>>PREVIEW
CLIPSE
Wednesday, May 23
Tequila
The image is as familiar as Mickey Mouse and Ronald McDonald. The thugged-out black male, glock swept into the folds of an XL memorial to Biggie Smalls and trademarked grimace in place, hustling crack on the corner of violence and misogyny. Hip hop’s very own corporate mascot, once possessing the outlaw swagger as crack rap, transformed into a cottage industry unto itself – disposable jingles from the hood sold in bulk to restless kids in the suburbs. Then came Clipse.
Malice and Pusha T, the two Virginian brothers who make up Clipse, didn’t so much save the genre as force it to relive life on a bed of broken vials. On their long delayed album, Hell Hath No Fury, they inject florid details drawn from their own days of dealing and machine gun wit into the writhing beats and synths of The Neptunes. Their unique sound has made them a favourite among critics. With a movie about their life in the works and the inevitable next album, Clipse ain’t going anywhere. At a time when most rappers are appeasing sponsors and promoting self-censorship, Clipse are unashamed of who they are and what they used to do.
Pusha T takes time out from suffering a cold during a tour stop to tell Fast Forward about winning over critics and how it was back in the day.
FFWD: What is the universal appeal of the album?
Pusha T: What you hear in the record, man it’s basically the 360 degree perspective. Spiritually definitely comes into it, it’s just telling you my side of the story. That’s why I think people relate to Clipse. We’ve developed a cult, because… Look, everything is so glamorized these days, but glamour ain’t true. I think the album itself was a breath of fresh air. People will always gravitate to something that’s going against the grain, especially since there’s an influx of one thing going on in hip hop right now. Those journalists you’re talking about hear the same records you and I do every day and I’m sure they’re numb. You hear a Clipse record come on, you have to lend an ear. Even if you’re not into it, you have to ’cause it’s so different.
How do you coax such a unique sound out of The Neptunes?
That’s just because people who work with The Neptunes don’t want anything unique. They spend that money for bona fide replicas to get themselves on the radio. The Clipse try to make groundbreaking records, not radio records. We’re all about changing the pace of what’s going on. This industry doesn’t really cater to creativity, people want certain sounds from you repeatedly. I think The Neptunes get their truest freedom when dealing with us.
What was it like when you were starting out?
When I was super young, I used to go over to Timbaland’s house with my brother, he did all my brother’s beats. Around the area, my brother was known as a dope rhymer. Through a mutual friend, I met Pharrell. When he found out who my brother was, Pharrell bugged me ridiculously to get him in the studio with my brother. Once they got together and clicked, every day we were in Chad’s mom’s attic rhyming. Everybody’s rhyming, except for me. One day they made a really hot beat, and I just got excited in that attic and started to rhyme.
Your brother describes himself as a writer first, rapper second. Do you see yourself the same way?
I might be a rapper first. My brother is way more passionate about his thing than I am. His level of artistry is something he started with. I acquired it, that’s where we differ. My brother cares nothing about Soundscans, weekends in Miami and the hoopla of the industry. I personally must indulge. I go to industry events to be among my peers and let them know I’m here and better than them. When I came in, looking at these big producers, I was bred on the perks of hip hop like the cars. My brother, on the other hand, found his own artistry never knowing if he’d be a hip hop artist or not. |
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