Daytona (album)
Daytona (stylized in all caps) is the third studio album by American rapper Pusha T. It was released on May 25, 2018, by G.O.O.D. Music and Def Jam Recordings. The album features guest appearances from Rick Ross and Kanye West, and uncredited additional vocals by Tony Williams and 070 Shake. Kanye West also served as executive producer and produced all of its tracks, with additional production from Andrew Dawson and Mike Dean.[3]
Daytona
Daytona is the first of five albums produced by West in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in what became known as the "Wyoming Sessions",[4][5] released in 2018, with a seven-track album being released every week. The album preceded the release of West's eighth studio album Ye, West's collaboration with Kid Cudi titled Kids See Ghosts, Nas' eleventh studio album Nasir, and Teyana Taylor's second studio album K.T.S.E..
Daytona was supported by the lead single, "What Would Meek Do?", which was released from the album on July 4, 2018.[6] Daytona debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 with 77,000 album-equivalent units, of which 39,000 were pure album sales. The album received widespread critical acclaim from music critics and was considered by many major publications to be one of the best albums of 2018 and the decade. The album received a nomination for Best Rap Album at the 2019 Grammy Awards.
Background[edit]
In December 2015, Pusha T released the album King Push – Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude, which was set to serve as a prelude to Pusha T's third album, King Push. However, the album suffered from numerous delays, and instead, Daytona was announced by Kanye West via Twitter on April 19, 2018, alongside the album's release date.[7][8][9]
Pusha T explained the title of the album by stating: "I changed the album title from King Push to Daytona because I felt it didn’t represent the overall message of this body of work. Daytona represents the fact that I have the luxury of time. That luxury only comes when you have a skill set that you're confident in."[10]
Recording and production[edit]
Recording sessions for the album took place in Jackson, Wyoming and Utah during 2017 up to May 2018.[11][12][13] Initial production for the album featured a variety of high profiled producers, however the original material was scrapped in favour of Kanye West producing the entire album. Production influences came from creating individual song lists and sampling.[14] The album contained ten unique samples across its seven tracks, making it the most-sample dense project to come out of the Wyoming Sessions.[15]
Songs recorded for the album include "Sociopath" featuring guest vocals from Kanye West and Kash Doll. "Sociopath" leaked in April 2019 and was later officially released as a single in August 2019, along with "Coming Home", which features Lauryn Hill, which was also rumoured to be intended for Daytona.[11][16][17]
The album was officially completed on May 23, 2018, two days before digital release.[1][18][19]
Artwork[edit]
The original artwork for Daytona was replaced a few days before the album's release, with the official artwork showing a picture of now-deceased singer Whitney Houston's drug paraphernalia-littered bathroom.[20][21] The licensing for the artwork cost $85,000, paid by Kanye West.[22] Houston's ex-husband Bobby Brown criticized the cover, saying it was in "really really bad taste".[23]
Controversy[edit]
Canadian rapper Drake responded to the song "Infrared", which addressed Drake and his ghostwriting rumors, by releasing a diss track titled "Duppy Freestyle" on May 25, 2018, which heavily sampled "Ever So Lovingly" by Táta Vega.[24] The song garnered significant media attention, as well as a response from Pusha T on Twitter.[25] Four days later, Pusha T responded with his own song titled "The Story of Adidon" which alleges that Drake is secretly the father of a porn star's child.[26] Drake would later go on to confirm this on his own album, Scorpion, a few weeks later. Drake alleges that the child information was leaked by West,[27] but Pusha T alleges that Drake's producer, 40, leaked the info to a woman he slept with.[28]
Notes
Samples