The 4th Best Album of 2025
Man, the top 4 of last year were so damn good. I think #1 is pretty settled, but man 2-4 could be in any order and I wouldn't really have any strong arguments. As of writing this I'm realizing I think my 4th favorite album of 2025 is Clipse's Let God Sort Em Out. For now at least, I reserve my right to change my mind later.
But wew what an album Clipse dropped. As someone who was 13 when Hell Hath No Fury dropped I didn't really remember much about Clipse. Of course I knew Grindin, cuz fkn everyone knows Grindin. But other than that I was pretty much clueless. I knew it was Pusha T and his brother, and Daytona and It's Almost Dry were dope so I was interested, but I had no frame of reference really. Ace Trumpets came out and the beat was so sick and the verses were..pretty much what I expected, gangsta rap wonderfully executed. Also I was surprised for some reason that Malice sounded basically exactly like Pusha T. Makes sense, I suppose.
The opener is what gets me every damn time though. A heartfelt tribute to their parents from two brothers reflecting on their relationship, realizing past missteps and appreciating how loved they truly were? John Legend belting his heart out in the chorus? Brother this is not what I signed up for when I put on a gangsta rap album. Unbelievably beautiful, gets me teary-eyed every single time. Being a parent is the dopest, for real.
The rest of the album is absolutely great too. Pharrell kills the beats, especially So Be It good lord what a beat. The wordplay and delivery is on point as well. Pusha T is every bit as good as on Daytona imo, and honestly Malice is just as good. It's a triumph all over and one of my favorite rap albums released in the last 3 years. Damn maybe I should have it higher. But those albums are crazy good too, and I do feel like I find myself coming back to the next three albums more frequently. Idk man, it's a good problem to have. Hopefully Clipse makes more stuff because they clearly still have it.