Let God Sort Em Out is the fourth studio album by the American hip-hop duo Clipse. Self-released on July 11, 2025, it marks the duo's first album since Til the Casket Drops (2009); Pusha T and Malice split in 2010, before reuniting in 2019 and starting work on the album in 2023. Longtime collaborator and mentor Pharrell Williams returns as the album's executive and only producer after splitting with his Neptunes collaborator Chad Hugo; he also appears as a guest, alongside Ab-Liva (of Clipse side-project Re-Up Gang), John Legend, Kendrick Lamar, Nas, Stove God Cooks, The-Dream, Tyler, the Creator, and the choir ensemble Voices of Fire. Additional contributors include Lenny Kravitz and Stevie Wonder.
Rumors of a new Clipse album started in 2023 when Williams, who became creative director of menswear at luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton the same year, included a new Clipse song in the soundtrack to the Louis Vuitton Men's Spring-Summer 2024 Show. The album's recording sessions were primarily split between studios in the trio's home state of Virginia and the Louis Vuitton headquarters in Paris, France. Originally planned for a 2024 release, the album was delayed when the duo's then-label Def Jam Recordings and its parent company Universal Music Group demanded Lamar's guest verse on "Chains & Whips" be either censored or removed. Although the label cited worry about blowback from United States President Donald Trump due to the lyrics, Pusha T publicly claimed it was over his and Lamar's public feuds with rapper Drake, who filed a lawsuit against Universal in 2025 for its publication of Lamar's diss "Not Like Us". Refusing to censor the verse, Clipse paid a seven-figure sum to be dropped from the deal, signing a distribution deal with Roc Nation instead but giving Def Jam a percentage of the profits from the album. The album's lyrical content and promotional press received media attention for Pusha T's outspoken criticism of his rivals Drake and Jim Jones, as well as former creative partners Kanye West and Travis Scott.
Let God Sort Em Out received critical acclaim upon release, with critics praising the duo's raw, introspective lyricism and longstanding chemistry. It was preceded by one single, "Ace Trumpets", released on May 30, 2025. Although no other songs were released as standalone singles, "Chains & Whips" and "So Far Ahead" were serviced to Apple Music the evening before its release; the former would also receive a music video along with "So Be It". Clipse embarked on the Let God Sort Em Out Tour with EarthGang from August to November 2025 in additional promotion of the album.
Background Collaborative history with Pharrell Williams As a teenage rapper, Malice met music producers Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams in 1988 and 1990, respectively. Hugo and Williams knew each other and would go on to form the production duo the Neptunes. One day, Pusha T was at Hugo's house and started rapping. Impressed, Williams convinced the brothers to form a rap duo. Clipse's intended debut album, Exclusive Audio Footage (1999), was shelved by Elektra Records; their actual debut Lord Willin' was released by the Neptunes' record label Star Trak Entertainment in 2002. The Neptunes would go on to have production credits on every commercially released studio album by Clipse until the latter's disbandment.As can be seen in the Apple Music credits for each album:
Williams claimed to not be on speaking terms with Hugo in 2024 in light of a lawsuit from the latter against him over claims that he was monopolizing the Neptunes name. When asked in 2024 if Clipse worked with Hugo on Let God Sort Em Out, Pusha T denied it. He also responded not being "familiar with" the lawsuit. Clipse stated in 2025 that they still have a strong personal relationship with Hugo, although they differed on whether they missed working with him musically; Pusha T stated that his favorite Clipse album Hell Hath No Fury (2006) was produced entirely by Williams. Malice references the breakup on promotional single "So Be It"—"Ain't no more Neptunes, so P's Saturn."
Clipse's breakup and reunion
Til the Casket Drops (2009) was the final Clipse album before the duo split to make solo material. The breakup was initiated by Malice, who had multiple conversations with Pusha T about quitting the duo; the first time was after a studio session with Rick Rubin. Toward the end of the duo's partnership, their then-manager and various people in their personal lives were arrested on drug charges. One day, when both brothers were to board a plane, Pusha T was unusually late, and Malice worried that he had been arrested; although Pusha T eventually boarded, it was the final straw for Malice, who angrily declared to his brother in front of the other passengers that he was done with the duo. "They were picking up all of our friends at different times, you know. I had a friend—he just had a baby, and he wheelchairing his wife. She holding the baby. Soon as he come out the hospital, bam, they got him. Had another friend—he's driving on the interstate, you know, with his girl, his daughter in the car, and police just come, hit, you know, they car. Like, really crash into they car, you know, to make them pull over. And they were just picking up everybody, you know. [...] When I was on the plane, and I didn't see my brother get on the plane, you know, I knew. Like, I knew what was up, 'cause we never miss flights. We weren't never late, you know. [...] So I'm sitting on the plane, and, you know, the very last minute, the very last minute, he comes stumbling in the door, so I stood up in the middle of the aisle in front of all those people on the plane, and I told him—I was like, 'Yo, I don't know if you thought I was joking, I don't know if you thought I was playing, but I'm letting you know I ain't doing this no more!'" Question from the interviewer which leads to this quote at 9:31.
