When King Push – Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude dropped at the end of 2015 it was met with almost universal acclaim. The production was magnificent and the raps were brick heavy and full of bombast. It was a concise, nearly perfect album, and the addition of “The Prelude” served as an ominous warning that the main course had yet to even arrive. Yet years passed and the “real” album has still yet to arrive. Ever busy, Pusha T instead entered the political sphere, stepped into greater responsibility as president of G.O.O.D Music, and has pushed to open dialogues about the tenuous racial climate in America.
Honestly Pusha T is so cool that I didn’t even know what to write about. He’s probably wearing ostrich or stepping out of a Saint Laurent helicopter right now. Although it’s been just over two years since we last had an album from Push, he’s remained more active in almost every industry than most people will ever be. Art, fashion, music: if you like it, King Push was probably there first. After all Kanye said it best, “Pusha T is Everything”. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BxCDysoSxg) His long awaited third album, King Push, is slated to finally drop this year so in honor of one of rap’s elder statesmen here’s a glimpse of (some of) what Blobama has been up to since his last album.
Engaging in Activism
Where Is Pusha T? Tracking His Movement’s Since "Darkest Before Dawn"
Pusha T was an active supporter of Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election. He even partnered with her for an online registration contest in an attempt to increase turnout amongst younger voters. Pusha’s support came despite Clinton’s support of the Violent Crime and Control Act (signed into law by her husband), which continues to have negative ramifications to this day. He’s said that it was her willingness to apologize for her role in supporting the bill and focus towards justice reform that earned his endorsement
He’s frequently spoken out about the country’s mass incarceration problem, has released a PSA about drug law reform in California, and interviewed Ava DuVernay - director of the critically acclaimed documentary 13. He has dedicated a number of interviews to talking about the prison industrial complex. At the start of 2017, in an interview with Complex, he shared his approach to activism based around spreading awareness to black youth about the inequalities facing them in order to better equip them to face the challenges of contemporary America.
This past summer, a six year old from St. Louis named Lil J went viral for describing his worries about gun violence and its effect on his family and community. In response, Pusha T wrote an open letter to the boy praising him for his articulation and sympathy towards the situation. In his letter Pusha strives to encourage Lil J - he’s sent a bonanza of gifts, signed him up for summer camp, has started a college fund, and finally, and maybe most importantly, urges him to try to be a kid despite his circumstances.
Where Is Pusha T? Tracking His Movement’s Since "Darkest Before Dawn"
Having already worked on two collaborations with Adidas, he released two additional sneaker designs in partnership with the brand. 2016 brought the “King Push” EQT and 2017 the “Bodega Babies” EQT. The “Bodega Babies” model debuted in November and was paired with an accompanying short film which pays homage to the neighborhood bodega as a place for childhood maturation. The short takes place in and around a corner store and is interpolated by a new verse from Push.
This is, of course, in addition to the fact that he’s still quietly running the Play Cloths brand, which he and Malice started in 2008 and has been going almost ten years strong now.
Where Is Pusha T? Tracking His Movement’s Since "Darkest Before Dawn"
Since being named G.O.O.D Music President in 2016, Pusha T has gone on to sign a number of high profile acts to the label. In 2016, he signed Desiigner, who now needs no introduction. In 2017, he brought on Francis and the Lights, an experimental pop project from Oakland, who was previously featured on Chance’s Coloring Book. 2018 has seen two new additions to the label’s roster as he’s scooped up both Chicago’s Valee, who he actually joined on a remix last week, and the 19-year old Harlem native Sheck Wes. Pusha’s ability to stay ahead of the curve is pretty consistent so we’re sure to see big things from these acts in the future.
Singles
Where Is Pusha T? Tracking His Movement’s Since "Darkest Before Dawn"
Technically, Pusha Ton has only released three singles since his last project, all of which appeared in 2016. Given the heavy-handed approach that King Push is being treated with, and how long ago these songs were released, it’s unlikely that they’ll be featured on the upcoming work. Still, since we're heading down memory lane.
