After nearly 16 years apart, Virginia Beach’s rap duo Clipse recently reunited and put out the brand new album, “Let God Sort ‘Em Out,” available now.
Coming in at 13 tracks with a runtime of 40 minutes, Pusha T and Malice’s reunion feels necessary and grandiose in an ever evolving hip hop landscape–especially right now. The entire project is produced by fellow Virginia native and longtime collaborator Pharrell Williams.
In the years since their last album, Pusha and Malice have clearly evolved and matured in their own respects. While Malice has undergone a spiritual transformation through religion, Pusha T has sharpened his craft with a string of critically acclaimed solo albums like 2018’s “DAYTONA,” and 2022’s “It’s Almost Dry.”
Williams’ production, too, has evolved far beyond the early-2000s Neptunes and N.E.R.D. sound that defined his rise. The beats are as opulent and texturally rich as the Louis Vuitton pieces Williams now oversees as creative director.
The album opens with “The Birds Don’t Sing”— a heart wrenching song about Pusha and Malice finding out about each of their respective parent’s passing away and the emotional complexities that followed suit. The presentation of this track feels borderline confessional–with both artists showing vulnerability that feels rare for them. Alongside the brutally honest storytelling, the beats are haunting–like something that would haunt the halls of an emptied church–and with a cathartic hook from John Legend.
Despite Pusha and Malice both exerting a newfound clarity and confidence that only comes with age, the duo still remain as ruthless as they were when they started over 30 years ago. Check out track four, “So Be It.” The production is like something ripped out of a classic black and white horror movie. Pusha uses this eerie atmosphere to its fullest potential–going after the throat of Travis Scott, modern day hip hop superstar.
Pusha has gone on record talking about how Scottcrashed an early Clipse studio session to play his newest album “Utopia” for them. However, once the album was officially released, it was made apparent that Scott had not played them a particular track “MELTDOWN,” whichfeatured a Drake verse taking shots at Williams.
Not only have Williams and Drake had longtime running beef, but so have Pusha and Drake–as famously seen in “The Story of Adidon,” a 2018 diss track where Pusha T unveiled to the world that Drake had a child he was hiding from the public.
But Clipse isn’t the only one coming for blood on this record. The record also features two of the West Coast’s most prominent voices in hip hop; Kendrick Lamar and Tyler, The Creator. Both bring a vicious energy to their respective tracks.
On “Chains & Whips,” Lamar delivers an anxiety-causing aggression, making listeners nervous for the next line. On the following track “P.O.V.”, Tyler exerts an unstoppable confidence; even making it a point to address an unnamed artist who has threatened to sue him over a feature, and also talking about outgrowing some of his heroes. While many speculations have been made in regard to who it may be about (Kanye West, Playboi Carti, Brandun Deshay), no official claims have been made at the time of writing this.
The album finishes strong with the closer “By The Grace of God,” an introspective song reflecting on the lives that Pusha and Malice have lived and how it’s a miracle they made it out alive. It feels celebratory—not only the track, but the record as a whole. With hip-hop still being a relatively new genre (having celebrated fifty years in 2023), we’re witnessing, in real time, how rappers evolve with age—and how their craft matures alongside them.
Some never fully stop and remain consistent in releasing new music (for better or worse). Some take a higher role in production like Williams or Q-Tip. But then you have the artists like Andre 3000 and Jay Z, who may not be consistently in the spotlight releasing music, but anytime they have a guest verse (or in Jay Z’s case, release an album like “4:44”), it feels important.
In Clipse’s case, this record solidifies them as part of that same discussion. With Pusha T pushing 50 and Malice past that milestone, the quality shown throughout “Let God Sort Em Out” is a testament that true talent doesn’t go away with time.
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