Fear of God II: Let Us Pray explained

Fear of God II: Let Us Pray
Type:EP
Artist:Pusha T
Cover:Fear of God II - Let Us Pray cover.jpg
Recorded:2010–11
Genre:Hip hop
Length:45:04
Prev Title:Fear of God
Prev Year:2011
Next Title:Wrath of Caine
Next Year:2013

Fear of God II: Let Us Pray is the major label debut extended play by American rapper Pusha T, released on November 8, 2011, under Decon and G.O.O.D. Music. The EP was his first project with Kanye West's GOOD Music label, since the announcement of his signing in September 2010. Pusha T claims his inspiration for Fear of God is that a vast majority of the people who he came in the music business with are in prison: "I came in the game with super producers. We made hit records. I never thought that it gets deeper. But not for nothing, 2009 I lost eight of my friends to incarceration. Everybody that I came in to the rap game with, and when I realized that those components weren't there anymore, the 'Fear of God' really came over me. It's full of the dichotomy of 'right and wrong' and 'good and evil'. A lot of it deals with greed. A lot of it deals with instant gratification. Personally... life without instant gratification... I don't know what it is."[1]

Background and release

Pusha T established his solo career in mid-2010, while still in the Clipse with Malice, appearing on songs "Runaway"[2] and "So Appalled" by Kanye West, propagating his features.[3] On March 21, 2011, Pusha T released his first solo work, a mixtape titled Fear of God. Released independently, it included features from Kanye West, 50 Cent, Rick Ross, Pharrell Williams and Kevin Cossom.[4] The EP is a re-release of the mixtape,[5] [6] which has different structure, production and additional tracks. The EP was originally set to be released on June 21, 2011,[7] it was than pushed back to August 23, and for a while September 27, 2011, was believed to be the date, however on October 6, 2011, Thornton announced the EP is set to drop November 8, 2011. In addition it was revealed he added four more songs to the EP making it 12 tracks rather than just the nine tracks that were previously announced.[8] To begin promoting the album, he released a track produced by The Neptunes, titled "Trouble on My Mind", which features the frontman of rap collective Odd Future, Tyler, the Creator. The track "Everything That Glitters" featuring French Montana is also included on DJ Drama's third album Third Power (2011). The song "Amen" was originally meant for Young Jeezy and "Raid" was originally meant for 50 Cent for his third album Curtis (2007). "What Dreams Are Made of" samples a Ric Flair promo.

Singles

The album plays lead and Pusha T's debut single is "Trouble on My Mind", featuring Tyler, the Creator. Released on July 12, 2011,[9] the song was structured in two verses by both rappers.[10] The second single "Amen" featuring Kanye West and Young Jeezy was released August 11, 2011.

Reception

Critical response

Fear of God II: Let Us Pray received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 69, based on 17 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[11] In his consumer guide for MSN Music, critic Robert Christgau gave it an A− rating,[12] indicating "the kind of garden-variety good record that is the great luxury of musical micromarketing and overproduction."[13] Christgau quipped in his review, "The grand beats are safer than the clenched, confining, arrogantly hookless minimalism of Hell Hath No Fury. But every mean word delivers, and with cameos from Tyler the Creator to 50 Cent it's as if he never went solo."[12]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 66 on the Billboard 200 with 8,900 copies sold in its first week released.[14] It also entered at number ten on Billboards R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, at number eight on Billboards Top Rap Albums, and at number 25 on its Digital Albums chart.[15] [16] On the second week of its release the album sold 4,300 copies, bringing the total to 13,000 copies.[17]

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2011)Peak
position
US Billboard 20066
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums10
US Top Rap Albums8

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Pusha T's Fear of God II: Let Us Pray Trailer [Video] ]. XXLMAG.COM. 2011-11-08 . 2011-11-14.
  2. Web site: Kanye West f. Pusha T – Runaway. HipHopDX. 2010-09-14. 2010-09-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20110707073638/http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/singles/id.12018/title.kanye-west-f-pusha-t-runaway. July 7, 2011. dead.
  3. Web site: Steven Horowitz . Pusha T Announces Release Date For "Fear Of God II: Let Us Pray" . HipHopDX . 2011-10-06 . 2015-09-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111007035103/http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.17130/title.pusha-t-announces-release-date-for-fear-of-god-ii-let-us-pray/ . October 7, 2011 . dead .
  4. Web site: Pusha T – Fear of God mixtape. HipHopDX. 2011-03-21. 2011-05-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20110530125341/http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/mixtape/id.1386/title.pusha-t-fear-of-god. May 30, 2011. dead.
  5. Web site: Kuperstein. Slava. Pusha T Talks Odd Future, "Fear Of God 2". HipHopDX. 2011-05-08. 2011-07-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20110804082828/http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.15026/title.pusha-t-talks-odd-future-fear-of-god-2. August 4, 2011. dead.
  6. Web site: Iandoli. Kathy. Tracklist Revealed For Pusha T's "Fear Of God: Let Us Pray" EP. HipHopDX. 2011-07-19. 2011-07-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20110722152508/http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.14400/title.tracklist-revealed-for-pusha-ts-fear-of-god-let-us-pray-ep. July 22, 2011. dead.
  7. Web site: Blanco . Alvin . Pusha T Set To Drop Fear of God 2 In June - Music, Celebrity, Artist News . https://web.archive.org/web/20110421050956/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1662245/pusha-t-fear-of-god-2-june.jhtml . dead . April 21, 2011 . MTV.com . 2011-04-19 . 2012-11-12.
  8. Web site: Pusha T Announces November Release For Solo Debut, 'Fear of God II' . Ballerstatus . 2011-10-06 . 2011-10-07 . April 22, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160422073904/http://www.ballerstatus.com/2011/10/06/pusha-t-announces-november-release-for-solo-debut-fear-of-god-ii/ . dead .
  9. Web site: Pusha T – Trouble on My Mind (feat. Tyler, The Creator) single at iTunes. iTunes. 2011-07-12. 2011-07-21. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110715020913/http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/trouble-on-my-mind-feat.-tyler/id449065741. July 15, 2011. mdy-all.
  10. Web site: Pusha T f. Tyler The Creator – "Trouble On My Mind" video. http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20110727210019/http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/videos/id.8159/title.pusha-t-f-tyler-the-creator--trouble-on-my-mind. dead. July 27, 2011. HipHopDX. 2011-07-21. 2011-07-21.
  11. Web site: Fear of God II: Let Us Pray [EP] Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic]. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. 2011-12-01.
  12. Web site: Christgau. Robert. Robert Christgau. Tom Waits/Pusha T. MSN Music. Microsoft. November 29, 2011. 2011-12-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20111204052024/http://social.entertainment.msn.com/music/blogs/expert-witness-blogpost.aspx?post=c2981ce0-d004-4c7d-bc83-0efec79f284a. December 4, 2011. dead.
  13. Web site: CG 90s: Key to Icons . Christgau . Robert . Robert Christgau . October 15, 2000 . 2011-12-01.
  14. Web site: [{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=pusha t|chart=Billboard 200}} Pusha T Album & Song Chart History: Billboard 200]. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-02-21.
  15. http://www.billboard.com/charts/2011-11-26/r-b-hip-hop-albums R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Week of November 26, 2011
  16. http://www.billboard.com/charts/2011-11-26/rap-albums Rap Albums – Week of November 26, 2011
  17. Web site: Jacobs. Allen. Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 11/20/2011. Hip Hop DX. November 23, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20150123171140/http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.17721/title.hip-hop-album-sales-the-week-ending-11-20-2011. January 23, 2015. dead.

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