Pusha T Speaks On His G.O.O.D. Music Debut & Kanye West's Mentorship

by Steven J. Horowitz

Pusha Ton explains how Kanye serving as executive producer on the album is helping his beat selection improve.

With the success of his first solo mixtape Fear of God , Pusha T is working on his G.O.O.D. Music debut (due November 25th) with executive producer Kanye West. Speaking with Blackbook Mag, the Clipse member spoke on how the tracks recorded so far are “extreme” and why Kanye’s perfection is a blessing.

“That’s just Ye’s personality. He’s such a fan. He’s such a fan, and there’s a certain level of artistry that he wants to get to complement his music,” he said. “What we’ve been putting together as of late, for the new album, is really extreme. The music has been really extreme, so of course the vocals have been really extreme to complement it. We haven’t bumped heads on what he thinks it should be vs. what I put out. We’re really in sync as far as that goes right now. I’m happy with the records we’ve done and I can’t wait to get back in.”

Compared to Fear of God, the Virginia Beach, Virginia native said his debut will show a new side of him. “I have to say it’s on another level, because Kanye is the executive producer of the album. And I’m glad he’s taken on this role, because you have to understand that all rap artists have a weakness. Mine happens to be that musically, if something strikes me—whether it’s good or bad—I can write a very prolific verse. I can put together a verse whichever way the music hits me, but sometimes the music isn’t that good. [...] I come from the production house of the Neptunes, I come from that house, so it’s sort of hard for me to have under-produced music. Something that sounds mixtape-esque that I might love, my fans may be like—‘ahh man, damn it, it’s still not the caliber of the Neptunes’—and that’s a strike against me.”

Kanye’s involvement is helping his beat selection. “It’s tough because I like a bunch of dark, hollow, demon beats that are not too musical, and if you let me do a mixtape—a rapper’s rapper would love to hear me over that all day, because I’m gonna say all the shit they want to hear. But a person who’s been into my body of work and the stuff that I’ve done since I’ve been in the game, they might be like—‘ah man, the music was lackluster or underwhelming.’ And I’m saying that because I actually hear this. So Ye being the executive producer of my project balances that and helps me out in a major way.”