Main Pick
Street Captain: Pusha T
Representing: Virginia Beach, VA
Mixtape: Fear of God
Real Spit: If the Clipse's fight for creative freedom that saw them hop from label to label — culminating in the critically acclaimed LPs Hell Hath No Fury and Til the Casket Drops — was the Brothers Thornton's "Odyssey," then Pusha T's debut mixtape certainly classifies as the warrior MC's "Iliad."
"I got the title from just what I intend to invoke in the competition, lyrically," Push told Mixtape Daily. "The fear of God."
The G.O.O.D. Music soldier previewed the project — set to arrive online Monday (March 21) at midnight on Grooveshark.com — for bloggers and press recently in New York and impressed with a diverse selection of material, from the searing "Cook It Down" to the 50 Cent-assisted "Raid," a lively ode to wiping out detractors.
With Malice, pushing his tome, "Wretched, Pitiful, Poor, Blind, and Naked," his younger sibling knows the spotlight is gonna shine on him like a super moon.
"When I realized I was gonna have to do this project on my own and my brother wasn't gonna be by my side, I sort of felt the fear of God myself," Push admitted.
Joints to Check For
» "I Still Wanna," featuring Rick Ross and Ab Liva. "Sleeping with the finest/ The thread count is bind-less," Push spits over the dark, synth-heavy production. "Security blanket of cocaine, I am Linus/ In this climate, I'm Kareem Burke tiding/ The Roc silent partner, I ain't throwing up the diamond."
"It's definitely just an ode to my street family everywhere," Pusha said of the track.
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