Let God Sort Em Out

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“It is because of my faith that I’m sitting here with you right now,” Malice tells Apple Music’s Ebro Darden about reforming Clipse with Pusha T. “That is the only reason that I get to sit here with my brother.” Brethren both in blood and in song, the Thorntons made up one of the most vital rap duos of the 2000s. Signed back in the day to The Neptunes’ Star Trak imprint, the Virginia Beach pair spat intricate yet gratifying narco bars over cutting-edge production. Yet despite dropping three essential, consequential albums over the course of that decade, an apparent crisis of Christian values appeared to prompt a creative split. Not long after the late-2009 release of Til the Casket Drops, a hiatus commenced as both members explored solo careers with distinct differences. Pusha T continued his coke-rap ascent within the GOOD Music roster, while Malice purposefully rebranded himself a Christian artist under the subtly adjusted moniker No Malice. Thankfully, their bond could never be broken. A momentous 2019 appearance by both brothers on Kanye West’s Jesus Is King suggested a greater musical reconciliation. Yet it took the return of long-time collaborator Pharrell Williams, a core architect of the classic Clipse sound, to produce Let God Sort Em Out, their first new album in some 15 years. “It just felt like a real good family setting,” Malice says of the studio sessions in Paris that yielded these tracks. “The creative aspect, the same as it’s always been from yay high.” “We get caught up in the feeling of certain records,” Pusha T adds. “You got to realise that before we even get to the process of hooks and writing, man, we’re so entranced by the beat.” Considering the triumphant sound of Pharrell’s production on the first single, “Ace Trumpets”, it’s hard not to believe the sincerity of that statement. Reunited at last, their chemistry feels as potent as ever beginning with “The Birds Don’t Sing” where, with a little help from John Legend, they pay respect to their departed parents with their respective verses. “The framework of the song was my last conversation with my mom and his last conversation with my dad,” Pusha T says. “It was therapeutic, but it was the hardest record to make. That’s why it actually starts the album.” Notorious for taking out his foes with acutely pointed bars, Pusha T once again wields his surgical summer skill set with incisive precision on “So Be It Pt. II”. It’s little wonder they invited the like-minded Kendrick Lamar to join in on the fun with a euphorically acrimonious verse on “Chains & Whips”. And while the album boasts a handful of choice rap features by everyone from Neptunes superfan Tyler, The Creator to Griselda affiliate Stove God Cooks, one of the biggest moments comes from an artist who preceded and inspired Clipse. “I was like, ‘Man, this, this piece right here is made for Nas,’” Pusha T says of the title track’s guest appearance, adding that the Queensbridge legend was originally meant to rap on his 2022 solo album, It’s Almost Dry. “His excitement was through the roof.” For Malice, it was his younger sibling’s enthusiasm towards the new music that lit a proverbial fire underneath him. “It just reminds me of how it was when we started,” he says. “We ain’t felt like this in a while.” That feeling comes through in a major way with every single verse from the rejuvenated elder brother, slipping a stunning blend of religious imagery and key memories into tracks like “P.O.V.” and “So Far Ahead”. Aglow with gospel vibes and synth swells, the latter of these succinctly sums up the spiritual dilemma that kept Malice away from Clipse for so long with one crucial insular line: “I done been both Mason Bethas.” “It is in the suffering when you start looking for answers,” he says. “Nothing is going to help you until you get into that word of God. That’s where I get all my peace from.” Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

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