00:00 Host: Yeah man
00:05 Host: Hey what's going on everybody for First We Feast I'm Sean Evans and you're watching Hot Ones
00:18 Host: It's the show with hot questions and even hotter wings and today we're joined by Pusha T. He's a five-time Grammy award nominated artist including his latest record Daytona which was up for rap album of the year last month. He released his new single Diet Coke which can only mean one thing - a new Pusha T album of the year contender is on the way. But in the meantime a 10-round bout with the wings of death. Pusha T welcome to the show.
00:42 Pusha T: Thanks for having me.
00:43 Host: How are you around hot sauce before we dig in? I'm just curious where's your foundation?
00:48 Pusha T: I'm pretty mild. I mean I'm a, you know, I'm a Texas Pete guy. I'm a Tabasco sauce, I mean nothing too crazy.
00:57 Host: Well today it'll be a crash course in all things hot sauce. Are you ready to get started?
01:00 Pusha T: Yeah let's get to it.
01:00 Host: Okay and then it's already on.
01:01 Pusha T: Oh it's already on. It's already on. Oh man, easy easy.
01:22 Host: So over the last few weeks you've been giving people a steady dose of new music from the song snippets to putting out a music video for your latest single Diet Coke. What's your relationship between taking time off between projects like separating yourself from the spotlight? It's rare in this social media age of 24/7 accessibility to have an artist of your caliber lay low for any amount of time.
02:00 Pusha T: I just feel like you know my brand is all about creating like masterpieces and I don't know if masterpieces get churned out every every six months or every nine months or every year actually. Some good music can come from it but I'm very specific on what it is that I'm trying to create, what I'm trying to make.
02:22 Host: Well that is a lovely segue to the next wing. Are you ready to move on?
02:28 Host: Yeah so this next one is the Dawson's Cedar Smoked Garlic.
02:28 Pusha T: It's cool, not too tough.
02:39 Host: So recently we had Dave Grohl on the show who's a big believer that music is shaped by its physical surroundings and there's so much lore between the Hawaii sessions for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy to recording Daytona in Wyoming and Utah. What do you think the influence is of a place on a record sonically? Like how are those albums products of the recording environment?
03:05 Pusha T: You know going to those secluded places whether it's Hawaii or whether it's Utah or Wyoming, it's um, that's really just to get away from people and to really be able to hone in and focus on what it is that we're trying to create. I've noticed that when we stay in major cities, too many distractions, too many distractions, too many people coming over, you know when really we're just trying to like really cook up and and and you know create perfection.
03:47 Host: You're meticulous about putting together a comprehensive body of work but some of your collaborators are a little more spontaneous. What comes to mind when you think of the last minute suggestions Kanye West has had when your album is say due in 24 hours to the label?
04:05 Pusha T: Oh man, um that's that's the thing about him. I think that's that's the the gift of him. His instincts, he's pretty spot on instinctively when like he just feels like a song is missing something or feels like the art is not as strong as it could be. And the good thing about him is he works to the last minute so you always get that opportunity to be great.
04:24 Host: Pretty easy. There we go. Yeah enjoy that.
04:47 Pusha T: And the wings are great.
04:48 Host: They are great wings.
04:49 Pusha T: Enjoying the sauces.
04:50 Host: Enjoy that while you can over here on this show. So hustler music has remained classic over the years but the trappings of the lifestyle have evolved over time. So what I want to do is play a game where I just hit you with some things straight out of a hip-hop time capsule and you tell me if they're primed for a comeback baby or if they need to fall back baby. Acura Legend coupes - comeback or fall back?
05:09 Pusha T: Man I'm not gonna front on that man, comeback, comeback. I love those cars, just a super innovative shape. You know it was a staple just in the streets like you, you were, you were actually doing your thing if you had it, you know I'm saying.
05:29 Host: I know what you're saying. Throwback jerseys?
05:29 Pusha T: Oh fall back, fall back. I just don't want anything to do with a throwback jersey. I don't know and they were just so oversized and crazy. It was like I don't know if we need that.
05:45 Host: G-Shock watches?
05:45 Pusha T: Um, you know what...
05:53 Host: I'm on the edge of my seat over here.
05:53 Pusha T: Comeback, comeback, comeback with the G-Shock man. I mean you know it's calm, it's cool, it's um, it's every day.
05:59 Host: There we go. Yeah and then when you think about the cars, the watches, the designers that have defined various eras in your rap career, is there a Pusha T brand cosign that you think has aged the best? Like when you think about the waves that you were on early on, are there any that you look back on and are most proud of?
06:14 Pusha T: Hmm I think workwear has has really done me well. Like all my albums, all my album packaging and all my album art and pictures and press pictures are usually like workwear inspired.
06:31 Host: And I would say a Hot Ones fit of the year so far today.
06:35 Pusha T: Oh awesome. Yeah you like the color? Right, there we go.
06:35 Host: Yeah Angry Goat Pepper Company.
