Clipse, the Hip-Hop duo formed by brothers Gene "Malice" Thornton and Terrence "Pusha T" Thornton, was forged in Virginia Beach in 1992. The brothers were born in The Bronx but moved to Virginia Beach where they eventually befriended Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes. Pharrell helped them secure a recording contract with Elektra in 1996 and they recorded their debut album, “Exclusive Audio Footage” releasing their first single, "The Funeral." It caught the attention of Hip-Hop heads, but failed commercially, so Clipse’s debut album “Exclusive Audio Footage” was shelved.
Clipse released their commercial debut “Lord Willin'” in 2002 and the album hit #1 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Album chart due to the strength of the first two singles, "Grindin'" and "When the Last Time.”
Pusha and Malice quickly began recording material for their second album in 2003 but their label was going through big changes and things got severely delayed. Eventually, the group asked for a formal release from their contract from Jive Records and when Jive refused to grant that request, Clipse sued the label. Finally, in 2006, they reached an agreement with the label and were able to release their second album, “Hell Hath No Fury.” XXL Magazine gave the album a "XXL" rating. Only five albums had previously received that honor.
In November 2008, Clipse expanded their horizons and announced the launch of their fashion line, Play Cloths and musically followed up with “Til the Casket Drops” in 2009.
Malice published a memoir of his life, “Wretched, Pitiful, Poor, Blind & Naked,” which was released in 2011, which detailed many aspects of his life including his conversion to Christianity. He later changed his moniker to “No Malice.” In 2010, Pusha T announced his solo deal with Kanye West’s GOOD Music label. And with the writing already on the wall, No Malice announced in 2014 that there will not be another Clipse album. Fans are still hopeful though, and Lord willin’ maybe we’ll see it one day.