{"id":51415,"date":"2025-08-07T22:12:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T22:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/51415\/"},"modified":"2025-08-07T22:12:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T22:12:07","slug":"working-with-kanye-thats-definitely-in-the-past-rap-legends-clipse-on-beef-bono-and-mr-bean-clipse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/51415\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Working with Kanye? That\u2019s definitely in the past\u2019: rap legends Clipse on beef, Bono and Mr Bean | Clipse"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Birds Don\u2019t Sing [from new album Let God Sort <\/a>Em Out<\/a>] is an incredibly emotional track, especially for an album opener. What things did your parents say to you that make you proud and have stuck with you over the years? Fran_M
Malice: Creating that song was a very emotional time and it cut real deep, but to be able to journal the grief from losing both our parents into a piece of art was also healing. I believe it\u2019s a song that is going to resonate with a lot of people, because whether we like it or not, most of us are going to end up outliving our parents. This is something always in the back of your mind, you know? Already, a lot of people are coming up to us on the street and saying: thank you, that song helped me to grieve. The Birds Don\u2019t Sing isn\u2019t just our story, it\u2019s everybody\u2019s story.<\/p>\n

Pusha T: In hindsight I believe my mom was leaving breadcrumbs and doing all these little things in order to let us know she didn\u2019t have long left. She was mapping, planning and vocalising specific things before she passed away. It was her way of saying goodbye, you know? It was super important to detail all of that, because it gave me and my brother a sense of peace.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Malice: No doubt. In terms of specific things our parents said? Well, you know, my dad always instilled in us the idea that honesty is the best policy! That you have to go through life being as truthful as possible and to always try to show integrity in your character. I remember mom was always big on us truly being brothers and looking out for one another, no matter what. That advice still resonates to this day and with the energy of this album.<\/p>\n

How did you guys develop your signature diction and wit as writers? MaximFlath
Pusha T: To me the most gangster shit in the world is when you\u2019re having a really cutting conversation and looking directly into someone\u2019s eyes. To be able to embody a coldness without being over the top. Like Tony Soprano might smack somebody up, but the most gangster part is when he\u2019s just lucidly speaking to his therapist, you know? My rapping style is a lot like that.<\/p>\n

Thomas Hobbs: What about horror? Because you often sound like a horror bogeyman when you are rapping.<\/p>\n

Pusha T: I always liked the energy of the old horror movies. Like The Omen and The Exorcist, where a lot of it is based on these eerie conversations and they didn\u2019t need special effects [to scare you].<\/p>\n

TH: Would you say coming from a musical household was a big part of shaping your style as well?<\/p>\n

Malice: Remember the movie Crooklyn by Spike Lee? The scene where all the brothers and sisters are watching Soul Train and American Bandstand? That was the perfect depiction of how musical our household was. By the time we moved to Virginia, I told my mom I wanted a microphone, a beat machine, a turntable, a Gemini mixer with the reverb on it. My mom literally forced my dad to buy it all for me, because he was much more dismissive at first and said things like: \u201cWhy do you need all that? Rap<\/a> ain\u2019t even gonna be here for that long, son!\u201d Music was always a big part of our upbringing. If I just think about our house then the living room was filled with hundreds of vinyl records from all genres. That was the foundation. You know that I recently found all those records and got them back?<\/p>\n

Pusha T: No, I didn\u2019t know that.<\/p>\n

Clipse in 2003. Photograph: Gregory Bojorquez\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Malice: It was literally tons of vinyl. Look: if my parents would argue, someone would go downstairs and put a record on full volume to drown out the noise. Music was always the backdrop and there tended to be cousins dancing in our house.<\/p>\n

Malice, you are a man of God and so am I; I\u2019m a woman, actually. I love hip-hop, but sometimes the lyrics, imagery and messaging feels so spiritually off. How do you navigate that as a Christian? LoveFromLagos
Malice: The gospel tells us about the war between the spirit and the flesh. It talks about these constant contradictions, and how helpless we all are as long as we are in this flesh. The flesh and the spirit are always at enmity with one another. So, we are all walking contradictions, right? The thing about morality is that you\u2019re only good until you\u2019re not. It\u2019s not supposed to be a juggling act: we all try to do the right thing, but there\u2019s going to be circumstances where we fall short. There is part of the scripture from the apostle Paul, who says: \u201cFor I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do \u2013 this I keep on doing. Who will rescue me from this body of death?\u201d It shows that we are all sinners and we all fall short. That\u2019s what being human is all about.<\/p>\n

\u2018If I diss someone, it\u2019s a very real thing to me\u2019 \u2026 Clipse at the BET Hip Hop awards in 2022. Photograph: Terence Rushin\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

And Pusha, you\u2019ve been very candid about how things ended with Kanye\u2019s GOOD Music label<\/a>. While I understand you went through a lot of challenges, can you mention some of the good times? LovefromLagos
Pusha T: Just as a rap aficionado, well, being there was special! Creating So Appalled and New God Flow were some of my favourite memories. The Good Friday series, that was crazy, too. The albums I dropped during that time, like Daytona and It\u2019s Almost Dry, they are very, very strong offerings. It goes without saying that me and Ye made great things together.<\/p>\n

Do you think there\u2019ll ever be another collab between you and Ye? Joooooooj
Pusha T: Yeah, that\u2019s in the past. That\u2019s definitely in the past.<\/p>\n

