Pusha T fears God, works with Kanye, Pharrell and 50 Cent on new free mixtape

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Since signing to Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music and dropping a celebrated verse on ‘Runaway,’ anticipation has been sky high for Push T‘s first solo mixtape, ‘Fear of God.’

One half of Virginia Beach, Va., hip-hop duo the Clipse, the critically adored rapper born Terrence Thornton has carved out a distinctive niche over his decade in rap. Blessed with an unparalleled ability to conjure similes for cooking crack, the veteran’s virtuosic skills salvage a reputation for occasional lyrical one-dimensionality.

By now, you can guess what you’ll be getting with a Pusha T mixtape. He will rap about the drug game with enough clever wordplay, casual penitence and sheer confidence to make him far more than the average rapper. And this time, there are ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ samples. Plus, ‘freestyles’ over Jay-Z’s ‘Can I Live,’ Lil Wayne’s ‘Murder on My Mind’ and Soulja Boy’s ‘Speakers Going Hammer.’

Alongside A-listers Rick Ross, 50 Cent, Pharrell and West, Thornton always holds his own. But that’s never been in question. Those hoping for the more introspective or looser version probably won’t find what they’re looking for. He’s ‘deep sea diving for that fish scale,’ and that’s fine. It’s a free mixtape, and he’s surely saving the majority of ammunition for the full-length reportedly due later this year.

‘My God,’ ‘I Still Wanna’ and ‘Raid’ are more than worth the hard drive space, and wisely Pusha’s tape scarcely exceeds 35 minutes. Overall, its a nice, modest addition to a deep catalog -- about as fun to listen to as a tape named ‘Fear of God’ can hope to be. Download is below. Be forewarned: The mixtape contains a fair share of profanity.

-- Jeff Weiss

Download:
Zip: Pusha T -- ‘Fear of God’ (Left Click)