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This article was originally published on January 14, 2022
Blue 🅿️ emojis are everywhere lately—all over Instagram captions, Twitter replies, and group chats. The context is usually pretty straightforward: either something is P, or it isn’t. The new Drake verse that finally dropped? That’s P. The random pilot named Alex who kicked Young Thug and Gunna off a private jet? Definitely not P.
If you’re reading this, you probably have some questions. You saw all the Ps on your timeline, typed “what is P?” into a Google search bar, and made your way to this page. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Here’s an admittedly far-too-detailed explanation of a social media trend being used to promote an album. From the phrase’s origins inthe Bay Area and Texas to its resurgence in popularity because of Gunna, this is everything you could possibly want to know about P.
Where did P come from?
Image via Instagram
A few days before Gunna dropped his new album DS4EVER, he started talking about “pushing P” on Twitter and Instagram. At first, he was mysterious about the meaning of the phrase, asking his followers to make guesses.Then, in the middle of beefing with Freddie Gibbs (you can read more about that whole back-and-forth here) Gunna brought it up again. Momentsafter teasing an incoming Gibbs diss song, hetweeted, “But yeah, I’m pushin P.”
Later that day, Gunna went on a short rant and usedthe phrase in context, takingthinly veiled shots at Gibbs. “Jumping in a person’s beef or situation when you don’t know what’s going on is not P,” he said.
Giving more examples, Gunnaadded, “Now… putting your people in position is P. Bossing your bitch up is P. Risking your life to feed your family is P. Being a real n***a off the internet is P. I’m pushing P. Speaking on a n***a for no reason is not P.”
And just like that, a new phrase was born. Or,to be more accurate, a new phrase was popularized in themainstream. (It’s been used as a regional term in places like the Bay Area and Texas for years.)
What does it mean?
View this video on YouTube
Is there a song?
View this video on YouTube
What does Alex have to do with it?
View this video on YouTube
Is there merch?
Image via only1gunna.com
Of course there’s merch.
What's next?
