S. Samuel
G.O.O.D Music's Pusha T recently discussed lyrics from his new My Name Is My Name solo release and, specifically, why he believes the rap game is being infiltrated by emo hip-hop artists.
When asked about a line from his “King Pusha” track, T did not hold back with his explanation.
“All the different rappers now,” Pusha T said in an interview. “I feel like rap is so emo right now. Right? Rap is so emo and this is how you have to sort of look at it. Cool. That’s the change that’s going on right now. Boom. That’s fine. We’ll take that. But then, now the emo guys, you see them and other rappers who aren’t of the street world or of that mentality, they now want to use the street slang and they want to use the street metaphors, the drug references because it makes their rhymes sound good. It makes their rhymes sound cool or whatever. Culture vultures, man. They’re everywhere, even in rap.” (Hard Knock TV)
On “King Pusha,” the G.O.O.D Music stud rhymes about emcees starting to inject their raps with drug lyrics.
“Vultures to my culture/Exploit the struggle, insult ya / They name dropping ’bout ‘caine copping / But never been a foot soldier/Let’s have another look/Just get a little closer, rage against the machine/Black Zack De La Rocha/And a cranberry roaster/Inside the trap with a G Rap poster” (“King Pusha”)
Last year Young Money’s Drake delved into why critics are so persistent on him changing up his style.
“People calling me goth or emo or whatever is weird for me to hear because I really don’t hear that in my music.” Still, he has no plans to temper his emotions in his lyrics. “They want me to be more emotionally disconnected like them, so I drop the ball and fall off. That’s where the backlash comes from. They want you to under-deliver so badly, and when you don’t they can’t handle it.” (VIBE)
The Canadian-bred emcee previously said too much focus on altering his perceived emo sound could have damaging effects.
“If I worried about how I’m gonna look saying this, then I wouldn’t make half the music I make,” Drizzy told MTV News. “People nitpick at me for being emotional or tapping into emotions, but like, man, we all die one day; that’s just how I want to be remembered…The running commentary or the jokes don’t really affect me, ’cause that’s what I’m going for — I don’t want to be a guy that blends in with all the other generic rap music. I want to be the guy that stood out and pinpointed life emotions for women, men, young people, old people or whatever it is. So I don’t trip, that’s what I want. I welcome it.” (MTV)
Check out Pusha T’s interview:
