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- [00:00]
Host/Narrator
This episode of Dissect is presented by Amazon Prime. The holidays hit fast. One moment, you're planning the next, everything's out of sync. Luckily, prime helps you catch the rhythm with fast free delivery that gets it there just in time. Prime's fast shipping is always there for you during the holidays, especially when it's last minute and it just can't wait. Hosting essentials or the gift that hits the right note, it's on Prime. Head to Amazon.comprime to shop now.
- [00:28]
Sponsor Voice 1
This episode is brought to you by Spotify Portal for Backstage Bet you're wondering what's Portal? Well, it's an internal developer portal built to improve developer experience and boost productivity. All software components are centralized, documentation is automated and easy to maintain. New projects and components just a few clicks. With your best practices already built in, think less friction, more innovation. Ready to double your productivity? Try Spotify portal@backstage.Spotify.com Let God Sort Him.
- [00:57]
Host/Narrator
Out by Clips is Dissect's best rap album of 2025, and to celebrate this near perfect project, I'm breaking down 10 of its most impressive and complex lyrical passages, beginning with Pusha T's opening four lines on so Be It.
- [01:13]
Pusha T
I could show you how to bust a brick if you let me I'm on a gram like confetti Switch is ready she leaning on Celine cause she stepping into stepping ketchup.
- [01:23]
Host/Narrator
Push begins spelling out clips name C L I P S E then add P French for and P as in the album's producer, Pharrell, using French nods to the fact the song and album was recorded at Louis Vuitton's headquarters in France. But EPI is also a homophone for EPI, Louis Vuitton's signature EPI leather used on jackets currently designed under Pharrell's creative direction. This leads into 8Ball LV given the EPI leather reference, Push Here is invoking the iconic 8Ball leather jackets popular in early 90s hip hop. At the same time, 8Ball is slaying for an eighth of an ounce of cocaine, setting up the next line. I can show you how to bust a brick if you let me. A brick is a kilo of cocaine, and busting it down means breaking it into smaller units like eight balls. A monogram like confetti switches ready, continues both motifs and adds a third. On one level, he's referencing Louis Vuitton's famous monogram print scattered like confetti. But monogram also contains the word graham, a smaller measurement of cocaine that resembles confetti when scattered. Finally Switches ready adds the third layer as switches turn Glocks into fully automatic weapons, making their rapid fire resemble confetti. This kind of elite sustained wordplay is commonplace for clips like when Malice weaves in movie references throughout his standout verse. On track five, Ace trumpets Over half.
- [02:43]
Malice
A mil we call for Kasha reaching for Akasha, Never leaving home without my peace. Like I'm a hotma from the tribe of Judah. I'm Mufasa never turning attorney. You're the cheat, you'll die at the.
- [02:56]
Host/Narrator
Oscars, Malice raps over half a mil we call Fakasha reaching for Akasha. Anything above a half a million dollars is considered bread, implying that anything less is chump change. Akasha comes from the Sanskrit word for sky, so Malice is stretching his money sky high. In Hinduism, Akasha is considered the fifth element, an all encompassing medium that connects all things in the universe. Malice plays on this Hindu connection in the next line, never leaving home without my peace. Like on Mahatma. Mahatma Gandhi was a Hindu who championed peace. But Malice's peace is the opposite of Gandhi's. It's his p, his firearm. The religious motif continues from the tribe of Judah on Mufasa, one of the 12 tribes of Israel. The tribe of Judah is traditionally symbolized by a lion, hence Malice's comparison to Mufasa the Lion King. In Revelation, Jesus was named the lion of Judah and Jesus preached nonviolence like Gandhi. Hence we get the next line. Never turn the other cheek. You'll die at the Oscars. Like his previous piece on Tundra, Malice subverts Jesus famous teaching of peacefully turning the other cheek while evoking Will Smith's infamous slap across Chris Rock's cheek at the Oscars. Malice is saying, if you were to harm him, he's not turning the other cheek, he's going to end you. And if that wordplay isn't impressive enough on its own, notice how Oscars contains the word scar, Mufasa's evil brother in the Lion King. This movie motif then extends into the next sequence.
