After being delayed and pushed back Pusha T‘s My Name Is My Name finally has dropped. To mark the start of King Push‘s reign we decided to the best lines from the project track by track. Let us know if you think there are any other crucial bars that should have made the cut in the comments section.
01. “King Push”
Let’s start of with the horn-filled “King Push.” The first track off the album announces to the world that Pusha T is part of rap royalty. Push spits:
Best d-boy all I’m missing is a dash, difference between me and Hova…
Pusha defines what a d-boy is. In the bar above he refers to the split between Jay Z and Dame Dash, Hov’s former Roc-A-Fella partner. Only recently was the pair caught at a birthday party together. Spelling wise, the difference between “Pusha T” and “Jay-Z” (pre-dash-drop) was a dash. Other than that minor difference both MCs share a lot of similarities in lyrical styles and topic.
02. “Numbers On The Boards”
It’s only one God,and it’s only one crown, so it’s only one king that can stand on this mound…
This is not Pusha T’s most complex bar but it contributes to the theme he establishes throughout the album: He is god-like, he is the King of Hip-Hop. The “mound” is a reference to his drug dealing past, it stands for a mound of cocaine.
03. “Sweet Serenade”
Came from the bottom, no one said it would be fair…
The strength of the bar above doesn’t simply lie in what it says but in its placement. Pusha starts off his track by firing shots at Drake and his hit song “Started From The Bottom.” Not to say that all “started from the bottom” bars are related to Drizzy but it is no coincidence Chris Brown is on the track that starts off with a diss targeted to Drake.
04. “Hold On”
Scoring from the heights but I wanted mine purer, Aryan, blonde hair, blue-eyed like the Führer…
Pusha spits about the ways in which he worked hard to keep his product pure. Both him and Hitler seek their version of the purest product. “Aryan, Blond Hair, blue eyed” might be describing a white girl, a term commonly used to refer to cocaine.
05. “Suicide”
Young niggas cliquing up with my rivals, like the bible don’t burn like these bullets don’t spiral…
This line not only sound the best but is also heavy in symbolism. Pusha is aiming at anyone who collaborates with Lil Wayne and Drake using the beautiful image of a bullet spiraling out of the barrel of a gun.
06. “40 Acres”
And they say I’m on the verge of winning, I claim victory when Malice on the verge of sinning…
Critics have been announcing that Pusha T was going to come out with the best album of the year. Pusha has such a drive to push his product on everyone that his ultimate success would be taking someone with strong religious conviction to God, such as his own brother, No Malice, and turning them towards sins.
07. “No Regrets”
My mind wanders on a PJ, my momma brought up in the PJs, In the club sippin’ P&J on the same arm as my Piaget (Woo)…
Pusha shows off his skills as a wordsmith coming up with four plays on the sound “PJ.” His mind wanders on his private jet. His mom was brought up in the Projects. In the club drinking Perrier-Jouët (a brand of champagne) and to go with his fancy taste for alcohol, Pusha wears a Piaget watch.
08. “Let Me Love You”
Can’t commit the crime without accomplice, we both to blame, let’s push the shame behind us…
Pusha T is pretty openly saying that he cheats on his girlfriends or used to cheat on them as a young player.
09. “Who I Am”
Woooh! They said be all you can be, I just wanna buy another Rollie, I just wanna pop another band/ I just wanna sell dope forever, I just wanna be who I am…
This hook is just so catchy it deserves to be on the best bars list. The shear insanity that seeps out of Pusha‘s voice is memorizing.
10. “Nosetalegia”
“Nosetalegia,” featuring Kendrick Lamar is one of the best track on the album. Pusha spits:
I started out as a baby-faced monster, no wonder there’s diaper rash on my conscience…
The track as a whole carries a haunting tone. Pusha T raps about the emotional scars his business left behind in an innovative way. Linking the image of a child to the destructive nature of drug culture helps accentuate the eerie aspects of his verse.
11. “Pain”
Tre-eight on, coulda been Trayvon / But instead I chose Avon…
“Tre-eight” is slang for a .38 gun. “Trayvon” refers to the infamous Trayvon Martin Case. “Avon” is a character on the hit show “The Wire” who is a drug kingpin. In a few words Pusha ties together three references that work together perfectly.
12. “S.N.I.T.C.H.”
Called my mom mother, was at my graduation, when I signed my record deal you was my motivation…
These lyrics are memorable because they carry with them the pain that Push felt when he realized his childhood friend snitched on him.