Brothers Malice and Pusha T together form the up-and-coming rap duo Clipse, who will be playing early at Sun God. Although they were born in the Bronx, the brothers relocated to Virginia in their early years and became heavily involved in the Virginia Beach, VA. area drug trade. Fortunately, they were also able to strike up a relationship with two relatively unknown producers at the time, Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, also known as the Neptunes. When the Neptunes hit it big, they took Clipse off the streets and into the studio to rap about the life and struggles that they had endured.
Their first album was never released, mainly due to label troubles, but the single, “The Funeral,” which was released, received mild success through radio airplay. Soon after, the Neptunes were able to start their own label, Star Trak Entertainment, and Clipse quickly went back into the studio to record a “brand new” debut album, instead of re-releasing their original debut.
What emerged was 2002’s Lord Willin’, a catchy album about street life combined with commercial beats courtesy of the Neptunes. Their lead single, “Grindin’,” received heavy airplay on radio and the video was very popular on MTV and B.E.T. It was a throwback to the days of stripped-down beats to go along with a rapper’s life story. The second single was “When the Last Time,” which also got heavy rotation on radio along with TV and even became one of the biggest club songs of the year.
Since then, Clipse have been relatively quiet, although they appeared on Baby’s single “What Happened to that Boy” from the album Birdman. During this time off, they have been actively recording tracks for their new album, Hell Hath No Fury, which will also feature many Neptunes beats. The first single should be out in the near future and will hopefully be previewed at Sun God.
Clipse may not be as famous as Busta Rhymes in, but that’s mainly on account of the relatively short time they have been working in the music industry. Give them a few more years and albums and they could very well receive top billing at similar concerts. They have had an interesting conception, and their style meshes particularly well with the beats that the Neptunes provide. Their music will get the party started right for those who show up in time to see them.