- [04:21]
Malice
Dressed in House of Gucci, made from selling Lady Gaga. Hakuna matata island wearing tie dye umbrella in my Rolls match the one that's in this Mata.
- [04:32]
Host/Narrator
Malice raps dressed in House of Gucci, made from selling Lady Gaga. Malice is outfitted in Gucci, which he can afford from selling Lady Gaga slang for cocaine. But House of Gucci is also the title of a 2021 film starring Lady Gaga. The next line, hakuna matata island wearing tie dye quotes the famous Lion King song that means no worries. Calling back to the previous Mufasa and Scar references, tie dyed shirts are associated with peace, love and a carefree attitude. So the image here is Malice vacationing on a luxurious island somewhere free of worries. This extends into Umbrella in my Rolls match the one that's in this Mai Tai. A Mai Tai is a cocktail associated with tropical vacations and garnished with a decorative umbrella, which Malice compares to the customary umbrellas that come standard in Rolls Royce luxury cars. Now for our next selection, we're going to stay with Ace trumpets as Pusha T's verse is just as impressive as.
- [05:24]
Pusha T
Malice's White Glove Service with the brick I am Luigi sold Ecstasy and disappeared I am Houdini look at them him and him still waiting on Yeezy. I hope you got your squeegees had your interviews I just Kiki Life's Peachy AC app with riri you rappers all beneath me but love like the Bee Gees international flights connect me to the Wii fee the only way you reach.
- [05:50]
Host/Narrator
Me Push Rap's White Glove Service with the brick I am Luigi. White Glove Service refers to the careful handling of luxury goods here applied to Push's high quality bricks of cocaine. The phrase also nods to the white latex gloves used when handling those bricks. In the Nintendo Mario Bros. Games, Luigi wears white gloves, smashes bricks and is Mario's younger brother. Just like P. Push is Malice's younger brother. The next line sold ecstasy and disappeared. I am Houdini continues the layered references. Push sells drugs and vanishes, keeping a low profile to avoid arrests. A disappearing act he compares to magician Harry Houdini. But this is also a play on the 80s hip hop group Houdini, who uncoincidentally had a member named Ecstasy. Houdini's biggest hit song was Friends, a track about the struggle to find genuine relationships. This sets up the next line. Look at him, him and him still waiting on Yeezy. I hope you got your squeegees. Once friends and collaborators Push and Kanye west had a falling out here Push is calling Kanye washed up, telling the Stans still waiting on his return to forum to have their squeegees ready. A play on soap suds and being washed at your interviews. I just Keke describes Push laughing at Kanye's recent public insults towards him. Most recently in Ye's interview with DJ Akademiks. Kiki is also the nickname of Ye's ex wife Kim Kardashian. This marriage motif then extends into the next line, Life's Peachy ASAP with riri you Rappers All Beneath Me Push isn't stressing about his fallout with ye. His life is as merry as ASAP Rocky and Rihanna's relationship. Rihanna's global stature and wealth overshadow rapper ASAP Rocky, which Push plays with to frame himself as being above his competition, saying, you rappers all beneath me but loved like the Bee Gees, Push gets love from rappers like the popular 70s band the Bee Gees, who made many love songs and were composed of brothers just like Push and Malice. But Bee Gee is also an abbreviation for baby Gangsta, reinforcing the idea that rappers are beneath Push a season og the final line International Flights Connect Me to the Wii Fee the Only Way youy Reach Me extends the motif. Push is literally above others. While flying high on private jets overseas, cleverly Push pronounces weefy the way many European countries do, including France, where the album was recorded. Playing into international flights, Malice makes similar claims of superiority in my next selection, which comes off one of my personal favorite songs on the album. Mike Tyson Blow to the Face.
