Pusha T

Terrence Thornton (born May 13, 1977), better known by his stage name Pusha T, is an American hip hop recording artist. He initially gained major recognition as one-half of hip hop duo Clipse, alongside his brother Gene "No Malice" Thornton, with whom he founded Re-Up Records. In September 2010, Thornton announced his signing to Kanye West's GOOD Music imprint, under the aegis of Def Jam Recordings. In March 2011, he released his first solo project, a mixtape titled Fear of God. Thornton released his debut solo album My Name Is My Name, in October 2013. In November 2015, Kanye West appointed Pusha T to take over his role as president of GOOD Music.

Biography

1977–2009: Early life and career beginnings

Pusha T was born Terrence Thornton on May 13, 1977, in The Bronx borough of New York City. Thornton and his family soon relocated to Norfolk, Virginia, where he and his brother, Gene 'No Malice' Thornton, grew up. In 1992, Terrence and his brother Gene formed the duo Clipse. With help from American record producer and fellow Virginian Pharrell Williams, the duo eventually signed to Elektra Records in 1997 and released Exclusive Audio Footage, their only album under that label. Of the two brothers, Terrence was more open to features, appearing on Kelis' 1999 single "Good Stuff" and Nivea's 2001 single "Run Away (I Wanna Be with U)", respectively. In 2004, he and his brother launched their record label imprint, Re-Up Records and formed hip hop group Re-Up Gang, along with fellow rappers Ab-Liva and Sandman. In 2006, they released their third studio album and their most commercial album, Hell Hath No Fury, which was praised by critics. After one more album as the Clipse in 2009, both No Malice and Pusha T announced that they were taking time off from the duo to focus on their own respective solo projects.

Countdown

A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the term "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and even "E-minus" for events that involve spacecraft that are already in space, where the "T" could stand for "Test" or "Time", and the "E" stands for "Encounter", as with a comet or some other space object. Other events for which countdowns are commonly used include the detonation of an explosive, the start of a race, the start of the New Year, or any anxiously anticipated event. An early use of a countdown once signaled the start of a Cambridge University rowing race. The first known association with rockets was in the 1929 German science fiction movie Die Frau im Mond (English: Woman in the Moon) written by Thea von Harbou and directed by Fritz Lang in an attempt to increase the drama of the launch sequence of the story's lunar-bound rocket.

Rocketry

A countdown is a carefully devised set of procedures ending with the ignition of a rocket's engine. Depending on the type of vehicle used, countdowns can start from 72 to 96 hours before launch time.

Vic Mensa

Victor Kwesi Mensah, better known by his stage name Vic Mensa, is an American hip hop recording artist from Chicago, Illinois. He is currently signed to Roc Nation and was a member of the group Kids These Days, which broke up in May 2013. Following their breakup, he released his first major mixtape INNANETAPE. Vic Mensa is also founder of the hip-hop collective Save Money which includes frequent collaborator Chance the Rapper. His debut single "Down On My Luck" was released in June 2014 by Virgin EMI and it achieved international success.

Life and career

1993–2012: Early life and career beginnings

Victor Kwesi Mensah's father is from Ghana, West Africa, and his mother is white.

2013–14: INNANETAPE

Mensa performed with Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn at Albarn's performance at the Governors Ball Music Festival, where he performed the track "Clint Eastwood", filling in for MC Del the Funky Homosapien. When announcing a tour for 2015, Mensa said that he has plans to collaborate with Albarn sometimes in the near future.