original story posted december 07, 2009
When 2003 came so did the infectious sound that was
“Grindin” from the rap duo known as the Clipse.
Not since Raekwon has an artist been able to weave such intricate coke
tales, and Virginia bred two rappers that
From the success of Lord
Willin’, shady business within the record labels put a halt onto their
second offering. Having to wait until
2006 to release the follow up Hell Hath
No Fury, the brothers were evidently upset with their situation and made a
transition to a darker sound which reverberated their particular opinion.
Now with the third offering, Til The Casket Drops, the two come together again to feed their
sound to the masses. Life has left them
with bruises and scars physically, emotionally and mentally and this
album serves as an outlet to celebrate crossing the finish line, but being
aware of
what they had to go through to get there.
With every line written/And all
I have given/Music's been nothing more than a self made prison/I've taken inmate
loses at the hands of this one/My pen's been the poison to family and
friendships/Now is time to mend shit/Time to bring closure to/The clear
conscience of Pusha is long overdue/Thinking to myself, what can I be owing you?
/They only tell you great when they reminiscing over you.
–Pusha T
Stepping away from their usual coke tales that brought them
into the game, the Thornton brothers are clearly embracing the finer things in
life. To state things simply, the Clipse are aware of their status
as rappers and have no problems with gloating about it. Modesty is out of the window on tracks such
as “Kinda Like A Big Deal” and “I’m Good” as Malice dares any competitors to
try and match his finesse which he clearly feels is untouchable.
Lights, camera, action/ The
chain itself’s a damn distraction/ You claim the belt, the glory I bask in/ I
be hoppin’ the ring, niggas ya cash in/ It’s like stopping a train/Nigga think
he’s stopping’ my reign/ Talk slick while droppin’ my name/ I’m puttin; yall to
shame, diamonds in the little hand/ 50 percent splits I X out the middle man.
– Malice
Although
embracing the good life, the duo also show that some old habits die hard, but
in this case, it provides great music.
Tracks like “Door Man” and “There Was A Murder” speak on the days of
hustling and the momentary reward, as well as the potholes to watch out
for. As always, the Clipse gives the
listeners a front row seat to the show.
Those that break the
code, we dig them holes/ What’s worse than a street nigga that sells his soul?
/ Being the life we chose, we picked our roles/ Bad man stands, some fall, but
never fold/ Gangsta turn informer when the jigs up/ The two mix up, mix up,
Babylon boys get bodies left for pick up/ Blood cuddle, gun muzzle, guns
couple/ Muzzle in mouth, he bring trouble.
-Pusha T
Establishing the balance, they manage to deliver commentary
of the realities of life and the fact that with the good comes the bad and even
the ugly. As the Clipse talk about the
luxuries, they are also able to reflect on their past misdoings and come to the
realization that we live in a world is in need for direction and choose to
imitate what they see and hear, but need a teacher to truly guide them on the
right path. Cuts like “Footsteps” and
the closing “Life Change” provide a moment of clarity.
It’s not for you to do as I do,
rather do as I say/ These footsteps could lead you astray/ Lead you a cell or
lead you to a grave/ Either way, you may never see the light of day/ Don’t let
my wrongs give you the right of way/ To emulate my past, escape the law’s
grasp/ Told you the truth, yet who was I to brag/ Especially seeing how Kimani
finds it hard to laugh/ I miss my homies, she misses her dad/ It weighs on my
conscience and I hate conscious rap.
-Malice
Usually
known to not play well with others outside of the Neptunes, this go around, the
Clipse bring rappers Yo Gotti, Kanye West and Cam’Ron along for the ride as
they each hold their own against duo from Virginia.
Linking back up with Pharrell, the Clipse show exactly how
to handle production from the Neptunes.
Since Lord Willin’ the two
have been able to lace instrumentals from their fellow Virginia native and show
exactly what is supposed to be done with them.
For those that were putting a lot of doubt into the abilities of the
Neptunes with their previous efforts, all negative connotations come to a close
on tracks such as “Popular Demand” and “Champion” which leave speakers echoing
their triumphant sound.
Til The Casket Drops could
be called a return to grace, except for the fact that they never truly fell
off.
Time away has only resulted
positively in regards to their latest offering.
Always giving every side to the story, the brothers are ecstatic about
their position now in life, but are also reflective of the road getting there.
It seems Pusha T was right after all on “Kinda Like A Big
Deal”…Third time’s the charm, right?
No comments:
Post a Comment