Clipse

Formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992, the rap group Clipse is made up of brothers Gene Thornton (Malice) and Terrence Thornton (Pusha T). Their meeting with producer Pharrell Williams, then with The Neptunes, led to a contract with Elektra and the recording of an album entitled Exclusive Audio Footage, which the label eventually abandoned. Pharrell Williams came to the group's rescue, signing with his label Star Trak Entertainment and Arista Records, which distributed the album Lord Willin' (2002), which reached number one on the Billboard R&B charts. The ensuing pop collaboration with Justin Timberlake on "Like I Love You" proves fruitful for the band, who then sign with Jive Records following the merger between Sony and BMG, of which Arista is a subsidiary. Critically acclaimed, their follow-up album Hell Hath No Fury (2006) was not as well received by the public as expected, and created tension with the Jive label. The duo responded with the mixtape We Got It 4 Cheap and distanced themselves from The Neptunes for the album Road to Till the Casket Drops, produced by Sean Combs' The Hitmen team (aka Diddy) and released in 2009 by Columbia. The following year, Clipse announced its split, giving way to solo careers for Pusha T on G.O.O.D. Music, Kanye West's label, and Malice, who became No Malice and wrote the autobiographical book Wretched, Pitful, Poor, Blind & Naked. In 2019, the Thornton brothers finally reunited under the name Clipse for their collaboration on Kanye West's Jesus Is King album. In June 2024, the duo caused a sensation by unveiling the unreleased track "Birds Don't Sing" at a Louis Vuitton fashion show, marking the official start of their return to the studio. Shortly afterwards, they announced the preparation of a new album entirely produced by Pharrell Williams. Entitled Let God Sort Em Out, this fourth opus - their first since 2009 - includes collaborations with Kendrick Lamar, Nas, John Legend and Stove God Cooks. At the end of 2024, No Malice formalized the group's signing to Def Jam Recordings, but this agreement came to an end in June 2025: Clipse, along with Pusha T solo, were released from their contract, a disengagement made possible by the latter's payment of a seven-figure sum. On May 30, 2025, they release the lead single "Ace Trumpets", largely recorded at Louis Vuitton headquarters in Paris, in partnership with Roc Nation. A final single, "So Be It", is released on June 17 with a video, in which Pusha T takes jabs at Travis Scott. The Let God Sort Em Out album was officially released on July 11, 2025, confirming the duo's long-awaited return with a project as audacious as it is masterful.