Pusha T: The Rap Life Interview

Pusha T couldn't be prouder of his latest body of work, It's Almost Dry. “I feel like I executed exactly what I wanted to execute,” the MC tells Ebro Darden in a special Rap Life conversation. “I'm really big on just restoring the feeling of lyric-driven East Coast hip-hop—but I want it to feel futuristic. I want you to feel that essence, but see how it progresses. And I think we did.” Pusha T’s first project since 2018’s widely acclaimed DAYTONA features production exclusively from Kanye West and Pharrell, friends and collaborators who also happen to be two of the biggest names in the business. In fact, according to Push, knowing they were each other’s only competition pushed them to go even harder for him behind the boards. “‘Open Air’,” Pusha says. “I think that was a Pharrell answer to either ‘Hear Me Clearly’ or ‘Dreamin of the Past’. [Pharrell] was like, ‘Oh, he think he going to get all the hard records.’ He was like, ‘No. I want to get really, really into some gutter stuff. He can't have them all.’” Push speaks to Ebro about a myriad of topics over the course of the conversation, including his brother’s religious journey, JAY-Z and Kid Cudi as statement features, and even that pesky bit of criticism that he raps about drugs too much. To let Push tell it, whether it’s the life he lived in his younger days or what’s going on now, he’s going to put what he knows down on record. “I feel like my music is supposed to make you want to go get money, that's just the music that I came up on,” Push says. “Music makes me want to go do things. As far as my family goes, I think it's a beautiful thing to see. When I get to incorporate my wife or get to incorporate my son in my music, it's a vulnerable place for me, and I think people need to see that.”