TH: But if one of your rap enemies ever apologised, could you let it go?<\/p>\n

Pusha T: I\u2019m not mad at anybody. I\u2019m good. I\u2019m happy. But at the same time I don\u2019t know if I necessarily want to work with those people either. I\u2019m cool with how all of this has played out. If I diss someone it\u2019s a very real thing to me. Like I watch rappers uses disses as a gimmick and shit like that, but that ain\u2019t what it is for me.<\/p>\n

There is always a lot of humour and brilliant scene setting in your lyrics. Have you ever thought about writing a screenplay? Hhhhssss
Malice: Writing a screenplay for a Clipse<\/a> biopic movie is a must. A lot of people would like to see that film. Right now, we\u2019re seeing rappers fall to the federal government or they\u2019re losing their lives because of drug addictions and out-of-control egos. But there\u2019s a lot to learn from our lives, especially the way me and my brother have navigated the pitfalls of the business and always tried to make the best possible decisions.<\/p>\n

\u2018We always tried to make the best possible decisions\u2019 \u2026 Pusha T (left), Pharrell Williams and Malice. Photograph: KMazur\/WireImage<\/p>\n

Who had the best verse on Let God Sort Em Out? Bezosofthenasals
Pusha T: I don\u2019t know if I have a personal favourite verse on the album to be honest, maybe it\u2019s my Ace Trumpets verse. I wish I had rapped what Malice said on Mike Tyson Blow to the Face: \u201cOnly 300 bricks can make you Leonidas.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Pusha, I think I saw you performing with Kelis when she supported U2 in 2001. What was your experience of those shows? Sharmadelica
Pusha T: U2 were so fucking cool, man! I remember it was a super big deal to be touring with them at that time, and it was one of my first real experiences on a big stage. For U2, tour life is about five-star catering; runners who will go grab you whatever you ask for; and random vans that will take you anywhere in the city. These dudes had manicures, pedicures, massages! Touring with U2 seriously fucked up my expectations, bro. Because when you go out and tour for real as a rapper, the reality can be a very gruelling thing.<\/p>\n

Malice: Wait, hold up, can I share my own Bono interaction? I met him backstage around the time I converted from Malice to No Malice and found God. I remember Bono said to me: \u201cYou have this righteous anger now and you have to go do something with it!\u201d That always stuck with me. It kind of gave me the green light, and what Bono said is always in the back of my mind around not abandoning my convictions. Bono is a good dude.<\/p>\n

What are each of your favourite albums of all time? Fionnmck
Malice: Listen, I love the Killers, I love Red Hot Chili Peppers, even Billy Joel! When I work out in the gym, I have Coldplay playing, or U2\u2019s The Joshua Tree. It\u2019s funny, because when I watched MTV back in the 1980s, David Bowie was always on there. All these years later and Bowie is still at the forefront today. I think that says something about true talent and how it can carry on through the ages. It even outlasts your death.<\/p>\n

Pusha T: I\u2019m always torn between Mobb Deep\u2019s The Infamous, Raekwon\u2019s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Jay-Z\u2019s Reasonable Doubt, and Biggie\u2019s Life After Death. I can drive anywhere in the world with those four albums and I will be happy.<\/p>\n

\u2018We\u2019ve definitely got more music in store\u2019 \u2026 Clipse in 2007.<\/p>\n

Have you watched much British TV\/film? If so, what have you liked and why? Jajones7
Pusha T: [Loud laughter] Definitely Benny Hill! Benny was running around with women on late night TV! My older brother was always watching him, laughing, and I would sneak in. And what\u2019s my other man called \u2026 um, Rowan Atkinson<\/a>? Mr Bean, right? That dude was ill.<\/p>\n

Do you still write your rhymes? If so, do you prefer handwritten, typing on the phone, or both? Do you have any particular rituals when writing or recording? Wzrdwthwrzf
Malice: For me it\u2019s about building a verse line-by-line throughout the day. It might start off in the shower, continue while I am driving, and then when I get to the studio I put it all together. It is always pen and paper with a pristine notebook. If I mess up on the writing, I am gonna rip out the page and start over.<\/p>\n

Pusha T: I can only write things down to be honest, because I am a very visual person. I don\u2019t know how to do the whole spontaneous freestyle thing, because I am always second guessing myself. I am a perfectionist and so that involves editing a lot. I might come up with a good bar, but I will keep going back to it and working out how to make it fresher.<\/p>\n

What can we expect from the duo in the future? Is this the end? CClarke2005
Pusha T: We\u2019ve definitely got more music in store, baby.<\/p>\n

Malice: [Laughs knowingly] Nah, we got it. We\u2019ve definitely got it!<\/p>\n

Let Got Sort Em Out is out now on Roc Nation. Clipse\u2019s US tour continues until 10 September. They play the O2 Kentish Town Forum, London, on 9, 12 and 13 November and the O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester, on 10 November<\/p>\n

This article was updated on Thursday 7 August to correct a misattributed quote, and to further clarify details of the conversation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Birds Don\u2019t Sing [from new album Let God Sort Em Out] is an incredibly emotional track, especially…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":51416,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[64,63,447,134],"class_list":{"0":"post-51415","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-celebrities","11":"tag-entertainment"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}