Pusha T

Terrence LeVarr Thornton (born May 13, 1977), better known by his stage name Pusha T, 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 Malice. Formed in 1994, the duo were discovered by Pharrell Williams and signed with his record label Star Trak Entertainment, an imprint of Arista Records, in 2001. They initially 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 began pursuing 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 appeared on the album's single "Runaway" in October of that year—which peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100—as well as its track "So Appalled". He released his first two solo projects—Fear of God and Fear of God II: Let Us Pray—in 2011, before releasing his debut studio album, My Name Is My Name (2013). A 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. West appointed Thornton to take over his role as president of GOOD Music in late 2015, becoming one of the label's flagship artists until his departure and dissociation with West in 2022. Three years later, he parted ways with his remaining label, Def Jam Recordings, due to creative disagreements. In 2020, he launched his record label Heir Wave Music Group, which aims as a platform for Virginia-based artists. Thornton has received five Grammy Award nominations.