In unfortunate news, it has come out that Joaquin Phoenix did not contribute any production to Pusha T's "King Push," or anywhere else on the album for that matter. While the actor did play a role in supplying the rapper with the beat, it seems that the idea that he was artistically involved was the result of a misunderstanding.
“While it was widely reported that Pusha T used my beat and that I produced his song, I can’t take any credit,” Joaquin told XXL. ”A friend’s son played me his music, and all I did was make an introduction to Kanye’s camp.”
The statement that the instrumental came from a friend of Phoenix's and not himself is confusing, as it was Push himself that announced the credit. “One of those beats was from Joaquin Phoenix, and it’s probably gonna be…I want it to be the intro to my album,” he said in an interview earlier this year.
It's possible the quote was misread, but was never clarified, and was even confirmed by Def Jam. One thing everyone can agree on--the beat is fire.
Listen to the track below.
[UPDATE: Pusha T Explains Confusion Surrounding "King Push" Production]
There has been quite a bit of confusion surrounding who exactly produced Pusha's enormous "King Push" record. When the song dropped, it was credited to Joaquin Phoenix and Kanye West, something with Pusha seemed to confirm. However, yesterday Joaquin denied producing the record, saying he just made the connection for a friend's son to Kanye's camp.
Now the G.O.O.D. Music rapper has spoken on what actually happened. Push explained, "This is how I got it. Joaquin Phoenix gave the beat to 'Ye. So when I got the beat from 'Ye, it was like, 'yo Joaquin gave me this beat.' Me, I'm just like, okay, I know Joaquin is into music and the whole thing, so I'm like, 'damn.'"
He continued to reveal who was actually behind the production, surprisingly enough, it was apparently a son of one of the members of Metallica.
"I forgot the kid's name, I believe it is the son of Lars Ulrich from Metallica. And I've been wrong so I dunno, but I hope I'm not wrong this time," Pusha T said.