With new album It’s Almost Dry dominating the discourse, it’s only right that we give you a rundown of highlights from Pusha-T’s latest Breakfast Club interview.
On Friday, the Dry drop was commemorated with the premiere of the 43-minute discussion, which sees King Push opening up about everything from his relationship with Def Jam to his biggest music industry-related regret.
See the full rundown of 12 takeaways below. It’s Almost Dry is out now and features the previously released singles “Diet Coke” and “Neck & Wrist,” the latter marking Push’s third song with Jay-Z.
Time stamps: 6:46, 7:13
“I sort of, in working with them this time, I was like, you know what, I’m gonna make a 12-song album,” Push said when asked how he chose which songs would make the final cut. “And six from you, and six from you. I just sort of kept it in that 12 box and took the best six from each of them.” Later, around the 7:13 mark, Push said he had “my own Verzuz battle” of sorts due to going back and forth between Ye and Pharrell.
Time stamps: 7:31
Coi Leray recently appeared on Breakfast Club, resulting in an interview in which Pusha-T was mentioned. Push confirmed he has seen the clips and considers Leray to be a “charismatic” artist.
“I love that girl, man,” he said. “Yeah, I like her. She’s just real, like, charismatic and I actually like her songs. … I seen [the interview] but, um, yeah, I like her. She a firecracker.”
Time stamps: 9:54, 10:34, 11:15
Naturally, Push was hit with some Clipse-related questions. Per Push, the recent string of work featuring him alongside his brother (including Dry closer “I Pray for You”) began with NIGO’s recently released I Know NIGO! album. Getting him to agree to that was an “easy ask,” as was the song on his own album.
“I still get to pull, like, the little brother card,” he said around the 10:34 mark. “Just ask for things and expect to get ‘em. … He did the record but he’s definitely looking at me sideways like, ‘Yo, you think you’re gonna keep asking me for these little features.’”
According to Push, he and Malice spoke recently about the early reactions to the new album. He’s “not committing” to a full-on Clipse return, however.
Time stamps: 12:20, 14:07
Asked about Ye and Drake having recently set aside their differences, Pusha-T noted that while such a development was “really good” for both artists, it doesn’t change things for him on an individual level.
“Oh man, I’m still outside,” he said. “For me, I think that was really good for them. … There’s something weird with them two that, like, the coexisting of both of them together is just really … it’s something they just have to have. Me personally, you know, I don’t really stand anything to gain from squashing anything.”
As previously reported, an alleged diss from Drake featured in a recent Jack Harlow leak also received some attention here, with Push saying the song in question “sounds old” to him.
“Like, the flows sound old,” he said, adding the song’s perceived shots are “not scathing.”
Time stamps: 16:00, 17:06, 17:31, 20:30
While Pusha-T considers himself “the newest guy” in the inner circle, he believes his and Ye’s relationship works well because of its foundation in mutual honesty. Reflecting on a recent conversation, Push revealed Ye told him afterwards, “When I talk to you, I get to look outside of myself.” Push explained how this statement is indicative of the impact of his role, including what he routinely brings to the table as part of a larger team.
“I’m speaking from the purest place,” Push added.
Time stamps: 18:11, 19:00, 19:56
Ye/G.O.O.D. Music giving Pusha-T back his masters was broached around 19 minutes into Friday’s discussion, with Envy noting the sharing of associated legal documents on social media. Asked to clarify if he “fully’ has his own masters now, Push said that he does.
“It was legal,” he said. “Yeah man, you know, it actually started from an argument. It was one of those times where Ye was going through what he was going through and he had, um … Remember all the text message stuff?”
After laughing about the size of the group text, Push continued. “In that argument, some things were said. … So after the argument was over, I was like, ‘Oh no, we still gotta do this.’” Ye, he added, is “a man of his word.”
Elsewhere, Push touched on Def Jam trying to get him to sign with them again. Despite Dry currently being considered his last album with Def Jam, Push said the team has been “a really good partner” in his career.
