There are many new lyricists in the game however, lyrically, not many can compare to Pusha T. He had early success with Clipse; who can forget the club-banger Grindin? When I was in college, whenever a club played Grindin the crowd went crazy. As a fan of a good club-banger, even in my early days, I never anticipated Pusha T would become a voice of a generation. It wasn’t until I started hearing G.O.O.D Music’s, Good Fridays, did I feel like Pusha would become a solo emcee to watch. Once Fear of God dropped, I realized he was something special. Not many lyricists resonate with me like he does. Immediately I started calling him a game changer, and that is exactly what he has become.
Pusha showed early promise with Clipse and features on Justin Timberlake’s, Justified. “My career is such a rollercoaster ride, I came into the game with the hottest producers, The Neptunes. The first time I was exposed to commercial success was with Justin Timberlake at the Video Music Awards. I was always on that huge platform. I sold a million before, and sold not as many on the critically acclaimed album Hell Hath No Fury.” Pusha and his brother Malice cultivated a strong fan base as Clipse, “We made this cult following and we saw heavy commercial success.” During 2009, Malice and Pusha decided to take a break from Clipse. While speculation ran rampant as to why they had broken up Pusha says, “everything is good, we’re brothers and nothing can change that. We are still going to do another Clipse album. Malice has been traveling, going to schools talking to students about his book. While he’s doing that I’m focusing on the music.” Pusha states, “There will be more Clipse and Re-Up Gang music. I just called him this morning asking, ‘you going to the gym?’. It’s no different in the conversation between us, it’s boring.”
During their separation, Rick Ross invited Pusha to come to Hawaii to record Kanye West’s, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. “Kanye was the best of both worlds. At the time my fans were at a cult stage and Kanye has a fan base that is completely unmatched. He came from a backpack style rap that happened to blow up. Someone as dedicated to hip hop as Ye is usually doesn’t even accomplish that level of success.” West’s label G.O.O.D Music, eventually merged with Def Jam Music. “Being signed to G.O.O.D Friday was amazing for me, it made the world stop everything on Friday. We didn’t know what influence our music would have. I remember being at the BMI Awards, my Blackberry went ballistic. Everyone’s email went off, we had just dropped So Appalled. People were calling me nonstop, ‘You have a record with Kanye???’. I mean his influence is above and beyond. It was one of the crazier moments of my life. I’ve experienced a lot of things with him, great success. The shows, 60,000 crowds in Chile, nobody speaks English but they know every line.”
Pusha’s first mixtape Fear of God was well received by critics, but his Fear of God 2 has been highly anticipated. “Basically we put a few new records on it, stuff people haven’t heard. I have the Amen with Young Jeezy and Kanye, I’ve got that new production with Bangledesh and The Neptunes.” Pusha explains his next mixtape as “a few more new records. It’s a street-oriented record. It will drag me through the summer. I’ll be going to Europe for a week to record with Kanye, then I’m going into hiding for two seconds to record my LP.” Pusha’s LP has serious backing behind it. Not only is he on the G.O.O.D music label, but Kanye is executive producing his album. “Kanye will oversee it all, he’s the executive producer of the album. The mixtapes are done by myself and the Re-Up Gang. The LP will be more conducive to hearing the lyrics and will be lyrically driven. I make mixtapes to listen to in my car, these are tracks I’m playing in my car.” Pusha is one for theatrics, “my album with be more movie esque, it’s going to show the whole world of Pusha. I want my album to be more well-rounded. With Kanye everything is super produced. He’s meticulous, he doesn’t put out anything that isn’t 100% thought through.”
