Pusha T has always paid tribute to the pioneers of the rap game in his music, besides reflecting the influence of the golden era in his style, he's also often flipped classic Rakim lines in his verses, and even went as far as to pay homage to Big Daddy Kane in the title of his latest mixtape. HNHH had the chance to sit down with the rapper, and ask him about sneakers, basketball, the inspiration behind his lyricism, and his beloved "golden era".
Push gave us the rundown of artists that first got him rhyming. "I would have to say it started with Run DMC, Eric B. and Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, KRS One, Public Enemy, Ice Cube..." he said, revealing that his older brother, and future rap partner Malice (now No Malice) was responsible for introducing him to rap. "All of those guys were killing it. As a youngster and having an older brother who was like totally into all those guys and was exposing me to all this. My brother's 5 years older than me. He's 13, I'm 8, so I gotta like Big daddy Kane and so on and so forth."
On whether or not the awareness of the early rap legends has faded, the "Numbers On The Boards" rapper insisted that their influence could still be seen. "I don't know if there's less of an awareness, but I said it on my mixtape. 'Everyone is 80s and 90s inspired, but no one's 80's and 90's rhyming'. I think these guys are aware. It's cool to be aware. It's cool to know who was popping back then."
Pusha even argued that fashion is still influenced by the iconic age. "I was just speaking the other day on the fashion tip. Dapper Dan is about to do the new BBC collection. That's from the era. It doesn't die, it doesn't go anywhere, it's the golden era, and when something's golden it just keeps its value."
Pusha T's album My Name Is My Name was recently pushed back and is now due out sometime in August.
Watch the full interview below.
