1972–2009: Early life and Clipse Malice was born Gene Elliott Thornton Jr. on August 18, 1972, in
the Bronx borough of New York City. He and his younger brother
Pusha T formed the duo
Clipse while Malice was producing demos with production duo
the Neptunes, consisting of
Pharrell Williams and
Chad Hugo. In early 2001, Williams signed the duo to
Arista Records, through his recently established
Star Trak Entertainment imprint. In late 2003, Clipse began recording material for its second album,
Hell Hath No Fury.
Hell Hath No Fury was finally released on November 28, 2006. After this, the duo began discussions with several record labels, eventually signing with
Columbia Records on October 26, 2007. The follow-up to
Hell Hath No Fury, titled
Til the Casket Drops, was released on December 8, 2009, via Columbia Records. In a departure from the group's previous works, which only featured production from the Neptunes, the album features production from
Sean "Diddy" Combs' production team
The Hitmen, and
DJ Khalil among others. The album did not fare as well commercially as the group's first two albums, peaking at No. 41 on the
Billboard 200 albums chart. and that they were no longer signed to Columbia Records. In 2011, Malice published his book
Wretched, Pitiful, Poor, Blind & Naked, a memoir about his life, including fearing contracting
AIDS, as well as his
conversion to Christianity. On March 6, 2012, he announced that he changed his name from Malice to No Malice via a video posted to
Twitter. It depicted him viewing himself in a casket in a funeral parlor and walking away. The video, which was directed by Malice, opens with multiple quotes from the Bible: first, from
Ephesians 4:31, "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice;" then, from 1 Peter 2:1, "Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings;" and Romans 1:29, "Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers;" and Colossians 3:8, "But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth." In 2012, Malice collaborated with
Lecrae on his mixtape
Church Clothes, featured in the song "Darkest Hour". On June 19, 2012, he released the first single from
Hear Ye Him titled "June" featuring Eric David. On July 24, 2012, the second single from
Hear Ye Him titled "Unforgettable" was released. On January 15, 2013, the third single from
Hear Ye Him titled "Smoke & Mirrors" featuring
Ab-Liva was released. On May 21, 2013, it was announced that his debut album
Hear Ye Him would be released on July 2, 2013, but the album was later pushed back. On June 4, 2013, the fourth single from
Hear Ye Him titled "Bury That" was released. On August 18, 2017, Malice released his second studio album,
Let the Dead Bury the Dead, which contains the track "Fake News", where he denounces his earlier work, rapping "Take my catalog, I just as soon set a match to it. Money like a side-chick, I ain't that attached to it". On July 6, 2018, his single "Give 'Em Game" was released. A reviewer on
Jam The Hype wrote, "No Malice spits timeless bars that listeners will gain wisdom from." Malice reunited with his brother and made a guest appearance as
Clipse on the track "
Use This Gospel" from
Kanye West's 2019 album
Jesus Is King. In 2022, they collaborated with Japanese DJ
Nigo's on his album
I Know Nigo!, featuring in the song "Punch Bowl". The following month, Malice collaborated on his brother
Pusha T's album ''
It's Almost Dry'', featuring in the song "
I Pray for You". He is credited as Malice on the record, rather than No Malice. He was again credited as Malice on the 2024 Clipse track "
Birds Don't Sing". Ahead of Clipse's reunion and upcoming fourth studio album after fifteen years,
Let God Sort Em Out, Malice and his brother Pusha T premiered an interview with
GQ, where the duo revealed that they were dropped from
Def Jam Recordings as well as Pusha T as a solo artist, and also confirmed
Kendrick Lamar's appearance in their upcoming album. The next day, Pusha T's longtime manager
Steven Victor revealed during an interview with
Billboard that the rapper actually had to pay an undisclosed seven-figure sum to be dropped from the Def Jam label, in order to be released from both Clipse's and his own contractual obligations, elaborating further how the label has been suppressing Pusha T's collaborations with other artists and even his own music releases since
his feud with Canadian rapper
Drake in 2018. ==Discography==