out with their kid, I’m guessing that a McDonald’s chicken nugget or two has been consumed. Which means that those chicken nuggets are in demand because, again, for kids, McDonald’s chicken nuggets are undefeated.
I imagine that if you make a McDonald’s diss record, that would mean you ain’t taking your family to McDonald’s anymore, which, let’s be real, is a significant lifestyle choice assuming you do fast food restaurants, especially with kids. Perhaps Pusha T has been out on the arches since 2003 because of what he believes was a bad deal. Possibly; I doubt it, but possibly. But once you have kids, all that changes because of Happy Meals and pre-COVID play places. I mean, kids learn early all of McDonald’s branding.
So my point is this; I love the diss record. I think it’s fun, and I can’t wait to see who McDonald’s hires to flame up some item on Arby’s menu. I mean, the “we have the meats” slogan is WAITING to be violated. I’d love to get more rappers in on this type of stuff; it’s fun, even if it is a little cringey. But I’ll bet somebody in Pusha T’s house is making sly runs to McDonald’s for nuggets. Maybe he had to crush McDonald’s, but I’ll bet money that, like most kids, his kid is lovin’ it.
Panama Jackson is a columnist at theGrio. He writes very Black things and drinks very brown liquors, and is pretty fly for a light guy. His biggest accomplishment to date coincides with his Blackest accomplishment to date in that he received a phone call from Oprah Winfrey after she read one of his pieces (biggest) but he didn’t answer the phone because the caller ID said “Unknown” (Blackest).
TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. Please download theGrio mobile apps today!