\n<\/p>\n
\n\tIn the span of just four months, Pusha T and Malice lost both of their parents.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe rappers\u2019 mother, Mildred Thornton, died in November 2021, while father Gene Thornton passed soon after in March 2022. Needless to say, it was a soul-crushing blow, two devastating losses with little time to process in between. And yet, through the pain, the Thornton brothers managed to pour their grief into their art.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe result was July\u2019s Let God Sort Em Out<\/em>, their first album as beloved hip-hop duo Clipse since 2009\u2019s Til the Casket Drops<\/em>, and one of the best albums of 2025. Now, the album is a strong contender this coming Grammy season. Still, despite three years of grieving and more catharsis with the album, the wounds still feel fresh. <\/p>\n \n\tAmong the 13-track effort is leadoff track \u201cThe Birds Don\u2019t Sing,\u201d an emotive and brooding ballad that finds Pusha T and Malice describing that experience in such acute detail that it\u2019s impossible not to feel the heaviness of every word. That brutal honesty and vulnerability continues to be displayed throughout the entire album.<\/p>\n \n\tBut in a way, Let God Sort Em Out <\/em>is also a victory lap for Clipse. The album was intended to arrive in 2024, but as the duo claimed this year, Def Jam Recordings was concerned about the optics of Kendrick Lamar\u2019s verse on \u201cChains & Whips\u201d amid his highly publicized feud with Drake. Clipse decided to sever all ties and move forward without Def Jam, opting instead to go with Roc Nation. Though it cost them a hefty sum to get out of their contract, it turned out they didn\u2019t need Def Jam \u2014 the album debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and was universally praised for its compelling artistry.<\/p>\n \n\tSpeaking to The Hollywood Reporter<\/em>, Pusha T and Malice opened up about grief, the vindication they felt in the wake of the album\u2019s success, how important their sibling relationship is and Pusha T\u2019s goal of landing the cover of Men\u2019s Health<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tI want to get clarity on the name Malice. What\u2019s the deal with Malice versus No Malice?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tMalice:<\/strong> Since inception, it was Malice, and the theme behind it was I was just attacking these verses maliciously. That\u2019s what the whole name was about. With my convictions and with my heart change over time, I just wanted to show that there was nothing malicious about me as far as bringing harm or ill will about anything. But when my brother and I decided to come back together into the group, I felt like we owed it to ourselves and to the fans to stick with the initial branding. I never wanted to try to do Clipse with a little tweak or a little change. Clipse will always remain Clipse. It\u2019s who we are when we come together and it\u2019s who the fans know it to be, and I wouldn\u2019t want to have that any other way.<\/p>\n \n\tSo were your two solo records under No Malice?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tMalice: <\/strong>Correct. I really think you\u2019re the first person we\u2019ve talked to who really want to clarify that. I\u2019ve spoken on it, but you\u2019re making it a staple, so I appreciate that.<\/p>\n \n\tI lost my mom in 2019. When I heard \u201cThe Birds Don\u2019t Sing,\u201d it struck a different chord with me. How has your grief evolved since you lost your parents?<\/strong><\/p>\n Pusha T: <\/strong>I can\u2019t really say how it\u2019s evolved. It just doesn\u2019t go away. It\u2019s tough. Some days are better than others. Some mornings, it\u2019s fine. Other mornings, it\u2019s tears in the shower. Some shows, it\u2019s fine performing it. Some rehearsals, it\u2019s not. It\u2019s just random times where it strikes you more than others. It\u2019s kind of like a disbelief when I feel like \u201cdamn. I\u2019m really singing this song and it\u2019s real.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tI can\u2019t tell you how many times I\u2019ve said, \u201cI just can\u2019t believe it.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tMalice: <\/strong>Yeah. I agree with everything Push said. You have those moments where it just seemed so unreal, because you\u2019re just so used to having your parents here and being able to call, talk and get advice\u2014just being able to communicate with your parents. I will say, for me, and with my 16-year absence, my faith is absolutely what gives me strength and brings me comfort. <\/p>\n How important was that sibling relationship when this all happened?\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tMalice: <\/strong>It was everything to not have to walk this walk alone. To know that you have a brother who is unspoken. The pain. I know what he\u2019s feeling. He knows what I\u2019m feeling. You don\u2019t have to verbalize everything. Understanding, that helped a lot with the grieving process.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tPusha T:<\/strong> Having an older brother, I\u2019ve always leaned on him, probably more than usual. In a situation like this, Malice was definitely the backbone. Even in like the discovery of my parents and delivering the news and, you know, I say it all the time that God picked who could handle it.<\/p>\n \n\tI think \u201cThe Birds Don\u2019t Sing\u201d resonates with a lot of people. We\u2019ve lost a lot of hip-hop artists at very young ages. Now that you\u2019re in your late 40s and early 50s, how has your lifestyle changed? <\/strong> \n\tPusha T: <\/strong>As far as physical health, I\u2019ve said that one of my goals is to be on the cover of Men\u2019s Health. <\/em>I\u2019ve made that a goal. And I have a five-year-old. For me, my whole workout is rooted in him. Everything that I do is really rooted in making sure I\u2019m able to keep up and am in just the best possible shape and health to run around and keep up with his activity with how active he is. It\u2019s a task, but I made that decision when I had him. I was going to stay focused and stay dedicated to just eating and working out and being active.<\/p>\n You had just split with Def Jam and ended up with Roc Nation before the album came out. Was that kind of vindicating to be like \u201cwe can do this on our own?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tPusha T: <\/strong>It definitely was. I feel like it was vindicating in a lot of different instances. We knew when we had made the music that we hadn\u2019t lost a step. It was funny to watch during the process people just second guess it. We\u2019re very, very sacred with the music. We don\u2019t let a lot of people in. But those that did get to reach in and peek their head inside, it\u2019s a lot to get caught up in musically.\u00a0 It\u2019s a lot of different things.\u00a0 It\u2019s a lot of popularity contests. It\u2019s a lot of different politics and barometers of greatness.<\/p>\n You could just see who was tapped into to the pureness of the of the actual art, in the crafting, the lyricism and the production and just the whole storyline of the album. You could see who was tapped in there and you can see who was just kind of fly by night with it. So it was good. When you say vindicating, yeah, it was. It\u2019s always great to watch people act like, \u201cOh, I knew it was going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tYou followed your hearts. <\/strong> \n\tNot only did we follow our hearts, but we just saw it from a whole other lens. I was like, \u201cYou know what? I\u2019m not even sharing the music.\u201d I didn\u2019t even want to share the music with anyone that I felt wasn\u2019t in it. It was kinda like calling them out prior, you know?<\/p>\n You both seem like very astute observers. <\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tMalice: <\/strong>Thank you. If I could add, I think the beauty of it was the fact that we really have faith in the music. We really believe in what it is that we do\u2014from the production to the lyrics and just the way that we collaborate and just putting everything together. When we see the politics and we see the back and forth and we\u2019re not quite certain how it\u2019s going to land\u2014because we\u2019ve had label dramas throughout our entire career\u2014I had a calm because I knew when the dust settles, the music is going to get heard, and that\u2019s when it\u2019s our time\u2014when the music gets heard.\u00a0 And not for nothing, like Pusha said, we didn\u2019t let everybody hear it. We also chose selectively who we wanted to interview with under that same guise.<\/p>\n Push, how do you feel being in a group with your older brother and to experience things like the Vatican with him? <\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tPusha T: <\/strong>These moments are just groundbreaking and historic, and to be able to do it with my brother is like, there\u2019s no better feeling\u2014even being in this game for as long as I have and just being here the whole time. It\u2019s been a weight off my shoulders doing this Clipse project, a full weight off my shoulders.<\/p>\n \n\tYou\u2019ve been wanting this to happen for a long time.\u00a0 <\/strong> \n\tPusha T: <\/strong>Yeah. I\u2019ve been wanting it to happen, but you know, and even just as a soloist, man, it\u2019s been wild. It\u2019s been a wild ride as a soloist, like drama filled everything. A lot of a lack of brotherhood and in so many different instances. So when I read the comments, people are like, \u201cOh, man, this is the happiest I\u2019ve seen him.\u201d People are saying that they can see it in me, they can see it on my face at the shows, they can just tell there\u2019s a different energy being with my brother versus being out there alone or being amongst a bunch of people that don\u2019t have those brotherly qualities. <\/p>\n \n\tListen, I\u2019ve been saying to everybody, I want to work with no one. I actually don\u2019t want to. There are a couple R&B artists maybe that I want to work with, but other than that, I don\u2019t want to do any of that any longer.<\/p>\n Malice, what does it mean to be in a group with your little brother? <\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tMalice: <\/strong>It\u2019s a huge blessing. Just to see how my brother has navigated this industry as a solo artist\u2014the level he performs at, the level of his artistry and how he\u2019s kept it at this level over time\u2014 e has literally made a home for me to come back to and has maintained it. I trust my brother.\u00a0 He says I take a load off him, but he\u2019s really taking a load off me. I don\u2019t have much to think about. All I do is rap OK.<\/p>\n \n\tJust a little bit [laughs].<\/strong> \n\tMalice: <\/strong>Definitely, just a little bit [laughs] But he spearheads. His vision is keen, and I trust him. I totally trust him. It\u2019s beautiful to be able to share these experiences and spend this time with my brother and our family.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the span of just four months, Pusha T and Malice lost both of their parents. The rappers\u2019 mother, Mildred Thornton, died in November 2021, while father Gene Thornton passed soon after in March 2022. Needless to say, it was a soul-crushing blow, two devastating losses with little time to process in between. And yet,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27308,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[299,7297,1519,15532,16322,7370,3595],"class_list":{"0":"post-27307","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-album","9":"tag-clipse","10":"tag-god","11":"tag-grief","12":"tag-overcoming","13":"tag-reunion","14":"tag-sort"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27307\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}