Pusha T

Terrence LeVarr Thornton (born May 13, 1977), better known by his stage name Pusha T, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record executive. He rose to prominence as one-half of the Virginia-based hip hop duo Clipse, which was mainly active from 1994 to 2010, alongside his older brother No Malice. As Clipse, the two released three studio albums upon signing to Pharrell's Star Trak Entertainment; they became best known for their 2002 debut single "Grindin'". In September 2010, Pusha T signed a deal with Kanye West's GOOD Music record label, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings. Later that year, he was featured on West's single "Runaway," which peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2011, he released his first solo project, the mixtape Fear of God, which preceded his debut solo album, My Name Is My Name, released in 2013. In November 2015, West appointed Pusha T to take over his role as president of GOOD Music, remaining one of the label’s flagship artists until his departure and dissociation with West in 2022. Pusha T has released a further three solo albums: King Push – Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude (2015), Daytona (2018), and It's Almost Dry (2022), all of which received widespread critical acclaim; the latter became his first album to debut atop the Billboard 200. Throughout his career, Pusha T has received five Grammy Award nominations. In 2020, he launched his own record label, Heir Wave Music Group, which aims as a platform for Virgina-based artists. Early life Pusha T was born Terrence LeVarr Thornton on May 13, 1977, in the Bronx borough of New York City, though the family soon relocated to Virginia Beach, Virginia, where he and his brother, Gene Thornton, grew up. As teenagers, the brothers both sold drugs, with Gene eventually being kicked out of their parents' house after they discovered what he was doing. In 1992, alongside his brother, the two began to pursue a career in hip hop, forming a group known as Clipse. His older brother Gene was known for most of the group's duration as Malice (the two were originally known as Terrar and Malicious, respectively, and in 2012 Gene changed his stage name to No Malice, following a conversion to Christianity).