Pusha T and the Clipse have long been mentioned by Tyler the Creator as important influences, but as Pusha works on his upcoming record, the roles have flipped.
The Virginia Beach native credits Tyler with pushing him to hook up with DJ Drama to produce his first-ever Gangsta Grillz mixtape in an interview with Matthew M. Williams’ Fall/Winter 2023 Givenchy show during Men’s Fashion Week in Paris.
“I just feel like to me, the Gangsta Grillz and the whole mixtape culture and scene is what I’m about.” “That’s the purest form of Hip Hop to me,” he said when asked about the eagerly-anticipated project. “The fact that drama is having so much success, and the fact that that’s what I love in Hip Hop, I want to merge those worlds and see what happens.”
He added: “I’m going to be honest with you, seeing Drama’s mixtape with Tyler and how they won a Grammy, I was like, ‘Man, mixtapes really won a Grammy.’ So I’m trying to be a part of that culture as well.
When Tyler, The Creator and DJ Drama collaborated on Tyler’s sixth album CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST in June 2021, they created an unexpected partnership. The 16-track project, which was inspired by Drama’s classic Gangsta Grillz series, was hosted by the legendary DJ while Sir Baudelaire channeled his mixtape rapper persona.
