Ray Daniels: Pusha T is overrated and underachieved compared to who he was next to

[Da Bull Ace]

There are lyricists who didn't dumb down to chase a hit. The only MC's that don't truly understand how to make a song. MC's that aren't capable of doing that shouldn't be MC's in the first place. Rakim sacrificed nothing to create "Paid In Full", "Eric B Is President", or "Microphone Fiend". Classic lyrical rap records that you could actually dance to. Mos Def had "Ms. Fat Booty" and that changed nothing about his artistry. LL Cool J has a slew of commercial songs where he didn't have to change who he was artistically. Nas didn't dummy down to create "If I Ruled The World" and when he had GOAT producers at his disposal, the results were Illmatic. When he worked with super-producers, this resulted in a classic in It Was Written. People panned songs like "You Owe Me", but it was not only a hit for him, he can still perform this song to this day to great reception from the crowd.

Pusha T models himself after Biggie, but Biggie had mainstream joints where he didn't sacrifice what made him Biggie. Biggie dropped "One More Chance" remix and "Who Shot Ya" without blinking.

Pusha T underperformed across the board. No other artist with his acclaim and standing would ever get away with having Kanye and Pharrell at their disposal and someone saying they had a very successful career. It would be like Game's The Documentary flopping and people saying he had a very successful career. Breh, had an all-star lineup of producers, GOAT Hip Hop producers at that, was signed to Dre, had the G-Unit stamp. Documentary was massive. And if we're talking established artists, look at what Busta did with Big Bang. "Touch It" was huge.

Pusha just isnt that type of rapper bruh. He’s even said it himself that creating hooks and catchy songs aint his strong suit. Dude stuck to a certain lane and mastered it, had a long successful career doing it, won a beef against a megastar, had a critically acclaimed catalog, held in high regards by all his peers, helped contribute to one of the greatest albums of our era (mbdtf) and yall trying to downplay all that by saying “well he shouldve been bigger” lol ok bruh. Push hate is the most forced shyt ever and nonsensical argument just proves it

 

[Invalid_Password]

Trying to recount Pusha career and not even considering ReUp gang and the We Got it for Cheap series is blasphemous

He's been a name in the industry this long for a reason and it has absolutely nothing to do with Drake.

One opinion doesn't discredit that

 

[RennisDeynolds]

Facts and Capo washed him then he tried to play high and mighty sweeping it under the rug .. what’s Pusha T without his Pharrell & Kanye affiliation ?

A local act

 

[Deltron]

Memphis bleek was next to kayne and jay too.. did bleek underachieve since he never was as big as kanye or Jay? Its such a dumb argument.

some might argue yes

he was jays protege and had jay on songs throughout his career, but still couldnt do much

the whole "bleek is one hit away his whole career" could be seen as a playful jab at his underachievement

 

[JustCKing]

Pusha just isnt that type of rapper bruh. He’s even said it himself that creating hooks and catchy songs aint his strong suit. Dude stuck to a certain lane and mastered it, had a long successful career doing it, won a beef against a megastar, had a critically acclaimed catalog, held in high regards by all his peers, helped contribute to one of the greatest albums of our era (mbdtf) and yall trying to downplay all that by saying “well he shouldve been bigger” lol ok bruh. Push hate is the most forced shyt ever and nonsensical argument just proves it

1) I don't hate him. I've been listening since "The Funeral"

2) That creating hooks and catchy songs isn't going to fly. He boasts about writing a Mcdonalds jongle for Justin Timberlake ("Lovin It""). And you can make a hit song without having neither. Artists have made hit songs with records that had a sampled hook i.e. Rick Ross's "Hustlin" or Wayne's "A Milli".

3) And this is why he underachieved. Nobody's saying he wasn't successful. Very successful is a stretch though. He had two of the greatest hook writers and producers helming his albums. "Grindin" , "When The Last Time", "Ma, I Don't Love Her", and "I'm Good" were all catchy with hooks.

 

[Da Bull Ace]

1) I don't hate him. I've been listening since "The Funeral"

2) That creating hooks and catchy songs isn't going to fly. He boasts about writing a Mcdonalds jongle for Justin Timberlake ("Lovin It""). And you can make a hit song without having neither. Artists have made hit songs with records that had a sampled hook i.e. Rick Ross's "Hustlin" or Wayne's "A Milli".

3) And this is why he underachieved. Nobody's saying he wasn't successful. Very successful is a stretch though. He had two of the greatest hook writers and producers helming his albums. "Grindin" , "When The Last Time", "Ma, I Don't Love Her", and "I'm Good" were all catchy with hooks.

But he wasnt trying to be that type of artist. That wasnt the lane he wanted to occupy. A catchy hook on a song doesnt mean he was trying to be a huge mainstream artist. Most likely just singles to help promote the album.

Like I said before, you right about what you saying it’s just a really small thing to nitpick his career about. That’s all I’m saying. And yes push is very successful, he has outlasted many mainstream acts that you would say was more successful than him including people on his own labels that had pharrell and kanye cosigns

 

[Awesome Wells]

Goofy *ss dudes never like rappers like Push. It's insecurity.

Pusha's been at it for 25 years, and I have yet to hear a project from him that I didn't like or thought was weak. Dude has gotten better lyrically with each project and his embodied with Hip Hop's spirit has always been, since day one. He talks sh*t, backs it up, makes the kinda sh*t he wants, and has never hopped on whatever was popular to survive. Any true Hip Hop head would appreciate a career like that.

