Pusha T Leaves G.O.O.D. Music, Says Kanye’s Views Are “Nothing To Tap Dance Around”
After the breakup of Clipse, Pusha T signed to Kanye West’s record label G.O.O.D. Music in 2010, and his appearances on Kanye tracks like “Runaway” helped firm up his status as a solo artist. In 2015 Pusha became the president of G.O.O.D., which by then was a subsidiary of Island Def Jam. He remained with the label all the way up through this year’s album It’s Almost Dry, one of the last G.O.O.D. releases through Def Jam before the company cut ties with Kanye in the wake of his highly public descent into antisemitism. Now Pusha has ended his working relationship with Kanye as well.
In a new interview with XXL, Pusha says he’s no longer the president of G.O.O.D. Music, is no longer on the label, and hasn’t spoken to Kanye since publicly condemning his antisemitism in late November. Instead, Pusha has a 50/50 deal directly with Def Jam for his music and his own label, Heir Wave Music Group.
According to Pusha, the last time he spoke to Kanye was during his fall tour in support of It’s Almost Dry:
I was still on tour. I just expressed myself. I express myself to him a lot. He expressed his thoughts to me. And he got off the phone saying, “Thank you. I know you don’t agree with me, but you never kill me in the public. And some people can’t wait to do that.”
We started working together in 2010. So, my relationship with him has never been like everybody else’s in regard to the filter. I never had a filter with him. I’ve always spoke my mind. People gotta remember, too. This isn’t new for me, when it comes to disagreeing with him politically and things like that.
Pusha referred back to his support of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2016, the same year Kanye came out in support of Donald Trump, and to his previous choice to keep collaborating with Kanye despite their differences:
Remember, I’m the one that said the MAGA hat is the new Klu Klux Klan hood while he’s making my album. He beefing with Obama. I met Obama. But it’s the same thing with him and the Drake thing. I’m going through this and that, he’s doing shows [with Drake].
That dynamic has now fallen by the wayside, it seems, as Kanye’s statements have become more extreme. “At the end of the day, shit is being said today that’s beyond disappointing,” Pusha continued, adding that Kanye’s recent statements are “nothing to tap dance around. It’s wrong. Period. But to me, it’s just me and him having a difference of opinion yet again. ’Cause we done had this for years.”