Pharrell Williams has been on the fans’ side in the push to reunite Clipse on wax with a new album. The rap duo's last studio project, Til the Casket Drops, was released in 2009.
The following year, Gene "No Malice” Thornton stepped away from music in pursuit of a spiritual journey and mission to evolve past the drug-dealing lyrics that catapulted him and his brother, Terrence “Pusha T” Thornton, to stardom when they debuted in 2002 with Lord Willin’. The Virginia-bred siblings have since teased wishful fans with a reunion as they graced performance stages together, as well as with their collaboration on "I Pray For You," off Pusha T's 2022 album, It's Almost Dry.
That same year, 2022, they shocked longtime supporters when they appeared on stage at the BET Hip Hop Awards as well as at Williams’ Something in The Water festival. The megaproducer and his longtime friends drummed up even more anticipation for an album when the rappers debuted new songs at the men’s Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2024 and 2025 fashion shows. The latter track featured John Legend on the chorus, though details about the records’ official releases have not been made public.
"He's definitely been pushing for it,” No Malice told PEOPLE in a new interview about Williams’ enthusiasm. “We always knew in the back of our heads it was always a possibility. So when things just started to take shape and the timing was right, I think it just came [together] just as it should,” he noted.
As far as having a game plan to mark their return, No Malice added that "It's a thing of either you gonna do it or you not. You're not trying to change nothing. And I'm all about what we have built together as Clipse, keeping the same branding." Moreover, he told the publication, "The plus side, for me, is that I sat down for a while and took inventory of myself, my life, my own personal evaluations of things, and I think it's going to benefit the listener and have something more to offer. I think it's a beautiful thing, and I'm honored to be back together with my brother as Clipse."
Last spring, when Pusha T spoke with PEOPLE, he hinted that studio sessions had already taken place. “At this point, I feel like we’ve been in a space a lot together lately, and in those spaces, the creativity’s just been flowing” and that “now everybody is who they are, and they’re comfortable in their skin, and they’re comfortable in their space, and it’s way easier. It’s super leisure, and it’s just all about seeing it and maintaining that high standard of lyricism and [that] high standard of metaphors and punchlines.”
The forthcoming LP is titled Let God Sort Em Ou t, according to an Instagram post Pusha T shared this past July. In the meantime, fans’ next opportunity to experience the nostalgia of “Grindin’” will take place on Aug. 24 when the Clipse performs at Pepsi’s Dig In Day Block Party at the DuSable Museum in Chicago.