UPDATE: Pusha-T has formally changed the title of his third studio album from King Push to Daytona. New details on the album have since been updated below.

When you mention Pusha T, aside from cocky, the words unorthodox and rap-album-of-the-year quickly come to mind. But that’s no brag. After all, the two phrases have been tied to the Virginia MC like his signature braids, and it took him reminding us about being a legend “in two games like Pee Wee Kirkland” over a decade ago to make that known. Now that’s a brag. But after stepping out to do the solo thing for 2013’s My Name is My Name, Pyrex P supplied an added layer of depth to the phrases, all thanks to the LP’s twisted sonics, its “all killer, no filler” ingredients, and, of course, its key selling-point: “Best Album of the Year!” So now, it almost goes without saying that the same standards will be applied for the long-awaited King Push (now titled Daytona).

In 2015, P dished off a prelude to King Push in the form of Darkest Before Dawn. The album featured appearances from The-Dream, Kanye West, A$AP Rocky, Jill Scott and more. In the months after the appetizer, P teased the full course in the form of records like “Drug Dealers Anonymous” with JAY-Z, “Circles” and “H.G.T.V,” while Pharrell attributed added hype, describing it as “crazy” and “gargoyle-ish.”

Earlier this year, fans received another update about the seriously-delayed album by P, himself, who announced that Kanye West would be solely producing the album “from top to bottom.” Then, after years of stagnated torture, the album was slapped with a May 25th release date by the one and only Mr. West. So as the days wind down, we couldn’t have picked a better time to revisit all the specifics on the LP that should find Pusha going from Caine to King.

The album is entirely produced by Kanye West

In 2014, legendary Hitmen beatsmith Nashiem Myrick told REVOLT about one record the two created for My Name Is My Name, but revealed that it may surface on King Push. “You never know,” he said. That record wound up being on Darkest Before Dawn for the song “Keep Dealing.” Outside of that, many names were pulled for the project, including Kanye West, Pharrell, Chad Hugo, Puff Daddy, the Hitmen, Timbaland, The-Dream, Hudson Mohawke, Baauer, Scott Storch, Nottz, Dom $olo, Tricky Stewart, and Needlz. In the end, though, one man now holds sonic responsibility for the album and its none other than Kanye West.

During his set at Made in America 2017, Push revealed that Ye is set to helm the production for the album in its entirety. “I had done this album like three times,” he told the crowd. “[Kanye] comes in and he picks all the beats and shit. And then, he hears the beats, and he scraps ’em and says ‘I can do better.’” Earlier this year at adidas’ 747 Warehouse St. event during All-Star Weekend, he delivered another reminder, telling fans Ye is producing the album “from top to bottom.”

Pharrell describes it as “gargoyle-ish”

Recording for the album began with a 20-day studio session with The Neptunes (Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams) back in January 2014. This marked the first time that Pusha was in a studio with the pair since Lord Willin’. “Hell Hath No Fury was mainly me leaning on the Pharrell side,” he pointed out during an interview with Complex in 2014. “Just to have them back in there, that chemistry, defining of sounds, just finding direction, that’s what we did that whole time. I think we got a great start on King Push.”

Three years after those sessions began, Pusha sat with Pharrell on the latter’s OTHERtone show on Beats 1 Radio to discuss the gestating release. “I just left Pharrell yesterday, so I’m just waiting on him to give me these last couple heat rocks,” he revealed. The producer also described the upcoming LP as “crazy” during the interview. “The album is crazy. It’s definitely crazy,” Pharrell said, before calling it “something gargoyle-ish.”

Seven tracks with two guest spots

When he first announced the LP three years ago, Pusha said there were no features. The following year, in separate interviews with XXL and Complex, he reiterated the plan, telling the latter, “I just don’t have any features right now. We gon see what’s it’s gon bring, but this is my proclamation of king right now.” Be that as it may, though, P would later pull out JAY-Z, Ty Dolla $ign, and Desiigner for guest feature work on separate singles, thus indicating that he may have changed his mind.

Since announcing the album’s new title, Daytona will now feature two guests, including Rick Ross and Kanye West.

Expectation is “Album of the Year” “flawless”

Though he’s tight-lipped about the specifics, Pusha is otherwise crystal clear about his goal with the album. “This King Push album is going to be album of the year,” he told REVOLT in a December 2014 interview. He also confirmed that he’s making the kind of material will “smack people.” To show just what he meant by that, Pusha delivered the album’s tripped-out Kanye-laced 2014 single “Lunch Money.” Describing the album to [Rolling Stone](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/pusha-t-promises-amazing-new-album-in-spring-2015-20141222_ in that same year, he promised something “amazing” and sonically “second to none.”

Most recently, in a screenshot shared by Def Jam exec Steven Victor, Push can be seen keeping those sentiments in a conversation about the new album. In the image, the recipient of P’s texts is asked about the nature of the album to which he responded, “I’m scared to say it, but I think it’s flawless.”

The kilos are still vacuum packed

For every Pusha T rhyme is a reference to his greatest double-entendre line of all-time: “Legend in two games, like I’m Pee Wee Kirkland.” So that said, expect grandmaster nose-it-all to spread some of that thematic cheer all through the album, along with his penchant for visceral storytelling.