Confessions of an old head

Clipse are back.

Jul 13, 2025

Every weekend, GOOD STUFF blesses you with one new album, five new songs, and a throwback track you need to hear. Listen to the official GOOD STUFF playlist on Apple Music, Spotify and Audiomack.

ALBUM OF THE WEEK

Clipse — Let God Sort Em Out

Pharrell beats… Stove God Cooks, Ab-Liva and Nas features… John Legend on the hook… Kaws cover art…

Only one group could have me excited about all that in 2025. Yes, after 16 years, the brothers Thornton are officially back. So be it.

I’m from Virginia. Clipse are gods—Lord Willin’, Hell Hath and Re-Up tapes sacred texts. I weathered the storm through the Re-Up Gang album and traveled the road to Til The Casket Drops. There’s a certain perspective that comes from having downloaded the Play Cloths 2011 Holiday Mixtape while wearing a Play Cloths tee.

So it’s been especially interesting to witness a Clipse album launch in the social media age, powered by GQ pull quotes, meme trench warfare against Drake stans, and first-week sales debates. I say I miss event albums and yet I feel adrift amongst the classic-or-trash narratives that define every event these days. I want to appreciate the rollout. I’m just exhausted by the discourse that comes with it.

The album? It’s good.

Pharrell’s production fits the mood, even if it feels like eccentric corners from years past have been sanded down. His beats here sound like a continuation of his efficient, polished work on It’s Almost Dry. His vocal contributions, however, are more jarring amongst the drug dealing vignettes and ruthless contempt in a post-Lego-biopic world. Skateboard P is firmly Pharrell Williams now.

“The only Audi here is driven by my au per”

As for Clipse, it’s one of life’s great joys to hear Pusha and Malice rap together. It’s Kobe and Shaq, and most of the guests are just a distraction. 30 years in, the brothers still sound sharp and inspired. They get vulnerable but still sound untouchable. They make beef sound like divine order and attainable luxury seem like poverty. Your diamonds are lab-grown. Theirs look like pee-pee.

The album claims over and over that it’s “culturally inappropriate.” I’m not sure exactly what it means, but it’s provocative. It gets the people going. It mostly just sounds like a Clipse album, which is all we needed.

5 NEW SONGS YOU NEED RIGHT NOW

YoungBoy Never Broke Again — “Priorities”

“Priorities” should be a hit, one of those YB songs where the melodies are perfect. The beat is gleaming and nostalgic and feels like driving with the windows down on a summer day. Naturally it’s the one he didn’t want to shoot a video for because he didn’t think his fans would like it.

Liim — “Older Than Me”

Liim is from Harlem. Depending on the song he could sound like Max B or Steve Lacy, but they all share a warm, DIY vibe. “Older Than You” sounds like a Flower Boy demo got put through the wash and left to dry in the sun, in the best way possible.