Pusha T. His name is his name.

Review – Pusha T at Venue, Vancouver Jan 28 2014

– by Zoë Christmas

On Tuesday night, Pusha T performed at Venue with DJs Sailor Gerry and Genie. While T became first known as half of the hip-hop duo Clipse, he has been working on solo projects for the past few years. In October 2013, he released his second solo album, My Name Is My Name, on Kanye West’s label, G.O.O.D. Music.

At 11:30, Pusha T came onstage to “King Push” – the intro track to his most recent album. (King Push is also to be the title of his forthcoming album, release date TBA.) During his set, T – accompanied by his DJ, hype man, and a male falsetto vocalist – played a handful of songs off of My Name Is My Name, including “Hold On,” “Nosetalgia,” “Numbers On The Boards” and “40 Acres.” He also performed tracks from his early 2013 mixtape, Wrath of Caine, including “Millions” and “Trust You”, as well as even earlier solo stuff like “Cook It Down” and “Exodus 23:1.”

During the set, T paid tribute to G.O.O.D. Music and even performed his verses from some West songs, including “Runaway”, “I Don’t Like” and – one of the crowd’s favourites – “Mercy”. However, T admitted that he didn’t want to get “too commercial” and flipped back to his roots for a few tracks. His stage presence and vocal strength were loud and strong, and his smooth flow was consistent with his recordings.

After a 45 minute set Pusha T left the stage, but Venue’s rowdy Tuesday-at-midnight crowd compelled him to come back for another three songs. Though he primarily played his recent solo work during the show, he ended the set with Clipse’s “Grindin’” – a subtle tribute to his origins.