It’s officially King Push season, with Pusha-T preparing to release his heavily anticipated half-Kanye-half-Neptunes produced album It’s Almost Dry.
In a recent interview with Supreme’s new creative director Tremaine Emory forInterview magazine, Push discussed how Jadakiss’ verse on The Lox’s “Chest to Chest” showed him how rappers can be vulnerable and dope at the same time.
“Jada has one of the most poignant verses I’ve ever heard,” Push explained. “‘It’s a shame he could rhyme n***a love crime. Every late night he outside with the nine. You ain’t got chips, fuck the world. You got chips, you could fuck the next man’s girl. Sounds harsh but they been ripped apart my world.’ When Jada spit that bar, that’s when I was like, wait a minute, you can be vulnerable in rap and be dope. Because at that point everyone was such a superhero. Nobody ever lost. I’d never heard anyone admit defeat in rap.”
Elsewhere in the interview, the “Diet Coke” rapper also talked about the moment his brother, No Malice, approached him and let him know he should go solo.
“I’ll never forget it,” he began. “We were overseas, festival time, and he just came in my room and handed me a handwritten book, and he was like, ‘Yo, I’m going to write this book. But I think you should go solo and do your thing.’ I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m with you.’ Mind you, this book has pages. I was like, ‘When did you find time to give me this manila envelope that is full of greatness?’ How it looked outside looking in is how it really played out. That’s the dope thing about [the final Clipse album] Til the Casket Drops. He got it out on every bar. He was like, ‘I’m out, and this is stupid, and we taking losses, half the crew just got locked up for 20-plus. And I gotta watch my kids.’ It was a lot.”
Push also addressed the idea of rap being a young man’s game, saying that he believes he will always be able to perform at a high level as long as his mind is sharp and he still has a competitive edge.
“As long as my mind is sharp and I’m still living and competing mentally, I feel like this never has to end,” he said. “Some of my favorite rappers, guys that I’ve put their posters on my wall, I seen them in their heyday and I see them today. And I be like, “Fuck man, I hate how you look.”
Pusha’s next album has yet to receive a release date, but the rapper recently announced his It’s Almost Dry Tour Phase 1, which will span across several U.S. cities.
Tickets go on sale Friday, April 8.
