On Friday (March 4), Pusha T joined his longtime friend, Japanese fashion designer known for founding the popular streetwear brand, Bape, Nigo, in releasing “Hear Me Clearly,” the third single from Nigo’s upcoming studio album, I Know Nigo. While sharing a snippet of the track on Instagram, Push revealed a conversation he had with Pharrell that led to honing in on his craft for his forthcoming album, to drop later this year.

After first hearing the song prior to its release, Pharrell warned Pusha he didn’t want him to fall into the “mixtape rapper” category with his 2018 DAYTONA effort nearly turning four years old.

“Fun Fact: @pharrell heard this song and told me ‘it’s cool, but I don’t want you to be a mixtape rapper for the rest of your life,'” Pusha T explained. “I was devastated. He then flew me to Miami and proceeded to produce the first half of the best album of the year. Moral of the story…always “push” your friends to be greater, even when they’re the greatest.”

Fellow Skateboard P collaborator and Clipse superfan, Tyler, the Creator, challenged the Virginia beatmaker’s opinion, suggesting Pharrell didn't know what he was talking about. 

“SOOOOO GOOD PAPA JESUS THIS IS HARDDD, YES YES IDK WHAT THE FUCK P TALKING BOUT”

During a recent interview with Complex, Pusha T revealed that his next album will be completely produced by Kanye West and The Neptunes, two entities he has worked closely with throughout his professional career. 

“At the end of the day, what I make is masterpieces, when it comes to, like, street hip-hop,” Push explains in the interview. “This particular album is half produced by The Neptunes, half produced by Kanye West. Nobody makes better music with those two entities than me. Like, ever.”

What do you think about Pusha T’s verse on Nigo’s “ Hear Me Clearly”? Listen below and stay tuned for more hip-hop news.