<\/p>\n
It took 16 years, but they did it: Pusha T and Malice, a.k.a. Terrence Thornton and Gene Thornton Jr., a.k.a. the Clipse, reunited for their first album since 2009 and flipped the world of hip-hop on its head. Let God Sort Em Out<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> the precisely engineered monument to their own eternal dopeness that the two brothers released in July, breaks many unwritten rules. It\u2019s a lyrics-first project, with more emphasis on verbal craftsmanship than catchy hooks, that nonetheless hit the Billboard<\/em> 200\u2019s top five, matching their highest-ever position on that chart, back in 2002; it\u2019s an album of startling maturity and vulnerability from a duo once more accustomed to boasting; and perhaps most of all, it\u2019s a must-listen, endlessly replayable set of songs from two seasoned veterans working in a genre that often prizes youth. \u201cI like to think that we slammed the door on ageism in hip-hop,\u201d says Malice, 53. \u201cThat\u2019s a stigma that probably never should have existed, and hopefully that\u2019s done away with.\u201d<\/p>\n He and his younger brother Pusha T are sounding justifiably proud of what they achieved this year when they log on to Zoom from a studio in their hometown of Virginia Beach, Virginia. \u201cIt\u2019s a testament to, first and foremost, how we look at music, and the high level of taste \u2014 and just executing,\u201d says Pusha, 48. \u201cWe\u2019re perfectionists almost to a fault sometimes, but we know what we want, and I think it translated.\u201d<\/p>\n More from Rolling Stone<\/strong><\/p>\n Both of them enjoyed seeing the world react to the carefully choreographed spate of interviews and on-camera performances (including multiple<\/a> chats<\/a> with Rolling Stone<\/em>) that they rolled out in the lead-up to the album\u2019s release. \u201cIt took me to a time when I was just a fan and I used to run to the mags and the publications to see what was going on, and that would turn into lunchroom arguments and barbershop arguments: \u2018Did y\u2019all hear what they said?\u2019\u201d Pusha says. \u201cJust to watch that play out in today\u2019s time with the new mediums \u2026 I think we did a damn good job in creating that conversation around a really good album.\u201d<\/p>\n He notes, with a characteristic smirk, that not all of today\u2019s big stars share his and Malice\u2019s willingness to expose themselves to questions from a journalist. \u201cIt showed the pride that we had in the music,\u201d Pusha adds. \u201cWe\u2019re willing to hear others\u2019 opinions \u2014 the good, the bad, and the ugly. We stood on it, as opposed to just making the music and then hiding. We want to talk about it.\u201d<\/p>\n THEY\u2019VE BOTH TALKED in-depth about everything that brought them to this point: How Malice left his lyrical persona behind in 2010 to embrace a life of faith, how Pusha built a successful solo career<\/a> out of necessity in the decade-plus that followed, and how they found their way back to being the Clipse again, while also honoring the ways they\u2019ve both grown. \u201cIt\u2019s great to be back with my brother,\u201d Malice says. \u201cThe level that he has kept our legacy alive \u2014 the professionalism, the taste level, just being top-tier \u2014 it made it a real nice place for me to be able to land at. To have him save a seat for me all this time the way he did is an amazing thing.\u201d<\/p>\n They give credit, too, to Pharrell Williams, a lifelong friend since their earliest days in Virginia, who returned to produce the new album. \u201cWhat you\u2019re hearing is years of friendship and comfort,\u201d Malice says. \u201cAt home, from the same place \u2014 I think that makes for great music. Just being familiar, being comfortable, laughing, reminiscing, telling stories.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s the most fun he has, honestly,\u201d Pusha adds.<\/p>\n Those decades of experience, both in the studio and in real life, are a key part of what made this album so resonant. Malice returns to the theme of ageism in rap, what he calls the \u201ccrazy\u201d expectation that older artists have less to offer. \u201cI believe that the young men definitely have their time,\u201d he says. \u201cThey have that energy, they have that angst and rebellion \u2014 but that\u2019s just the start of it.\u00a0You need to see what kind of lessons were learned and where you end up. You got to finish the book. You don\u2019t just start at the beginning and put it down.\u201d<\/p>\n Pusha notes that they wanted to uphold and reinforce the East Coast hip-hop<\/a> traditions they grew up with on this album. \u201cThe fundamentals of the game never die,\u201d he says. \u201cThey\u2019re just as interesting, just as entertaining, just as impressive as all the new energy that comes in and out of the game.\u201d (And he wouldn\u2019t be Pusha if he didn\u2019t get in a dig at some of the contemporary artists who don\u2019t live up to his artistic standards. \u201cNot all the new energy is impressive,\u201d he continues. \u201cJust because it\u2019s different and it\u2019s some extra spin you put on it don\u2019t make it good.\u201d)<\/p>\n After releasing Let God Sort Em Out<\/em> to rave reviews this summer, the Clipse took a well-deserved victory lap with a sold-out, career-spanning tour of theaters and large clubs across the country. Those crowds weren\u2019t just made up of older heads who bought their albums on CDs back in the day, either: The brothers laugh when they remember the teenage fan they saw going \u201cbar for bar\u201d with them on \u201cMomma I\u2019m So Sorry,\u201d from their 2006 masterpiece, Hell Hath No Fury.<\/em> \u201cShe was going crazy,\u201d Pusha says. \u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018You were not there!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n They also appreciated the emotional reactions they got whenever they performed \u201cThe Birds Don\u2019t Sing,\u201d<\/a> the tribute to their late parents that opens the LP. \u201cThe fans said they weren\u2019t able to express that kind of grief,\u201d Malice says. \u201cWe summed it up for them, giving language to that type of pain. We heard about it night after night on tour.\u201d<\/p>\n They react with mock dismay when asked to choose their favorite bars by each other on the new album. \u201cOh man,\u201d Malice says. \u201cIt\u2019s like picking your favorite child! You can\u2019t even do that.\u201d He finally names Pusha\u2019s verse on \u201cP.O.V.\u201d<\/a>: \u201cThe verse and the flow is just incredible. I love the nonchalant feel of it. It\u2019s spectacular. But I think that about all of the verses.\u201d<\/p>\n Pusha, meanwhile, highlights the \u201chonesty\u201d of Malice\u2019s verse on \u201cSo Far Ahead.\u201d<\/a> \u201c\u2018I done been both Mason Bethas,\u2019\u201d he says, quoting his brother. \u201cI was like, \u2018Man, damn, he got me.\u2019 It was so many moments like that on the album. The intellect, the perspective, the one-liners. We could go back and forth all day.\u201d<\/p>\n One thing they\u2019re both certain of: It won\u2019t be another 16 years before we hear from the Clipse again. \u201cNo way,\u201d Malice says emphatically. \u201cListen, we just got here, man. There\u2019s plenty more.\u201d<\/p>\n Best of Rolling Stone<\/strong><\/p>\n Sign up for RollingStone’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It took 16 years, but they did it: Pusha T and Malice, a.k.a. Terrence Thornton and Gene Thornton Jr., a.k.a. the Clipse, reunited for their first album since 2009 and flipped the world of hip-hop on its head. Let God Sort Em Out, the precisely engineered monument to their own eternal dopeness that the two […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2168551,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[340649,314737,416496],"class_list":["post-2168550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-pusha-t","tag-rolling-stone","tag-the-clipse"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Bar-for-Bar-Show-for-Show-2025-Was-Clipses-Year.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2168550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2168550"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2168550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2168552,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2168550\/revisions\/2168552"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2168551"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2168550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2168550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2168550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}