Song of the Day: Clipse, "The Birds Don't Sing"

I was primed to love the new Clipse album Let God Sort Em Out. It’s full of the same blistering turn-of-the-century boom bap Pusha T and Malice have cranked out since their debut, and this time around they had the benefit of a bunch of beats crafted by a suddenly in the pocket Pharrell. It’s old man rap at this point, but it’s exactly what I look for in a hip-hop record, with the two brothers sounding hard as hell and tossing around lines that make you sit up and hit the rewind button just to make sure you heard it right.

But before they settle in to discuss all the various ways they push weight, Clipse pay tribute to their parents. “The Birds Don’t Sing” is as disarming an opener as you’ll hear on a mainstream rap record, with a sweetly melancholic chorus crooned by John Legend and Pusha and Malice breaking down the final conversations they had with their mother and father before they passed. It’s sad without ever being maudlin, and honest without feeling false or exploitative. It’s just two dudes laying out some honest feelings and reflections the best way they know how. “Chains & Whips” and “M.T.B.T.T.F.” are the obvious all-timers on Let God Sort Em Out; they sound like classic Clipse tunes that have always been there. But “The Birds Don’t Sing” is one of the great curveballs of 2025.