- [08:19]
Malice
You niggas are Screenwriters. We dream writers took chains and touched change like King Midas. Imitation is flattery they seem like us but only 300 bricks can make you. Leonidas My old plug has the new plug to reunite us D class in my ears now let me see you bite it she won Mike Tyson Blow to the face I'm talking 96 hole.
- [08:39]
Host/Narrator
With the base Malice raps you n words as screenwriters, we dreamwriters took chains and touched change like King Midas. While his competition fabricates fiction, emulating what they see in movies, Malice writes from his lived experience, a true rags to riches story, a dream realized. In this sense, he's King Midas, the figure from Greek mythology who turned everything he touched into gold. He continues, Only 300 bricks can make youe Leonidas Leonidas was the Spartan King who led 300 warriors against the Persian army, which was dramatized in the 2006 film 300. Notice the motifs malice is developing here. King Midas and King Leonidas are both Greek kings, While the film 300 extends the screenwriter reference, but the line also carries a third layer. 300 bricks refers to massive quantities of cocaine, while Leonidas doubles as a nod to Colombian drug lord Leonidas Vargas, known as the King of Caqueta. Like Midas and Leonidas, Vargas too was a king. Malus then continues D class in my ears. Now let me see you bite it. Class D Diamonds are the rarest and purest something Malus imitators couldn't bite or copy because of their expensive price tag. But ears and biting also sets up the verse's final lines. She want Mike Tyson Blow to the face. I'm talking 96hove with the Bass Mike Tyson infamously bit the ear of Evander Holyfield in 1997, just one year after Jay Z, aka Hov, dropped his debut project Reasonable Doubt in 96. Cleverly, both Blow and bass in this couplet serve as a cocaine double entendre. Blow to the Face is both a Mike Tyson punch and a snort of coke, with the added layer being Tyson was a cocaine user for much of his life. Meanwhile, Hove with the Bass is both Jay Z's bass heavy music as well as slang for crack cocaine, a nod to Jay's own past as a drug dealer. Paying homage to hip hop legends is a consistent motif on Let God Sort him out, like when Pusha T shouts out Wu Tang's Ghostface Killa on track three POV sand colored Rolls Royce we.
- [10:36]
Pusha T
Like Sally's here the only Audi hair is driven by my out pair Ghost Face with the wristburg Falconer Willie Falcone trunk full of talcum here, shotgun with your ex feels like Malcolm's near Push.
- [10:50]
Host/Narrator
Raps sand colored Rolls Royce we like Saudis here. He's playing on the fact that Saudi Arabia is 95% desert sand, the same color as his tan. Rolls Royce Push wouldn't be caught in anything less, especially not an Audi, which is actually considered a luxury car, just not as luxury as Rolls Royce. Hence we get the line. The only Audi here is driven by my Al pair, meaning that not only is he rich enough to have an Al pair or full time caregiver but but he can also afford to give them an Audi, an expensive car by most anyone's standards. He continues, Ghost face with the wrist Bird falconer. Falconer here is a triple entendre. First, the entire line cites Ghostface Killa's infamous golden eagle cuff, a gigantic gold bracelet featuring a landing eagle that sits on Ghost's wrist. A falconer is someone who trains and hunts birds of prey and Push flips this to refer to the slaying use of bird, which is a kilo of coke. Falconer is also a play on Millionaire and Ghostface with the wrist is a reference to cooking crack. So Push is claiming to be a bird falconer, someone who's made millions via drugs. The final layer continues the previous Saudi Arabia reference as falcons are a status symbol there and incredibly popular among Saudi royalty. The next line Willy Falcone trunk full of Talcum here refers to Augusto Willy Falcon, a former drug kingpin that operated one of the largest cocaine trafficking organizations in South Florida history. Talcum powder resembles cocaine and is sometimes used as a cutting agent, so push is obviously referring to trunks full of coke. A trunk also continues the vehicle motif from Rolls Royce and Audi, which then continues with Shotgun with your ex Feel like Malcolm's near Push claims to have your ex girlfriend riding shotgun in his Rolls Royce, but the wordplay centers around the famous 1964 photo of Malcolm X holding a large gun looking out a window. Hence Shotgun with Ya X. Now the Saudi Arabia motif in this passage makes a perfect segue to my next selection. At some point in this video, I had to honor Pharrell's incredible production on this project, and one of the album's standout beats is built around samples of a Saudi artist.
