Hip-Hop has a long history of excellent duos: André 3000 and Big Boi, Chuck D and Flavor Flav, Erik B and Rakim, Method Man and Redman, El-P and Killer Mike, just to name a few. If you're not putting Pusha T and Malice in that conversation and placing them near the top of the list, you're not getting things right. The brothers from Virginia rose up selling cocaine and guns before making names for themselves as gangsta rappers who didn't just rap about wild tales, but lived them too. In the early 2000s they dropped classic albums like Lord Willin' and Hell Hath No Fury before Malice found good and quit the scene. Pusha carried on and delivered some classic albums in his own right and took over as the CEO of Good Music. However after losing both their parents within months of each other, the two brothers have reunited and after teasing a new album, they actually dropped Let God Sort Em Out this summer and boy oh boy does it feel good to have these two back in action. Sixteen years can be a long time and in an industry that pushes so much nostalgia for the sake of a big check, it could've been easy to think that these two might be in it just for the payout, but hearing these two spit these vicious bars and bring the energy to the stage, it's very clear that they are in it to remind everyone of their greatness. "Album of the year, right?" Pusha asked the crowd during one moment of the show last night and it was a resounding yes from everyone in the room. The crowd was packed and the air was filled with marajuana smoke and when the lights hit and the hard banging beats began to blast from the speakers, Pusha entered with a presence and made it known that he was there to make sure everyone knows why he's earned his reputation. Hitting us hard with new tunes from their comeback record, the two traded bars and the spotlight as they stood in front of two massive screens that displayed Black excellence in addition to renegade behavior that only hardened their looks as they made sure to remind us all that when they rap about being tough, they really do mean it. However, as great as the new songs were and as much as people really knew all the words, once they dipped back into the classics, the night reached a whole new level. When the beat hit for "Momma I'm So Sorry," the room exploded and the energy remained unmatched as they rocked us with "Keys Open Doors" directly into "Mr Me Too" both of which had the whole building shaking. Still, nothing could top "Grindin'" and it was without question the highlight of a night filled with epic moments. Aside from making sure Brooklyn was having a good time and acknowledging that they had put out the best record of the year, Malice and Pusha stuck mostly to rhyming and let their talents do the talking for the evening. As they paid tribute to their parents with "The Birds Don't Sing," the track ended and Malice embraced Pusha with a hug that looked so deep and genuine, if there was any doubt that these two were back with a vengeance, there was no denying the look in their eyes. Pure determination and a fire within, the two were an absolute force and even though they kept the show to a tight hour, there was never a wasted second. Clipse are back and everyone is better off because of it.
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