Brothers Gene “Malice” Thornton and Terrence “Pusha T” Thornton are the critically acclaimed Virginia Beach duo Clipse. They are known for their dope delivery as one of the leaders in the “coke rap” subgenre.

Born in the Bronx, New York, the Thornton brothers grew up in Virginia Beach, Virginia after their family moved there during their childhood. As they began making music, they would cross paths with future superstar Timothy “Timbaland” Mosley as well as the production team of Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams, who would become known as The Neptunes. Originally known as Full Eclipse, the brothers shortened their name to Clipse and began working with The Neptunes on what was supposed to be their debut album, Exclusive Audio Footage, which features the duo’s debut single, “The Funeral.” The album was scheduled for a 1999 release but was shelved by Elektra Records before later being released to streaming services in 2022.

Clipse returned in May 2002 with their hit single “Grindin'”, which was a Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the song was later listed by Rolling Stone magazine as one of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The group’s debut album Lord Willin' was released on August 20, 2002 through Arista Records and The Neptunes' Star Trak imprint. The album achieved gold status after peaking at #4 on the Billboard 200 and topping the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The duo also connected with rappers Ab-Liva and Sandman to form the Re-Up Gang and they released a few mixtapes together, starting in 2004 with the first volume of their We Got It 4 Cheap series.

After some label drama with Jive Records following their acquisition of Arista Records and Star Trak joining Interscope Records, Clipse released their critically acclaimed sophomore album Hell Hath No Fury on November 28, 2006, six months after the release of the album’s lead single “Mr. Me Too.” The album became the sixth in the history of hip-hop magazine XXL to receive a perfect “XXL” rating.

Following the release of the duo’s third studio album, 2009’s Til the Casket Drops, Malice decided to take a break from the group to pursue a more spiritual path as No Malice. Pusha T released several projects, including his Grammy-nominated 2018 album DAYTONA, and No Malice released two albums: Hear Ye Him (2013) and Let the Dead Bury the Dead (2017).

After the duo collaborated on several songs over the years—mainly Kanye West’s 2019 song “Use This Gospel”—Pusha T and Malice reunited with Pharrell to create and release their fourth album, Let God Sort Em Out, on July 11, 2025 through Roc Nation after more label drama with Def Jam and their parent company Universal Music Group delayed the release from its original 2024 date. The trio recorded the album in Paris, France at the headquarters of Louis Vuitton where Pharrell is the Creative Men’s Director. Following a hectic rollout, Clipse embarked on a tour in support of the album, which included them becoming the first rappers to perform at the Vatican as they performed “The Birds Don’t Sing” with John Legend at the Grace of the World concert. At the 2026 GRAMMY Awards, Clipse won their first Grammy in the Best Rap Performance category for “Chains & Whips” and performed “So Far Ahead” with Pharrell.