King Push - Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude by Pusha T

It's been a while since I've posted anything on here, I know. But whatever, life is life and it's gotta go on. At least I'm bringing this review to paper and I'm gonna try to start it up again.
This is a big review for me and this blog, because not only is it the first review of 2016, but it's also a review of the new Pusha T album. His last album was the first review that was ever written for the blog and also the whole reason this blog was made. Even though I've been slacking on the blog, it's been quite the trip and we have came far. Over 10,100 views is in my opinion quite the achievement. Lets get to it.

Darkest Before Dawn - Pusha T

I know that the title is actually longer, but I'm just gonna call this album 'Darkest Before Dawn' or 'DBD' from now on; that's much easier. I was very excited when I first found out about this album coming out, since there hasn't really been all to much heard from Pusha since his first album, besides a couple features, the most recent being that 'Burial' song.
Also, can we just appreciate how on point the album cover is? 

Intro

King Push is showing us that he's back and that he means business. The beat is straight fire. It has an aggressive feel to it, which adds to Pusha's aggressive rap style. This is such a simple song, but it sets the whole tone for the whole album and actually serves as a good intro for Pusha T, if you haven't heard him before.
At the beginning of this song a voice talks about how he was trying to be three people at once. A drug dealer, a rapper or a savior. This is an important part of the album and there are songs that touch on each of these three things.

Untouchable

This was the song that was released first as a single and kind of let everyone know that King Push was dropping another album. This song is basically the 'Numbers On The Board' off of this album. That means that it's one of the main bangers of the album and one of the strongest songs. This is because Pusha's verses are lyrically on point, both content and word play wise. 

He sampled biggie for the hook, which is amazing. 

A big shoutout to Push for the line:

   "In Mexico, fuck Donald and his pledge,

     Legend has it, the wrist is magic."

I agree, but this isn't the place for political discussions. 

Another part I really like about this song is when he talks about his Adidas deal and the fact that he just became president of G.O.O.D. music. 

M.F.T.R. feat The Dream

This song is all about how we live in a time where people will stunt or flex on social media just because they have a lot of fame, while they really don't have that much money. The title stands for "More Fame Than Rich". He references a lot of big rap incidents in recent history, from Tyga leaving Young Money, to 50 Cent filing for bankruptcy. 

I think that the Dream is a good addition to this song and that he does a good job on the hook.

Crutches, Crosses, Caskets

This is one of the most catchy songs on the whole album. This is due to the fact that the hook is extremely catchy and the beat is actually simple and perfect. Push just spits straight bars for the entirety of this song. It's a short song, but it's straight to the point and I appreciate that.

M.P.A. feat Kanye West, A$AP Rocky and The Dream

To me this is the highlight of the entire album. This title stands for "Money, Pussy, Alcohol", which in Pusha T's eyes are the three main vices of life. I actually agree with him. Personally, I've done some pretty stupid things because of those three things. But that's besides the point. 

The beat of this song is great, especially the beat change for the third verse. It's not a really complete change, it just changes the whole vibe of the song and that's hard to achieve. 

Pusha absolutely destroys the beat, all of his verses are on point and I feel like he is actually spitting facts in this song.

The only thing I don't like about this song is that he has Kanye and Rocky on the song doing the hook and they don't actually have their own verses, but you could also argue that, that just adds to the whole song. 

Got Em' Covered feat Ab-Liva

This song has a completely different vibe than the last song. I really like the beat though. I think it's very interesting and adds a certain energy to the song. The thing I find interesting about Pusha T is that most of his songs actually sound pretty similar, but somehow he makes it work. This song really sounds like 'Money on the Boards' off of his first album. The feature is what makes it though. When I first saw that this song was featuring Ab-Liva, my first thought was "Whose man is this?". After I heard his verse on this song, I am actually impressed by it. 

Keep Dealing feat Beanie Sigal

The beat is crazy. It's epic and reminds me of the movie 'Drive' for some reason. 

This song is about how Pusha sold drugs and made a lot of money and then lost it and kept making it through illegal methods. This is a solid song, I don't like it that much. I mean the verses are very good, but the subject matter is kind of meh. 

Beanie's verse is very impressive, but doesn't save the song in my eyes. It is a very vivid verse though, I will give him that. 

I also like how all the verses end with them talking about losing millions; one million on the first verse, then two on the second and three on the third. There's levels to this song.

Retribution feat Kehlani

I'm not going to lie, Pusha T actually goes in on this song and spits some of his strongest verses and the hook of this song is amazing. The beat is insanely good too. There is just something about this song that doesn't impress me too much. I like how when the last verse starts the beat almost stops and then has this type of stutter or pause in it.

Don't get me wrong, I do like this song, something about this song just seems off about it. I've thought long and hard about it and just can't find out what.

F.I.F.A.

I enjoy this song a lot. The beat is more upbeat and not as dark as the last ones have been. This is a very energetic song and it gives the album a needed boost of energy. This is a great song, although the subject matter is all about cocaine like a lot of Pusha's songs.

Sunshine feat Jill Scott

This is another dark song, but Pusha goes in on this song. He changes the subject matter up. This is a song about the struggle of African-Americans in America. I can't really say anything about this subject, because I'm a white male, but I agree with Pusha. 

Verdict

I enjoyed this album a lot. Pusha's wordplay is excellent. He effortlessly weaves vivid descriptions with metaphors and puns together while maintaining his flow. This is a very dark album, but it has great content. 

As I said before in the intro, Pusha is three things on this album. He raps about dealing drugs, being a rapper and on the last song as a type of savior. In my eyes this is one of the best albums of 2015 and all of the songs kind of sound similar, it all works out for some reason. I give this song a 9/10.