Pusha-T Breaks Down Every Song on His New Album, Daytona

When I speak to Pusha-T the day before his new record’s release, the internet has not yet turned on him.

It’s early afternoon, I don’t have anywhere to be after this, and it seems neither does Pusha. We have, to borrow his favorite current tagline, the luxury of time. With it, we are able to have the kind of conversation you want to have with an artist of his caliber—one about process, meaning, history, introspection, legacy.

It’s a conversation Pusha is well-equipped to have. He has always been a thoughtful lyricist, and that deliberateness carries over into our talk; even though his phone is active with notifications, it’s never enough to take him out of his carefully considered answers. He’s calm, and looks it. The grey hairs surrounding his signature braids only add to his unbothered aura. Pusha’s a seasoned vet with little left to worry about in terms of accomplishments. He’s in no rush.

Daytona is only seven songs long and around 21 minutes, which seems to run counter to the eternal idea Pusha-T wants to sell us on. But it is an album a few years in the making. His last record, Darkest Before Dawn, was released in late 2015, and about a year later he was said to be done with his next, which was then going by the name King Push. But as the clock ticked, things shifted. “The name change best represented what I feel like my fans are getting,” he tells me. “The Daytona is my favorite watch and it’s luxurious and we had the time to curate this for you.”

Kanye West convinced Pusha that he could produce the entire thing himself. The pair went off to Utah, then Wyoming, where they tried to capture what Pusha describes as “that undeniable soulful chaotic energy.” They drew inspiration from the sounds and moods of their favorite records, with Pusha name-checking Raekwon’s “Glaciers of Ice” and D’Angelo’s “Devil’s Pie.” It’s grimy, it’s old-school, it’s one producer plus one MC, it’s sparse, it’s soulful, it’s artistic drug rap. It’s everything you have come to expect from Pusha-T after more than two decades in the game. All in all, he thinks it stands as some his best work, alongside Clipse’s classic sophomore album, Hell Hath No Fury.

Today, we can talk about everything that went into this project, because today—or at least, while we’re speaking—there isn’t any controversy about his album cover, which was changed last-minute to a photo of Whitney Houston’s drug-littered bathroom, sparking outcry from fans who feel it is insulting to the memory of the legendary singer. Today, Drake has not yet released a diss track in response to Pusha’s, or the cheeky invoice for promotional services rendered.

This afternoon, it’s just about the music, thoughtfully prepared by a rapper who knows exactly what his fans want to hear. Perhaps the album cover conversation is the reason his phone is blowing up. It’s not something I know about yet, and not something Pusha opts to bring up on his own. It’s OK. We’ve got time.