Pusha T and Malice of Clipse attend the Clipse Til The Casket Drops album release party at Pink Elephant on December 9, 2009 in New York City
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Clipse Exit Def Jam Due To Kendrick Lamar Verse, Sign With Roc Nation

Clipse Exit Def Jam Due To Kendrick Lamar Verse

Published Mon, June 2, 2025 at 11:30 PM EDT

In a recent interview with GQ, the Clipse explain that their upcoming Pharell produced album, Let God Sort 'Em Out was scheduled for release last year, but label politics delayed it. A Kendrick Lamar verse on "Chains & Whips" drew concern from Def Jam's parent label, UMG who didn't like the optics of two of Drake's biggest enemies (Pusha & Kendrick) on the same song.

“They wanted me to ask Kendrick to censor his verse, which of course I was never doing,” Pusha says. “And then they wanted me to take the record off. And so, after a month of not doing it, Steve Gawley, the lawyer over there, was like, ‘We'll just drop the Clipse.’ But that can't work because I'm still there as a solo artist." Def Jam has released The Clipse, and Pusha as a solo act. The duo is now signed to Jay-Z's Roc Nation.

The duo announced last year via social media that they'd reunited and signed to Def Jam Recordings. Malice posted an image to IG of himself standing in the Def Jam offices in front of a sign that reads "Def Jam Welcomes Clipse", while his brother Pusha T posted a video of the duo walking through the Def Jam offices to his stories. Pusha T was already signed to the label as a solo artist, but the duo previously released material on Star Trak, Arista, Jive, Columbia, and Elektra.

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