Pusha T on Vegas Nights, Partying with Rick Ross, and Driving Lamborghinis in the Club

Pusha T

"I've had a good fucking year and it's pretty amazing!" Pusha T, one half of the Neptunes-endorsed rap group The Clipse, sounds relaxed and happy as he prepares to release his new solo project, Fear Of God II: Let Us Pray. Clipse might have become icons of the crack rap movement, but left to his own devices Pusha sounds like he's lightened up a little. Along with his much ballyhooed collaboration with Tyler, The Creator, "Trouble On My Mind," the album sees Pusha trading rhymes with the lofty likes of Rick Ross, Kanye West, 50 Cent and P Diddy. The song "Feeling Myself" also features a joyful hook bragging about "spending money like a rich white girl."

So, with Pusha performing at the House of Blues tonight, we nixed ideas of asking him about the future of the Clipse and instead tapped into his hip-hop hedonist side. He reciprocated with anecdotes about his favorite nights out and most memorable celebrity parties.

You have a song on the album titled "Alone In Vegas." What's your most memorable night in Vegas?
Ah, man, it's the Oscar De La Hoya versus Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight night. I was there for the fight, then afterwards we went to the club Tao and we just partied. Everyone was there: 50 Cent, Chris Lighty, just a who's who of the music industry. I was signed to [Lighty's] Violator management company at the time. We had a good time.

Did you bet on the fight?
No, I didn't bet.

Do you bet?
Man, I'm just not a good gambler. I do gamble, but I always lose. My attention span is so short it's like the idea of having these chips and just putting down these chips and working it -- I'm like, fuck it, let's just put $500 on and that's when they get me.

On the album, you also brag about being "pissy drunk." When was the last time you drank too much?
That was last week, in Virginia, at a club called Mansion VA. Every time we go there it's a special occasion, bottle after bottle. I'm often on the road during party nights, but I'm home early in the week.

If the Pusha T was a drink, what would be in it?
The Pusha T would definitely be Ciroc and ... actually, I'ma just say Ciroc straight!