Pusha T has become one of the most respected rappers in the game since he disbanded from the Clipse and became a solo artist. After years performing alongside his brother Pusha has developed an impressive career over the past 3 years on his own with the help of Kanye West. In 2010 he signed to Yeezy’s Good Music label for a reported $1 million for 3 albums in a partnership with Def Jam Records. He also signed a development and management deal with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation. Since then he appeared on over a dozen Kanye tracks from “My Beautiful Dark Fantasy”, Cruel Summer, and most recently “Yeezus”. In 2008 he and his brother Malice started a clothing line, Play Cloths that has fared better than their music careers. Over the past 5 years the clothing line expanded and reportedly has earned over $4 million in sales. The line is currently sold in the Parisian store Colette.
Pusha got major recognition on 2012’s biggest song Mercy. The song has since been certified Platinum, and has sold over two million copies in the US as of October 2012. Pusha earned over $100K for the song alone from writing credit. His net worth in 2013 is $3 million, mainly from his rise to success with the Clipse.
In 2012 Pusha went on tour with Future on his “Pluto Tour” which Pusha earned $10,000 per show.
Despite his flow and strong lyrical content Pusha T seems to lack the star power that produces album sales which has caused GOOD music to constantly push back his debut album and drop an EP instead. In 2011 he dropped his first EP with Good Music, Fear of God II: Let Us Pray. His debut solo single was “Trouble On My Mind” featuring Tyler the Creator. The song appeared on the Project X soundtrack. Despite an overwhelmingly positive response from critics the song failed to chart. Just three months later the EP debuted at number 66 on the Billboard 200 with 8,900 copies sold in its first week released. To date it’s only sold 13,000 copies.
Pusha is currently on tour in the UK promoting his debut album My Name is My Name.
Pusha T My Name Is My Name
His debut studio album My Name Is was released October 8th 2013 and leaked just two weeks before through torrent download sites Piratebay which according to alexa over 100,000 people visited the site to download his album. It could be because Pusha has claimed his album will be the best in the game. He even made the claim actor Joaquin Phoenix produced the opening track on the album. Even though the Hollywood actor continues to deny it other production on the album includes Pharrell and Kanye West. Assisting on the guest tip throughout the LP are such big names as 2 Chainz, Chris Brown, Future, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Rick Ross and Young Jeezy. Beats come courtesy of Don Cannon, The Neptunes, Swizz Beatz and more.
Pusha explained the origin of the album title
“Basically, I was trying to pick a title that embodied who I am as an artist…and I wanted people to understand that Pusha is everything that I really, really am.”
The Clipse
Pusha T and his twin brother No Malice formed the rap duo the Clipse. They were signed to Pharrell Williams label Star Trek and their debut album Lord Willin was mainly produced by the Neptunes. Terrence and Gene were born in New York City in the Bronx. Their family moved to Norfolk Virginia in the 80’s when the twins were 6 years old. The group was originally signed to Elektra Records and dropped their debut album Exclusive Audio Footage. Their first single “The Funeral” was released but failed to generate any buzz or chart. After being signed to the label for three years the album was shelved and the duo was eventually dropped. They continued their relationship with Pharrell and the Neptunes after he produced their album. In 2001 Pharrell created Star Trek Entertainment and the Clipse became his first act on the label.
The label was partially funded by Arista Records in a joint-venture. The Clipse Lord Willin was the label’s first release and became commercially successful. Lord Willin sold over 1 million copies in 2002. Slant Magazine placed the album on their list of best albums of the 2000s at number 98. The lead single “Grindin” was an international hit reaching number 30 on Billboard Hot 100 and number 8 on Billboard Hip-Hop/R&B Charts. The song was listed at #27 on Pitchfork Media’s top 500 songs of the 2000s. It was later revealed the track was originally produced for Jay-Z. The label later expanded and signed artist like Kelis, Fam-Lay, and NERD. Snoop Doog was eventually signed in 2004.
The Clipse later released Hell Hath No Fury and Till The Casket Drops in 2009 on Columbia Records. In 2010 they were dropped from Columbia after poor album sales of Till The Casket Drops. The album debuted at number 41 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 31,000 copies in its first week. To date it’s only sold 62,000 copies. The album also received poor critic reviews. Slant Magazine was the most critical stating
” Casket…finding them without their usual subject matter or a strong musical backbone, resulting in a clear sense of discomfort.”
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