Pusha is a self-described sophisticated street rapper. When asked if any other rappers hold the same title he says, “I think we are all different in our own ways, I like whats going on now. I like the Drakes, Fabs, Rosses, I’m a person I go out so much…I fall in love with the movements. It’s more than the records, I see how people gravitate towards it. “Big Meech” turns everyone into a drug dealer, thats how I gauge a song. I love how the thugs drive around and listen to Drake, not the street songs with Wayne, but the emotional records of Drake. These guys have accomplished something and made people jump out of their own character and relate to them.” Pusha exudes passion when talking about the state of music now, “There is a lot of truth in music right now, there is so much. Music right now is making people really react. Fabolous, watch how the girls react and the guys want to dress like him, it’s all fresh to me. Eminem is another favorite of mine. Em isn’t what I put on in my car, Em is what I put on in my house. I often think how did he just rhyme those five words? Eminem is so acrobatic with it. I don’t necessarily relate to what he’s saying. I don’t relate to a lot of what he says, but it doesn’t take from his lyrical abilty or flow. Not a lot of people can do that, you don’t necessarily want to be next to him on a track.”
Pusha is hesitant to describe his own solo success, “I’m personally trying, I don’t think I have accomplished it yet. I’m trying to turn the big-ness up. I’m carefree and the sky is the limit. My whole thing is to give the outlets and shine for the music industry. l want to make a label outside of radio or anything commercial. Fans can come and gravitate towards us. I don’t have to worry about the politics, I just enjoy music.” Pusha recognizes what Kanye’s label means, “being with G.O.O.D Music and having the platform and the stage is only making things easier. There are so many emcees I want the fans to hear. Some platforms are bigger than others, I want to be instrumental in changing the game up. I understand I have a few more records to make to truly make an impact. Other rappers are rapping their asses off. I’m still working.” Pusha always credits his Clipse fan base, “Clipsters have been riding with me on this solo venture. They could have written me off and said, ‘I hate this’. They understand that I’m just doing my thing now- me and Malice haven’t broken up. The next Clipse album won’t even be funny, it’s going to be totally amazing.”
Pusha’s love for music is only rivaled by his passion for fashion. One cannot spend time with Kanye and not pick up his love for high fashion. “I have always been into fashion. I have my own line of street clothing, I was embraced by the street movement. Kanye only turned it up a level. I knew I had to put on when the occasion called for. I know when I gotta make my Louis Vuitton runs, you had to do these things.” While recording with Kanye, Pusha realized the difference in dress, “I’m going to the studio chilling and everyone is in Balmain and Louboutin everything. I’m just chilling I want to write, and they are putting on a fashion show.” Pusha saw early on he had to, “step it up and turn it on, be prepared. I fell in love with Dior denim, Balenciaga, Givenchy. I can always stunt whether it’s the shoes or the jackets. I have over 15 pairs of Louboutins. It’s ridiculous not to include Margiela sneackers for the summer. I’m doing a little of everything. It’s funny because streetware is my heart and I try to thug everything out.” Pusha understands that his crew may not always recognize his fashion sense, “My mission is to make my friends be like ‘what is that?’. Then they see the girls love it, then they start rocking it. I want my crew to say,’I gotta get me a pair’.”
With his strong love for fashion, Pusha created his own streetwear brand Play Cloths. “The brand happened organically and I’ve gotten away with a lot because the logo is so fresh to me. I never asked Jay Z or Puff to wear it, people just gravitated towards it.” Pusha started his brand with a grassroots philosophy, “When you open up magazines and look at Sean John spreads we can’t do that, Rocawear ads are thirty pages. I got help because I was ushered into the streetwear game; it was Pharrell’s fashion aesthetic. His fans took to that.” Pusha credits his fans to backing his brand, ‘With Hell Hath No Fury’, my fans were taste-makers and streetwear fanatics. I have a store in Virginia called Cream I’m selling to kids. The MacArthur Center store is doing really well, l just try and cater to my fans.”
Pusha’s strong sense of self, lyrical ability and backing by known hit-maker, Kanye West, success seems the only option for him. While he stays grounded and humble, he attributes his fans to his success. “I always thank my fans for the love and support. They’ve been through a lot with me, and their continued support means a lot. If you haven’t gotten ‘Fear of God’, get that, enjoy it. ‘Fear of God 2- Let Us Pray’ will drop in September. My official LP should be out in early 2012, it will be crazy!!!” Kanye has forever changed the game up and, with Pusha T on his label, there is no telling what this duo will create.
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