Grade: C
Pusha T had one job on It’s Almost Dry and that is to rap about cocaine. Did he take a meandering and overstuffed approach to getting there? Absolutely. We didn’t need an apologetic cheater JAY-Z feature on here, we certainly didn’t need Kid Cudi singing about “Rock N Roll” and we really, really didn’t need the Euphoria church guy in the mix. DAYTONA was the perfect formula for him: 7 songs, 1 producer, good shit. With Pharrell and Kanye West going head to head beatwise, we get one too many songs, but regardless, the production is thoroughly enjoyable. “Let The Smokers Shine The Coupes” calls back to Clipse-era Virginia Push with stop-start keys and looped vocal samples. I can say the same about “Call My Bluff” and “Open Air”, which also happen to be two of the best lyrical showcases on the whole affair. “Don’t make me call my TTGs with Dracos/Who all got amnesia until the case closed” is such a simple but deadly set of bars that speaks to his attention to the essentials.
While I think Pharrell actually outshined Kanye on the production front, West’s songs are some of the best on here. The Sopranos crawl of “Just So You Remember” brings the mobster out of Pusha, and “Diet Coke” may be a top ten track for him. Lines like “If your Benz bigger, step it up to ghost life” and “Best jewelries and goes we lust/Chanel trinkets and hoes’ll blush” speak for themselves. When Pusha is given a mediocre beat and a bad guest (MALICE MALICE MALICE sorry) to rhyme alongside, the product comes out stepped on. When he’s given a godly piece of music, he spits prime bars. It’s hit-or-miss, but for a man so deep into his career, this is a relatively impressive showing. It’s not my personal rap album of the year, but Pusha doesn’t entirely disappoint either.
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