06:47 Host: So you grew up in Virginia Beach, miles away from music titans including Timbaland, Chad Hugo, Pharrell, Missy Elliott, and that's kind of just off the top of my head. What's the significance of Hovercraft Studios on Shell Road?
07:02 Pusha T: Wow, Hovercraft Studios. Um it's where a lot of magic happened. Um Hovercraft was a studio that Pharrell and Chad bought actually. Yeah that, um, it was, it was, listen man, it was, it was studio we used to work out of and eventually they, they purchased it. Virginia Beach and the whole 757 area have a lot of different influences right.
07:33 Host: I think that's interesting right because you have like the military base nearby so you're not like locked into regional sounds that you'd find in California or New York or wherever else.
07:39 Pusha T: So I found a lot of, um, there would be like a mixtape, um, store and I'd go to it and they would have like introduced me to things like Texas screw music and things like that because they were catering to the military and, um, I was just, you know, I was introduced to a lot of different, a lot of different sounds that way.
07:58 Host: Cool.
07:58 Pusha T: No problem, no problem.
07:59 Host: That was a setup.
08:09 Host: Well I think you've noticed by now that sometimes you'll eat a hot sauce, right? It'll be okay at first and then it has that sort of like ticking time bomb quality to it. We're 30 seconds down the line or whatever - that's when you really start to feel it, right? And then you ask these questions and I gotta talk through like my saliva, it's, yeah, it's tough.
08:25 Host: So you've made the same song and same album your whole career, a point that you make with pride. Is the music is timeless? But there's also something remarkable about finding new angles on a singular subject like a Pusha T study in the elasticity of the English language. Do you see a connection between your brand of articulate street raps and then like an artist who's done a thousand still lifes or a poet who focuses on nature or war?
08:52 Pusha T: Uh no I don't, I don't. And just recently I was saying that like I am like the Martin Scorsese of like street raps and that's how I want to be seen. Like even just creatively Scorsese gives you The Departed, Goodfellas, and a host of other joints and you never say, "Hey I want him to make a love story." That's how I want you to look at me rap wise because it's still at the end of the day like I always kick it up a notch. I always keep it relevant to today's time. I always still give you the, um, the right here right now version of everything that you know that, uh, is the foundation of of what it is that that I do street rap wise.
09:36 Pusha T: Is, is hot sauce is your thing? Like you do this all the time?
09:49 Host: Yeah, believe it or not we're like in the tail end of the 17th season. So for like seven or eight years I've been doing this show.
09:59 Pusha T: I think so. You've like done this like, you know, like this is your thing?
10:03 Host: It's just a lifestyle for me at this point. Yeah.
10:08 Pusha T: Now tell me something - what about like when do I get to like drink water or soda or milk?
10:15 Host: So there's nothing, you can right now if you'd like to. Okay, and uh, I kind of have a habit of mirroring the guests so like whenever you go in I feel like then I can go in too, you know? So whenever you're ready, I'm gonna join you at the party.
10:27 Host: Okay, it's interesting to me that in the beginning of your career dude, $2000 shows for drug dealers and then ended up doing the Pitchfork festivals to an audience of hipsters. Looking back, what did those shows feel like while you were doing them, the Pitchfork shows? And then looking back now, what impact do you think it had on like the trajectory of your career?
10:43 Pusha T: Ah man, at the, listen, at the time when I was doing those Pitchfork shows I was like really upset at that time because I was like that's not what I was used to. But fast forward looking back in hindsight, it really helped establish my base. We called them clipsters. Um, they understood and they read deeper into the lyrics than just coke. I think those days and those times and in that audience really helped shape everything that's going on today.
11:17 Pusha T: This is like hot for no reason.
11:30 Host: So I'm not really interested in re-examining headlines from three years ago, but I am curious your thoughts on the evolution of rap beef and how you think the rules of engagement have changed over time. What would you say is the biggest difference between how diss tracks were exchanged 20 years ago versus today and why is it still important who wins?
11:43 Pusha T: Um, it's really corporate now. So it's like now like you'll have like a rap beef and like a record label gets involved and like the CEOs are like, "Oh you can't do this to my artists." And they'll like... I don't think they end careers anymore because people don't have the same like pride level about the art.
12:05 Host: Is it less important who wins now than it used to be?
12:10 Pusha T: Yeah because like, you know, back in the day it was like career ending, you know? There were stakes. Yeah, but because it was based around the art. Now nowadays like man they don't... people don't care. They're like, "Oh well, you know, he lost today but whatever, it's no big deal." You know we don't, we don't care as much. We're just moving on and so, you know, so many headlines and things going on and just sweep it under the rug.
12:30 Host: Well, well, speaking of moving on, this next one is The Bomb Beyond Insanity. And I should note no water, no milk...
12:43 Pusha T: Uh-huh.
12:43 Host: No grape soda through seven. Yeah, let the record show. This next one might change some things. This is The Bomb Beyond Insanity.
