I am a mere mortal. Just a man. So I guess, Push, don’t take this too seriously. Whatever. But stop splitting your projects, Pusha T. Stop it. You have to! You did this last time, and the meal before the main course ended up being better than the main course. In 2013 you released Wrath Of Caine. There is not one bad song on that mixtape. That mini-album. Whatever you want to call it, that thing was amazing. It was everything we wanted from Push. It was coke rap pushed to its artistic heights. It felt like you were the guy Jay said had to talk to him from four fiends away. You felt dangerous. Remember lines like, “No Soundscan for a bricklayer / Square nigga you a brick hater?” We need that on a retail album. That ferocity, that shirking of the music industry rap formula made songs like “Blocka” and “Millions” incredible, and it set everyone up for a project that was quintessential Push. You were riding around Jamaica with Complex and the setting sun streaming in through tinted windows. You were squarely in your pocket. You were doing what you do best. The media push around that was truly blessed. But, don’t do that again.
I totally understand that I’m not an A&R, but, Pusha T, your albums have tended to suffer from the curse of Jay Z’s “In My Lifetime, Vol. 1.” Just one or two pop records can elevate an album into the crossover heavens or kill the project completely. Especially in rap. And that’s what seemed to happen on what should have been your breakout, star-making record: My Name Is My Name. Don’t get me wrong, that was a good record. But it missed greatness by two or three records that were ill advised. There, sandwiched in between gems like “Numbers On The Boards” and your killer record with Kendrick Lamar “Nosetalgia” was what seemed like fluff with “40 Acres” featuring The Dream and “No Regrets” featuring Jeezy and Kevin Cossum. The songs were good, but they felt out-of-place on an album that Wrath Of Caine made us feel would be squarely in Push’s wheelhouse for people who he’d consider his core demo. People who want to hear you rap your ass off. The people who hold you in extremely high regard as an emcee.
I say emcee with real weight, here. So many people are ambivalent about the actual art of putting words together, but not King Push. We just want the best possible project. So what we read when we headed to Noisey wasn’t necessarily good news:
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“… I feel like I had the producers doing things that they weren’t usually known for, a little out of their wheelhouse. I wanted to give the fans that body of work. That’s the music I love, and that’s the music that my fans love from me. Instead of having those moments throughout King Push, let’s just separate the game.”
If that means that songs like “Untouchable” will be on Darkest Before Dawnand not on King Push then we’d like to interject: We object! We know Kanye’s got heavy work on King Push. And we know that Pharrell is on there doing his damned thing and we’re excited. You can blame 4Chan for that. But to see the rumored December 18 release not be King Push and, instead, be a project that splits your bucks, again, is concerning. Honestly, if the album was “Untouchable,” “Nosetalgia,” “Millions,” and “Blocka” you’d already have a classic on your hands. So, Pusha T, I just want the cohesive, all-in album from you that we know you can give, but to do that we need you to stop splitting up your releases.
Andre Grant is an NYC native turned L.A. transplant that has contributed to a few different properties on the web and is now the Features Editor for HipHopDX. He’s also trying to live it to the limit and love it a lot. Follow him on Twitter @drejones.
