Happy 2026/The List of My 2025 in Review Posts

We've arrived in 2026! I hope this year is a good one and has more ups than downs! If you wanted an alphabetical list of my 2025 in review posts then you are in luck as I now present that to you below. Have a great first day of the year!

2025 in Review posts...

Comic-Book Fiasco of the Year: Diamond Comic Distributors' Bankruptcy

Gassiest Household of 2025: Mine

Musical Return to Form of the Year: Clipse

My Favorite Television Shows From This Year

Some of My Favorite Comics This Year

T.V.-Related Bummer of the Year: "Doctor Odyssey," Getting Canceled

Musical Return to Form of the Year: Clipse--2025 in Review

No Malice and Pusha T are brothers and, at one point a good chunk of time ago, they were busy as collaborators for the musical duo known as Clipse. Then, there hadn't been a new album from Clipse since 2009. A featured track here or there with them both as Clipse, but not much. Then, we learned Clipse was returning in July with, "Let God Sort Em Out." After all these years, could Clipse still have great tracks thanks to their razor-sharp wits and partnerships with fantastic producers? The answer turned out to be a resounding, "Hell yeah!" It really is an astounding piece of work.

With Pharrell providing some superb instrumentation, beats, and other friends stopping by to drop fantastic verses (Kendrick Lamar, Nas, and so forth), the resulting LP is a fantastic album that rewards repeat listens as all the clever metaphors reveal themselves and the music keeps your head continuously bopping. It has been nearly two decades, but Clipse remains a stellar rap group.

Music Monday: "Let God Sort Em Out," Shows Clipse is Still at the Top of Their Game All These Years Later

Clipse has not had an album come out with the brotherly duo of Pusha-T and No Malice since 2009. They've both done some solo projects (and No Malice outright quit rapping for a while) but outside of a featured track here and there, nothing. Hence, I was extremely excited when I heard that Clipse was reuniting for a new LP with production by Pharrell and some guest appearances. On Friday, July 11th, "Let God Sort Em Out," dropped, and I have listened to it now multiple times. It is great, to put it simply.

Outside of those who love the LP like myself and many others, I have seen a review here and there observing that Pharrell's production sounds almost a little too finished and glossy for the at-times grimy style of Clipse. I think enough tracks still hit just right and hard enough that I wasn't thinking Pharrell hindered the album at all. Oh, and this album starts hard. "The Birds Don't Sing," kicks things off forcefully but balances it all out with John Legend adding some vocals too. Then, "Chains & Whips," is straight fire with Kendrick Lamar's verse already a, "Lyrics of the Year," contender. It is funny to think Lamar having a guest spot was so controversial for the original record label Clipse was signed to (Def Jam) for Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label. Jumping ship and keeping the song intact was a good choice, clearly. "P.O.V." with its beat-shifs and Tyler the Creator joining in on the fun is a hoot as well, and as the album continues with such bangers as, "Ace Trumpets," and, "M.T.B.T.T.F." it all flows so well from track to track. The final two tunes, "Let God Sort Em Out / Chandeliers," and "By the Grace of God," close everything out wonderfully as well, with Nas and Pharrell appearing on each track, respectively, and helping bring it all home.

"Let God Sort Em Out," shows that Clipse ages like fine wine, and despite it being over 15 years since their last LP they haven't lost a step. We're all a bit older and wiser, and that makes this album all the better. Everyone had to wait quite some time for Clipse to return, but if we get an album like this, that's perfectly okay with me!

5 out of 5 Stars.

Clipse Has a New Album Coming After Years of Waiting

Pusha T and No Malice have not released an album as the sibling duo Clipse since 2009. They did solo projects and even reunited for some guest tracks and appearances as Clipse, but it has been over 15 years since an actual LP. That changes in 2025, however. On July 11th, "Let God Sort Em Out," will be released, with the single, "Ace Trumpets," being the first off the album to be released for our eager ears. With Pharellel Williams involved, it is bound to be good. Give it a listen...

That's some good stuff right there, riffing on various subjects from infamous Oscar slaps, to A$AP Rocky and Rihanna's relationship, to Mario and Luigi video-games, to Lion King movies. I look forward to the full album hitting the streets on 7/11/25.

Pusha T Released a McDonald's Diss Track...and It's Actually Glorious

I will always tell anybody willing to listen that Clipse was incredibly underrated as a rap duo. They had a solid debut album, were stuck in a contract-limbo for years that delayed an official follow-up, but once they could actually release new LPs those killed it too. They basically dissolved in 2010 (besides reuniting on one song with Kanye West in 2019) and have since then had solo careers with No Malice (originally named Malice) and Pusha T seeing success doing their own thing. I've followed the works of both gentlemen (admittedly a bit more Pusha T) and when I heard Pusha T had released a diss track aimed at McDonald's where he rapped about how great Arby's fish sandwiches were, I was a little confused and quite intrigued.

