Few would disagree with calling Pusha T's appearance on Ye's nine-minute MBDTF classic "Runaway" a "perfect verse." In fact, King Push himself considers the unforgettable moment one of several instances of perfection in his catalog.
In a new interview with Jordan Rose for Complex, out today, Push was asked to name what he considers his "perfect verses," a distinction the It’s Almost Dry artist noted should take into account several key factors, lyrics and melody among them.
As should have been expected, two MBDTF verses made the cut, as did an undeniable Clipse classic. Meanwhile, "The Games We Play," a song off the Ye-helmed DAYTONA, also gets a well-earned mention.
"I feel like my 'Runaway' feature was a perfect verse," Push told Complex. "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."
Reflecting on the arduous writing process behind "Runaway" in a Complex interview circa 2011 (the same year he rolled out Fear of God and Fear of God II: Let Us Pray), Push recalled Ye’s well-documented meticulousness during MBDTF sessions. While Ye wanted him to lean more into the "douchebag" perspective of the verse’s narrator, Push himself was going through a "scandal" of his own that temporarily made the process difficult to crack.
"I’ve never penned so many verses for one particular record," Push told Insanul Ahmed at the time. "'So Appalled'? That's a one-take verse. He was like, 'Go, please. I love this. Thank you, goodbye.' But I wrote 'Runaway' four times—and what he does not know to this day is that I was going through a relationship scandal in my life."
As for what's next for Pusha T, he's promised that 2024 will indeed boast the release of new music, possibly even from Clipse. Get the full rundown here.