Pusha T - Drug Dealers Anonymous Feat. Jay Z (Prod. By DJ Dahi)
Pusha T - H.G.T.V. (Prod. By Mike Will Made It)
Pusha T - Circles Feat. Ty Dolla $ign & Desiigner
Plenty of Guest Features
Where Is Pusha T? Tracking His Movement’s Since "Darkest Before Dawn"
Despite only releasing a couple of singles in 2016, Pusha has been fairly consistent in lending his trademark snarl to a myriad of guest verses in the years since his last tape. From EDM songs to film scores Pusha has managed to maintain sonically relevant throughout the majority of his “absence.” It’s this type of consistency that simultaneously excites fans and keeps them fiending for the album.
Find an overview of his featured spots below. Sound off in the comments with your favorite feature from the list.
2016
Mally The Martian - Deposit Feat. Pusha T
Baauer - Kung Fu Feat Pusha T & Future
Moxie Raia - On My Mind Feat. Pusha T
River Tiber - Illusions Feat. Pusha T & Kaytranada
Royce Da 5'9" - Layers Feat. Pusha T & Rick Ross
A. Ros - All I Wanted Feat. Pusha T
Logic - Wrist Feat. Pusha T
Villz - Drugs Feat. Pusha T
Sia - Unstoppable [Remix] Feat. Pusha T
DJ Drama - Boyz In The Hood Feat. Meek Mill, Pusha T & Ty Dolla $ign
Pusha T & Jeremih - Paid
Destructo & Wax Motif - Catching Plays Feat. Pusha T & Starrah
Meek Mill & Pusha T - Black Moses Feat. Priscilla Renea
Zeds Dead - Too Young Feat. Pusha T & Rivers Cuomo
Common - Black America Again (Remix) Feat. Gucci Mane, Pusha T & BJ The Chicago Kid
2017
Tracy T - Choices Feat. Pusha T & Rick Ross
Ca$h Out - Creed Feat. Pusha T
Flume - Enough Feat. Pusha T
Gorillaz - Let Me Out Feat. Pusha T & Mavis Staples
Linkin Park - Good Goodbye Feat. Pusha T & Stormzy
Vic Mensa - OMG Feat. Pusha T & Pharrell
Bump J - Fuck Up the Summa Feat. Pusha T & Yo Gotti
Quentin Miller - Gambles Feat. Pusha T
Moh Flow - Options Feat. Pusha T
Belly - Alcantara Feat Pusha T
Steve Angello - Freedom Feat. Pusha T
CyHi The Prynce - No Dope On Sundays Feat Pusha T
2018
Berner - Loose Lips Feat. Pusha T, Conway & Fresh
Valee - Miami (Remix) Feat. Pusha T
Aging Gracefully and Settling Down
Where Is Pusha T? Tracking His Movement’s Since "Darkest Before Dawn"
Over the summer, Pusha celebrated his 40th birthday and soon after got engaged to his longtime girlfriend Virgina Williams.
Beyond casual flexes like showing off their matching Chanel, the couple is fairly private about their love life, but based on how happy they look in photos together it seems things are going well. My favorite hip-hop trend lately has been commitment and privacy, and it’s good to see Pusha thriving at 40 despite CNN saying he’d be dead by 21.
Hanging out with Kanye West and working on "KING PUSH"
Where Is Pusha T? Tracking His Movement’s Since "Darkest Before Dawn"
After countless push backs (HA!), King Push is reported to release sometime this year. So far, all Pusha has said is that Kanye West is handling the entirety of the album’s production, they’ve scrapped at least three versions of it, and that it is certain to be the album of the year.
Beyond that and the fact that it’s “coming soon” the details are murky to non-existent. Not even hints at a projected date. And that’s the way it’ll remain until Pusha decides to let us into in the fold. So it seems I, like so many who have been waiting since 2015, will simply have to just keep on waiting until it’s done.
