On April 19, 2024, Drake officially released his track "Push Ups" on platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music, following a leak online last week. The single quickly climbed the charts, reaching #22 with over 5.6 million plays on Spotify Global and #12 in the US with almost 2.8 million streams on its first day.
The cover of the single illustrates a table of shoe sizes, with particular mention of American size 7, or 40 in Europe. This reference mocks the small size of Kendrick Lamar's feet, a theme echoed in the lyrics where Drake questions: "How can you consider yourself a big man when you wear size 40 shoes?"
Already leaked on April 13 under the title "Push Ups (Drop and Give Me 50)", the track is a targeted attack not only against Kendrick Lamar but also against other figures such as J. Cole, Future, Rick Ross, Metro Boomin, and even pop-related artists like Maroon 5 and Taylor Swift. Drake harshly criticizes their contributions to music, claiming to have had to "put a number one in the hand" of Future, and boasts of his popularity in Tokyo as opposed to their limited success in the United States.
Additionally, advertisements were placed in New York reflecting the competitive nature of hip-hop and announcing the song's imminent release, adding to the buzz surrounding the diss track which appears to address growing tensions in the industry.
The song continues to make waves, with responses already made by artists like Rick Ross, and the hip-hop scene eagerly awaits responses from those who have been targeted.