12:51 Pusha T: Really? You sure? You're very confident?
12:58 Host: No, I'm just asking, you ready?
12:58 Pusha T: I'm ready.
12:59 Host: All right, come on.
13:11 Pusha T: Ruined a great wing. It's not even good.
13:13 Host: Yeah man, it's kind of tough. Yeah, but we'll make it through, we'll make it through. Whoa.
13:29 Pusha T: I think I'm gonna go in.
13:35 Host: Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna try this milk.
13:35 Host: I'll join you. I'll join you at the party. So it's been a while since I've spoken to a musician about working with so many high profile producers. So what I want to do here is just hit you with a few names and while you and I battle The Bomb right now and you just tell me the first thing that comes to your mind.
13:52 Pusha T: Cut this off.
13:58 Host: It doesn't stop. It doesn't stop. It actually kind of just grows if anything like, whoa, we might not be at the peak yet. We might not have hit the peak of that hot sauce quite yet. So I'll just hit you with some producers, you tell me the first thing that comes to mind.
14:11 Pusha T: Man I can't.
14:17 Host: When you think about their process in the lab. Diddy?
14:27 Pusha T: Maestro extraordinaire.
14:34 Pusha T: No way. I'm going for the grape soda.
14:43 Host: What a hack, this is the first time 17 seasons because the milk doesn't do it?
14:47 Pusha T: Yeah, first time somebody's brought grape soda, game changer.
14:50 Host: Okay, Pharrell?
14:50 Pusha T: Pharrell is all things.
15:03 Host: Come on man.
15:09 Pusha T: I can't, I know, I know, I know what you're going through, I know what you're going through.
15:09 Pusha T: I can't go no further.
15:14 Pusha T: How do I get this off me man?
15:19 Host: I know, I know how. So you can do whatever you want but this is where I try to talk about it. So that wing is the worst.
15:27 Pusha T: Which one?
15:27 Host: The one that we just ate, by miles and miles and miles. It's worse than these last two, these next two will kind of feel like a walk in the park by comparison. The fans will root for you and we're so close too.
15:39 Pusha T: Bad.
15:42 Pusha T: I can't hear him. I, I, I, and I'm done. Oh it's really hot. Oh my god. Ice cream coming in.
15:55 Pusha T: Yeah, I can't.
16:05 Host: All right, well I just have a couple more questions then. We'll, we'll bring this to a close. All right? Okay.
16:12 Pusha T: This is a setup man.
16:12 Host: What makes Shaq and Biggie's "You Can't Stop the Rain" one of your favorite rap tracks?
16:19 Pusha T: Man because Big was so great on it and I thought Shaq was gonna be bad and he really wasn't. They call ill verses, ill melodies. They just found their way through that track.
16:37 Host: What do you think is the most perfect Biggie line off the top of your head without thinking about it too much?
16:42 Pusha T: Oh man, "You n*** got some audacity, you sold a million, now you have for me, get off my d*, kick it."
16:56 Host: The Last Dab - forever a mystery?
17:02 Pusha T: Yeah, it's just forever mystery, cool.
17:02 Host: To close things out, I want to jump in the time machine go back because we're now just a few months past the 15 year anniversary of Hell Hath No Fury. Wow, described as the darkest, best record hands down with your brain melting, tongue ablaze. While you enjoy your ice cream, what makes Hell Hath No Fury the perfect rap album?
17:22 Pusha T: There was absolutely positively not one compromise on that album. Not one compromise lyrically, not one compromise beat wise. I don't think we ever thought about making a hit. I don't think we ever thought about doing anything other than making just the hardest, hardest record, you know. It was a tough time but it made for a great, great, great album.
17:40 Host: Pusha T, the Hot Ones interview mercifully has come to an end and now there's nothing left to do but roll out the red carpet for you. This camera, this camera, this camera - let the people know what you have going on in your life.
18:01 Pusha T: I can't even think.
18:06 Pusha T: But new Pusha T album coming soon. Um, man, I see y'all. I see y'all this summer. I'm, I'll be in, I'll be festivals everywhere. Y'all come check me out.
18:19 Pusha T: I'm gonna be fighting these people at Twitter bro. I don't care. I'm an eight through ten is bad. I'm just letting you know that when they come at you.
18:39 Pusha T: Wait a minute, who, who finishes this? Like a lot of people?
18:49 Host: No.
18:51 Host: Hey what's going on Hot Ones fans, Sean Evans just want to say thank you so much for watching today's episode and if while you were watching you thought to yourself you know what, I would love to try that at home, well guess what, now you can because the Season 17 Hot Ones Hot Sauce Box is now available. Heatness.com, heatness.com, heatness.com to get your hands on the sauces. Look at how it looks on the inside, so pretty. Well, we got boom mic problems, the box is so big and you know what, always with the cautionary tale be careful around the eyes. Hot Ones Season 17, the full sauce lineup now available at heatness.com.
*There may be errors on this page.