DAYTONA by Pusha T (Review)
[Originally Published on April 6, 2020]
Culture has a way of working in cycles—with trends, styles, and public opinion often repeating themselves. Music is no exception. Thriller (1982) and Purple Rain (1984), two of global music’s greatest treasures and the defining works of the 80s, were just nine tracks each. Over the next two decades, the widespread use of cassette tapes and CDs changed everything. Where vinyl records made skipping songs risky and difficult, cassettes and CDs allowed one to do so with the touch of a button.
Now, artists no longer had to focus on making lean bodies of work with strong tracks throughout. They could release as many songs as possible because their batting average no longer mattered. In 2018—amid an era where Billboard’s streaming algorithm further incentivizes longer albums—G.O.O.D. Music announced a drop of four albums with just seven tracks each. Pusha T’s DAYTONA is undoubtedly the most well-crafted work from the label’s rollout and the highlight of his career.
Pusha T’s appeal is not necessarily his oft-revisited drug dealing past. What makes him compelling is his disregard for convention and willingness to speak directly to his fans. In the intro to Darkest Before Dawn (2015), Push rapped “I’ve been blackballed, but never gave a f*ck cuz I’m Jack Frost of selling this blast-off.” Translation: I feed my family by selling drugs, so I don’t care how many records I sell. Though drug dealing should never be glorified, this factor gives his music an added layer of grit and realness.
In his own words, Push set out to create an album of “luxury drug rap” for his fans. The NYC emcee sounds both established and hungry as he surges through the resounding intro “If You Know You Know.” On the second half of “Santeria”, Push lets us into the dark corners of his mind. Tracks such as these display the albums array of sounds and its ability to thrive sonically in any era.
It’s a shame that the controversy over the cover art and Push’s one-sided pummeling of media darling Drake overshadowed the actual music. Many hip hop fans overlooked a truly great album. DAYTONA stands as not only the best album of 2018, but one of the most bulletproof works of the past decade. From the surgical slicing of filler on this tape, you’d think it was released in 1980.
