The ever-enigmatic and illustrious President of GOOD Music is finally back with a boisterous new project after years of silence. Terrence Thornton, better known by stage name Pusha T, has built an empire with Kanye West behind the scenes, braving a couple of beefs with every release. With his matter- of- fact delivery and Kanye’s chopped rhythms, DAYTONA lets everyone know that Pusha T can still rap his ass off while running a multi-million dollar company on the side.
“If You Know You Know” opens the record with a jolt. Ye’s “‘stop-and-go”’ percussion serves as the canvas for T’s magisterial rhymes about dealing drugs and running a business. He never stumbles or fills his bars with fluff, every word and syllable has earned a spot in his trophy cabinet of raps, reflected by his sparse musical output since Clipse. Pusha T has never been concerned with topping a chart, attending a ceremony or fueling a fake drama, but he also has no problem dropping a 21-minute reminder that he is one of the last real prophets of hip-hop. Is the controversy between him and Drake a concern for Thornton? Maybe after T’s done his big boy jobs for the day, it’s nice to kick back and make another rapper huff and puff over a couple bars on the last track in his album.
