Pusha T
SeTi I-II
Demographics
Gender Male
Birth Name Terrence LeVarr Thornton
Birthplace The Bronx, New York City, New York, U.S.
Birth Date May 13, 1977
Ethnicity West African
Overview African-American
Nationality American
Career Rapper, record executive
Color Season Dark Autumn
Notes and Motifs
Se-Lead Rapper
SeTi I-II Directive
SeTi I-II Directive
Pusha T: “I believe there’s a god above me, I’m just the god of everything else!”
Pusha T: “Playing a room, it’s a real dictator-type situation – you can really move the crowd the way you want to. In a festival, there’s a sea of people, and it’s harder to lock in on any one group.”
Pusha T: “I feel like I’m the last rap superhero. I really do. I feel like everybody else, they seem to be a bit victimized, and I don’t feel like that’s me.”
Pusha T: “I just look at capitalizing on everything that I feel like G.O.O.D. Music brings to the music industry, our following, and the culture. First of all, we have incredible artists. It’s definitely about getting those albums out in a very manicured fashion.”
Pusha T: “I make a timeless music. I think I’ve made my mark as a lyricist and as an innovator and as a tastemaker.”
Pusha T: “I think about nothing but business the whole time. Even when I go out to my after-parties, people are like, You’re drinking water?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah I am.”
Pusha T: “My style is forever changing.”
Pusha T: “I’ve got my traveling, my packing, my after-show activities all down to a science. I used to not work out on tour; now I take a trainer with me. I do things to make sure that I can give the crowd my all, because that’s what I’m all about.”
Pusha T: “By now, you should know what you’re getting with Pusha T. I’ve been in this game since 2002, and my name says it all. You know I’m only moved by a certain style of rap. Not that many other styles move me. You have to really be a rapper’s rapper for me to like it.”
Pusha T: “I see people doing things in their Blackberrys, and I need paper. Lines. Alphabets. I need to see it. It’s so elementary, man.”
Pusha T: “Some of the greatest hip-hop artists have incorporated elements from electronic shows into their setup. People are taking notice. It’s going to be a new wave.”
Pusha T: “I think Adidas really understands that it’s cool to be in business with the right people. It really feels like a bunch of creative minds rather than some rap guys stamping their names on a sneaker. We’re arguing over shoes, ideas, and everything – it’s like a tug of war.”
Pusha T: “I just start my day really early. Everything happens in the morning time. Writing. Just everything. I can’t – I don’t know how to work late.”
Pusha T: “My music is airy; it’s spacious. It requires you to be able to rap and articulate your message over it. That’s what the beat demands of you. Not a lot of people try to rap over my beats because it’s a bit of a task.”
Pusha T: “As a writer, you’re always trying to say the best thing. You’re always thinking about what’s the best thing to say, and what’s the hardest way to say it, and what’s the best line? Sometimes the best line is the simplest line. Sometimes the best line is the line that evokes more feeling than actual wordsmithing.”
Pusha T: “I felt like when I got with Kanye, and we discussed me being on G.O.O.D. Music, he just really took me to a place in regards to music that I love and music that I had made previously. We had a clear understanding of what I wanted to make, and he just seemed like he was an advocate for hardcore, uncompromising hip-hop.”
Pusha T: “When you make albums like I do, and it’s based off fanfare and based off touring – I make these albums, and I get on the road. It’s not really a radio-driven thing. I get on the road, and I see my fans, and I touch each and every last one of them.”
Pusha T: “Biggie is my favorite rapper, for sure. No other artist has impacted me that much.”
Pusha T: “I feel like, as far as streetwear goes, man, Play Cloths sits at a top-tier of quality, and your idea of luxury should not stop where you feel like you’re at the obvious.”
Pusha T: “My vision for G.O.O.D. Music is just carrying on with the tradition of putting out high-quality music, high-quality art. G.O.O.D. Music is entrenched in the culture of hip-hop. It’s entrenched in the culture, period.”
Pusha T: “When we were growing up, I got kicked out of Timbaland’s house every day. He was the DJ for my brother’s rap group in junior high school. So I was 7, and while Tim’s DJ’ing and my brother’s rapping, I’d be upstairs dancing.”
Pusha T: “I had a really successful 2013, ’14, ’15. Touring, just doing my thing. Super – I mean, can’t complain about nothing. And my road manager got killed. And it ruined everything. Now, I tell people – I don’t know if this is a word. But I tell people that that re-sensitized me.”
Pusha T: “People don’t understand how long it really takes to find beats. Sometimes they’re not all the way there, but it’s elements in them I love. Then I get to take them to get chopped up. Ye got to cook over a few of them.”
Pusha T: “My hip-hop fans are a little spoiled – they want a particular level of lyricism and energy that I’m known for. When they don’t get that, it takes a little time for them to open up to it. But electronic fans are as free as the music. On social media, they were so excited and loud; they’re in awe.”
Pusha T: “I’ve never been – I don’t think I’m, like, a great A&R by any means. I don’t even know production lingo, in all honesty.”
Pusha T: “Oh, I’m up at 6:00 A.M. every morning because I have a lot to do. Plenty. I work out probably at, like, 8:00. I gotta eat at 6:00 so, therefore, I can workout at 8:00.”