Although the breakup wasn't made public at the time, rumors that the duo was over began when Malice (then named Malicious) changed his stage name to No Malice, converted to Christianity, and started making Christian rap, as opposed to the "coke rap" of Clipse. In 2014, he firmly denied the possibility of a reunion. His attitude had softened by 2016: "I'ma tell you that I learned to never say never, and I don't shut the door on anything. I really don't. In fact, I would like to see Clipse do it. But I just do things differently."
The duo appeared together (credited as Clipse) on "Use This Gospel" by Kanye West, from his Christian hip-hop and gospel album Jesus Is King (2019), having also worked on a demo version of "Follow God". Speaking on the reunion, Pusha T said: "I'm the younger brother, man. I mean, I'm happier than—I can't even express it!" A live performance of "Use This Gospel" with West and Sunday Service Choir came a few days later, ushering in a new era of Clipse live performances at music festivals and award shows. They appeared again on "Punch Bowl" by Nigo, from his album I Know Nigo! (2022). No Malice made a guest appearance (credited as Malice) on "I Pray for You" by Pusha T, from his fourth album, It's Almost Dry (2022).
"Chains & Whips", the first song with Clipse as the primary artist since the reunion, was previewed on June 20, 2023. When asked about a potential new album in a live interview on November 16, 2023, Malice responded "Not at this time" with a smile.Quote at 43:39. Please note that the interview took place on November 16, 2023, as per the YouTube upload's description, even though the video itself was published on December 7, 2023. An upcoming album was confirmed in a story for magazine Greatest, published December 1, 2023. Originally published December 1, 2023. As can be seen in the provided archived link, the mention of a new album was present in the original version of the article, before the update on May 1, 2024.
Pusha T's feud with Jim Jones Rapper Jim Jones made headlines in 2023 for questioning Pusha T's placement in a top fifty rappers of all-time list on the RapCaviar podcast. He repeated his stance during an interview on radio show The Breakfast Club. Pusha T's verse on "Chains & Whips", the first song from Let God Sort Em Out teased at a Louis Vuitton fashion show in 2023, was reported as a response to Jones; in the lyrics, Pusha T accused Jones of jealousy and implied that his comments were made to cosy up to Drake, Pusha T's rival who had brought Jones out as a guest at a concert shortly before the RapCaviar interview. Jones reignited the feud after the release of the lead single "Ace Trumpets" in 2025: "I don't believe it, I don't believe them." When asked about the feud in June 2025, Pusha T responded: "I personally never understood what the interviews were about [...] or why my name kept coming up. It's one thing to keep saying I'm not a top fifty MC, but it's another thing for you not to say that you [yourself] are one. No one asked me about a top fifty nothing. After about the third interview, I promise you, I said, 'Man, he must really want me to know what he thinks about me.' And that's how [my] verse came. This is what I really think about him. This is what I . Every line is my true heart."
Pusha T's solo career and work relationship with GOOD Music Before releasing any solo material, Pusha T signed in the autumn of 2010 to GOOD Music, a record label founded by West. That year, he appeared on multiple songs in West's GOOD Fridays series, rapped in the GOOD cypher at the BET Hip Hop Awards, and had two features on West's album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The creative partnership was fruitful; Pusha T became president of GOOD in 2015, and West had production credits on all of his commercially released albums until It's Almost Dry.As can be seen in the Apple Music credits for each album:
Pusha T was publicly outspoken about not seeing eye-to-eye with West on politics and career moves multiple times. Among other examples, he expressed disagreement over West's support of Donald Trump and claimed to have different principles on music industry relationships. The relationship had completely deteriorated by late 2022, after West made statements widely condemned as antisemitic. Pusha T said the following in response to West's comments: "It's definitely affected me. It's been disappointing. As a Black man in America, there is no room for bigotry or hate speech. So yeah. It's been very disappointing, let's talk straight." In another interview, he said: "It's beyond [wild stuff] and it's nothing to tap dance around. It's wrong. Period." and "He's not speaking to me now. If you ain't with it, you ain't down. And I ain't with it. I'm not budging on that. I'm not with it." He also clarified that he was no longer the president of GOOD or affiliated with the label in any way. Things escalated in March 2025 when Ye expressed that he disliked Pusha T commenting on his political views, and then again in April when he targeted Pusha T in a livestreamed rant: "Pusha T, all that tough guy shit. Where the tough guy shit?" Pusha T responded on Let God Sort Em Out's lead single "Ace Trumpets", mentioning West and seemingly rapping that his comments were merely amusing. West responded, admitting that he missed the friendship. Pusha T would go on to claim in interviews that he does not think West is a real man and stating: "Outside of music, we're nothing. Outside of that, his principles, his morals, his mind-set—we don't see eye-to-eye hardly ever and we never have."