Clipse are paving a ‘new frontier’ in rap

Pusha T and Malice go for longevity with quality. Hear it on ‘Let God Sort Em Out.’

- By Junius MILLER

CIAN MOORE

HITMAKING BROTHERS Malice, left, and Pusha T have reunited musically.

No one really thought Clipse would get back together.

The duo, composed of brothers Pusha T and Malice, is well known for setting a new precedent for rap throughout the aughts. If you wipe the dust off and think back, you'll probably remember them for hits like “Grindin’” or “When the Last Time,” both produced by the Neptunes — another duo, Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo — and both off of their debut, “Lord Willin’.”

At the surface level, Clipse was an insanely talented rap duo out of Virginia Beach, Va., closely linked to Pharrell, who would go on to be one of hip-hop’s most in-demand producers.

“I had just turned 8 when we moved from New York to Virginia,” Malice remembers. “I think it was a bit of a culture shock for me ... I remember thinking how the people in Virginia just talked different.”

But the brothers, born Gene and Terrence Thornton, quickly noticed that a lot was happening around them.

Malice remembers when they used to “congregate down at the ocean front” and freestyle: “everybody would come out there.”

It wasn't long before they “pumped heads” with Pharrell, who was a friend of a friend.

“I had heard about Pharrell and he had heard about me,” Malice says. “One day, Pusha decided he wanted to rap on a song... it was called ‘A Thiefin the Night.’”

“Pharrell was like, ‘Y'all should be a group.’ And we agreed, and it was easy ... it all came together in Chad’s room in his attic.”

But their first brush with fame came even earlier than their debut, with the release of“The Funeral.” At the time, the brothers had struck a deal with Elektra Records with some help from Pharrell, but the company ultimately shelved their would-be debut “Exclusive Audio Footage,” which contained the song.