Daytona

Kanye West’s Good Music camp balled out in the summer of 2018. Within weeks of each other, five studio records were released, with Push kicking it off with Daytona. Push names his highly anticipated record Daytona after the “luxury of time” that he possessed in creating it. Ironically, the album plays a short runtime of 21 minutes over 7 tracks, yet not a single second or breath went to waste.

Pusha T introduces track one, If You Know You Know, with a ferocious, hard-hitting coke anthem, allusively illustrating his former promiscuous lifestyle. Between the lines, Push details hidden innuendos about his streetlife that you would only pick up on if you lived like him. Ye put his drum machine to work, lacing low-fidelity drums over a dreamy, old-school sample.

Track two, The Games We Play, features braggadocious rhyming from Push, heavily suggesting that he stands out from those around him in the hip hop space. Comparing himself to hip hop legends Raekwon and Ghostface Killah, we watch Push drop tiger style lines proving that he is a trailblazer, visionary, and highly respected individual with a talented work ethic. Ye’s beat making abilities are on point once again, sounding like the instrumental was recovered from a 90s hip hop beat tape.

Throughout the duration of Daytona, Push’s egotistical persona shines brighter. Push fills every pocket with deliberately evil flows, and menacing rhythms. Infrared subliminally sparks strays at pop star Drake, which kicks off the surgical summer of 2018. It’s captivating just how imaginative Push is, designing his lyrics in such a verbally confident way. It’s really a testament to his uniqueness in rap, which makes him irreplaceable.

On your drive to work in the morning, this album could be over before you get there–it's that short. It's impressive that Push remained so focussed on this LP despite the narrow runtime. Nevertheless, he pulled through with a very tight knit and cohesive final product.

Final Verdict:

This is one of my most played projects of all time, and I have always considered it to be nothing less than legendary. Daytona has been around with me since I fell in love with rap, and I have watched it age incredibly. This project is thoroughly consistent, and Push proves how much of an asset he is on this. In a decade, every publication will put this in the classic category. Perfect 10.

Griff