It was a banner year of attention for rapmusicin 2024, largely fedby the beef between artistsKendrick LamarandDrake(which began simmering in 2013). There were volleys of diss tracks like Lamar’s immensely popular “Not Like Us” (which dominated music award season), as well as the November 2024 release of Lamar’s acclaimed latest studio album,GNX.
Drakewould later sue musical partner UMG Recordingsin January 2025 for alleged defamation and preferential treatment towards fellow UMG artist Lamarregarding the release and promotion of “Not Like Us.“Lamar would go on to still play the song at his much-talked-about Super Bowl halftime show performance; the Drake lawsuit is still moving through the courts at this time.
So, who’s next out there to turn heads and headlines in the rap world in 2025? The long-awaited return of rap duothe Clipse(also known asClipse) with a hyped new album featuring Lamar might just foot the bill, as siblings Pusha T and Maliceare back on July 11th with an LP calledLet God Sort Em Out.
The Background Behind Clipse Returning With Let God Sort Em Out
A Reunion Years In The Making
Clipse consists of brothers from Virginia Beach, Gene “Malice” and Terrence “Pusha T” Thornton,who first put the group together in 1994after being discovered by famed musician/producer Pharrell Williams. After recording an album for Elektra Records that was shelved, the duo was released, later being signed by Williams to cut their actual debut record,Lord Willin',in 2002.
Label issues would continue to follow the Clipse, as their follow-up LPHell Hath No Furywas delayed until 2006. After finally dropping the record, the Clipse were released by Jive Records to sign with Columbia in 2007. This led to their third album,Til the Casket Drops(their first without Williams' production duo The Neptunes), which emerged in 2009.
Malice and Pusha T went solo after that, with Malice expressing a desire to get away from the group’s frequent drug-referencing material and the negativity he felt was around him (he’d later convert to Christianity and change his name to No Malice). For a time, it seemed like the Clipse was finished, though the door remained open for a return.
The Clipse comeback got underwaywith individual collaborations in 2019 and 2022, but nothing more substantial materialized until a new Clipse song was heard during a Louis Vuitton fashion show a few years later. Not long after this occurred, the duo announced they were working onLet God Sort Em Out, a 13-track LP helmed solely by Williams on production.
Along With An Intriguing Music Video
The first unveiling of the sound behindLet God Sort Em Outcame in the form of May 30th’s lead single, “Ace Trumpets.” Perhaps an anti-climactic choice given other known features coming on the album from the likes of singer John Legend and rappers Nas and Tyler, the Creator, but an important onethat’s focused simply on the Clipse duo.
There’s a natural power and chemistry in the pairing of Pusha T and Malice (who’s possibly returned to his original name), and “Ace Trumpets” deliverswith a hard-charging beat and equally hard lyrics. Pusha and Malice go deep into their rhyme scheme bags, with Malice still looking razor sharp in this mold (even after softening his image over the years).
The same applies to the song “So Be It,” which was exclusively first released on YouTube and now appears to be streaming on Spotify (though it isn’t available for download and may not be on other streamers as of this writing). Regardless of availability, “So Be It” againshows off the horsepower of the Pusha/Malice duo.
Over a pulsing, Middle Eastern-oriented, violin-sampled beat, Pusha ultimately takes no prisoners in his lyrical bars. In particular, T takes particular pleasure in going after fellow rapper Travis Scottin a multi-layered diss of animosity.
Are the shots at Scott only part of “So Be It”? “So Be It Pt. II” is shown on early tracklists (also first revealed to Spotify); will it include another direction or more depth about this issue? Only time (and the release date) will tell, though Pusha T’s beef with Scotthas obvious roots and points of contention.
Pusha reportedly developed a distaste for Scott based on Scott having a perceived lack of loyalty to associates like Drake, and allegedly interrupting a Clipse recording session to play Williams his own music. Pusha has already had a checkered past with Drake, whichreared its head again with a disputeoccurring during the release ofLet God Sort Em Out.
There’s Been Some Controversy Around Let God Sort Em Out
Involving Another Record Label Beef
Clipse’s new album was likely on an original release timeline somewhere at the end of last year. However, a problem emerged when their record label at the time, Def Jam, wanted the groupto censor or remove Lamar’s guest verse on a song called “Chains & Whips.“Clipse believed this was due to Lamar’s very public rap battle with Drake.
Pusha T has also had a widely known rap beef with Drake (occurring in 2018). Despite Lamar’s verse not mentioning the feud, UMG and Def Jam allegedly wanted no part of the two rappers associating. Clipse refused to make changes and ultimately had to buy their way off of Def Jam for a pricereportedly as high as seven figures.
This delayed the drop ofLet God Sort Em Outsignificantly, with the Clipse latching on to rapper Jay-Z’s Roc Nation imprint (in a deal done very quickly once Clipse was available to sign). This wasn’t Pusha’s first experience dealing with suppression related to Drake; he’s alleged that aspects of his solo career were stifledafter dissing Drake in 2018.
Additionally, despite rapper Kanye West being one of the catalysts for Clipse’s reunion when Pusha T and Malice collaborated with him in 2019, Pusha has made it clear thattheir time working together has ended. This has largely been due to West’s erratic behavior over the years, as well as aspects of West’s personality Pusha has said he doesn’t like.
Despite the noise surrounding the release cycle ofLet God Sort Em Out, anticipation has remained high (especially with snippets of Lamar’s and Nas' verses from the record having been heard too).Clipseseems poised to take over the rap dialogue in 2025, and with most of the record still tightly under wraps,there may be more surprises to come.
