Year End Wrap Up With Pusha T

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Pusha T: That set the foundation for that album and it definitely set the precedence. And it caused a hell of a lot of hoopla. It caused so much noise that he took the records off and put ’em on the album. Like, it caused that much noise. Who else was it even in contention with? A few of them were really good, but I mean, I'm talking about just what it does for the artist in its whole entirety. I feel like that shit really worked for Ross.

Pusha T: That was the risk-taking album of the year. You know, a lot of people dropped albums, but I'm talking about taking that risk. Everything ’Ye did was out of the box. Really, out of the fucking box, man. And people are gonna say, 'You're gonna say that cause you're so closely associated with it,' but at the same time people can't measure up to that shit. That shit was really amazing. You can go lyrics, beats, and concepts. I mean, hip-hop embraced ballerinas, man! And he made you. You lost! He made you embrace ballerinas and you did it. Not only did you do it...you did it on the biggest awards show! You did it on SNL. And then he made a movie, and everybody sat down and watched it, and they watched him perform with ballerinas again. Hip-hoppers! It's over!

Pusha T: Listen, First 48 is the best TV show ever. I think the reality of First 48 is what makes it great. Also, it's suspenseful the whole way through. There are no dead moments in it because subconsciously everybody is counting down. Everybody knows that after a day or two there is a likelihood that at the end of the show it's gonna say we haven't found blahzay blahzay blah. So subconsciously you're counting on the mystery to get solved and you're watching that. And then it's watching the reality set in on these people. Young, old, black, white—when they've committed these crimes, they come in with all of the toughest guys in the world, and then watching them sit in that room and letting the detective break them down the way that they do. When that reality sets in, man, there ain't nothing like it. It ain't nothing like sitting back watching it. And, the funny part about it is half the time those detectives don't have anything. And it's like detective is really just picking at their brain and picking at the conscience of those people that have done something probably horrifically wrong. So when you watch them break down, that shit is amazing to me. I love it.

Pusha T: That was definitely a dope purchase. I love it, funnest ride ever. I'm just getting into technology, so I actually bought an iPad and a Macbook Pro. I picked up quite a few pairs of shoes this year and I'm gonna say the Python Louboutin high tops and also the Leopard Loafer Rollerball Louboutins. They were about $1300 and $1500 apiece.

Pusha T: You know what? I just left Australia and I had a kangaroo burger. 100% actual kangaroo meat. It was totally great and I have to say that was probably the best joint. I mean not the best, but the most different. I don't go out on a limb too much, so that would have to be the one. It's expensive, too. It's like $25 a burger.

Pusha T: I was in Miami down there on some other shit and I just had a great night down at Club Liv. That's an amazing party. Liv and Greenhouse [in New York City], man. I mean, Liv has an amazing atmosphere. But yo, they party in Greenhouse. You could always have a hell of a party there so it's all in what you're looking for for the evening.

Pusha T: The whole time was a very surreal moment. I didn't really believe it until it actually happened. I mean, MTV did this whole elaborate set. Rehearsals and you saw the ballerinas. [Laughs.] It was rehearsals. It was very stripped down, but it was an intricate thing. And just being in front of that type of audience, man, was just huge.

Pusha T: Even the night of Kanye’s album release performance. Just seeing all those dedicated fans just reminded me of a Clipse night. Just reminded me of a sea of kids that were just passionate about your body of work. I wish he was there and I wish we were sharing the stage for some of that.

Pusha T: That was dope. That was just something that I've been watching forever. To be up there, seeing people, and then watching the performance back on stage it was just like, ‘Yo, Eddie Murphy has been on this joint.’ You know all of the greats have been up there and just to be a part of that was a pretty big moment for me as well.

Pusha T: The greatest moment for me was probably the start of the G.O.O.D. Fridays series. Not only was I a part of it, but a fan of it. G.O.O.D. Fridays sort of raised the bar and criteria for consistent music. People always say the Internet ruined hip-hop. And it did have a negative effect when people were just putting out anything. I think G.O.O.D. Fridays raised the bar to having to put out good music, no pun intended, but not being able to throw out so much trash. I think this joint really set the precedent and set a standard for a weekly music series and gave people something to look forward to in hip-hop. It gave me something to look forward to. I remember being at an awards show, it's Friday, and everybody was like, ‘G.O.O.D. Friday, what dropped? Who's on it?’ And I was just thinking, ‘Man, this is really a situation right now.’ Like, for real.