A Lot on My Crate

Legendary hip-hop duo, Clipse has made a comeback after a sixteen year hiatus from their previous album. The group is made up of two brothers Pusha T and Malice whom are each talented in their lyrical prowess that it was caught in line of sight of one of the most influential producers, Pharrell Williams. Williams or sometimes the Neptunes would collaborate with Clipse and one would understandably argue that they also make up the Clipse name. They are well known and now their album Let God Sort Em Out has been making noise in the mainstream that they are even nominated for a few Grammys. The most knowledge I had of Clipse at the time was their phenomenal Hell Hath No Fury from 2006 and that one half of Clipse, Pusha T was abiding by his own rules as a solo artist with a few solo albums under his belt. So, out comes Let God Sort Em Out and we get Pharrell behind the helm at production and it wowed me for sure. This album was a testament that Malice and Pusha T still got it. Still got the words and the charisma that many rappers have been striving to achieve.

The opener out the gate is already a tough listen. Not in its sonic quality, but the emotional weight hit me like a ton of bricks. “The Birds Don’t Sing” is a tribute to the brothers’ parents who have passed as they are encumbered with sadness and regret as Pusha laments not being with his mother for Thanksgiving before leaving this plane of existence or Malice’s accounts of what his father’s password to his phone was. I won’t spoil what that password is in case no one has listened, but it was heartbreaking when he revealed it. This album is already memorable with how emotionally dynamic it can be. Then we get into a banger that is “Chain and Whips” that not only it has these sick distant guitars over the beat or the sick hook that Pharrell has provided, but it is a statement and commentary that criticizes America and its obsession for materialism and the systemic suppression that plagues complacency among everyone who consumes. And the way to beat the system is with chains and whips, the very thing that puts them there in the first place. It is a powerful message to rebel against the system. There are so many memorable bars in this one, like “I will close your Heaven for the hell of it.” and “Money being dried up like a cuticle.” And it has a Kendrick feature that just killed with beef against Trump, but raises arms to legendary rapper Rakim. The intensity doesn’t stop on this rolling hill into “P.O.V.” They keep the hooks and choruses so catchy on so many of these songs and “P.O.V.” is just another deliciously sinister moment. The chorus tells about kilos of coke, which is what they usually rap back in Hell Hath No Fury, it is familiar territory that is always welcome. And was there any doubt that Tyler the Creator would deliver us the goods on this song? Malice at the end symbolizing chains on the necks as oppression, a call back to the previous track. We have this absolutely insane Arabic sample lifting the braggadocious “So Be It”. It has hot gossip and this juicy drama thankfully has given us this nice thumper of a song. “Ace Trumpets” being fuzzy makes the song enchanting, but not losing the momentum of the album. You got your coke bars, which is just on brand for them, but you have so many bars referencing so many celebrities just adding fun to boastful title. You got Riri, Lady Gaga, and Mufasa bars just making me grin with glee. The sinister siblings slings us this trunk rattling bass on “All Things Considered”. It’s guised as a banger, but underneath there are so many personal things shared both on Pusha and Malice’s fronts. Using the word brave, would feel overused, but it’s actually taken me by surprise yet I applaud them for being honest, opening the curtain to their flaws and vulnerabilities. “M.T.B.T.T.F.” stands for Mike Tyson blow to the face, which is an actual bar on the acronym itself, but has these fun keys as well as this humorous “hot” sample with more coke bars. More coke bars, however they even say themselves in a verse, it’s a religion. Speaking of, “E.B.I.T.D.A.” also sounds celestial enough to be its own religion with Clipse claiming they have the whole world from nothing, but its not enough for them. “Inglorious Bastards” has grabbed my attention with this thick bass and horn sample. The brothers in this song preach in how they seize and conquer their lavish lifestyle and Ab-Liva gives us a fine feature and all artists here give their salutes to Biggie Smalls. It’s like we’re being transported into a castle in the titular track “Let God Sort Em Out/Chandiliers” where there is danger to be found with the last half being a treat with a cavalier sample with Nas being a stone cold machine at the back end. The closer plays with “By the Grace of God” is as if we’re being washed over and cleansed. It’s a beautiful ending with a gorgeous chorus by Pharrell with the brothers coming out on top. You feel this cathartic high knowing they have gone from mason jars to crepe tartares. It’s a sweet cherry on top.

Even when I was lukewarm on “F.I.C.O.” and “So Far Ahead”, they were by no means bad listens. The former not hitting as hard for me, while the latter was not as captivating as they can be. Them being present hasn’t slowed down the album at all.

Writing about this has convinced me, I am much into Let God Sort Em Out than Hell Hath No Fury. Even with repeated listens I have favored more tracks than my first listens. There is just something that is so refreshing in their sound and their ways of gangsta rap when the bling era was dominating back in the 2000s is all now left behind. But they still got it. They still got the flows, the charisma, the emotion, which makes this record not only so catchy, but poignant in their poetry. There’s so much depth here and the “culturally inappropriate” tag will always crack me up. Any hip-hop fan needs to jump on this if they haven’t. Who knows when this empire will crumble and fall? Will it be in another sixteen years? I can wait that long again for another great Clipse album. But I wait with bated breath, I hope they won’t fall by then.

FAVORITE TRACKS: THE BIRDS DON’T SING, CHAINS & WHIPS, P.O.V., SO BE IT, ACE TRUMPETS, ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, M.T.B.T.T.F., E.B.I.T.D.A., INGLORIOUS BASTARDS, LET GOD SORT EM OUT/CHANDELIERS, BY THE GRACE OF GOD

LEAST FAVORITE: SO FAR AHEAD

Their discography is available for streaming.