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Pusha T has a prolific catalogue of his own between solo albums and projects alongside his brother No Malice as The Clipse, but he’s never been one to shy away from giving credit to those who came before him.

The 47-year-old — born Terrence Thornton — may have grown up in Virginia, but his main influences actually come from New York rappers. During an interview with Hot 97, Pusha was asked to name his top five rap albums of all time and was quick to name his favourites.

In no particular order, Push started off with Mobb Deep’s classic 1995 album The Infamous and described the impact it’s had on him as a whole.

“I will say, The Infamous album by Mobb Deep ruined my life. Right? I’m gonna say that ruined my life,” he said before naming JAY-Z’s 1996 album. “Reasonable Doubt, you know what I’m saying, if anybody else comes in, that’s great, and I welcome them, but that album is one that showed me like, ‘Yo, just focus on your base’.”

For his third pick, Pusha went for Wu-Tang Clan rapper Raekwon’s debut solo album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… (also known as The Purple Tape), telling fans, “The Purple Tape, Raekwon. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… is one of the best albums I’ve ever heard in my life.”

Pusha went on to name Biggie Smalls’ posthumous double album Life After Death and praised the cohesiveness of the project whilst claiming he could never make an album of that calibre. “Life After Death is the best double album that I could never make, in life. Like, I just can’t,” he said. “You might give me six years. I don’t know if I can make a cohesive project [like that].”

Despite his respect for others who came before him, Pusha couldn’t help but put one of his own albums on the list. The Neptunes-produced Hell Hath No Fury is a staple in 2000s Hip Hop, so it’s no wonder he put the duo’s third album on his list.

“Hell Hath No Fury, my own album,” he said. “It is the truest and purest rap album that I can stand on and know that like, ‘Man, this was made from blood, sweat, and tears.'”

Pusha T was born in New York City but relocated from the Bronx to Virginia Beach at a young age, which may explain his love of rappers from the Big Apple. He’s been able to rap alongside his rap heroes over the years, collaborating with JAY-Z on songs such as ‘Neck & Wrist’ and ‘Drug Dealers Anonymous’. Push also teamed up with Raekwon on ‘The Morning’ from G.O.O.D. Music’s Cruel Summer album.

As far as new albums, the ‘Trouble on My Mind’ rapper confirmed a new Clipse album produced by The Neptunes was in the works, calling the new music “high taste-level”.

“I think the album shows the supreme maturation of a rap duo,” Pusha told Vulture about the upcoming project. “I think this is where you get the difference between taste and filler. This music is curated. This is a high-taste-level piece of work. You can only have that level of taste when you have the fundamentals down to a science. I think it’s been definitely missing. Then there’s the competitive aspect.”