Clipse Reflect on Historic Vatican Performance: ‘Hip-Hop Belongs Everywhere’

Clipse made history when they became the first rappers to perform at the Vatican on Sept. 13 for the Grace for the World concert, which was produced by the duo’s close friend and longtime collaborator Pharrell.

The Thornton brothers brought Let God Sort Em Out to the holy ground for a poignant performance of Clipse’s album opener “The Birds Don’t Sing,” which is an emotional tribute to their late parents.

Pusha T and Malice feel they carry a responsibility to bring hip-hop to places it hasn’t been before while continuing to elevate the genre.

“It was definitely a moment for us,” Malice told VIBE. “I think we definitely broke ground. It’s overdue and past time that people understand that hip-hop belongs everywhere. It’s expression, it’s communication, it teaches the world about our culture. It’s an art form that’s celebrated in every walk of life. It’s nothing that should be surprising — we should be celebrated everywhere.”

While King Push reflected on the genre’s fight for exposure and recognition, adding: “I’ve been here for a long time with hip-hop, and I remember it not being seen as an art, and it not being televised. And like you said, now being at the Vatican — we do this so everyone can see how far it can go.”

Let God Sort Em Out arrived in July, and serves as the first Clipse album since 2009. The project debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, and the duo also took it back to their childhood home in Virginia while paying homage to their parents for the “Birds Don’t Sing” visual, which was released last week.

Speaking to Billboard at the top of October, Pusha T explained how he made it a mission to break the glass ceiling when it comes to ageism in rap and hip-hop being a “young man’s game” with the Clipse reuniting this year.

“I’ve always looked at rap and other genres, rock specifically, and I’ve never liked how rap always had the age ceiling where everyone else didn’t,” he said. “I’ve personally always wanted to make it my business to crack that ceiling, and I think the Clipse album 1,000 percent [did it].”