Clipse is a Hip-Hop duo made up of Terrence “Pusha T” Thornton and Gene “Malice” Thornton formed in Virginia Beach in 1994. They spent the first years of their careers just trying to secure a record deal, they got picked up by Elektra Records however due to poor reception from their single “The Funeral”, they were dropped by the label.
Not all hope was lost because their good friend Pharell Williams, a Hip-Hop producer rapidly rising in popularity, started the record label, “Star Trak Entertainment” where the duo would get back into the scene and release Lord Willin’(2002).
Unfortunately some drama happened with the record label that ended in Clipse severing ties with Star Trak Entertainment and going under Jive Records. Under this new record label they would get ignored and sidetracked, dampening their ability to release music.
The unfair treatment would cause them to form a new group and record label, still under Jive Records called the Re-Up Gang and Re-Up Records.
While in this group they would release a series of mixtapes called We Got It 4 Cheap from 2005 to 2008. Eventually Re-up and Jive Records would agree to a joint release of Clipes’ third album, Hell Hath No Fury (2006). Months after the release of the album they announced they were finally released from Jive Records.
In 2010, following the release of their 2009 album, Till the Casket Drops. An album that would prove to be quite divisive amongst the fans of the gangster rap duo because of their sudden step towards pop rap, the group would go into hiatus.
The brothers would cite creative differences and legal issues, Malice experienced a spiritual transformation and grew distant towards the violent subject matter discussed in their music. Pusha T would continue music and release critically acclaimed albums such as Daytona (2018) and It’s Almost Dry (2022).
In 2022 the duo would reunite performing at Pharrell’s Something in the Water festival, they would continue performing together, Malice even being featured on a song in It’s Almost Dry.
The reunion would be further confirmed in 2025 when the duo announced a new album called Let God Sort Em Out set to come out on July 11 2025, their first album since 2009.
Leading up to the album’s release, it faced quite a number of challenges, one of the biggest and most notable was the inclusion of Kendrick Lamar, a widely praised and heavily awarded rapper.
Kendrick Lamar featured the track, “Chains & Whips”, however this was met with a demand from Universal Music Group to remove Kendrick’s part in the song, Pusha T openly stated that the demand for censorship stemmed from Drake, another commercially successful rapper, suing Universal Music Group for publishing Not Like Us a song by Kendrick amidst the two rapper’s feud and was very critical of Drake. The entire album, originally meant to release in 2024, was delayed as the duo paid seven figures to be released from the label.
Upon the release of the album, it was met with widespread praise, critics citing the lyricism, amazing chemistry and consistency throughout the entire album. Some other critics point to Pharell Williams’ production being “overpolished” and didn’t meet the potential they had.
Ultimately, what this album proved was that no matter how rocky this duo’s journey had been, initially failing to find success, getting in out of record deals and even taking a 16 year hiatus, they can still have the drive to absolutely dominate the game and show everybody, new and experienced, in the genre why they’re considered such legends in Hip-Hop.
