Clipse have just dropped a snippet of Kendrick Lamar’s verse on their upcoming track “Chains & Whips,” and it’s already turning heads.
The song will appear on their reunion album “Let God Sort Em Out“, and the preview came during a rooftop link-up with Pharrell Williams.
In the verse, Kendrick pulls no punches, taking aim at the state of Hip Hop and his place in it: *“Let’s be clear, Hip-Hop died again / Half of my profits may go to Rakim / How many Judases done let me down? / But f*ck it, the West mine’s, we right now.”
The verse also caused major drama behind the scenes. In a recent GQ interview, Pusha T revealed that Def Jam, their former label, asked them to either censor Kendrick’s verse or cut the song entirely. Pusha refused. “They wanted me to ask Kendrick to censor his verse, which of course I was never doing,” he said. After a month of back and forth, Def Jam decided to drop the Clipse, despite Pusha still being signed as a solo artist.
Part of the tension came from Kendrick and Clipse both being known rivals of Drake, who is currently suing Def Jam’s parent company, UMG. The label didn’t like how that looked, especially with the legal battle still going on. Determined to keep their vision intact, Clipse paid to get out of their Def Jam contract.
They’ve since signed with Roc Nation to release “Let God Sort Em Out” on their own terms. If this “Chains & Whips” snippet is any sign, the album’s going to be bold, unfiltered, and worth the wait.
Clipse Leak Kendrick Lamar’s Verse on “Chains & Whips” Amid Label Fallout
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