Pusha T is gearing up to feature on a new song this week, and it isn’t with any of his rapper friends. The track comes courtesy of Phoenix, who have enlisted him for a verse on a new version of their track “All Eyes on Me,” the band revealed on Tuesday (Oct. 10).
The group shared a screenshot of a May 2022 iMessage exchange they shared with Pusha that featured a small snippet of the rapper’s addition to the track. Pusha first sent the audio with “okay” hand emojis. In response, one of the members of Phoenix texted, “WE LOVE IT! Thanks for doing this Pusha. Let us know if you’re ever in Paris. Chad Hugo is joining on production and Benee on vocals.”
“Awesome!! Definitely need to meet face to face, song is [fire emojis]. I’ll make sure to make the Louvre a destination on my next Paris visit. Studio has to be sick. Let’s get it!!” Pusha excitedly responded. The band captioned the post with the track’s release date: “Tomorrow” — as in, Wednesday, Oct. 11.
If the collaboration feels unexpected to you, you’re not “The Only One.” On Instagram, fans shared their delight at the collaboration, but several users liked a commenter who remarked: “This is by far the most random collab I’ve seen in a very long time lmao.”
The surprise isn’t unwarranted: Phoenix’s first song collaboration ever occurred last year with the Alpha Zulu single “Tonight,” which featured Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig.
“The playfulness of the track reminded us of Ezra, so we had to call him. We were intimate enough with him that we knew the song was safe,” Phoenix’s lead singer, Thomas Mars, said in the band’s Billboard interview for Alpha Zulu. “If it wasn’t good, we wouldn’t have to put it out or he could say no if he didn’t like it. It’s rare that we know people well enough to do that.”
Since the release of “Tonight,” the collaborations have been fast and furious for the French rockers. Clairo hopped on a new version of “After Midnight,” also on Alpha Zulu, that was released in March. Ahead of Phoenix’s Summer Odyssey Tour with Beck, the band and the Canadian singer dropped “Odyssey” in July and performed the track together during the trek.
Listen to a snippet of Pusha T’s part in “All Eyes on Me” below.
