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Its heavy stuff from two rappers beloved for drug-dealer parables.
As Malice says about the forthcoming reunion record, Everything is ordained and coming at the right time.
This particular day, me and Pharrell were speaking about the passing of our mom.
Gene, you on here?
Malice:Yeah, Im here.
You the one late.
I was like,Damn, man.
My mom was really ready to go.
She was doing this shit every Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
Gene was like, You think the birds are singing, but theyre really screeching in pain.
I dont know where he got that from.
M:It holds true to the Maya Angelou classicI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
Thats how it hit me.
Its a beautiful song, but its just out of so much pain and suffering.
You sing it trying to find the beauty in everything.
My parents were givers, whether it was love or wisdom or finances.
Anyone whos lost someone will be able to relate.
Malice, you rap about seeking their blessing to return to music.
This is just the way that we decided to do it.
People know about the Clipse and me having the convictions I had and departing from the group.
Every morning, my dad and I talked about life, God, and the Bible.
Id discuss my personal missteps in the beginning with Clipse.
My dad was instrumental in my decision-making.
You still have to take care of your family.
I understand where youre coming from, but I think youve been too hard on yourself.
It brings to mind one of many favorite Scriptures.
The gifts … of God are irrevocable.
He dont take it back, no matter how you mishandle it.
When He says its yours, its yours.
I truly believe my gift and my calling are being able to talk and to reach people.
Its like the perfect storm.
Is there unfinished business for this group?
Im watching this thing unfold beautifully and better than it ever could have been planned.
I cant believe hes still enthused about it.
And I feed off of that energy.
Talk about the new album.
I think this is where you get the difference between taste and filler.
This music is curated.
This is a high taste-level piece of work.
I think its been definitely missing.
Then theres the competitive aspect.
M:This is smart basketball.
And not only that, its authenticity.
Its bringing the fans along to see the growth, not trying to fit in or fabricate.
It just seems like in other genres of music, they have the luxury of growing.
For some reason, we act like were not supposed to evolve.
This is what the true evolution of the Clipse looks like.
Its just good to be able to show that and still have high-level raps.
We still want to make full bodies of work.
These are movies, man.
These arent just songs.
This isnt just a collection of joints we went in and banged out.
This is tedious
M: This is cohesive material
P: This is arguing.
This is a problem.
These are people passionate about their opinions and making sure that everybodys on their A-game.
Listen, I can be mad at the engineer, you know what Im saying?
Even he has to be on point.
I think thats the level of meticulousness that a Clipse fan looks for.
Did you get to work withChad Hugoat all?P:No, we didnt.
Can you speak on hislawsuit?P:Im not even that familiar with it.
Are you in theLego Pharrell movie?P:I think so.
I havent seen it yet though.
Recently I watched footage ofSomething in the Water 2022,where Justin Timberlake dapped you up.
What do you mean?
We werent in a room with anybody.
Back in the day, it was difficult to get a sense of what your base was.
Is this just what happens when you run with the Neptunes?M:It was a pleasant surprise.
It wasnt so much that we didnt know who our fan base was.
It was an added bonus of people we didnt expect.
We grabbed all ears.
You get tired of it.
Then you realize the people who only look at it that way arent even listening to the music correctly.
You cant even take their opinion as anything.
P:Its a very cheap way of describing it.
M:We just told our story.
It was the absolute truth.
Your album titles have religious themes:Lord Willin,Hell Hath No Fury,Til the Casket Drops.
I feel like we can almost telegraph the No Malice era before it happened.
And if these raps hurt more than they help, Lord forgive us.
We had Jesus in the car with us onLord Willin.
Before I believed it was true, all I knew is that it hit hard.
Those words were so profound that they were true, it would be amazing.
So thats why I implemented a lot of faith-based verses in my rhyme.
Over time, I find that its the stone truth and go even harder.
But whats so dope about it is my brother and I respect each other.
Im talking about ten years of that.
Were there songs that you missed performing when you were off the road?M:Nah.
The camaraderie with my brother was the only thing I missed.
People say, When are the Clipse going to reunite?
But weve always been tight outside of the music.
P:I will say that theHell Hath No Furypart of the set turns up so crazy.
I really missed it.
I missed it so much.
Is that your favorite album?P:For sure.
By the time Momma Im So Sorry starts … bruh.
M:I think thats just because I catch his breath on the song.
On the last word, I come in and I catch his last breath.
I think thats what he missed.
P:To see people react like it just dropped yesterday was like … man.
P:Yes, timeless.
Before you go, I have to ask about a lyric.
It goes,Let me see you push a T.
P:Incredible.
Incredible display of battle raps.
Listen man, Kendrick …
M:It was a master class.
