Some friendships burn bright for a good while, but they just weren’t built to last. Case in point, while Pusha T and Kanye West are no longer the best of buddies, the music they managed to create while partnered resulted in some classic material. Pusha and Kanye first linked up around 2010 after Clipse had essentially gone on hiatus and while Kanye was recording his critically acclaimed My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy album. The Virginia rapper was part of the famed recording sessions in Hawaii and soon enough became entrenched in Ye’s musical world, appearing on the Chicago multihyphenate’s projects. Ye returned the favor by executive producing a number of tracks for Pusha. Here are some of their best collaborations.
1. Runaway by Kanye West featuring Pusha T
Asking Pusha to re-work a verse is a rarity, but he admitted doing so several times for Kanye West’s “Runaway.” The result was this classic single from the My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy album, addressing his public persona with a clean-up verse from Push. Yeezy was clearly impressed because he signed Pusha to GOOD Music after the collaboration — one of many to come.
2. So Appalled by Kanye West featuring JAY-Z, Pusha T, Prynce Cy Hi, Swizz Beatz, and RZA
In a series of standout verses, even including one from JAY-Z, Pusha still manages to stand out with lines like, “Blackjack, I just pulled an ace/ As you looking at the king in his face.” The Clipse rapper certified he was more than a special guest in Ye’s musical orbit.
3. Mercy by Kanye West featuring Pusha T, Big Sean, and 2 Chainz
The GOOD Music collective that included Pusha T and Big Sean had Hip Hop culture on lock, so of course a proper compilation album, Cruel Summer was released in 2012. “Mercy” was the lead single and quickly lived up to the expectations.
4. New God Flow by Kanye West featuring Pusha T
In 2012, Pusha T kept asserting that he was one of the best rappers in the game and Kanye West ably kept providing the sonic soundscapes to prove his point. Moving chords get bolstered by the familiar "Synthetic Substitution" drum break courtesy of Melvin Bliss and a choice Ghostface Killah vocal sample. Ye spit, “Hold up, I ain't trying to stunt, man, but the Yeezys jumped over the Jumpman,” at the start of his verse.
5. Pain by Pusha T featuring Future
Kanye and No I.D. provided the production on “Pain,” a standout song from Pusha T’s debut solo album, My Name Is My Name. With Future holding down a melancholy but stirring chorus, Push lyrically details the hurt of a drug dealer’s inevitable fall with a line from the song — itself a nod to HBO’s “The Wire” — inspiring the album’s title.
6. If You Know You Know by Pusha T
Ye handled all the production of Push’s 2018 Daytona album and “If You Know You Know” is not only the first track on the album, but one of its best, too. Push drops his trademark subtle not so subtle nods to trafficking a certain illegal substance over spare but numbing production from Mr. West.
7. Dreamin Of The Past by Pusha T featuring Kanye West
A heater off the critically acclaimed It’s Almost Dry, Ye dipped back into his soul sample bag when he crafted the beat for “Dreamin Of The Past.” Pusha uses the key heavy groove to flex his lyrical abilities with egregious amounts of stuntin’ and flexin’ about his lifestyle and rags-to-riches motivation. It’s so good that Ye even tagged on a closing verse.