Pusha T recently sat down with The Breakfast Club co-host Charlamagne Tha God for an extensive interview in support of his forthcoming follow-up to 2018’s DAYTONA. While discussing the album, Charlamagne brought up the previously unreleased track “Brambleton,” which he called a “very personal record.”
When asked what made him feel “free” enough to tell that story, Pusha T admitted he was “hurt” over the interview former Clipse manager Anthony “Geezy” Gonzalez did with VladTV in 2020 in which he opened up about his fallout with Pusha T.
“I’m looking at somebody I admired, you know, having they name written across they hat, their @name or whatever,” King Push says around the 14:36-minute mark. “And I knew at that point, I don’t know who this person is no more ’cause that’s not where we from. Then I was hurt because I felt like, I know him very well, and I know that he’s not a good speaker, he’s not a good talker. And he knows that about himself.
“And I personally think that he didn’t even mean to put the way that he did. He’s since said in other interview, ‘Oh I didn’t mean it like that.’ but it was the fact that he needed that attention and he would play with me and do something to garner some attention that could slight me. This is somebody who my mother loves. This is somebody whose kids go to Bible study with my mother when you [were in jail].”
As for “Brambleton,” which the general public has yet to hear, Pusha T had several reasons for doing the song.
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“I wanted to do the song because I think that it really speaks to who I am and like my mentality in everything,” he added. “Whether it’s music, the streets — my mentality has always stayed the same. I’ve always been a team player.
“I’ve never been a person who looked at somebody with more than me and was envious of them ’cause I always knew what role I played, and I always knew my role was strong. It always has been. I was hurt. I called it teamwork. He called it working for him. I was like, ‘Damn.'”
Pusha T ultimately concluded, “It is what it is.” He also explained “Brambleton” is a street in Norfolk, Virginia where his mother used to live and work. In fact, most of his mother’s side of the family comes from the modest city. Later in the interview, Pusha T opened up about dealing with grief surrounding his parents’ death and how having children has changed the definition of “legacy” for him.
“I think the one thing that’s helped me deal with grief right now … my parents passed four months apart,” he said, to which Charlamagne replied, “One couldn’t live without the other.” Pusha T continued, “I look at it like that. I just know I was good with parents, both of them, like really good. I grieve selfishly. I’m grieving now. They alright, I know it.”
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But the heavy subject proved to be too much for Push and he needed to ask for a tissue and “chill” as he fought back tears. Once he gathered himself, he picked up where they left off.
“Legacy is everything right now for me because, I understand that in their passing, I have so many great things to reference,” he said. “And with a tainted legacy, you don’t have that. I think about my son and he’s gonna be able to look at the legacy of his dad and be like, ‘Oh man, he was amazing.’ That’s my goal ’cause they was amazing.”
Pusha T then explained the difference between losing someone to the “streets” and losing a parent while pointing out how “desensitized” people have become to violence.
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“When you lose a parent, you lose a superhero,” he said. “I don’t care how old they are, how sick they are, you never ready. You never ready.”
Pusha T and his brother No Malice announced the death of their father Gene Elliott Thornton Sr. last month. As Push said, their mother Mildred died just four months prior in November 2021. In a touching Instagram tribute to his father, Pusha T remembered the good times.
“I love you Dad…you taught me to remain poised, to always be calculated, to be prideful, and to respect hustle and hard work but to know the difference between the two,” he wrote. “I am who I am because of you and I’ve always been proud to be your son. We are all gonna miss you… R.I.P. Gene Elliott Thornton Sr. P.S. We all know what this is abt, kiss my mom for me.”