Time stamps: 21:41, 22:28, 22:52
The track “Rock N Roll” features what Push pointed out as the “only beat on the album that Pharrell and Kanye collaborated on.” As previously reported, Cudi has since said the song will mark the last one fans hear him on with Ye. Reflecting on a session for the track, Push said the energy in the space was “so good” at the time.
“This particular day was just really, really good,” he said. “And Cudi gave, like, probably three, four, five different versions of what the hook should be or whatever the case may be and just let us pick through ‘em. We just put it all together. So it’s like, you know, now fast-forward. Cudi’s like, ‘Man, I’m only doing this song for you. You my man, I can’t stand him.’ I’m like, bruh, don’t do this right now.”
Elsewhere, he shouted out Beyoncé for clearing the “1+1” sample and offered a succinct take on the current status of Ye and Cudi. Speaking on a recent conversation he had with a video director who was “supposed to shoot the video” for the song, Push noted this is simply “what happens” sometimes. “That happens in the Kanye world,” he said.
Time stamps: 24:25
Not only does Pusha-T believe the Grammys were “corny” for rescinding a performance offer at this year’s ceremony, but—according to him—this decision was later walked back.
“I didn’t like that,” Push said of the Grammys’ backing out of the Ye performance. “I thought that was corny and I thought it just wasn’t, you know, you can’t let what somebody’s going through or whatever hinder the business. And ultimately the Grammys called back, but I think it was a little too late by that time. You can’t do that. That’s not good for the creativity.”
Time stamps: 27:30, 28:46, 31:18
After reflecting on the work he did with McDonald’s earlier in his career and comparing the lump-sum payout to the regular checks he received for the use of “Burial” in an ad for Arby’s (which he linked with again this year), Push was asked to name his biggest regret in the industry.
“Man, I think my biggest regret—outside of McDonald’s—it would have been just the frequency of me engaging with my fans musically,” he said. “I came up in a time where I lived with albums for two or three years. … And I took that energy with me into the game.”
In Push’s opinion, if he had been consistent at a “yearly” rate with release music, then there wouldn’t be “such a fight” involved with what he’s releasing now. “People would be really accustomed to the Pusha-T lingo,” he added.
Time stamps: 32:31, 33:35
Pusha-T again confirmed that Nas was intended to be on “Hear Me Clearly,” a song featured on both I Know NIGO! and It’s Almost Dry. In short, it sounds like the strategy was to have Nas appear on the Dry version of the song as a “surprise” for listeners.
“I don’t know, man. I have no clue, man. … Truthfully, I gave him the record a long time ago,” Push said when asked what happened. The two later ran into each other while out to eat and discussed the song in detail, though the collaboration still didn’t come to fruition.
“It just didn’t happen,” Push said.
Time stamps: 35:18, 35:39
“I felt like the energy around the album, I didn’t want to drag it out,” Pusha-T stated when asked about moving up the release date of the album. When the possibility of dropping another week earlier was broached, Push explained that a “merch bundle” issue would have prevented that.
“The only issue with last week is I didn’t have my merch bundle. It’s all of that type of stuff that, like, sort of gets in the way,” he said. “I had clearance issues. As soon as I got the clearance done, I was like, okay, let’s move it up.” Push also cited Uzi, Don Toliver, and Cudi as the features that took the longest to clear.
Time stamps: 36:44, 37:16
Toward the end of the Breakfast Club interview, some investment talk was spurred, with Pusha-T reflecting on some of his most successful endeavors. One that’s a source of particular pride for him is a transportation company for the elderly and others in need of assistance.
“I also got a business that I actually really love, man. It’s medical transportation,” Push said. “We got like, through the Hampton Roads area, it’s about 20 or 30 vans that just run elderly and older people and people with illnesses around the city. … My man came home from jail and he put me on to it. It’s been really lucrative and fulfilling, actually. It’s really dope. Actually, my mom had, like, kidney issues so the service would pick her up some days.”
