A member of the hip-hop duo Clipse, rapper Pusha T was born Terrence Thornton in the Bronx but was raised in Virginia Beach, Virginia along with his brother Gene Thornton. With Gene taking on the name Malice, the brothers formed Clipse in the early '90s, quickly forming a relationship with the Neptunes' Pharrell Williams and embarking on a career that would include major-label record deals and critically revered albums.

In 2010, the duo announced they were taking a break to focus on solo careers. Pusha would sign with Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music imprint and land on his new label boss' album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy that same year.

In 2011, he issued both the Fear of God street-level mixtape and its officially released sequel, Fear of God II: Let Us Pray, which appeared via G.O.O.D. The label released his official debut album, My Name Is My Name, in 2013, with guest appearances from Rick Ross, 2 Chainz, Kendrick Lamar, and others.

The "Untouchable" single arrived in 2015, along with the album King Push - Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude. King Push peaked at number 20 on the Billboard 200 and rose to the number three spot on the R&B/hip-hop chart.

In 2017, the rapper appeared on tracks by Linkin Park ("Good Goodbye") and Gorillaz ("Let Me Out").