Photo courtesy of G.O.O.D. Music/IDJ
MICHAEL FOSTER-SANDERS
senior producer
michael.foster-sanders@my.tccd.edu
War is a funny thing.
What is a person to do once they defeat their opposition after a 14-year battle against Cash Money Records, which started from non-payment for music production, verses, style imitation and ended with the popstar rapper Drake’s secrets being exposed.
That’s the position Pusha T, or Terrence Thornton, finds himself in, leaving him at a crossroads in his career.
Does Pusha double down on his stance or try to stay relevant and chase trends?
Pusha’s 2018 masterpiece “Daytona” pissed off teenyboppers and radio rap listeners with its declaration of preferring respect over clout chasing among the double and triple entendre of coke rap.
Four years later, a more fine-tuned and defined Pusha T released “It’s Almost Dry” to disrespectfully spit in the face of his detractors that say his niche style of rap sounds dated, and he’s only known due to dissing the Canadian heartthrob.
It’s still about respect for Pusha.
Let’s get this out of the way, listening to the album for the first time will have some listeners jarred due to how the sequencing of the tracks are, but once the listener realizes the sequence of the tracks is for organized chaos, then it will make sense.
The first track is “Brambleton” which is an ode to the neighborhood he sold drugs in. It also serves as a testimony to anyone who questions his past as he throws a shot at his former drug-boss-turned-federal-informant Anthony “Geezy” Gonzalez. “Needed all my n—– just to move your brick/That had me on Brambleton back when Pooh got hit.”
Next, Pharrell delivers a sonic boom of noise and horror with a minor note choir sample with “Let The Smokers Shine the Coupes.” It’s a celebration of the success of ill-gotten gains. Here Pusha goes into trans rhymes about the spoils of being a drug dealer.
People who reminisce about how old Kanye West used soul samples for his production will be glad to hear “Dreamin Of The Past.” Over a Donnie Hathaway sample, Pusha spazzes out on rappers who lie about their riches. Kanye West channels his “The College Dropout” rhyme flow while talking about his publicized family and mental health issues that have been in the news for the past couple of months.
The shining jewel of this album is Pharrell and Kanye West’s production. It gives Pusha the floor to express his thoughts, especially on the last track of the album which reunites the Thornton brothers as the rap group “Clipse” once again. No Malice drops the “No” from his name to become the lyrical destroyer he once was before his religious hiatus to warn anyone who chooses to mess with his little brother that the lord can’t save them now.
Pusha has made his point that he’s one of the best to ever rap. Now give the world another Clipse album so he can take his place on hip-hop Mount Rushmore.
