Outside of longer-tenured hip-hop heads, most wouldn’t have believed you at the start of 2025 that a Clipse album would be the year’s most widely anticipated of the genre, but it’s precisely that status that Let God Sort ‘Em Out rolls in on. Now delivered in full after a masterclass of a rollout, replete with undeniable singles like “Ace Trumpets” and “So Be It” and headline-making moments contained within, it’s a real joy to report that the comeback effort was entirely worth its billing.
Part of what makes their rollout strategy, despite its traditional cadence, stand out so much is how many of their peers abandoned it. In a landscape where the surprise drop and truncated pre-release strategies shine, Clipse building up Let God Sort Em Out with podcast appearances, merch, performance platforms, and lead singles worked so well by nailing every step of the way. Say what you will about Pusha T’s tendency for rap beef, but sniping at Travis Scott on So Be It made for the exactly splashy moment he wanted. On that same note, Drake and 21 Savage may have mocked COLORS and Howard Stern interviews, but the siblings made the most of every single media opportunity.
An Extremely Personal Intro For Clipse On Let God Sort ‘Em Out
In truth, “So Be It” and “Ace Trumpets” set up a genuine bait & switch for what the Clipse delivers with Let God Sort Em Out. We get that announcement with the very first song, “The Birds Don’t Sing,” in which Malice’s well-established vulnerability and willingness to foreground regret spreads into what almost plays as a grief-laden rap ballad. Pusha T handles lead-off duty and dedicates his contributions to the pair’s late mother, while No Malice delves into a more complicated narrative regarding their father in the second. Of several harrowing lyrics, Malice’s closing stanza rings the loudest:
“Mine taught discipline, mine taught structure, mine didn’t mind when he had to pull a double
Mine worked overtime, smiled through the struggle, ’cause mine wouldn’t let us feel what he had to suffer
See, mine made sure he had every base covered, so imagine his pain findin’ base in the cupboard”
It should come as no surprise that Pusha T’s pen remains incredibly solid, but despite his hiatus, Malice’s stands out as incredibly sturdy. In fact some of the real highlights come from him acknowledging that, “disappearing like Houdini” on the aforementioned “Ace Trumpets,” calling out parallels between himself and erstwhile pastor Ma$e on “So Far Ahead.” It’s hard not to assign a “rises tides lifts all boats” quality to that standard of performance as well, as Ab-Liva, Kendrick Lamar, Stove God Cooks and Tyler, the Creator provide S-tier contributions. Stove God Cooks chalks a contender for best single bar in an extremely crowded field: “Fetty so strong you gotta weigh it with one eye closed.”
Despite New Polish, The Old Sounds Remains The Core
From a production standpoint, the modernized stylings of those two lead singles emerge as the exception rather than the rule as you work through the tracklist. While the matured quality of Pharrell’s production chops since the early 2000s is on full display, the spirit of the Lord Willin’ era still blares through all the same. “M.T.B.T.T.F.” might be the strongest embrace of that, utilizing uncomplicated, discordant keys that blare through the mix, recalling early cuts like “Virginia.” Those with a keen eye can hear echoes of “Mama I’m So Sorry” on “E.B.I.T.D.A,” while the woozy melody and simplistic hard-hitting percussion on “F.I.C.O” delivers a composition that could’ve easily slid onto the duo’s debuts.
It’s once they get into the swing of that old-meets-new where Let God Sort ‘Em Out shines the most, pacing from the midpoint of the album through the gospel-infused “By The Grace Of God.” While an unstated point in that song, the fact that the brothers can pull off this comeback album, many years removed from their “prime,” and meet the sky-high expectations they set in the lead-up, is a “beat the odds” moment. Surrounded by an All-Star cast and one of the most talented producers perhaps ever in the genre, it’s Pusha T and Malice that outshines all of the peripherals, succeeding with sheer chemistry and lyricism the way they did at the start of their now legendary careers.
Find Let God Sort ‘Em Out and brush up on the Clipse catalog wherever you stream your music.
