"Chains & Whips," featuring Kendrick Lamar, is the second single from Clipse's reunion album Let God Sort Em Out. The record marks a significant return for the duo, with Malice rejoining his brother Pusha T after a 15-year hiatus. Malice had stepped away to focus on his Christian faith and release solo work that reflected his new outlook.
For a long time, the idea of a Clipse reunion felt like a fan's fever dream. According to Malice, offers came frequently but they waited until the timing was right. "I was humbled. I was stripped,"
he told Genius. "I sat down over time, read what the word of God had to say about me. Not who I thought I was, who I made myself to be."
Malice described feeling "liberty in God," believing that he was finally allowed to come back. Pusha T echoed this trust, saying when he heard Malice speak, he could tell, "I'm in good hands."
Pusha T told Genius the idea for "Chains & Whips" emerged during a session in Paris with Louis Vuitton. A list ranking top MCs had recently circulated, and Pusha's inclusion was questioned by some, including rapper Jim Jones. That lit the fuse. "I was one of the people being questioned," Pusha said. "So I said, 'Okay, well, I'ma give you my opinion.'" The track became his lyrical rebuttal.
The track almost didn't get written at all. Pusha confessed that Pharrell's eerie, cinematic beat was so hypnotic that it stalled their writing: "Sometimes the beat's so good, you can't even get out of the groove to know what you're about to say."
Eventually, they leaned into the instrumental's "spooky" energy and unlocked the song's emotional and spiritual layers.
The hook opens with a bar that sounds like a cinematic setup:
Uncle said, 'Ni--a, you must be sick
All you talk about is just getting rich
It wasn't just a clever lyric - it was a direct quote from Malice and Pusha's uncle. That line became the emotional nucleus of the track, grounding its critique of materialism and misplaced identity.
The title "Chains & Whips" does double duty. On the surface it conjures bling and Bentleys, but it also alludes to slavery, generational trauma, and the seductive prison of wealth as status. The lyrics navigate this duality, dissecting everything from designer jewelry to spiritual bankruptcy.
Pusha's verses are cynical and surgical, exposing the way the rap game consumes itself. Malice, by contrast, brings a heavier theological weight, citing John 10:10: "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy."
He explained, "People think the devil is out here to agitate you. But the Bible says... he wants to destroy you."
Kendrick Lamar adds the finishing blow: a technically masterful, emotionally sharp verse filled with meditations on fame, race, and legacy. But his contribution nearly torpedoed the whole song. According to Pusha, their then-label Def Jam (under Universal Music Group) wanted Kendrick's verse removed or censored, citing concerns over Drake references and a Donald Trump diss. The brothers refused to budge.
Instead, they walked, buying themselves out of their Def Jam contract for a reported seven-figure sum and taking the song (and album) to Roc Nation for distribution. Kendrick's verse? Kept intact. Because if Clipse do anything, it's stand on principle.
"Chains & Whips" was first previewed on June 20, 2023, during the Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2024 runway. And the man who played it? That would be none other than Louis Vuitton Men's Creative Director Pharrell Williams, who produced the track.
Clipse and Kendrick Lamar performed "Chains & Whips" live for the first time on August 23, 2025, at The Novo in Los Angeles during Clipse's Let God Sort Em Out tour. Kendrick Lamar surprised fans by joining Pusha T and Malice on stage for their inaugural live performance of the collaboration.
