Pusha T-Daytona Review

For the best or the worst, Kanye West have been following Law 6 of the 48 Laws of Power throughout the past year. Between professing his admiration for the controversial  and most hated current commander in chief, having had fall out with his so called big brother JayZ and offensive remarks about slavery, It seems that Kanye has been known more for “Courting attention at all costs” and less from his musical creativity. The results of his antics has been lost admiration from his peers and damage to the GOOD Music brand.

In a attempt to refocus the shift from the backlash into the topic of music, Kanye announced in one of his estranged tweets that he was working on several projects. Pusha T’s Daytona was the first lined up after many featuring Nas, Kid Cudi, Chance the Rapper, Teyana Taylor and himself.

Kanye continued to push the controversial button by displaying the bathroom full of drug paraphernalia which allegedly belonged to the late Whitney Houston. The cover was welcomed with heavy backlash including from the Houston family and many of her fans; labeling it as “distasteful” Both Ye and Pusha further pushed the lines of controversy with Infared by igniting a feud on wax with Cash Money’s main cash cow Drake. which lead to them having a lyrical back and forth to start off the summer:

The game’s fucked upNiggas beats is bangin’, nigga, ya hooks did itThe lyric pennin’ equal the Trumps winnin’The bigger question is how the Russians did itIt was written like Nas but it came from QuentinAt the mercy of a game where the culture’s missing

This showcases Pusha at his finest lyrically. The clever punchlines, the smooth delivery mixed with Kanye’s soul drop reminisce of the glory Late Registration days. It was the perfect way to set up the rollout for Daytona. The rest of the EP for the most part has Pusha playing up to the theme of the cover which is painting pictures of the drug dealing game. Pusha claimed that he wanted to create this project with Only Built 4 Cuban Linx as his inspiration(He even have hard-copies of Daytona in Purple Tapes).Drug Culture is at its all time high with mumble rap, the rise of the opioids, and with marijuana finally being legalized.

Push took this as a opportunity to give his fans whom followed him since the Clipse what they want and thats fly coke induced raps mixed with insightful storytelling and dope production. He does just that with If You Know You Know which is a brilliant opener showcasing the glorification of Capitalism and how the drug game changed. Other noteworthy highlights are What would Meek where both Pusha and Ye are talking $hit to their critics and showcasing their  over braggadocio. Santeria is a personal favorite of mines.  Its a tribute to his former manager “De’Von Day Day Pickett Santeria”.  Kanye flipped Lil Kim’s and Biggie’s Drugs sample(which is suitable for the theme of the album) while Pusha speaks to his friend within spirit wanting vengeance. It would definitely be perfect for a  Drug Kingpin movie.

Overall Pusha restored the feeling with this project here and may possibly be his best solo effort. Even though Kanye ‘s antics are gonna overcloud the critical judgement of the project it self. If you can separate the man from his views, You would definitely enjoy Daytona for what it is.

Vic Rating : 9 outta 10