For a certain kind of hip-hop fan, the first time they heard
Pusha T. spit was either his venomous yuugh! ad-lib on
G.O.O.D. Music's 2012 posse cut "
Mercy," or his unlikely guest-spot on
Kanye West's toast to the douchebags (and
2010's best song), "
Runaway."
"It's weird, I know," Pusha T. thinks on it now, more than two decades after founding one of rap folklore's favorite duos,
Clipse, with older brother
No Malice. Even if you can't pinpoint the
Virgina Beach native in a
G.O.O.D. family portrait, you know
Push:
Clipse's Neptunes-produced "
Grindin'" has been sampled everywhere, and his affinity for that pure white is legendary. In
2013, he boosted his profile with the release of
My Name Is My Name, a searing debut solo album that was met with critical acclaim. He's spent the last two years reuniting with
Pharrell and
Chad Hugo, dropping genre-warped bangers with
Skrillex and
Hudson Mohawke, and, well, a bit more. When we meet at
New York's Dream Hotel a few days before Thanksgiving, he's recently been named president of
West's G.O.O.D. Music.Still,
Pusha's own music remains his priority: He's announced the release of a surprise solo project
Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude, out
December 18, meant to tide fans over until his
King Push arrives next spring. But even that appetizer to the album proper feels like an event; its credits are a checklist of hip-hop tastemakers and icons (
Kanye,
J. Cole,
Pharrell,
Beanie Sigel,
Diddy,
The-Dream,
A$AP Rocky,
Jill Scott, and many more).
Vulture recently met with
Push to discuss his new music, the future of
G.O.O.D. Music, working with
Timbaland for the first time, and why he wants
Cruel Summer 2 to finally happen.
*vulture.com
