I’m enjoying the Clipse (duo Pusha T and Malice) interviews promoting “Let God Sort Them Out” more than the album and it’s purely because of my love for storytelling. When it comes to powerful storytelling, nothing compares to a genre like Hip Hop, rappers (who can actually rap) keep my stomach full.
The Power Of Context
My journey with the album started with seeing conversations about the album rollout on the socials and I tapped in first with their Complex interview with Pharrell where the brother duo reflected on the process, the meaning, and each other. I went onto listening to the album right after. As I was re-listening to the album I watched every interview I bumped into and the album continued to hit deeper.
It’s like hearing it for the first time, but with new ears, ears that understand the context. That experience reminded me of when I first started paying attention to Tman Express after I watched an interview with him on Mandy’s Diaries Podcast and I watched his unplugged live review he hosted with fans for “IKIGAI The Second Samurai” which I found very interesting that I fell in love with that project. Once I understood the layers behind the sound, it became more than music, it becomes an imprint on your heart.
Brotherhood Beyond Beats
Beyond the music and brilliant verses, the brotherhood we see in those Clipse interviews really got me. The way Pusha T and Malice speak about each other with care, understanding, and love feels so authentic. It’s real. It’s vulnerable. And that’s part of the story too.
A Lifelong Love Affair with Stories
I’ve always been drawn to storytelling. As a kid, I had a Bambi audiobook I couldn’t get enough of. In primary, I’d write lyrics by hand as I heard them, creating my own little lyric books. There’s always been something magical to me about hearing something while reading it like accessing a story in stereo. That love followed me into adulthood.
PR wasn’t something I planned. I discovered it after a friend mentioned it, and I fell in love with the idea of crafting stories for brands. People are often surprised I ended up in PR because I’m not a talker. But that’s the thing, I may not speak a lot, but I have the best talent for conceptualising a brand story.
The Art of Brand Narratives
That’s also why I’m obsessed with how brands show up in culture. I love seeing how different brand tell the same story (eg April Fools’ Day or Workers Day) in different ways — whether it’s trend-jacking, clapping back, or beefs with competitors. It’s the storytelling that makes it matter.
Remember when KFC dropped that ad for the All Star Box using characters from Chicken Licken ads? I waited for Chicken Licken’s clapback like a fan waiting for a diss track. But it never landed. It could’ve been brilliant because they’re masters of storytelling. That missed opportunity stayed with me because I know they could have ate!
Clipse: A Cultural Moment
Which brings me back to Clipse. The album rollout has become a cultural moment not just because of the music, but because of how the story is being shared through interviews, through lyric dissections, even through Malice’s reactions that are becoming iconic in their own right. It’s all part of the experience. It’s bigger than the album.
A Plea for More Stories
And so this piece is a gentle… okay, maybe passionate plea: We need more storytelling. From artists. From brands. From anyone trying to connect with people in meaningful ways. Especially in genres like Amapiano, where so much is happening sonically and culturally but the backstory, the why, the heart? It’s still waiting to be told. Don’t just give us a beat or a product. Feed us the story behind it. Make us care!
We’re hungry bakithi!
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