The “T” in Pusha-T stands for his birth name Terrence (among other things) but these days, it might as well also mean “tennis,” because he’s been spending a lot of time thinking about the game lately.
Push sees plenty of parallels between tennis and his life as a rapper, explaining, “It was really synonymous with, to me, hip-hop culture. It really just speaks to aspiration, affluence, being goal-driven, and having a certain taste level. Tennis has always spoken to me in that way.”
It all started when he played tennis games as a kid, and now his music is in the new TopSpin 2K25 video game, which he describes as a “full-circle moment.” Hopefully this marks the beginning of a productive year for Push. It’s been two years since the release of his last album, It’s Almost Dry, but he says that there will “100%” be new music coming from either him or The Clipse this year.
“There's been a lot of work happening in Paris here lately, and it ain't just fashion,” he says. “People have been seeing The Clipse and seeing myself walking fashion shows and I've been in Paris a lot here lately. It ain't been all fashion.”
Celebrating the release of TopSpin 2K25, Pusha-T spoke with Complex in March about his love for tennis, Ye’s Vultures, and what new music fans can expect from him in 2024.
Nintendo got you into tennis as a kid, and now you’re working with TopSpin. Is it a full-circle moment to be involved with a game that literally got you into the game?
Man, it is definitely a full-circle moment. I was thinking about that. My love of tennis all started from actual gaming. Tennis came with my system, so my dad and mom didn't feel the need to buy me any more games. So I had to play that for about two years and that led to me watching the game of tennis, then me falling in love with the personality of John McEnroe. I would even watch tennis to watch him miss a point or lose because I knew he would act a certain way that I wanted him to act—obnoxious.
Then as I got older, I started picking up on the style cues and the classic-ness of the tennis look, whether it was the classic timeless silhouette of a Stan Smith, or being in high school with kids having to have the Agassi and the vibrant colorways that came with those Polos that were paired up with that sneaker. Once I connected all of those dots, man, I was fully entrenched in the game. Then it became a thing of aspiration for me. It was like, man, you come out here, you watch one-on-one or two-on-two combat, and then it sits next to the brands of Rolex. It was really synonymous with, to me, hip-hop culture. It really just speaks to aspiration, affluence, being goal-driven, and having a certain taste level. Tennis has always spoken to me in that way.
I know you weren’t able to play it when you were younger, but have you played much in recent years?
Man, I actually haven't. The funny thing about it is I married into a tennis family. And I'm saying everybody in the family plays tennis. I am the totem pole bottom of the family. I was taking lessons during the pandemic—me and my manager have had a back and forth war going on, and he's taken lessons and he's gotten damn good, shout out Steven Victor—but this isn't a game that you can be halfway in on. This is a game that you have to constantly practice and really focus on technique, and that only comes with repetition. So all of my lessons are in vain until I can put that full dedication in.
Who would be your tennis player equivalent?
If we’re going to go historically, I'm going to go [John] McEnroe. He speaks his mind. He’s always going to speak the truth, win, lose, or draw. Whether you like it or not, you know what McEnroe is saying, he's going to say it with passion.
What do you think is harder, delivering a perfect serve or delivering a perfect verse?
I would say delivering a perfect rap verse. A perfect serve, you can luck up on that. I can take a thousand shots at it. I might get a perfect serve once. A perfect match is going to take some skill, but we've seen it. The perfect verse, those are few and far between, and I'm talking about checking off all boxes: lyricism, melodies, people wanting to sing along and be able to say it, and it being timeless. Those are few and far between.
What do you think have been some of your perfect verses?
I feel like my “Runaway” feature was a perfect verse. I think my “So Appalled” feature was a perfect verse. More recently, to me, a perfect song is “The Games We Play.” I've flirted with a perfect verse and perfect song a couple of times. I believe I’ve got a couple more. We got “Numbers On The Board.” Listen, I've been around here for a long time. “Grindin,” we’ve touched different eras and we made an impact each time.
You’ve been teasing a lot of new music that's been in the vault. What are the updates on the Gangsta Grillz tape or Clipse reunion project?
I will say, there's been a lot of work happening in Paris here lately, and it ain't just fashion. People have been seeing the Clipse and seeing myself walking fashion shows and I've been in Paris a lot here lately. But it ain't been all fashion. I will say that much. And shout out to DJ Drama. When it comes to the DJ Drama brand and Gangsta Grillz and how he feeds the streets, and what I do lyrically, bringing that together, we can hit any bar set.
Did you ever think about being a part of Vultures?
No, I wasn't there for any of that, but I am noticing that it is definitely making noise. That “Carnival” record is ringing off.
Why do you think artists still choose to work with Ye?
I believe that there's a level of visibility that comes along with being next to somebody like Ye. At the end of the day, it's a level of musicality and genius-level production that comes along with being next to him. So you get a lot of things that I think artists are looking for these days in being next to him. I mean, you get that. You get a lot.
It's all about the music for me and just making music at a certain level. I've been in this game a long time, so it's about a certain type of hip-hop that I want to make. And truthfully, Ye definitely knows what I like to make, and I only want to be a part of things that I want to do.
Will we be getting a new Pusha-T or Clipse music in 2024?
I would 100% bet that you're going to get new music from one of those entities that you just named. It’s going to be a win-win situation.
