The important advice Bono gave to Clipse’s Malice: “That always stuck with me”
As brothers Malice and Pusha T reunited once again as Clipse, releasing their fourth album, Let God Sort Em Out, in July 2025, the pair went back out onto the promo circuit together to advertise their new record.
At one stage during this process, as they answered questions posed by fans for a feature for The Guardian, the brothers got to talking about U2, which induced Malice to reveal that the group’s lead singer, Bono, once offered him some advice. This was around the time that he had changed his name to No Malice, and Bono had some thoughts about the decision.
Malice decided to go by No Malice in 2012, announcing the news on his Twitter account by posting a video of himself looking at his own body lying in a casket. The clip featured multiple quotes from the Bible, each of them encouraging a rejection of malice in one’s life.
This followed a period in which Malice had undergone a spiritual rebirth, seeing him find God and begin to more openly express his Christianity in public. His transformation was supported by, among other people, Bono.
The connection between Clipse and U2 seems to trace back to 2001, a time when Pusha was performing alongside Kelis, who, in turn, was supporting U2 on tour. Push had only positive things to say about U2, describing them as “so fucking cool”, although he admitted that their high-flying lifestyle set up unrealistic expectations for him as a touring musician.
“For U2,” he said, “tour life is about five-star catering; runners who will go grab you whatever you ask for; and random vans that will take you anywhere in the city. These dudes had manicures, pedicures, massages! Touring with U2 seriously fucked up my expectations, bro.”
Touring as a rapper, as he later found out to his great disappointment, was a much tougher gig. The reality of it, he said, “can be a very gruelling thing”.
This is when Malice came in with his own Bono anecdote, explaining how he’d met him backstage around the time he’d decided to become No Malice. The frontman, upon learning of the rapper’s decision, apparently told him, “You have this righteous anger now, and you have to go do something with it!”
This meant a lot to Malice. It gave him the “green light” to follow his new religiously-inflected convictions, which he has stuck to ever since. He has reverted to being known as Malice once again, but his faith remains a core part of who he is.