“Imaginary Players ain’t been coached right. Master recipes under stove lights. The jersey number is the quote price. You ordered diet coke, that’s a joke right?”
In a recent interview with Complex regarding his plans for 2022, Pusha T stated, “I’m on some one thousand percent rap superhero sh*t, man.” It’s obvious that the former Clipse member is on a mission.
Pusha came out swinging, releasing “Diet Coke,” co-produced by 88-Keys and Kanye West. This is the first single for his upcoming album, It’s Not Dry Yet. The buzz for the track began after a video playing the track surfaced from a KENZO fashion afterparty. Pusha notably became more active on social media after the video became viral.
According to 88-Keys via IG Live, the beat is 18 years old. The beat was from an old beat tape, in which Keys claims he never sold a single beat from, until now. The piercing piano accompanied with cuts of Fat Joe saying “crack,” likely an ode to his alias of Joe Crack, set the stage perfectly for Push to do what he does best. He also pays homage to Jay-Z in numerous bars, with references to his classic track, “Imaginary Players” and his feature in Puff Daddy’s, “Young G’s.”
According to Steven Victor, Pusha’s manager, the rollout has only begun and more music will follow quickly, also stating in a Complex interview, “Pusha’s album is coming sooner than you think. And we’re dropping back to back.”
After the massive critical success of his grammy nominated Daytona (2018), Pusha definitely has a lot of pressure to deliver another classic. A project full of tracks with the quality of “Diet Coke” will certainly succeed, and potentially exceed those heavy expectations.
A video for the single is available now. Be sure to follow Pusha T’s Instagram and Twitter pages for more updates and music.