10 Things Besides Cocaine That Pusha T Raps About On "My Name Is My Name"

Who said he was obsessed?

October 3, 2013

Image via Complex Original

I have been listening to Pusha T's My Name is My Name since it started streaming online a couple days ago. And, man is it good! It's top-shelf rapping from start to finish. Terrence "Pusha T" is about one thing, first and foremost: Lyrics. And his lyrics are about one thing, first and foremost: Cocaine.

"Write what you know" is an old age. It's one of the first things you hear in any creative writing course in college. Pusha's work is a great example of the wisdom of that phrase. He grew up in a drug dealing family. His grandmother was a kingpin in Virginia Beach, in the '70s and '80s. It's what he knows. And he focuses in on the details of the business and the culture—as he calls it—that has risen up around it with laser precision.

"Gem star razor and a dinner plate/Arm & Hammer and a mason jar/That's my dinner date," he raps on "Nosetalgia."

Pusha T knows his way around the meaning and sound of words. And he gets the most out of every word he uses. So I defend his single-mindedness. I think it goes into the quality of his rhymes. Establishing tight confines to work within helps an artist see the tiny nuances, the subtle differences that emerge as he or she repeats his or her process again and again.

My Name is My Name is one of the most single-minded rap albums that I've ever heard, I think. But! In my listening, I have discovered some variation! Never let it be said that Pusha doesn't rap about anything except cocaine. Because he does. Here are 10 Things Besides Cocaine That Pusha T Raps About On My Name Is My Name.

White People

Lyric: "Pain in my heart/Is as black as my skin/They're tipping the scale/For these crackers to win."
Song: "Hold On"

An aside to address to the racial inequality of the American power structure. Earlier in the song, Pusha talks about how he always aspired to purer product: "Blonde-haired, blue-eyed, like the Führer." But in that instance, of course, he was comparing white people to cocaine.

Evelyn Lozada

Lyric: "Don't let your side boards bitches settle in/Might have to head-butt ya, Evelyn."
Song: "Numbers of the Boards"

Reality television star Evelyn Lozada was famously head-butted by her ex-husband, former NFL star Chad "Ocho Cinco" Johnson in August 2012. Johnson pleaded guilty to domestic violence charges and served twelve months on probation. Pusha is saying that if his rivals are not vigilant (if, say, they go too long without getting their cars tuned up) he might brutally attack them. Whoops! (And: Yikes! That line is more horrible now.)

Ben Stiller

Lyric: "Fraud niggas, you Zoolander/Ben Stiller."
Song: "Suicide"

Dusting off Big Sean's hashtag flow for another spin, Pusha compares his rivals to the clownish model played by Ben Stiller in the 2001 movie, Zoolander.

Simple Simon

Lyric: "CB4 when you rhyme, Simple Simom."
Song: "Numbers On the Boards"

Pusha says his rival rhymes like someone from Chris Rock's 1993 rap-game spoof CB4. Then he calls him "Simple Simon," the title character from the old English nursery rhyme who was foolish enough to try to sample wares from a pie man even though he didn't have enough money to actually buy anything. The pieman in this analogy, of course, is Pusha T. So we're pretty quickly back to coke dealer.

Instagram

Lyric: "I ain't tryin' guide you/Hand on bible/But Instagram pics show more than side views."
Song: "Let Me Love You"

This seems smart. Putting racy pictures of oneself on Instagram is probably, in most instances, ill advised. Social media is tricky terrain. I mean, not every time. Obviously, some people, exhibitionists, probably get a lot of enjoyment out of it. And as long as a person knows what he or she is getting into, go for it! But lots of times it seems like maybe the person who's doing it is not so self-aware? I don't know. I don't wanna come off like a school marm here.

This whole song is delivered in a flow borrowed directly from '90s Bad Boy Records star Ma$e. Even more remarkable: It's really not about dealing cocaine at all.

The Above the Rim Soundtrack

Lyric: "Celebratin' on a whim, nigga/Pain is 'Pac Above the Rim, nigga."
Song: "Pain"

Tupac's performance in Above the Rimis a painful thing to watch. (He was such a good actor that he portrayed the hurting that makes people hurt other people particularly well.) But there's another level to this rhyme. Written for the soundtrack, though not included on the official release, "Pain" is the first song Tupac ever recorded for Death Row Records. It features 'Pac's friend Stretch, who was murdered on November 30, 1994, a year to the day to after 'Pac was shot at Quad Studios.

Of course, Birdie, the character Tupac played in the movie, was a drug dealer.

His Family

Lyric: "I had both mine home, let's keep it real niggas/My better half chose the better path, applaud him."
Song: "40 Acres"

In the midst of detailing the epidemic of broken homes in the black community, Pusha pauses to say that he was lucky enough to have both his parents around when he was growing up. And makes reference to the fact that his older brother, Gene "Malice" Thornton, has found religion.

Tattoos

Lyric: "We don't drink away the pain/When a nigga die/We add a link to the chain/Inscribe a nigga name in your flesh."
Song: "Nosetalgia" f/ Kendrick Lamar

This is a great line. Only tangentially related to cocaine. (Pusha's describing the mourning rituals observed in the drug trade.) Also, I wouldn't be surprised to hear Pusha T and Kendrick Lamar on another song soon, as the "the-enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend" thing now strengthens their bond.

Vultures

Lyric: "Vultures to my culture/Exploit the struggle/Insult ya."
Song: "King Push"

Usually, when Pusha T mentions a bird, he's talking about a package of cocaine. In this instance, though, he's referencing the actual bird: Vultures are bald-headed raptors who pick at the carrion left by predators who did all the actual hunting work. Of course, Pusha is making a comparison to the sickly-looking scavengers and people who pretend to be down with drug dealing but have no actually experience in the field. So, he pretty quickly gets back to cocaine.

Heroin

Lyric: "I need all mine, reparations/We growing poppy seeds on my 40 acres."
Song: "40 Acres"

Poppy seeds are used in the production of heroin, not cocaine!