Malice and Pusha T, the poster boys of label drama, have returned to cover our mirrors with that uncut. No, this is not the crack music that gets a week of burn before it gives you the coldshakes just thinking about it. This is the blueprint for most of the rappers going platinum, the originators of Bape flamboyance, the Sosa to all these Scarfaces.

Clearly hungry after a four-year hiatus since Lord Willin’, the brothers come knocking harder than crackheads on the 1st of the month. The production is handled entirely by the Neptunes (quel surprise), with guest spots being limited to the Re-Up Gang and the usual Slim Thug verse. Dripping with swagger, Pusha ignites every single track with superb lyricism, as Malice gets your face numb with his usual wit.

On the introductory track “We Got It 4 Cheap,” Jive feels the wrath of the brothers: “It’s like trying to fly, but they clipping your wings/ and that’s exactly why the caged bird sings/” Their label woes are not the only issues addressed, as they narrate a tale of gold diggers infatuation with “Dirty Money,” script their “Nightmares” and even spin apologetic letters to their momdukes on “Momma I’m Sorry.”

Diversifying subject matter was a good look for the Jive Brothers, but the incessant techno-fused beats could have made way for a couple different producers to complement their top-notch wordplay. Let’s hope they can pull an L.O.X. campaign before they go Kane and Abel on us and we lose some of the realest originators since Kool G Rap… FREE THE CLIPSE!