Album Review: Pusha T, It’s Almost Dry

Pusha T

It’s Almost Dry (released April 22, 2022)

One thing’s for sure, you can’t say Pusha T is inconsistent. When it comes to Pusha’s music, if you know, you know.

The music biz’s No. 1 supplier has been peddling dope bars (both lyrically and metaphorically) since 90% of hip-hop Twitter was swimming around in their dad’s draws. But like every good supplier, Pusha knows what his customers want and rarely does he switch up the game plan.

Those hoping that It’s Almost Dry, Pusha’s latest LP, diversifies his portfolio, well, you might wanna shop elsewhere. This is exactly the album you’d expect – boastful tales of powder and power from Va’s favorite son.

(For the record, I’m Va’s second favorite son. Cousin Chris Brown in No. 3. Trey Songz is like No. 425 after all those court cases).

Though it’s just his fourth solo LP, It’s Almost Dry is another gem in a crown that Push has worn for more than two decades. So yeah, we’ve heard these war stories before. But few tell them as well as Push.

Shout out to Brambleton Avenue, the namesake for the album opener, one that features trademark Neptunes production. Younger fans may equate Pusha with current cohort Kanye West, but for us Clipse die-hards, nothing hits like Pusha’s narcotics narratives over a trippy Neptunes beat. It’s the perfect opening and a throwback to a beloved era of Push’s career.

The Nosetalgia doesn’t end there. First single “Diet Coke” feels like it was plucked from an early 2000s mixtape, with the scattered Fat Joe adlibs being such a perfect addition that I wondered why no one had tried it before. Props to Kanye and 88 Keys for that vision. Speaking of Ye, we get the return of SOUL CHOPPIN YE on “Dreamin’ of the Past,” which slices up Donny Hathaway’s version of “Jealous Guy” with great results. Kanye’s hook is fun – his forgettable verses less so – but Pusha more than holds his weight here, bragging that the “only time he gets robbed is at award shows.”

We also get a reunion with Jay Z on “Neck & Wrist.” The duo made magic with the vastly underrated “Drug Dealers Anonymous” back in 2016 and their chemistry remains intact. Jay Z’s verse is especially potent, with a brilliant shot at critic Faizon Love and reaffirming his mogul status: “They like, “If BIG was alive, Hov wouldn’t be in his position”/If BIG had survived, y’all would have got The Commission.”

But this is a King Push project, so he’ll gleefully remind listeners who currently holds the throne. The quotables rain from the heavens all over this LP, from “Let the Smokers Shine the Coupes” (“kilograms is the truth, I done sold the golden goose/I got ’em baby, I’m Jim Purdue”) to “Just So You Remember” (“the whitest snow, we were selling white privilege.”)

Pusha’s on an incredible roll throughout the first half of It’s Almost Dry, but the situation gets a bit stickier about halfway through. I guarantee “Rock N Roll” will be the talk of the Twitterverse – mainly because it’s likely the final pairing of feuding former friends Ye and Kid Cudi – but the track itself doesn’t really work. The decision to sample Beyonce’s “1+1” is interesting, but doesn’t work as well as you’d hope. Neither does Kanye, who delivers his usual, aimless so-so verse. Same for Cudi, whose crooning has always been an acquired taste (and to me, it tastes like Brussels sprouts and car batteries). There’s a lot going on but nothing gels.

It’s the same story for “Scrape It Off the Top,” which features Lil Uzi Vert and Don Tolliver, of all people. The Twitter kiddos will eat this up but these two are fighting WAY out of their weight class next to Pusha, making for an odd pairing that lacks chemistry. And speaking of odd, despite some really nice bars on “Call My Bluff” (“your favorite rappers dressing like Comic Con” and “You should listen to them on the platforms they on/the villains, the killings, no ceilings, I yawn…”) Pusha tries to compliment the unorthodox beat with a faux Mason Betha flow and it’s just WEIRD. Not bad, just weird.

But Push is sure to get us back on track with the final few cuts, thanks to the atmospheric production of “Open Air” that matches its namesake and the LONG awaited Clipse reunion with brother Malice on “I Pray for You.” The beat is equally heavenly and haunting – the perfect soundscape for reformed hustler No Mal to dip his toe in. “I greet you with the love of God, that don’t make us friends,” he growls. “I might whisper in his ear BURY ALL OF THEM.”

They call him Malice for a reason.

Is It’s Almost Dry the album of the year project that Pusha predicted? It’s too early to say. It lacks the potent brevity of its renowned predecessor DAYTONA but it’s still noteworthy and definitely among the best of 2022 so far.

That’s the thing about Push – you know what you’re gonna get every single time. Pure, uncut quality. I don’t think I’d want it any other way.

Best tracks: “Diet Coke,” “Dreaming of the Past,” “Brambleton”

4 stars out of 5