Pusha T doesn’t waste a second on “It’s Almost Dry.” Twelve tracks, 35 minutes, no filler, no guest verse he doesn’t need. This is a rapper who built his name on drug-trade narratives and clean bars, and here he makes both sharper without repeating himself. The record sits near his 2018 work in style, with critics calling it slightly less essential by some accounts, but wider in range.
Brambleton Opens the Album
The album opens with “Brambleton,” a title that plays like a mission statement. He’s not introducing himself. He’s reminding you he never left.
“Let the Smokers Shine the Coupes” and “Dreamin of the Past” keep the pace controlled, both under three minutes, both built on the same drug imagery that’s carried his career. They’re not the songs anyone will point to first, but they hold the album’s core in place.
Neck & Wrist Changes the Pace
Then comes “Neck & Wrist,” and the album shifts up. It’s one of the tracks critics singled out, and the reason is obvious: the story rhymes are larger than life, delivered with total control. The critical body praised the album as a strong, mature return for Pusha T.
Diet Coke and the Middle Run
“Just So You Remember” follows, a quieter transition before “Diet Coke” arrives and takes over the record. “Diet Coke” is the sharpest verse-for-verse performance on the album. Pitchfork described the project as “musically varied and vocally impressive,” and this track is where that description lands hardest — the delivery here is as impressive as the words demand.
“Rock n Roll” is the longest song on the first half of the album and the most restless in sound. It earns its length. “Call My Bluff” and “Scrape It Off” pull back together after that stretch — the latter another track critics flagged, built on a beat that leaves no space for a wasted syllable.
Hear Me Clearly and Open Air
“Hear Me Clearly” and “Open Air” are the shortest tracks on the album, and they work as a fast pivot toward the finish rather than pieces meant to stand on their own. Neither drags. Neither needed to be longer.
That sets up “I Pray for You,” the closer, and the longest track on the record. It’s the different turn the album has been building toward, and critics named it among the strongest cuts here for good reason — it closes the record on a note none of the other eleven tracks attempt.
The Score
Metacritic put the album at 83. That score reflects a body of critical opinion that often compared the record favorably to his 2018 album Daytona, though some accounts called it slightly less essential. The exact number of reviews behind that score was not confirmed in the material available.
What the Critics Said
The critical body around “It’s Almost Dry” was broadly positive. AllMusic noted that Pusha T “does what he does best — deliver larger than life storytelling rhymes about drug dealing and street struggles.” Consequence described the album as one that “drips confidence from knowing Pusha is one of a few artists who can do what he does at a very high level.” Pitchfork called it “musically varied and vocally impressive.”
Critics singled out “Neck & Wrist,” “Diet Coke,” “Dreamin of the Past,” “Rock n Roll,” “Scrape It Off,” and “I Pray for You” as the tracks worth attention.
Why It Holds Up
No track here runs past four minutes and twenty-two seconds. That discipline is the album’s biggest strength.
Pusha T isn’t chasing trends on this record. He’s improving a formula he’s owned for over a decade, and the sharpest tracks — “Neck & Wrist,” “Diet Coke,” “Scrape It Off,” “I Pray for You” — prove that formula still has room left to grow.
It’s Almost Dry doesn’t reach the peak of his best-known earlier work, and it doesn’t try to. What it does is confirm Pusha T remains one of the few rappers who can build an entire album out of one subject and never once sound like he’s saying the same thing twice. Every verse here is deliberate. Every beat earns its place.
Key facts:
– Artist: Pusha T
– Album: It’s Almost Dry (2022)
– Tracks: 12
– Total length: 35 minutes (per-track times as listed)
– Metacritic score: 83/100
| # | Track | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brambleton | 2:51 |
| 2 | Let the Smokers Shine the Coupes | 2:30 |
| 3 | Dreamin of the Past | 2:54 |
| 4 | Neck & Wrist | 3:29 |
| 5 | Just So You Remember | 2:59 |
| 6 | Diet Coke | 3:00 |
| 7 | Rock n Roll | 3:54 |
| 8 | Call My Bluff | 2:48 |
| 9 | Scrape It Off | 2:33 |
| 10 | Hear Me Clearly | 2:21 |
| 11 | Open Air | 2:13 |
| 12 | I Pray for You | 4:22 |
Note: the per-track times come from the album’s listed running order and are presented as provided.
- Brambleton2:51
- Let the Smokers Shine the Coupes2:30
- Dreamin of the Past2:54
- Neck & Wrist3:29
- Just So You Remember2:59
- Diet Coke3:00
- Rock n Roll3:54
- Call My Bluff2:48
- Scrape It Off2:33
- Hear Me Clearly2:21
- Open Air2:13
- I Pray for You4:22
