What Does 'Pushin' P' Mean?

Seemingly out of nowhere, the 🅿️ emoji flooded social media at the beginning of 2022 and everyone was talking about how they were Pushin' P. Although catchy, the phrase didn't make much sense. In fact, even the people who were in on the inside, hip-hop joke didn't know what it meant. But as more and more TikTokers and funny tweet writers used it, the meaning of the slang term started to become abstract.

It was later revealed by Gunna, the rapper who popularized it, that it meant, "pushin' positivity." However, its origin goes further back than that. So what exactly does "Pushin' P" mean and where did it come from? Let's explain.

Where Did Pushin' P Come From?

Although "Pushin' P" came to prominence in 2022, the saying actually dates back to 2014 on Twitter. At first, it acted as an abbreviation for "pushing pounds," as in pounds of marijuana sold by "trappers" in American, south cities like Atlanta.

That's why it's not surprising that in late 2021, Atlanta-born rapper Gunna made a song called, "Pushin' P," featuring other Atlanta-born artists like Future and Young Thug. The music video dropped to YouTube on December 29th, 2021, wherein three weeks, it gained over 22,000 views.

In reality, that's not a lot of views. It alludes to the fact that this primary music video wasn't the driving force that made "Pushin' P" the big meme that it is today. What really happened was, in early January 2022, Gunna started tweeting the phrase along with the 🅿️ emoji, teasing his followers, tweeting things like, "B4 I tell u….What u think Pushing 🅿️mean ????" That tweet, for instance, racked up 27,500 likes in two weeks. Now that's a lot of likes for a silly little tweet.

On January 5th, 2022, Gunna went Live on Instagram and his fans couldn't stop spamming, "What does 'Pushin' P' mean?!" He finally budged and started listing off things that were and were not "P." Ultimately, the phrase meant, "pushin' positivity," but of course, the entire meaning is both flighty and cement. Determining what is "P" and what is not "P" is an ebb and flow of gut feelings.

Pushin' P Usage In Memes

At first, a lot of memes about "Pushin P'" were based on the obscurity of its meaning. Twitter users started joking with their friends, using the vagueness of the term to label anything and everything as "Pushin' P." Additionally, many meme creators started to put "Pushin' P" into a visual, doing this by photographing each other pushing on parking signs. The entire trend spread to TikTok where it really found a home. Not only did TikTokers use the sound en masse, they also ironically insisted that they knew what the phrase meant or half-heartedly claimed that others were clueless. It received hilarious remixes as well, like "Pushin' Dingle," among others. Overall, it came to embody modern hip-hop and playing on this cliché helped the creators who referenced it.

Where can I use "Pushin' P?"

The most popular form of the catchphrase is in the song. When having it in the background of a TikTok or other video, you can reference the entire subculture of Atlanta trap music which has become a defining movement in modern music. Additionally, calling anything "P" is funny online due to the vagueness of its meaning.

How can I use "Pushin' P" in a sentence?

• "Only playas know what's pushin' P."
• "You and your girl arguing about money… That's not P."
• "I'm way too sexy to not be pushin' P."

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For the full history of Pushin' P, be sure to check out our entry on the slang term here for even more information.