REVIEW: PUSHA T – MY GOD

Pusha T
My God Decon
Decon

Pusha T’s debut solo single comes following a number of reputation-bolstering appearances on the work of others, the most notable of which being his vocals on Kayne West’s ‘Runaway’ from last year’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. There’s an understandable amount of anticipation following Pusha’s release, which acts as a preview for his forthcoming EP, due later this year. As one half of Clipse, Pusha’s voice is not an unfamiliar one, and his performance on ‘My God’ more hardened veteran than young buck making his début.

Beginning with a military snare and a melody line that recalls Enrico Morricone’s epic Western scores, the track feels like a cinematic trudge towards the last showdown. Pusha T’s tone is one of weary defiance: “I can’t be bothered with homage to forefathers” comes the opening line, short-circuiting hip-hop’s usual reverence for its roots with a single brush-off. Unfortunately, after such a bold opening gambit, Pusha T fails to bring anything else particularly exciting to bear. Like a long out of shape gun-slinger, he piles reference after reference to his own greatness, without much demonstration of what actually distinguishes his performance. The absence of a hook or chorus – other than a wheezed “my god” – does little to diminish the relentless trudge, and Hit-Boy’s production fails to develop past its initial fanfare, though a few subtle flourishes in the drum pattern towards the end redeems it to some extent. The usual narratives of crack deals feel somewhat incongruous this far into Pusha T’s career, and he lacks the eye for precise detail that gives Raekwon and Ghostface the edge in drug imagery. ‘My God’ is a fair showcase of Pusha’s talents, though not an exceptional one; for someone who has recently courted such commercial and artistic heights as West’s album, it seems a shame that this song fails to offer much of a continuance.

Words: Andy Spragg

Filed under: Reviews by J.G.