5 Things We Want From Pusha T's "Darkest Before Dawn"

Recently-appointed G.O.O.D. Music president Pusha T has been teasing a follow-up to 2013's My Name Is My Name for quite some time, leading us to believe that the project would share its name with a track from that album, King Push. We now know that won't be the case, as a "prelude" fittingly titled Darkest Before Dawn will arrive first, on December 18th. King Push is still slated for a spring release, so it seems like this first project will be made up of material that's either newer or outtakes from the album that's been in the works longer. Normally, that'd be a warning sign that the "album before the album" might not be as high-quality, but for someone with a track record as consistent as Push's, we hardly expect that to be the case (especially after hearing "Untouchable"). 

Known collabs with Kanye West, Timbaland, Q-Tip, Nashiem Myrick, Hudson Mohawke, Boi-1da, Puff Daddy, Beanie Sigel, A$AP Rocky, The-Dream, Kehlani, and Jill Scott only bolster that expectation, making DBD's tracklist look just as stacked as MNIMN's. Of course, big names don't ensure a great album, so here's our wishlist for the holiday season release. 

In a recent interview with Rap Radar, Pusha mentions that there were a ton of people filming at the Darkest Before Dawn listening party, but oddly enough, very few of those clips have made their way online. The one that has, though, sounds incredible. Thought to be titled "Pandemonium," the track features unannounced production from Metro Boomin and a spoken word interlude from the same guy who delivered the unforgettable Hell Hath No Fury intro ("Ayyyye Papa..."). The beat's ridiculous, even by Boomin's illustrious standards, and sounds a little out-of-character for him with its circular vocal sample and tribal-sounding drums. It's exactly the type of track we'd like to hear from King Push at this point: forward thinking in its sound, but still retaining ties to his classic Clipse days. 

As it was played at the release party, it might seem like a lock for the project, but he apparently also played a song featuring Future that won't make the project. Fingers crossed for "Pandemonium" though. 

One of the strangest parts of "Untouchable" comes when Pusha raps, "Ignore most requests for the feature / Unless it’s getting played on the beach in Ibiza." Rather than some random tropical location, Ibiza is an island off the coast of Spain that houses some of the world's premier electronic dance music clubs, and is thusly a haven for DJs and partygoers. It would seem be chosen just because it kind of rhymes with "feature," but considering how many EDM-style tracks Pusha has rapped on since MNIMN, it seems like he's making some sort of artistic statement. In truth, he hasn't really given verses to many rappers, instead guesting on tracks by DJs such as Yogi, Tiga, Hudson Mohawke, iSHi, Major Lazer, Axwell Λ Ingrosso, Hook n Sling, and Yellow Claw in the past year or so. 

As he's probably making bank off of those collabs, we can't really hate him for it, but quality-wise, they're far less consistent than his more true, blue rap cuts. I can't really put my finger on it, but something about hearing King Push rap bland lines like "Push it to the limit if you want to win it" over high-sheen, low-grit slappers just doesn't do it for me. With the exception of Mohawke (who's actually so experimental and hip hop-focused that he barely fits the "EDM" tag), none of the announced DBD collaborators have big-tent electronic backgrounds, so that's a start. Let's hope this makes for a grimier, less mainstream-sounding project.

Save for Tyler The Creator's "Smuckers," and Big Sean's "All Your Fault," this year's been very light on rappin-ass Kanye guest appearances. He's lent singing that's ranged from cringeworthy to passable on tracks by The Game, Travi$ Scott, A$AP Rocky, and Ty Dolla $ign, but we've been missing the bars that we know he's capable of. What's more, it's been way too long since we've heard Push and Ye rapping on the same track (by my count, "Mercy" was the last one). Pusha announced that Ye's producing a DBD track, but didn't mention whether or not he'd be contributing vocals to the song as well. Honestly, we could take or leave another one of his yelpy, nasal hooks, but him and his G.O.O.D. successor Push trading verses is something that the game's been sorely missing. 

Pusha T is by no means an experimental rap artist-- you won't find him doing zooted collabs with Madlib, spoken word spiels, or anything nearly as abrasive as Yeezus-- but his penchant for left-of-center beats has been one of the defining characteristics of his career. This began courtesy of The Clipse's connection with Pharrell and The Neptunes, who used their albums as proving grounds for some of their most adventurous work. The spare, schoolyard-style "Grindin'" beat, the cold lurch of "Mr. Me Too," the absolute chaos of "Trill"... all of these pushed boundaries sonically, but were grounded by Pusha and Malice's captivating lyrical displays. My Name Is My Name kept some of this tradition alive, most notably on the queasily off-kilter "Numbers On The Boards," which sounded as if it was perpetually tripping over itself, but some of its beats were underwhelmingly generic, hurting for the lack of The Neptunes' influence.

"Lunch Money," a Kanye-produced track released last fall that doesn't seem like it'll end up on either upcoming Pusha T project, was decidedly strange, a seething mess of bubbling sound effects and old-school drum stabs that instantly repelled many Pusha fans. It really grew on me over time, as was the case with Hell Hath No Fury, and it'd be nice to see Push continue to pursue something other than instant gratification on DBD. He's so adept at crafting flows that he can find a groove on the messiest of beats, and it's almost a shame to see him waste that on beats that anyone could rap over. 

Speaking with Noisey about the album, Push said that he "had the producers doing things that they weren’t usually known for, a little out of their wheelhouse," which is a promising sign. 

Yeah, this is the long shot of all long shots, but a Clipse stan like me can dream, can't I? Pusha's older brother and former collaborator has found god and renounced all of his former coke-peddling raps, but anytime either Thornton is asked about the possibility of a reunion, they've never outright denied that it's a possibility. They actually have appeared on one track together since their group's dissolution after 2009's Til The Casket Drops, "Shame The Devil," from No Malice's one solo album, Hear Ye Him, but we're willing to bet that only a handful of you remember that. It was rather forgettable, and quite preachy ("I too was a derelict, but truth raised me from the dead when I became aware of it"), but at least the chemistry was still there. 

It'd be a hard sell for Push to get Malice on a track, and he'd probably have to tone done the drug talk that still fuels a good deal of his material, but it's pretty easy to imagine him on something as inspirational as MNIMN's "Hold On," or even overcoming-the-struggle anthems like "40 Acres" and "Pain." Although Malice has clearly changed much more than his brother in the past six years, Push has matured too, and now they may finally be able to see eye-to-eye once again. (Bonus: they posed for the above picture just two weeks ago, so we know they're at least on good terms.)