On February 14, Gene Elliott Thronton Jr., better known as Malice of The Clipse, released his first book, Wretched, Pitiful, Poor, Blind and Naked. In the book’s description, Malice says, “This book tells how my life was saved by the Lord Jesus Christ.” Being that Pusha and Malice have rapped about the drug trade in vivid detail, some fans may see the book as a departure, but Malice says those who pay attention should see it as a continuation.
“I’ve always made mention of my faith,” Malice told J. Pablo of The Village Voice. Even on our first album, ‘Exclusive Audio Footage,’ we had a song called ‘Watch Over Me.’ A better example would be the cover for our second album, ‘Lord Willin’: We got Jesus riding with us. I’ve always tried to give a balanced outlook on dealing drugs and the spoils that come with it. I’m not pretending to be better now or something. I’m not better than anybody; I’m just speaking on my experiences.”
In January, Malice released the viral video “Am I My Brothers Keeper?” which addressed Pusha with the following bars:
“I heard they out there saying why he wasn’t before the judge / ‘Cause every day I prayed you was covered in the blood / So all I ask bro is you acknowledge his name / We in the same group I gotta share your pain.”
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Malice pointed out that he and Pusha T still plan on doing music as The Clipse, and neither Pusha’s solo venture with Kanye West nor his own work as an author will change the status of the group.
“We’re still doing Clipse music,” Malice added. “It’s just…I told him I have to write this book. He understood. I couldn’t do rap right then. I let him read the book. He thought it was phenomenal. He encouraged me to move forward with it. How can I do anything less for him?”
Malice’s full Q&A, including his reflection on the sentencing of former Clipse manager Anthony Gonzalez is available at The Village Voice’s website. To order a copy of Wretched, Pitiful, Poor, Blind and Naked, visit the Thorn10 Publishing website.