Apparently, this is not just Pusha T randomly teaming up with Arby's for a check (although I'd hope he was paid well). Pusha T has a bad history with McDonald's, having apparently helped co-write the, "I'm Lovin' It Jingle," in 2003 with No Malice, Pharell Williams, and Justin Timberlake. Timberlake made 6 million, Pusha T has said he and No Malice got, "Peanuts." in terms of initial money and zero royalties. Now, Pusha T has 75 seconds of pure fire where he slams McDonald's with his stellar rapping and makes it clear that Arby's is where you should go for a better fish sandwich. Give it a view/listen below:

Yes, yes he snuck in a cocaine reference, which is not surprising if you're familiar with Pusha T's raps. I look forward to seeing how McDonald's responds (hopefully they do) and if Wendy's puts out a funny tweet as they always like to be involved in wild shenanigans.

Almost All My Favorite Rappers Are Dead, Retired, or Having Babies with Kardashians and Jenners

Three Troubling Categories

I have talked about how I can be a whiny old man when it comes to today's popular music, hating a lot of the new stuff. That said, I still keep-up on what's hot and what's not, because I feel if you're going to talk smack about something, you should at least know it pretty well--otherwise you're just an ignorant asshole as opposed to...a know-it-all-asshole, I guess? Anyways, I was thinking about my favorite rappers from the past and present, with it occurring to me almost all of them fell into three categories, all troubling in different ways. Let's review.

Tragically Deceased

Tupac Shakur was a musical genius. Ol Dirty Bastard was probably the weirdest and wildest member of the Wu Tang Clan. Jam Master Jay was a key element of the success of Run DMC. Adam Yauch's voice always stuck-out the most to me (in a good way) on Beastie Boys Records. So many talented voices all silenced by terminal illness, drugs, or violence. It brings me so much sorrow that when I think about a lot of my favorite rap-groups that the member I liked best has passed, or that we've gone more than two decades now without Tupac on this planet. It sucks, but there really isn't anything we can do about it, is there?

Retired or Mostly Retired

Andre 3000.

Andre 3000 is a Goddamn genius but he only seems to pop-up on a record here-or-there to show it. The man knows he is the greatest rapper currently alive and realizes he doesn't have to do anything to prove it. He got bored with rapping and quit. Then we have talents like Queen Latifah and Will Smith who discovered they could make even more money just acting than doing much of any rapping.  The two men behind Clipse--No Malice and Pusha T--dissolved the group and do solo work but it just doesn't feel the same, Childish Gambino is moving more into singing than rapping as his most recent album illustrated, and Lil Wayne has threatened to quit (multiple times), which kinda sucks as he sometimes spits some solid bars.

Rappers threaten to retire to all the time without doing so, but ironically the ones I actually really like either made good on their claims of finding rap boring (Andre 3000 said it a lot before mostly stopping his raps) or just kinda stopped one day. We can't do anything about dead rappers (outside of creepy holograms) but retired ones can get back in the game...they just have to actually want to do so, and clearly lack that urge.

Having Babies with Kardashians or Jenners

Kanye West (Left) and Travis Scott (Right).

Seriously, what the fuck is going on here? I love Kanye West basically no matter what because, "The College Dropout," is a sheer masterpiece and, "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy," is ingenious as well with plenty of his other works impressing. That said, I still can't believe he married and has continued to have kids with Kim Kardashian--AKA the biggest waste of publicity I've ever seen in the world. I figured one rapper having a baby with someone in the Kardashian and Jenner crew was fluke, but now I read that Travis Scott (AKA Travi$ Scott), one of the few newer rappers I like, is having a baby with Kylie Jenner?

If something happens once it is by chance, if it happens twice it is a coincidence, three times and we have a pattern. So, if a third rapper of the increasingly small number of them I enjoy gets another one of these women pregnant (or a female rapper has a child by one of the male Kardashians or Jenners) I'll have to put my tinfoil hat on and start babbling about a conspiracy. I'm already halfway there, as this article illustrates--especially seeing as I have three categories!

The One Glorious Exception: King Kendrick

All hail King Kendrick!

Kendrick Lamar is a rapper I can't quit singing the praises of and he is without a doubt the best rapper currently alive who is willing to--you know--actually rap. As long as he stays alive, chooses to keep rapping, and doesn't knock-up Kendall or any other of those girls he will get to be my glorious exception to this troubling trend of all the rappers I love the work of being dead, retiring, or having a child with the celebrity family that to this day makes me marvel at how loosely we define, "Celebrity." I'm begging you, Kendrick, please stay healthy, stay motivated, and stay away from those Jenner and Kardashian girls!