At one point, some might have thought Gene "Malice" Thornton had made it to the top of the world. So did he.
He and his brother, Pusha T, were Clipse. The rap duo became known for working with super-producers the Neptunes and for hits such as "Grindin'." And for pushing a subgenre called coke rap into the mainstream, along with its ideals of of more money by any means equals more success.
Now he's trying to change that thinking, one screening at a time. The End of Malice, a documentary about his transformation into Gene "No Malice" Thornton screens at NorthPark on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. as part of a 15-city tour before it premieres on Revolt TV on March 27. (Tickets were still available Tuesday afternoon.)
The title and his name change have so much one can unpack. Thornton is very much aware of that.
"It was Malice coming to the end of himself. You're put on a pedestal ... and you're glorifying a certain lifestyle," he said by phone Monday from Oklahoma City. "We lost our entire entourage and management to being indicted. ... They'll tell you none of it was worth it. We didn't have that much fun to warrant 32 years in jail, or 28, or 11.
"It would do such a disservice not to let the fans and listeners in to the entire story."
The documentary is in conjunction with Dallas-based I Am Second faith movement. Marketing manager Brandon Ricks is a co-producer.
"He was familiar with the Clipse catalog and he had heard of my transformation and he wanted to dig deeper in it and he reached out to my team," Thornton said.
"Once they heard my story, it turned into something much bigger ... about how God has touched me."
Thornton think others will learn from the "very personal story" that's "kind of nerve wracking" to put out there, mainly because he learned something, too. Especially from watching footage of peers such as his brother, Terrence Thornton, and super producer Pharrell Williams talk candidly about him, and himself.
"There's a part in the film, some throwback footage, that was just looking at the stark contrast between Malice and No Malice," he said. "For me, it was cringe-worthy looking at the old me. Part of me feels sorry for that person and who I used to be. I look forward to see where God is going to continue to take me."
He's starting that journey now. He's working on a podcast called We are REinvision that aims to "show how relevant the Bible is today." He's working on new music. He has written a book, Wretched, Pitiful, Poor, Blind and Naked.
"I speak at churches, I speak at colleges. I just take my testimony everywhere and share it with as many people as I can. I think that the testimony is universal."
