is arguably one of the most introspective rappers in the game. His tales of selling drugs back in Virginia alongside his brother No Malice catapulted the duo, who went by The Clips, to the top of the game. He caught the eye of Kanye West, who became a huge fan. The two went on to refine the label G.O.O.D. Music together while Pusha’s profile rose through the rap ranks.
“King Push – Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude” is at times an impressive compilation of production and Pusha’s signature wordplay. Then again, when Kanye West is your bestie, it isn’t hard to have impressive beats. On “M.P.A.,” Pusha joins his boss alongside A$AP Rocky and The Dream for the perfect example of the beauty and the mundane that makes up Pusha’s latest project. Itap not that the beats aren’t intricate, or that the lyrics aren’t diverse, the flows not unique. Itap that these tracks all blend into each other — nothing stands out as remarkable. There aren’t the hard-hitting tracks that filled “Lord Willin,” nor the hunger of an M.C. who is dying to make it.
Take “Crutches, Crosses, Caskets,” where Pusha endearingly raps about his mother chilling in the Bahamas having fish for lunch. Itap a sweet moment, but far from a standout rhyme pattern. There’s reason to cheer when Beanie Sigel comes through on the feature for “Keep Dealing” — Beans sounds extra great on the microphone, after having a pretty rough year health-wise.
But not even a Roc-A-Fella legend can save the cohesion of this album. The saying goes that it’s darkest before dawn, and it holds here. If we’re lucky, we’ll get a more interesting project from Pusha-T in the early hours of next year.
