Virginia Beach emcee Pusha T has branched out into a solo career in the last year. As one of half of the Clipse (with blood brother Malice), Pusha was mentored by Neptunes producer/emcee/singer Pharrell Williams. As a soloist, Pusha T signed to Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music imprint, where he is working extensively with the Chicago Hip Hop superstar.
Speaking recently with The Village Voice, Pusha, who just released Fear of God mixtape, compared the two high-profile producers he’s most closely associated with. “[Pharrell] has the beat finished and the hook almost down pat when I get to the studio. We may change a word or two to the hook but the melody and all that is there. It’s like just insert the verse. I’ll ask P how I should rap on it sometimes, how my cadence should be. He has a broad view of the whole beat, you know? With [Kanye West], a lot of his songs come from conversations, so at first the beat is just a skeleton. I’ll hear a stripped-down version, lay my verse. Then ‘Ye takes the beat and makes it so different. It took a little getting used to at first, but now I love it because it comes back a surprise.”
