Premature Evaluation: Clipse Let God Sort Em Out

Twenty-three years ago, Pusha T opened Lord Willin’ Clipse’s bone-classic 2002 debut, with this line: “Playas, we ain’t the same, I’m into caine and guns.” That was the thesis statement, and the past few decades have provided the supporting evidence. Ever since then, Pusha has discussed caine and guns in loving, exuberant, writerly detail. When it comes to being into caine and guns (but especially caine) at a consistently high level, Pusha is the greatest of all time. About 20 seconds into Lord Willin’, Pusha gets into his origin story: “Back in ’84, when I saw Crockett and Tubbs as the law, these eyes got big when they televised that raw/ My mama shoulda seen it comin’/ Me runnin’ up and down the down the stairs too quick/ Hummin’ Miami Vice theme music/ Calderone made me colder/ I see the villain’s impact now that I’m older.” It’s a fun little vignette — a little kid seeing a cool coke kingpin on an ’80s cop show and envisioning himself as a cool coke kingpin himself, then spending his life living up to that little-kid image. But there’s another character in that vignette: Pusha’s mother. A few years later, Pusha addressed her directly on “Momma I’m Sorry.” Now, Pusha opens Let God Sort Em Out, Clipse’s long-awaited fourth album, talking about his mother in a very different way.