King Push, all by his lonesome, gives Brooklyn a performance to remember.

Despite Ralph McDaniels, hip-hop ambassador and voice of the Video Music Box internet show, promising some “surprises” as he introduced Pusha T as the headliner for the 2013 Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival, after just under 40 minutes, no one had come out to join Pusha T, other than his set-long hypeman and good friend, known as mwattsmusic on Instagram. After a full day of performances, which included new school stars (Dyme-A-Duzin, Dizzy Wright) and hip-hop staples (M.O.P., EPMD, Redman), the sky, which threatened rain nearly the entire day, had settled slightly over an ever-dazzling New York skyline. The DUMBO section of Brooklyn has been home to some very special BHHF performances in recent years (Busta Rhymes, Leaders Of The New School and A Tribe Called Quest last year, and the almost mythical Q-Tip/Kanye West performance two years ago), but today was a test of a still unproven artist, unlike headliners that came before him. Yes, Pusha T, as a member of The Clipse, probably has two unequivocal classic albums to his name, but not without the help of Pharrell and Malice. Fans of the Clipse and Pusha T in general are still on the fence as to his ability to levitate as effortlessly as he once did with his brother as a solo artist. Now in the third year of his G.O.O.D. Music venture, Pusha has two full length projects to his name, and his debut album, My Name Is My Name has already suffered an indefinite push back.

But you wouldn’t know by watching him.

Taking the stage shortly after his scheduled time of 6:55 p.m., Pusha T had the task of riling up a crowd that hadn’t so much raised both their hands simultaneously all night. If New York crowds are notoriously tough, this one wasn’t budging, and with gloomy weather seemingly looming, hopes of that changing were noticeably dim. However, as the cornrow-clad former drug dealer approached the front of the stage and took in the scene, in a “Fly Emirates” soccer jersey, jeans rolled up to the knees, and cocaine white Balenciaga shoes, the intro to the Kanye West-altered, Young Chop produced G.O.O.D. Music remix to “Don’t Like” cued, and the air was cleared. The crowd chanted, “Yo’ shit, make believe, rappin’ bout my own life, woo!”, along with Ziplock P, and he never looked back. Taking his time to gage how much of his material the attendees were familiar with, Push ran through Fear Of God standouts (Cook It Down, My God), and even delivered a scintillating performance of his breakout hit, “Grindin’”. Wrath Of Caine was touched on, as “Don’t Matter” and “Take My Life” were recited in its entirety by members of the crowd, and the Thornton brother made it impossible for you to forget how many guest verses he’s delivered on, running through his part of Kanye West’s “So Appalled” and “Runaway”, and the first two verses of his Cruel Summer single, “New God Flow”. It was not only a reminder of how impacting Pusha T music has been on the genre over the past couple years, but an a-cappella performance of his verse on Alley Boy’s “Your Favorite Rapper (Is A Damn Lie)”, which segued into the scarier than a Stephen King movie in 3D “Exodus 23:1″, was a foreshadowing of what’s to come. With his declarations that My Name Is My Name will be 2013′s best rap album, the viciousness and conviction with which Pusha T delivers his lines and verses left nothing to be desired, sometimes staring into the face of a single concert-goer for seconds at a time as he enunciated each disrespectful bar.

The last two songs performed gave a perfect glimpse into what’s (hopefully) to come for Pusha T in 2013. “Blocka”, possibly Pusha’s biggest hit as a solo artist, and “Numbers On The Board”, which created tension in the air as Pusha snapped his neck back and forth with each air-snapping knock of Don Cannon and Kanye West’s instrumentation. As much fun as the former–and, if you let him tell it, current–Clipse member had on that stage, we can only imagine what happens in the studio. So thanks for the anticipation Ralph, but P will take it from here.

We lied, this performance did leave one thing to be desired.

My Name is My Name.

Words: Khari Nixon (@KingVanGogh)
Photo/Video: Roger Krastz (@WallDoe)

CLICK FOR MORE PICTURES OF PUSHA T ON THE BROOKLYN HIP-HOP FESTIVAL 2013 STAGE.