Clipse are back. The Virginia duo haven’t dropped since 2009, but they have confirmed their plans to reunite with producer Pharrell Williams on their fourth studio album. Considering how good their stuff is when Pharrell is behind the boards, fans are in for a classic. The promo for the album definitely makes it seem that way. Clipse and Pharrell hosted a listening party for new album in Paris on June 20. Feedback was glowing, but it was Pusha T‘s comments afterwards that got fans more excited.
The listening party revealed crucial details about the album. The album is reportedly 90% done, and rappers who have been confirmed to appear on the tracklist include Nas, John Legend, and Stove God Cooks. The revelations, didn’t stop there, though. Pusha quoted a tweet about the listening party, and wrote: “Plus a couple more features…” with an upside down smiley face emoji. The notion of a stacked feature list on a Clipse album is novel, given the tracklist for their first two releases. The guest verses were mainly handled by Re-Up Gang. Til the Casket Drops, their third album, had more star power to offer, but it’s also considered Clipse’s weakest. It also featured the least Pharrell production.
Clipse Promise To Drop Their Most “Mature” Album Yet
All the pieces are in play for the new album to work. Pusha T and Nas have never officially been on the same song. Nas was supposed to be on Push’s 2022 album It’s Almost Dry, but it never came together. “Nas was gonna be on my last verse of ‘Hear Me Clearly,'” he told Spotify. “I don’t know, man. It pisses me off. It was my biggest regret for the album.” Stove God Cooks has never worked with Pusha T either, though it’s easy to see, lyrically and stylistically, how they would mesh. If anything, John Legend is the head-scratcher of an inclusion. Legend’s image seems to clash with Clipse’s, but if anybody can make their incongruous sounds work, it’s Pharrell.
Pusha T and No Malice are confident the new album will be their most mature yet. The latter said as much during a recent profile with Vulture. “I think the album shows the supreme maturation of a rap duo,” he posited. “I think this is where you get the difference between taste and filler. This music is curated. This is a high taste-level piece of work. You can only have that level of taste when you have the fundamentals down to a science.” No Malice concurs. “This is what the true evolution of the Clipse looks like,” he concluded.
About The Author
Danilo is a writer based out of San Diego. He graduated from the Art Institute of Tucson with a B.A. in digital media, and has since forged a career as a pop culture journalist. He covered hip-hop for Heavy.com, Rhyme Junkies and PopMatters prior to joining HotNewHipHop.com. Danilo’s top five is constantly changing, but Biggie and Slug from Atmosphere remain permanent fixtures. His favorite rap album of all time is “Late Registration” by Kanye West, and that stays the same.
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