But if he's dissed your favorite rapper and made you uncomfortable with his bars, then yeah, you might not like him. But anybody saying that this dude can't rap circles around most n*ggas and hasn't been forever, is just lying and embarrassing himself.

 

[JustCKing]

And people are still missing the point. I don't know whether its going over heads or what it is. Nobody is saying Pusha is supposed to be this mainstream superstar. What is being said is if any other rapper with his skill set had albums helmed by Kanye and Pharrell and had Pusha's results, they would be considered FLOPS. Common does not have these monster singles, but look at his track record with Kanye. Even look at his track record with Pharrell. You bring up "Come Close" people know its the Common song featuring Mary J. Blige. Does Push have songs that resonate on that level? Look at Scarface. Again, he isn't some super mainstream star, what Push songs are on the level of Face's collabos with Jay or his collabos with Kanye. People view The Fix and BE are widely regarded as classic albums. Where's Push's?

 

[Da Bull Ace]

The albums kanye and pharrell produced are CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED albums what more do you want? Daytona, an album produced entirely by kanye, is considered a modern classic album by a lot of people. If you dont believe it then ask complex, ask rap radar ask charlamagne, ask joe budden, ask any reputable rap outlets of the last 10 years. It’s All Dry, an album produced by pharrell and kanye, is considered one of the best albums of 2022 and was critically acclaimed. Dont believe it? Ask complex, ask rap radar, ask anybody you wanna ask. Like I said before, this is a nonsensical argument

 

[JustCKing]

The albums kanye and pharrell produced are CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED albums what more do you want? Daytona, an album produced entirely by kanye, is considered a modern classic album by a lot of people. If you dont believe it then ask complex, ask rap radar ask charlamagne, ask joe budden, ask any reputable rap outlets of the last 10 years. It’s All Dry, an album produced by pharrell and kanye, is considered one of the best albums of 2022 and was critically acclaimed. Dont believe it? Ask complex, ask rap radar, ask anybody you wanna ask. Like I said before, this is a nonsensical argument

Critically acclaimed isn't the same as classic. Case in point, a lot critics panned Pac's 7 Day Theory and Nas's Stillmatic. Those are still classic albums. Meanwhile, Nas's most acclaimed albums according to the aggregate scores on Metacritic are KD2 and KD3.

 

[Da Bull Ace]

Critically acclaimed isn't the same as classic. Case in point, a lot critics panned Pac's 7 Day Theory and Nas's Stillmatic. Those are still classic albums. Meanwhile, Nas's most acclaimed albums according to the aggregate scores on Metacritic are KD2 and KD3.

Because those are currently relevant albums. Wanna know what are also currently relevant albums? Daytona and It’s All Dry. I literally just said daytona is considered a modern classic. Just stop typing bruh lol

 

[JustCKing]

Because those are currently relevant albums. Wanna know what are also currently relevant albums? Daytona and It’s All Dry. I literally just said daytona is considered a modern classic. Just stop typing bruh lol

And this is still not registering to you. Pusha is the same artist that told us that no artist got better beats from Kanye and Pharrell than him. When we look at Kanye's track record and Pharrell's track record with other artists, he underachieved given the volume of work he's had with both. I will say Clipse maximized their work with The Neptunes because Lord Willin' and Hell Hath No Fury is among THE BEST Neptunes production. It's still worth looking at though because for all the acclaim, and how huge the singles were and The Neptunes cranking out hits for everybody, Lord Willin wasn't bigger.

 

[360dagod]

Pusha T without Kanye/Pharrell and a generous album budget is Jimmy Garoppolo on the Oakland Raiders.....

 

[Da Bull Ace]

And this is still not registering to you. Pusha is the same artist that told us that no artist got better beats from Kanye and Pharrell than him. When we look at Kanye's track record and Pharrell's track record with other artists, he underachieved given the volume of work he's had with both. I will say Clipse maximized their work with The Neptunes because Lord Willin' and Hell Hath No Fury is among THE BEST Neptunes production. It's still worth looking at though because for all the acclaim, and how huge the singles were and The Neptunes cranking out hits for everybody, Lord Willin wasn't bigger.

What’s not registering? Im responding directly to your points. You said push is tryna be a mainstream artist and I explained how he isnt. You saying he underachieved compared to other artists and I explained how he didnt. Hell hath no fury & lord willin are classic albums. So is daytona. If you cant prove me wrong then move on there’s nothing left to argue lol

 

[JustCKing]

What’s not registering? Im responding directly to your points. You said push is tryna be a mainstream artist and I explained how he isnt. You saying he underachieved compared to other artists and I explained how he didnt. Hell hath no fury & lord willin are classic albums. So is daytona. If you cant prove me wrong then move on there’s nothing left to argue lol

You didn't explain how he wasn't truing to be a mainstream artist. You don't release something like "Sweet Serenade" with a video if you aren't attempting to be mainstream. You said he did it to promote his album, well didn't "Numbers On The Board" and "Nosetalgia" do that? Why would an artist who isn't trying to be mainstream have a Chris Brown single?

What is significant about Daytona that makes it a classic album? What makes that an essential listen to anyone who is a fan of Hip Hop?