- [12:51]
Pusha T
So Be it, so be it smoke so be it, so be it.
- [12:57]
Malice
You ain't solid, ain't valid, you ain't malice been quiet, ain't riot, you ain't.
- [13:02]
Host/Narrator
Karras blow so Be it samples Saudi Arabian artist Talal Madhuh and his 1979 song Maza Akulu, a track Pharrell discovered when fellow producer Swiss Beats posted it to his Instagram. The majority of the sample comes from this passage of the song. So Be it's verses alternate between a slowed and slightly chopped version of this ganoon flourish and the vocal passage that follow it. Meanwhile, so Beit's chorus uses the riff we heard at the beginning of the sampled passage. Foreign. Pharrell originally had issues clearing these samples, so as some of you might remember, the album version of so Be it was changed to a sample free instrumental on release day.
- [14:18]
Pusha T
So Be It Clap SCFB a ball LV I could show you how to bust a break if you let me I'm on a gram like confetti switch is ready she leaning on Celine cause.
- [14:28]
Host/Narrator
She we have Swiss Beats to thank for getting the original sample cleared. When he heard the alternate version of so Be it on release day, he immediately called Klipse's manager to ask about the clearance issue. As it just so happened, Swiss was already on his way to Saudi Arabia, where he has deep ties and runs his own creative company. He promised he'd handle it personally, and within a half an hour the sample was cleared and the original and in my opinion, much better version of so Be it was restored.
- [14:57]
Sponsor Voice 2
This episode is brought to you by Salty Cheezy Cheez It Crackers should this whole podcast just be me eating Cheez it that would be a top notch podcast. You could hear them crunching in my mouth. You could think about how salty and savory and delicious they are. You could just get Cheez it on the brain. Oh man, those Cheez it cravings, they get you. Anyway, what was I talking about?
- [15:18]
Host/Narrator
Oh yeah.
- [15:19]
Sponsor Voice 2
Oh Cheez it. Yeah, Cheez It Crackers. Go check them out.
- [15:23]
Sponsor Voice 1
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- [15:53]
Host/Narrator
Now another of my favorite beats on Let God Sort him out is Chains and Whips, which also contains what I believe is the best hook on the entire album.
- [16:01]
Pusha T
Uncle said you must be sick all.
- [16:03]
Malice
You talk about is just get rich.
- [16:05]
Pusha T
Choke my neck and ice my beat the system with chains and whips.
- [16:11]
Host/Narrator
The chorus begins, uncle said N word you must be sick all you talk about is just getting rich. The uncle here is a personification of America, Uncle Sam, who criticizes the black American art form hip hop as being one dimensionally obsessed with wealth. The irony of his statement is obvious. America itself has been obsessed with accumulating wealth by any means necessary, including centuries of enslaving kidnapped Africans. The Uncle's use of the N word alludes to this history, setting up the central play of Push's response. Choke my neck N word and ice my bitch Beat the system with chains and whips. The entire couplet is centered in subversion. Choke My Neck takes an allusion to lynching and flips it into a diamond choker necklace. Ice My Bitch extends the motif rather than the expected Choke My Bitch. Push adorns his partner in diamonds too. Beat the System with Chains and Whips sustains the subversion. Chains and Whips were torture devices once used on the enslaved, flipped here to reference jewelry and cars. This same idea is present in Push's use of the N word as a direct response to Uncle Sam, using it as a slur, symbolizing the way black Americans have reclaimed ownership of a word once used to inflict hurt. Just like the chains and whips. And so where Uncle Sam tried to paint Push's obsession with wealth as a Negative Push proves how black excellence and wealth is actually a form of resistance, a way to beat the system that's been set up for black failure from the start. Now another standout hook on Let God Sort him out comes on the song Fico, where Griselda Records artist Stove God Cooks delivers one of the best features on the album.
