Since this joint is only 7 tracks long I'm gonna do the review like this: review my two favorite tracks. The "Santeria" instrumental is probably my favorite. But the second I heard it, I had a moment of déjà vu. After some OCD investigating I was able to crack the case. "Santeria" samples Soul Mann & the Brothers' "Bumpy's Lament", from the SHAFT album. Lil' Kim sampled the same instrumental on her Hard Core track, "Drugs". The Clipse used that Lil' Kim instrumental for the track "Ultimate Flow", on their mixtape We Got It 4 Cheap, Vol. 2. Boom. Case cracked (ha, that's just a taste of what my brain be like when I get lost in Hip Hop). "Santeria" is a very vulnerable and introspective track from Push. At the core, it is Push talking to his slain road manager De'Von “Day Day” Pickett. De'Von was the one who made sure everything ran like clockwork on tours. Push also says that he is the one that made sure all tour members said a prayer before each show. All lose of life is tragic, but when someone is taken before their time it leaves a stronger imprint on those who are still present. This track gives us vivid bars that paint images of anger, vengeance, pain, and sadness. The word Santeria literally means "worship of saints". This Afro-Cuban religion was born out of the slave trade era. Parts of this religion believe in communicating with ancestors/deities through trance, animal sacrifice, and sacred drumming/dance. With this song, Pusha T is communicating with another "saint" of his. You throw in a choir-type "hook" (more of a refrain) in Spanish, and you got one of Pusha T's best songs. Ever.
"Infrared", the final track on the minimal album is chock full of metaphors and double entendres. But I know y'all just want me to talk about that Pusha T/Drake beef. Here's the breakdown. In 2006, The Clipse released Hell Hath No Fury and the track "Mr. Me Too". The duo claimed it wasn't aimed at anyone specific, but Lil Wayne felt otherwise. Inception. In 2012 Push dropped the single "Exodus 23:1". This was his "I don't kill soloists, only kill squads" track that went IN on the whole YMCMB camp. This time openly directed at Wayne, but this time at Drake as well. Wayne hit back hard with..some tweets. But after that, Wayne responded directly with "Goulish". I know I'm biased, but that joint was meh. Drake jumped in the beef with a few subliminals on "Tuscan Leather" (off of 2013's Nothing Was The Same). In 2016 Push replied with a few bars on the "H.G.T.V." track. Later that year Drake came direct at Push (and Kid Cudi) with "Two Birds, One Stone". Enter Daytona, and "Infrared". Push said this was his direct reply to "Two Birds". Push went at Drake addressing the fact that he uses a ghostwriter, Wayne's record deal, and Baby/Birdman stealing money from his YMCMB artists. Drake replied with "Duppy Freestyle". I ain't gonna lie, I was impressed. This was a Pusha T/Kanye diss (but mostly Kanye?) that went at Pusha T's credibility as an ex-drug dealer, that brought up Pusha T's fiance (in my Jay-Z "Takeover" voice: NO!) and that Drake feels Push is washed up and can only sell more records if Drake's name is attached to it (and of course a bunch of Kanye stuff). Push came back with Jay-Z's "The Story of O.J." instrumental in the form of "The Story of Adidon". Push GOES HARD (pause?) addressing Drake's alleged child with a porn star, Drake's mother and father, his upcoming Adidas deal (which was going to be named "Adidon", after his son Adonis), his producer Noah “40” Shebiband's MS, and Birdman again. Drake apparently has another diss track ready that would "end Kanye", but OG mogul J Prince stepped in to make sure this was as far as this beef went. Not gonna lie, I was definitely one of the people that wanted this to keep going on wax. I could list an impressive number of beefs that "went too far" lyrically to make my case, but as of today this seems like the end of this installment of Drake v Push.
Since May 25th (Daytona's release), the GOOD Music collective has had a hand in FIVE albums dropping every Friday. Push was the front runner, followed by Kanye's 8th solo album, a Kanye/Kid Cudi album, Nas' 12th solo album (if you count The Lost Tapes), and Teyana Taylor's second LP KTSE. Since Kanye is taking the lead on all production, it was his decision to make all the albums 7 tracks long. I heard an eight track (Psycho?) was cut last minute. Personally, I think Push has great success with 10-12 track albums (both his solo albums were that). So I would have preferred to have a few more tracks on the Daytona album. That being said, IF you are going to gives a petit four (Google it) it better be flawless. Overall this is top shelf Push. And while I still believe this "new Kanye" is who he is now, I have to give him a tip of the hat for production. Just the production. You can tell when there is a truly collaborative effort on a project. And this is one of them. I've literally had the album on repeat three times in a row and you can't feel a break in the flow of the album. Push is who he is. VA been known, but its up to the rest of Hip Hop to see where they will rank him among the kingpin spitters. Y'all already know where he at with us. VA stand ALL THE WAY up.
Peep the "Ultimate Flow" track, "Exodus 23:1" video, and "The Story of Adidon" track below. Couldn't find that free YouTube joint this time. Matter of fact, go support it for real. Joint was like less than $10.
No comments:
Post a Comment