The Complete History of Clipse and Pharrell: From “Grindin’” to Let God Sort Em Out
Some rapper-producer combinations make great records.
Clipse and Pharrell built an entire sound together.
For more than three decades, brothers Pusha T and Malice have been connected to Pharrell Williams through Virginia, The Neptunes, record-label disasters, classic albums, solo careers, a 16-year gap between Clipse records — and eventually one of hip-hop's most unlikely comebacks.
Long before Pusha T became a successful solo artist, before Pharrell became one of the biggest producers in music, and before millions of kids started banging the beat to “Grindin’” on cafeteria tables, they were young artists from Virginia trying to create something the rest of hip-hop hadn't really heard before.
And somehow, after everything that happened along the way, they're still making music together.
This is the story of Clipse and Pharrell.
Before Clipse: Virginia Was Building Its Own Sound
Clipse is made up of brothers Gene “Malice” Thornton and Terrence “Pusha T” Thornton, who grew up in Virginia Beach.
Their story with Pharrell Williams stretches back to the early 1990s.
Pharrell recognized something in the brothers and began working with them while The Neptunes — Pharrell and Chad Hugo — were still establishing themselves as producers.
That relationship became the foundation for virtually everything that followed.
This wasn't New York.
It wasn't Los Angeles.
It wasn't Atlanta.
It was Virginia.
And during the late 1990s and early 2000s, Virginia quietly became one of the most important places in popular music, producing a ridiculous collection of talent that included Pharrell, Chad Hugo, Timbaland, Missy Elliott and Clipse.
Clipse would become one of the region's defining hip-hop acts.
But first, they had to survive an album that almost disappeared completely.
Exclusive Audio Footage: The Clipse Album That Never Really Came Out
Before Lord Willin', there was supposed to be another Clipse debut.
With Pharrell helping guide their career, Clipse signed with Elektra Records in the late 1990s and recorded an album called Exclusive Audio Footage.
The Neptunes handled the production.
The album included “The Funeral,” which was released as a single in 1999.
It didn't become the breakthrough the label wanted.
Exclusive Audio Footage was shelved, and Clipse eventually lost their deal.
For a young group, that easily could have been the end of the story.
Instead, Pharrell stuck with them.
And that decision would matter.
Pharrell Gets Another Shot for Clipse
By the beginning of the 2000s, everything was changing for The Neptunes.
Pharrell and Chad Hugo were becoming two of the most in-demand producers in music, working with everyone from Jay-Z and Nelly to Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake.
Pharrell now had leverage he didn't have when the first Clipse album was shelved.
After establishing Star Trak Entertainment with Arista Records, he brought Clipse with him as the imprint's first signees.
They got another shot.
This time, it worked.
“Grindin’” Changes Everything
In 2002, Clipse released “Grindin’.”
And if you were anywhere near a school cafeteria table that year, you probably already know what happened next.
BANG. BANG-BANG. BANG.
The Neptunes beat was ridiculously sparse.
Drums.
Percussion.
Space.
And Pusha T and Malice filled that space with some of the coldest drug-dealer rhymes mainstream hip-hop had heard.
There wasn't much else on the radio that sounded like it.
“Grindin’” reached No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Clipse's breakthrough single.
But its cultural impact was bigger than its chart position.
The beat became instantly recognizable.
Kids recreated it on desks.
Producers studied it.
And Clipse suddenly had an identity nobody could mistake for anybody else's.
Lord Willin’ Puts Virginia on the Hip-Hop Map
“Grindin’” led into Clipse's 2002 album Lord Willin'.
Produced by The Neptunes, the album gave Pusha T and Malice an unusual sonic world to inhabit.
Minimal drums.
Strange percussion.
Synthetic sounds.
Empty space.
Then the Thornton brothers filled it with detailed street stories, dark humor, luxury and consequences.
The combination shouldn't necessarily have worked as well as it did.
It worked perfectly.
Lord Willin' debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and sold approximately 122,000 copies in its first week.
Songs including “Grindin’” and “When the Last Time” helped establish Clipse nationally.
More importantly, the album established something that would define their career:
Clipse sounded best when Pharrell and The Neptunes gave them room to rap.
Then the Record Industry Got in the Way
Clipse should have been able to immediately build on the success of Lord Willin’.
Instead, they entered one of the most frustrating periods of their career.