- [17:50]
Pusha T
My Shoe to turn you inside out I heard the feds turned the crib inside out Drop the roof on you niggas let the inside out Fresh Prince jacket boy I cook them to the.
- [18:01]
Malice
Inside out Go get a glove Stove.
- [18:02]
Host/Narrator
God sings, you ain't been where I go with a fetty so strong you gotta bag it with one eye closed he's saying the fetty or fentanyl he's bagging is so potent it'll make you involuntarily wince. But Fetty and Eye Closed is a play on rapper Fetty Wap, who is missing one eye, so it looks like he always has one eye closed. Fetty is also currently serving prison time for drug trafficking, including fentanyl. The closing line of the hook is just as clever Fresh Prince jacket boy I cook em till they inside out Stove claims to shoot his enemies so many times their insides spill out, drawing on Will Smith's character in Fresh Prince of Bel Air, who famously wore his private school suit jacket inside out to make it more fashionable. Alongside its chorus, FICO delivers two of the album's most virtuosic verses with both Push and Malice rapping in the same complex 2 bar double rhyme scheme.
- [18:52]
Pusha T
I remember late nights pissy hallways driving me psycho the money wouldn't come fast enough we was back and forth downstream line moving.
- [19:05]
Host/Narrator
Alright so let's break down this rhyme scheme. Push begins. I remember late nights pissy hallways driving me psycho the money wouldn't come fast enough Psycho and Enough are the rhyme words which get paid off in the following couplet. We was back and forth downstreamline Moving weight was like lipo. The rest of y' all stuck in a rut. Lipo here rhymes with Psycho, while Enough rhymes with Ruth. The scheme is notable not only for the two syllable internal and two syllable external rhymes, but also for its unique structure. The first bar of each couplet is wordy and sprawling, while the second bar is sparse and punchy. That contrast paired with the double rhyme scheme is what gives this song such a unique feeling, and both Push and Malice sustain this same scheme. For the entirety of their respective verses.
- [19:51]
Malice
I would have them take a number like DMV that was the baseline check out on register one Miami like Big Perm cuz they numbers was fazon Cuban showed me nothing but love when it.
- [20:04]
Host/Narrator
Malice's adoption of the double rhyme scheme centers on the two syllable internal baseline and phon and the external single syllable love and one. He describes having to create a transaction system like the DMV to meet the demands for his product, with baseline being a clever way to describe a long line of customers waiting to buy his bass or crack cocaine. He then references the classic movie Friday, which features drug kingpin Big Perm played by actor Faison Love Miami n words like big perm cuz they numbers was Faison plays on the fact that Faison is heavy set, meaning Malice's drug connections in Miami were moving heavy weight. This leads into Cubans showed me nothing but Love. Malice implies his Miami connects were Cuban who showed him love or gave him a good deal. But Love is also a play on Faison's last name Love, who uncoincidentally is Cuban American. Cuban is also a homophone for Cupid, the God of love. And if that isn't enough wordplay, Malice is very likely alluding to AZ Faison here as well, a famous cocaine dealer in the 80s who became the subject of the 2002 film Paid in Full. Now, on top of the elite wordplay and double rhyme scheme, there's also another incredible detail in Malice's ficoverse, which has to do with all the numbers he incorporates throughout it and what happens when you add them all up. I actually broke this down in a recent episode called the Most Genius Number Schemes in Rap History, which I'd recommend checking out if you're interested in that breakdown and a ton of other mind blowing number bars. But for the penultimate breakdown in this episode, I want to highlight another even more complex double rhyme scheme in Malice's verse on so Far Ahead, Niggas tried.
