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The Clipse album in point form · by Sach O
Lots of bullets on this album anyways.
Shit is getting (QC) hectic around here again, but obviously I couldn’t not talk about this next week’s most anticipated release Hell Hath no Fury. Unfortunately it seems like it’s already been cannibalized by a bunch of jerks who’d rather be listening to Joanna Newsom than any sort of rap within 20 minutes of a crappy lo-fi bootleg leaking to IRC. Noz (who is not a jerk) even wrote a particularly insightful post into why these guys like it in the first place, though it unfortunately doesn’t go into details about why anyone would want to listen to Joanna Newsom. All harpist and hipster related barbs aside however, I figured I’d save this site’s readership the trouble of digging through a million indie rockers’ takes on the album with this handy bullet-point guide to the Re-up Gang’s…err..re-up.
All you need to know about Hell Hath No Fury
•It’s really good.
•Yes, as good as the hype, assuming you don’t expect every rap album to be Illmatic.
•Pusha and Malice are very adept with the English language. Rather than twist words and invent new slang they find ways to make standard vocabulary sound menacing as fuck.
•They also have a remarkable chemistry together. They don’t so much complement each other ala Rae and Ghost as much as they complete each other like Mobb Deep and Camp Lo. I guess I could listen to a Pusha or Malice solo but what’s the point when we can have another Clipse album?
•While their fascination with cocaine and money has been discussed ad nauseum, a fair bit of Hell Hath No Fury is dedicated to the luxury objects they buy with said coke money. This is where their menacing rhyme style comes in handy: while most rappers boast about their wealth, The Clipse threaten with it. The duo somehow manages to make Italian leather upholstery sound very dangerous.
•Their lack of emotion on record and cold demeanor is a welcome relief from the overly bitchy raps that The Game and Jay-Z have been spitting recently. Whether their claims are authentic or not, at least The Clipse sound the part.
•Yet there’s a code of honor and responsibility that permeates the album. When Pusha and Malice DO show emotion (mostly when discussing family), it’s that much more meaningful.
•The Neptunes have gotten a lot of shit in the past year; in a just world this album will cause the haters to shut the fuck up and will prove once and for all that the Tunes are miles ahead of that other producer out of Virginia.
•It’s not like any other major-label production team have managed to put together a cohesive rap album this year, much less one so compellingly dark and rich in meaning (aside from The Roots). Hell Hath No Fury is unified, atmospheric and utterly unique sounding, somehow managing to fit perfectly in Chad and Pharell’s oeuvre while offering subtle nods and winks to rap’s best producers of the 80’s and 90’s.
•To put it more concretely, it sounds like the Neptunes combined Ced Gee, Marley Marl, Rza, Havoc, Mannie Fresh and El-P in a blender and filtered it through their sensibilities. Ain’t Cha sounds like a classic Cash Money beat the same way that I Gotcha resembled a Native Tongues jam or Vato recalls early gangster rap: they get it all wrong but somehow the results still come out dope.
•The album’s best trick is combining rough 80’s drums with atmospheric 90’s keys but recorded in a crisp post 2K way.
•That said, the least interesting moments are actually the ones where they sound solely like the fuckin Neptunes. Sorry guys.
•While the album is being marketed as a dark brooding art record, it’s really not all that much of a downer. At least half of the record is upbeat and/or major key.
•Nightmares is the perfect way to end any rap album.
•It’ll be getting my 15$ next week. It should get yours too.
Comments for "The Clipse album in point form"
Nice post…I didn’t like it as much as you but hey that’s why we have our own blogs…that being said, it’s a good record for sure, but not worthy of the hype that is being thrown at it by the hipster types..and for the record that Joanna Newsom album is the worst album I’ve heard all year, christ it’s fucking terrible.
— Jeff Nov 22, 06:50 PM
Pretty much an on-point review..
— esbee Nov 22, 10:33 PM
i am scared to death of that clipse album.
— Ron Mexico Nov 22, 11:23 PM
I don’t think it’s that good. Sure it’s one of the best mainstream albums of the year, but… there are tons of better rap albums in the underground. Even CL’s comeback album and new AZ’s sound better.
About Joanna Newsom, who expects a Jay-Z fan to appreciate “Y’s”?
— Grey Nov 23, 03:18 AM
Best review I’ve read yet. My favorites – Ride Around Shining and Keys Open Doors.
— luke Nov 23, 04:20 AM
Joanna Newsom – I don’t get it either.
And I agree about the bullshit “dark brooding art record” vibe it’s been catching. Have these people actually listened to the record?
— Floodwatch Nov 23, 09:57 AM
Great review. Has me excited to pick it up. Especially this bullet:
“The album’s best trick is combining rough 80’s drums with atmospheric 90’s keys but recorded in a crisp post 2K way.”
— Fraser Nov 23, 01:16 PM
Great review. I couldn’t have put it better
— Drew Nov 23, 09:06 PM
people get out there and buy this cause those crakers werent playing fair at jive
— Ramon Nov 24, 12:08 AM
michael mann should be forced to direct all of their videos.
— d-luv Nov 25, 10:54 AM
I.Listen.To.It.Every.Day.
Its my BeautifulGrimey.
— BeautifulGrimey Nov 28, 10:58 AM
Should I know who Joanna Newsom is?
Yes, I am on the interweb and could find out quickly. But tell me anyway.
— nesta Nov 28, 11:59 PM
The album really grew on me; I thought the mediocre beats wouldn’t do it for me, but a few listens and I realizes they’re just brilliant.
— djeff Dec 11, 01:47 PM
still listening to this at least a couple of times a month thats how you know its a classic
— deframon Jan 16, 03:45 PM