It’s a fact: everyone loves the Succession theme song. So it was only a matter of time until the memorable music on HBO’s latest hit show about family, power, wealth and prestige became the backing track to a rap. Luckily, the hip-hop-inflected orchestral music is getting an official remix courtesy of rapper Pusha T, with a co-sign from composer Nicholas Britell himself. (Chances are high this will be a significantly less cringe-worthy song than the other rap track Succession is most closely associated with, “L to the OG,” as performed by actor Jeremy Strong on a recent episode.)
“Puppets,” from Pusha T and Britell, is due out this Friday, Oct. 11. In the meantime, the New York rapper shared a sneak peek of what we can expect from the lyrics of the track, and it’s a clear reflection of the show’s themes. That was intentional: Pusha worked with Britell and the showrunners to make sure it was in line with the show but also didn’t give away too much, as Vulture reports, since the song comes out prior to the season’s finale.
“The greed, the resentment, the idea anybody is basically disposable — that’s a gangsta movie type of quality,” Pusha told Vulture about his take on the show’s subject matter. “And so that’s what made the writing process fun, because I could use all of the street, gangster rap nuances and qualities and energy and incorporate it into the theme of the music. It was really just a dope exercise, honestly.”
“If you want to place blame, then look to the puppeteer,” he raps in the preview clip, and then articulates some of the show’s subjects: “Family, fortune, envy, jealousy, privilege, passed on legacy, secrets, sabotage, borderline felony…” Like with any Roy family operation, it may not be subtle, but it’s very effective.
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Write to Raisa Bruner at raisa.bruner@time.com