Push made his first public comments regarding the controversy involving his longtime friend and partner in a Los Angeles Times interview.
He acknowledges how Ye’s divisive remarks have affected him and offer no justifications for his actions.
“I can tell it has an impact on me. Push remarked, “It’s been disappointing. “There is no tolerance for discrimination or hate speech as a Black guy in America. So, yes. Let’s be clear: It has been incredibly frustrating. One of the few of Ye’s friends who condemn his vile outbursts, which included racist and anti-Semitic slurs, is Pusha.
Push talked about his friendship with West, who co-executive produced his critically acclaimed album It’s Almost Dry with Pharrell Williams, during the interview.
Ye has represented freedom to me creatively, he remarked. “Many times, people would try to influence me to change specific aspects of my approach, certain aspects of my lyrical style, and certain aspects of the subject. He has never been that way. He was always able to see me for who I was and knew how to advance things.
It’s Almost Dry, Pusha’s April release, earned him his first No. 1 album and a second Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album.
It was his goal to create the purest, most unadulterated hip-hop album he could with It’s Almost Dry, he recalls. “That required the lyricism to be A-1, and I thought it would be interesting to compare Ye and Pharrell Williams. These two producers are the very essence of hip-hop. You can tell you’re going to receive the record of the year just by looking at the emotion between the three of us.
In recent years, hip-hop has lost some of its most promising new artists, including Takeoff, Pop Smoke, Young Dolph, and PnB Rock. Push, who welcomed his baby Nigel in June 2020, acknowledges that his movements are now more deliberate.
“I absolutely take care when moving. I’m always trying to get home to my son, as I mentioned,” he remarked. “Some of the risks I used to take, like simply going out without any purpose, I don’t really do that much anymore. Reading about all of this young talent who has died has made me feel really sad. To feel it, you don’t even need to know them.
