Rapper Pusha T shared his perspective on friend and longtime collaborator Kanye West‘s recent antisemitic remarks, which included hateful comments about the Jewish community and problematic conspiracy theories.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, the veteran rapper articulated a general disappointment in the 45-year-old’s opinions, condemning the hate speech and bigotry that fueled West’s remarks.
“It’s definitely affected me. It’s been disappointing,” Pusha said of West’s recent string of pushing antisemitic rhetoric. “As a Black man in America, there is no room for bigotry or hate speech. So yeah. It’s been very disappointing, let’s talk straight.”
West’s stretch of antisemitic rhetoric began in early October when he tweeted a threat directed at the Jewish community, remarking that they have toyed with him and tried to “black ball anyone that opposes” their agenda. Following that tweet, he has appeared on news shows hosted by Tucker Carlson, Chris Cuomo and others, further spreading his hateful views and misinformation in addition to an appearance on Revolt TV’s “Drink Champs,” which was subsequently taken down. During this time, West also appeared on LeBron James’ HBO talk show “The Shop,” though the NBA player, alongside co-executive producer Maverick Carter, decided to shelve the episode from airing due to West’s continued efforts to spread hate speech toward the Jewish community.
The two artists have shared a close and longstanding creative relationship dating back to 2010, when Pusha signed to West’s G.O.O.D. Music imprint under Def Jam Recordings. Pusha first appeared on West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” album in the same year on the track “Runaway.” Since then, West has served as an executive producer to Pusha’s solo albums, including releases like 2013’s “My Name is My Name” and 2018’s “Daytona.” The former Clipse rapper’s latest effort, “It’s Almost Dry,” saw West take up half of the record’s production duties, while Pharrell Williams, another longtime collaborator of Pusha’s, produced the other half.
Pusha also talked about collaborating with West on the project, which is up for best rap album at the upcoming Grammy awards, praising the freedom he feels to be himself when recording.
“Writing and recording with Ye is a very special thing for me. We actually have a lot of the same taste, we love just barred-out rap. He would tell me things like, ‘Man, you just be the extreme version of yourself. And I’m gonna be the extreme version of myself,'” Pusha remarked. “Creatively, Ye has meant freedom to me. A lot of times, people would try to get me to change certain things about my process, change certain things about me lyrically, change certain things about the content. He never has been like that. He always saw me for who I was and knew how to take it to the next level.”
Previously, Pusha served as president of West’s G.O.O.D. Music imprint, assuming the role in 2015. Though, following West’s antisemitic comments, Def Jam shared in late October that G.O.O.D. was no longer associated with the record label — clarifying that their working relationship with West ended in 2021 — and further denounced his recent hateful rhetoric.
