Pusha T | |
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Born | Terrence LeVarr Thornton May 13, 1977 New York City, U.S. |
Other names |
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Occupations |
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Years active | 1993–present |
Agent | Steven Victor |
Works | Discography |
Spouse |
Virginia Williams (m. 2018) |
Children | 1 |
Awards | Full list |
Musical career | |
Origin | Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S. |
Genres | East Coast hip hop |
Labels |
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Member of | |
Formerly of | |
Website | kingpush |
Signature | |
Terrence LeVarr Thornton (born May 13, 1977),[1] better known by his stage name Pusha T,[2] is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as one half of the Virginia-based hip hop duo Clipse, which he formed with his older brother No Malice. Mainly active from 1994 to 2010, the duo were discovered by Pharrell Williams and signed with his record label Star Trak Entertainment, an imprint of Arista Records in 2001. They released three studio albums—Lord Willin' (2002), Hell Hath No Fury (2006) and Til the Casket Drops (2009)—to mild commercial success; the former spawned the Billboard Hot 100-top 40 singles "Grindin'" and "When the Last Time", for which they became best known.
After the duo disbanded in 2010, Thornton promptly pursued a solo career. He signed with Kanye West's record label GOOD Music, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings following his work on West's fifth album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). He guest featured on West's single "Runaway" in October of that year—which peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100—as well as his song "So Appalled" also from the album. He released two of his debut solo projects—Fear of God and Fear of God II: Let Us Pray—in 2011, prior to the release of his debut studio album, My Name Is My Name (2013). Met with critical and commercial success, it peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 and was followed by his second and third albums King Push – Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude (2015) and Daytona (2018), which peaked at numbers 20 and three on the chart respectively. His fourth album, It's Almost Dry (2022) became his first to debut atop the Billboard 200.[3]
West appointed Thornton to take over his role as president of GOOD Music in late 2015, where he remained one of the label's flagship artists until his departure and dissociation with West in 2022.[4] In 2020, he launched his record label Heir Wave Music Group, which aims as a platform for Virginia-based artists.[5] Throughout his career, Thornton has received five Grammy Award nominations.[6]