Corporate changes involving Arista, Jive Records and Star Trak left Clipse stuck in a complicated label situation.
Their second album was delayed.
And delayed.
And delayed again.
Clipse wanted out.
Jive wouldn't let them go.
Eventually, the duo sued the label.
But something interesting happened while their album sat in record-label purgatory.
Clipse kept rapping.
We Got It 4 Cheap Keeps Clipse Alive
Unable to release their next studio album when they wanted, Clipse turned toward mixtapes.
Along with Ab-Liva and Sandman as the Re-Up Gang, they released the We Got It 4 Cheap series.
The tapes became essential listening for Clipse fans.
Without the restrictions of a traditional album, Pusha and Malice could simply rap.
And rap.
And rap some more.
In retrospect, the label problems may have accidentally strengthened Clipse's reputation.
The mainstream momentum from “Grindin’” slowed.
But their credibility among hardcore rap fans grew.
By the time their second album finally arrived, Clipse sounded considerably less interested in making everyone happy.
That turned out to be a good thing.
Hell Hath No Fury: Anger Turned Into a Classic
After years of delays, Hell Hath No Fury finally arrived on November 28, 2006.
And it sounded pissed off.
The album was darker, colder and more paranoid than Lord Willin’.
Money was everywhere.
So were betrayal, anxiety, frustration and distrust.
The production was equally unforgiving.
The Neptunes gave Clipse skeletal drums, metallic sounds and bizarre spaces that somehow made Pusha and Malice sound even more menacing.
Tracks like “Mr. Me Too,” “Wamp Wamp (What It Do),” “Keys Open Doors” and “Momma I'm So Sorry” helped turn the album into a cult classic.
Commercially, it wasn't Lord Willin’.
Critically, it became something arguably more important.
It became the album serious hip-hop fans wouldn't shut up about.
And nearly two decades later, Hell Hath No Fury remains central to the argument that Clipse and The Neptunes were one of the greatest rapper-producer combinations of their generation.
Til the Casket Drops Changes the Formula
Clipse finally escaped their Jive situation and returned in 2009 with Til the Casket Drops.
But this time, the formula was different.
Instead of relying exclusively on The Neptunes, Clipse expanded the production lineup.
That was a significant change.
Pharrell and The Neptunes were still part of the record, but for the first time, a Clipse studio album wasn't built entirely around their production.
The album included songs like “I'm Good,” “Popular Demand (Popeyes)” and “Kinda Like a Big Deal.”
But behind the scenes, the brothers themselves were beginning to move in different directions.
And soon Clipse would essentially disappear.
Malice Changes Direction
After Til the Casket Drops, Malice underwent a major personal and spiritual transformation.
He eventually changed his name to No Malice and moved away from much of the subject matter that had defined Clipse.
Pusha T went the other direction.
He went solo.
And his career exploded.
Pusha eventually signed with Kanye West's GOOD Music and released projects including My Name Is My Name, King Push – Darkest Before Dawn, DAYTONA and It's Almost Dry.
The brothers hadn't fallen out.
Their lives had simply moved in different directions.
For years, a new Clipse album seemed unlikely.
Maybe impossible.
Pharrell Never Really Left the Story
Even while Clipse was inactive, Pharrell remained connected to Pusha T.
That matters because Pharrell was never simply “the guy who made the Grindin’ beat.”
He was part of the architecture of Clipse from almost the beginning.
The music worked because each side understood what the other needed.
Pusha and Malice didn't need gigantic walls of production.
They needed space.
Pharrell understood that.
Sometimes the strangest sound in a Neptunes beat was exactly what Clipse needed.
A drum.
A click.
A synth.
A pause.
Then Pusha and Malice did the rest.
Decades later, that chemistry was still there.
Clipse Starts Coming Back
The first major sign that Clipse might not actually be finished came in 2019.
Pusha T and No Malice reunited on “Use This Gospel” from Kanye West's Jesus Is King.
More appearances followed.
They began performing together again.
And slowly, the idea of another Clipse album stopped sounding impossible.
Eventually, they went back to the person who had been there almost from the beginning.
Pharrell.
Let God Sort Em Out: Clipse Returns After 16 Years
On July 11, 2025, Clipse released Let God Sort Em Out.
It was their first album since Til the Casket Drops in 2009.
Sixteen years.
And Pharrell produced the entire project.
