NOISEY TALKS TO PUSHA T

Terrence "Pusha T" Thornton isn’t yet a household name, but he’s undoubtedly one of the best-connected rappers alive. The Virginia Beach MC's first alliance was an obvious one: he cofounded Clipse with his brother Gene (known as Malice) in the early '90s. The pair forged a one-in-a-million partnership in '93 when they met up with the Neptunes' Pharrell Williams, who was already on his way to becoming the Quincy Jones of hip hop. Both parties benefitted: the Thorntons' brash, unrepentant depictions of the cocaine trade and its attendant excesses meshed hand-in-glove with Williams's feverishly funky production, yielding a string of club- and critic-friendly tracks.

Clipse has been quiet lately, but Pusha T's "has worked with" list continues to balloon. That's him striking just the right note of cold cynicism ("You should leave if you can't accept the basics / Plenty hos in the baller-nigga matrix") on Kanye West's "Runaway," a key moment on the 2010 mindblower My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

Logically, after roughly two decades' worth of high-profile collaborations, Pusha T is in the position to do a little anointing himself. His second Kanye-backed solo release, 2011's Fear of God II: Let Us Pray, features a typically spazzed-out guest appearance from Odd Future leader (and Clipse megafan) Tyler, the Creator. But it's a measure of how far Terrence Thornton has come that the gospel-drenched "My God," Fear of God II's lead single and one of the MC's strongest showings to date, is guest-star-less. This rapper may excel at networking, but he's more than capable of commanding the mic alone.

Pusha's new record is called Fear Of God II: Let Us Pray. It's out in November 2011 through Decon Records and Kanye West's label GOOD Records.