In further proof that labels such as album, mixtape and EP have been rendered meaningless, Pusha T’s much-anticipated third album arrives as a lean seven-track miniature opus that clocks in under 25 minutes. Brevity sharpens the ex-Clipse rapper’s focus, though: rarely has he sounded as urgent, even with his signature laconic tempo, as he does on bravura opener If You Know You Know; or as authoritative as on Santeria, which packs three different movements into under three minutes.
The same is true of Kanye West, who has always been more talented and interesting as a producer than as a rapper or personality. Twanging bluegrass guitar is paired with soul horns on The Games We Play; samples swerve songs’ path midway through to give them a new angle. But West sinks What Would Meek Do? when he gets on the mic himself, posing inane questions masked as profundity (“Will MAGA hats let me slide like a drive-through?”). On Hard Piano, Pusha T joins his partner at the bottom when he declares: “I won’t let you ruin my dreams or Harvey Weinstein a kid”, a grim take on #MeToo that, given his lyrical prowess elsewhere, is a shame.