- [21:41]
Malice
To sneeze at the blessing, how could I just leave? Was the question. Whistleblowers left me no choice Ain't no referees up in heaven no mistaking me for the Reverend Usher in the money My confession How you Pastor Whipper Rolls Royce that was me pre 9 11.
- [21:58]
Host/Narrator
Let's use Malice's opening four bars to lay out this scheme. He begins n words tried to sneeze at the blessing, how could I just leave? Was the question. The primary outer rhyme is firmly established with blessen and question. The third bar pivots away from this as he says whistleblowers left me no choice. However, no choice is being set up as a secondary end rhyme which isn't paid off immediately. Instead, the fourth bar returns to the primary end rhyme. Ain't no referees up in heaven. Heaven here rhymes with blessin and question, and so we have four total lines, with the first, second and fourth using a primary rhyme and the third line using a secondary rhyme. The next set of four bars uses the same structure. The first two bars continue the primary heaven rhyme. No mistaking me for the Reverend ushering the money my confession. The third line, how your pastor whip a Rolls Royce finally pays off the secondary rhyme as Rolls Royce rhymes with the previous no choice. The fourth bar then returns to the primary heaven rhyme. That was me pre 9 11. It's an incredibly impressive scheme that sustains the entire verse, and despite the structural complexity, Malice doesn't sacrifice his wordplay. For instance, no mistaking me for the Reverend ushering the money My confession In his personal genius annotation, Malice confirmed this as a triple entendre. The central meaning is that Malice, despite being a devout man of God, isn't overly pious like a reverend and still appreciates ushering in pockets full of money. A church usher is also the one who collects the weekly cash offerings from the congregation. Finally, the line is a play on the R and B artist Usher and his most popular album, Confessions. Now for our 10th and final selection, I want to switch things up a little bit, because as much as I love Klipse's luxury Coke wraps, part of what makes God sort em out so special is the maturity and perspective both Push and Malice exhibit throughout the project. This is most evident on the opening track, Birds Don't Sing. Known historically for using birds as slang for kilos of cocaine, the duo subverts expectations by turning the phrase into a heartfelt tribute to their mother and father, who passed away just four months apart. Push's verse focuses on their mother, while Malice's centers their father, including these incredibly moving final four lines.
- [24:12]
Malice
Birds don't sing if the words don't sting your last few words in my ears still ring you told me that you love me it was all in your tone I love my two sons with the cold to your phone now.
- [24:23]
Host/Narrator
You Malus recounts that the last words he heard from his father were I love you. Then, after his father's death, he discovered that all of his father's online passwords were I love my two sons. It's a profoundly intimate detail that shows that his father's love was embedded into every facet of his life. For Malice, discovering this had to be deeply moving, a reminder that his father carried that love and devotion with him everywhere, even in spaces no one else was meant to see. Touching moments like this reminds us why clips stand apart as writers, unlike God sort them out, they can prove they can do more than craft clever bars about drugs and luxury. They can also deliver passages that are deeply personal and profoundly human. That range from cocaine entendres to moving reflections on family and loss is what makes clips not just great rappers, but great writers. And it's also why Let God sort them out is Dissect's 2025 rap album of the Year. Foreign. This episode is brought to you by Amazon Prime. The holidays move fast, so stay in sync with Prime's fast free delivery. Admittedly, I sometimes wait till the last minute to buy my gifts, and I've been saved by prime more than a few times. That's because Prime's fast shipping is always there for you during the holidays, especially when it's last minute and can't wait. Need that final gift or holiday essential in a flash. It's on Prime. Head to Amazon.comprime to shop now.