But Let God Sort Em Out wasn't simply Clipse trying to recreate Lord Willin’.
Pusha and Malice were older.
Their lives had changed.
They had lost both of their parents.
Malice's spirituality had transformed his perspective.
Pusha had spent more than a decade building one of hip-hop's most respected solo catalogs.
The subject matter still contained the precision and menace people expected from Clipse, but now there was grief, mortality, faith and reflection sitting alongside it.
Songs like “The Birds Don't Sing” showed a version of Clipse that simply couldn't have existed in 2002.
The chemistry, however, was immediately recognizable.
Pusha.
Malice.
Pharrell.
It still worked.
Clipse and Pharrell Take the Reunion to the Grammys
The comeback didn't end with the album.
Let God Sort Em Out received five nominations at the 2026 Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Best Rap Album.
Clipse also performed with Pharrell during the ceremony.
And “Chains & Whips”, featuring Kendrick Lamar and Pharrell, won Best Rap Performance.
Think about that timeline for a second.
Clipse met Pharrell when they were young rappers trying to make it out of Virginia.
Their first album was shelved.
Their breakthrough came years later.
Their next album got trapped in label hell.
The group eventually went dormant for more than a decade.
Then Pusha T, Malice and Pharrell ended up on the Grammy stage together more than 30 years after their relationship began.
Hip-hop careers aren't supposed to work like that.
And They're Apparently Not Finished
Here's where the story gets even crazier.
In September 2026, Pusha T revealed that he's already working on more music with Pharrell.
During an appearance on The Breakfast Club, Push said they were working on “everything,” with one project already finished and another underway.
Asked whether Pharrell was involved, Pusha made the producer situation clear:
It's Pharrell.
And reports indicate both new Pusha T solo music and more Clipse music are part of what's being developed.
After waiting 16 years between Clipse albums, fans may not have to wait nearly as long this time.
Why Clipse and Pharrell Work So Well Together
Plenty of rappers have favorite producers.
Clipse and Pharrell are different.
Their careers grew together.
Pharrell was there before Lord Willin’.
He was there for the album that got shelved.
He was there for “Grindin’.”
He was there for Hell Hath No Fury.
He remained connected through Pusha's solo career.
And when Clipse finally returned after 16 years, Pharrell was there again.
There is a tension between the two sides that makes the records work.
Clipse are precise. Pharrell is weird.
Pusha and Malice can make the most extravagant lifestyle sound threatening.
Pharrell can make three strange noises and some drums sound like nothing you've ever heard before.
Neither side needs to overpower the other.
That's the secret.
The Complete Clipse and Pharrell Timeline
Early 1990s: Pusha T and Malice connect with Pharrell Williams in Virginia.
Late 1990s: Clipse signs with Elektra and records Exclusive Audio Footage with The Neptunes.
1999: “The Funeral” is released, but the album is ultimately shelved.
2001: Pharrell's Star Trak Entertainment brings Clipse into its new deal with Arista.
2002: “Grindin’” becomes Clipse's breakthrough.
August 2002: Lord Willin’ arrives.
2003–2006: Label problems delay the next Clipse album while the group builds its reputation through We Got It 4 Cheap.
November 2006: Hell Hath No Fury is finally released.
2009: Til the Casket Drops arrives with a broader group of producers.
2010s: Clipse goes largely inactive while Pusha T builds his solo career and Malice becomes No Malice.
2019: The brothers reunite on “Use This Gospel.”
2025: Clipse releases Let God Sort Em Out, produced entirely by Pharrell.
2026: Clipse earns five Grammy nominations and wins Best Rap Performance for “Chains & Whips.”
September 2026: Pusha T confirms that more music with Pharrell is already being made, including work involving Clipse.
More Than “Grindin’”
For casual listeners, Clipse and Pharrell will probably always be connected to one beat.
And to be fair...
it's one hell of a beat.
But “Grindin’” is only one chapter.
The real story is about three decades of artists growing up, getting screwed by record labels, separating, evolving, losing people, finding their way back to each other and somehow discovering that the chemistry still works.
From an unreleased Elektra album...
to Lord Willin’...
to Hell Hath No Fury...
to a 16-year gap...
to Let God Sort Em Out...
and now, apparently, whatever comes next.
Clipse and Pharrell didn't just make some great records together.
They built one of the longest and strangest creative partnerships in hip-hop history.
And more than 30 years later?
They're still not done.