Pusha T is a New York rapper who was formerly part of the hip-hop group Clipse with his brother No Malice. Though the two split up to work on their solo projects, Pusha was signed to Kanye West’s GOOD Music label back in 2010, and he’s released several projects since, from the “Fear of God” mixtape and “Fear of God II: Let Us Pray” EP in 2011, to the “Wrath of Caine” mixtape and his debut album “My Name Is My Name” in 2013, and the follow-up album “King Push - Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude” that he released in 2015. You may also recognize him because he’s popped up on several projects that I reviewed: he teamed with Desiigner on the track “Jet” from “New English,” he and Belly came together and made a pretty strong track with “Alcantara” on “Mumble Rap,” he surprisingly showed up to Linkin Park’s “One More Light,” where he and Stormzy collaborated with the band on the track “Good Goodbyes,” and he also helped Logic create the banger “Wrist” on “Bobby Tarantino.”
Now, while I’ve heard Pusha T several times as a feature, I never really considered myself a “fan” of his. I have no malice with him (no pun intended), but rather I just hardly paid much attention to his music and only thought of him as “that guy that shows up as a feature often.” That said, though, I wanted to review this album not only because of the high praise it’s getting, but because…yeah, we all know why. With all the recent beef heating up between Pusha and Drake, fueled by Pusha’s claims on the final track of this album “Infrared,” I wanted to see what else Pusha had to say here. So, let’s take a look, shall we?
If You Know You Know: Right off the bat, Pusha T starts the album by talking about crack and cocaine. Apparently, this is something he talks about often. This one’s very upbeat and loud, and Pusha does have a few clever bars on here, but I don’t really think there’s much of a hook on this one, and I’m not really that big on Pusha’s flow, to be honest. Still, he’s got a pretty energetic performance on here, and there are some really cool, weird sonic elements at play as well. Don’t think I’ll be coming back to it that much much, but it’s definitely not a bad song.
The Games We Play: Pusha talks a little more about drug dealing here, but he mixes in talk of his wealth and successes. The track has something of an old-school feel, and the production is really weird and plucky. Pusha once again proves that he has some good lyrical talent, though I don’t really feel like his performance is as interesting here, and I think the track does end rather abruptly. Still, it’s a nice song to nod your head to, even if I don’t think it’ll stick with me much in the future.
Hard Piano (ft. Rick Ross): Pusha brings in Rick Ross for this track to discuss the good and bad parts of being successful, and Pusha has some rather hard lyrics on this one (some of which subtly diss Drake). I like the click-clack percussion as well, but I honestly just don’t find myself vibing with either Pusha T or Rick Ross’s performances. Not that either one is bad, I just don’t find either of their performances all that interesting, I’m sorry. This one could grow on me with a few more listens, though.
Come Back Baby: Man, as a first-time listener, Pusha really loves drugs, doesn’t he? He continues to talk about his drugs on this track which features a more minimal beat that samples "The Truth Shall Make You Free" by The Mighty Hannibal and "I Can't Do Without You" by George Jackson. I really like the sampling here, as it adds some nice variance to the song, and I think Pusha once again comes through with some really clever lyrics. Again, though, I really don’t find myself all that interested in his somewhat repetitive flow. Still, his performance is energetic and I can see the appeal of a song like this. It’s definitely pretty decent.
Santeria: Pusha gets really personal on this one, talking about the murder of his good friend De’Von “Day Day” Pickett, who was also his road manager. It’s admittedly a pretty emotional song, and I do like the really dark, somewhat sinister production of the cut. While I’m not totally crazy about 070 Shake’s refrain, it does add to the rather scary feel of the song. I really love Pusha's emotional performance here, and I think his flow is his most interesting yet. I don’t see myself coming back to it regularly, but it’s a pretty solid track.
What Would Meek Do? (ft. Kanye West): A very braggadocious song, Pusha lets fellow GOOD Music artist Kanye West comes in on this cut to talk about the recent wave of attention he's been receiving, from wearing the “Make America Great Again” hat, to his controversial (and, frankly, stupid) claim that slavery “sounds like a choice,” to his “poopy-di scoop” lyrics on “Lift Yourself.” I really like the production on this track, from the pretty fun beat to the somewhat atmospheric instrumentals, and the performances of Pusha and Kanye are pretty decent. I wish the song was a little bit longer because it feels like it stops right as it’s getting good, but it’s definitely a solid track.
Infrared: The infamous track that started this whole beef that everyone is talking about between Pusha and Drake, with Pusha bringing back the talk about Drake’s lyrics being ghostwritten. I like the very minimal, atmospheric, somewhat ethereal production on this one, and I think his lyrics are some of his best on this album, as he comes at not only Drake but several other rappers on the song. Once again, though, I wish the track was either a little bit longer, or it had a hook to really bring me back into it. I unfortunately don’t get that here, so as it is, it’s a solid song, but not one I think I’ll be returning to.
Guys, I’m sorry, but, I really have no idea what to think of the album. I definitely didn’t “dislike” it, but I’m not sure that I particularly “liked” it, and I’m also not really sure if I thought it was “just okay.” Honestly, it’s just there. And I feel weird about that because I’m supposed to love this thing. It doesn’t have an 86 on Metacritic for nothing, it’s supposed to be amazing, and I’m sure others are loving it, but I really don’t know what to think of it. It’s a rare case where I don’t think the album fits into any one of my ratings. The production on this is pretty cool, and Pusha is a pretty good lyricist, but I don’t find his flows all that interesting throughout, and I find myself wishing there was some more beef to his songs. I don’t know, maybe there’s just something I’m not getting with the album, but it just doesn’t really stick with me.
You know what? This is gonna be a first for my reviews: I’m gonna add a new rating to the scale, and that’s “Not For Me.” This will probably be a very rare rating, and it’s basically for when I listen to an album, and I’m so neutral on it that I can’t properly put it on my rating scale. That’s what happens here with this album: it’s certainly not “Bad” or “Awful,” and I can’t call it “Okay” because it’s too well-written and well-produced to be “just okay,” but I can’t call it “Good” or “Excellent” because that indicates that I have some desire to return to it, which I honestly don’t. It didn’t really excite me enough to give it more listens, but I admit it is well-made. Thus, “Not For Me” indicates that an album doesn’t belong on my rating scale and that you have to listen to it to get a proper opinion. Think of it as a way of saying, “I don’t really love the album, but I still recommend you listen to it.”
Favorite tracks: I honestly don’t really have any favorites. They were all just “fine.”
Least favorite tracks: I also don’t really have any least favorites. As I said, they were all “fine.”
Rating: Not For Me
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