Look behind their connections with Pharrell & Chad, read between the lines of the Justin Timberlake collabos, dig beneath the surface of the mountains of coke and The Clipse are undeniably complex street corner poets whose lyricism kicks the asses of every single one of their Top 40 peers.
Look behind their connections with Pharrell & Chad, read between the lines of the Justin Timberlake collabos, dig beneath the surface of the mountains of coke and The Clipse are undeniably complex street corner poets whose lyricism kicks the asses of every single one of their Top 40 peers.
The brothers Thornton have been punishing beats much like their Juice Crew heroes ever since their Neptunes backed debut “Exclusive Audio Footage” LP was shelved indefinitely back in 1999. It was with “Lord Willin” that they were able to finally showcase their intricate one-two punch of Pusha’s wordplay and emotive cadences against Malices cold-edged icey flow. These two have maintained a storytelling tradition, that is dying in the mainstream, ever since
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“I do think it’s a dying art. But I live for this!” says the older Malice emphatically. “You can probably listen to a Rakim album right now and still find something that you didn’t know he was saying back then. And those to me are the magical parts of an album or of a record; you know when you are still catching onto things. For the few that get it, and it goes over the rest of everyone else’s heads, that lets you know you are talking to a specific group. And I think this art form and what we do, as far as lyric driven hip hop, it still speaks to a certain audience and I appreciate that audience.
This is the hip hop that we know and love and that is why it’s the hip hop that we do, youknowhatimsayin?”
The Clipse have often been derided for their subject matter, which has mostly revolved around the business of cocaine. But if you believe that their music is the same old drug dealing, bang bang, shoot em up hip hop, then you aren’t listening close enough. “The first time I heard us labelled as ‘cocaine rappers’ it did bother me, because that’s just not a title that I wanted to be labelled as” states Malice. “But it has definitely played a part in our life and our music is a true to life music.
But there is definitely so much more in these verses and it doesn’t stop with the cocaine. It might be the canvas, you know what I’m sayin, and it might get you interested, but if you listen you can definitely learn a lot. There is definitely a beginning, a middle and an end and its food for thought.”
Part of their life it definitely is as recent history attests. Late last year saw the arrest of the Clipses’ ex-manager and friend Anthony "Geezy" Gonzales and many of the brothers close friends. “Our whole entire entourage, all of our friends from young got locked up (last year). Our manager and everybody who was with us on a day-to-day basis are now all locked up”. Geezy was sentenced to 32 years in prison for his role in heading up a 10 million dollar a year cocaine and marijuana distribution empire, while the others are still waiting trial.
The experience has truly had a profound impact on Malice’s life and his music. “When you look at their daughters and their dad isn’t there anymore, you have to think about what you’re saying. You got to. You can’t deny that. I mean maybe somebody else can, but it’s hard for me… I’ve definitely had a change of heart. I guess it has definitely been an awakening.”
With his younger brother and other half of the Clipse, Pusha, signing to Kanye’s GOOD Music and beginning work on his solo LP, Malice has been free to pursue exploring his newfound comfort with his spirituality in other ways. “This is time for me to breathe and really satisfy my heart right now. You mature, youknowhatimsayin? You mature, so I just want to step back for a minute and get into this because I really enjoy what I’m doing behind that camera.”
The short films that Malice has been directing and producing (check www.mademylifechange.com) are all based on a book he has written entitled ‘Wretched, Poor, Pitiful and Naked’ which outlines the perils and pitfalls he has experienced in his own personal life. His new business Re-Up Gang Films is allowing him to express his heart in another artistic medium close to his heart.
“I feel like it is my calling”, he says as he erupts into laughter. “And I say that because I have such a passion for it. It reminds me of when I first started rapping and it was all I wanted to do youknowhatimsayin? And especially if it is going to help somebody, that is the most fulfilling thing that I can imagine. When I look at my tweets and I look at people that reach out to me, they tell me things like ‘I was about to get revenge, but you made me chill out’ or I was about to do this or I stopped doing that, just positive things. That is awesome to me.”
But Clipse fans need not worry. There is no truth to the rumours that the Clipse are finished and that Malice is giving the mic up to become the next Kubrick. “No that’s not happening”,Malice says, obviously amused. “I’m still writing rhymes, tucking em away like ‘I can’t wait to get to this, I can’t wait to get to that one’. I got beats coming in from everybody. So I’m definitely coming with it.”
The Clipse having put up with their fair share of major record label drama in the past (good old Industry Rule 4080). Not only was their debut LP never released by Elektra, but their third LP ‘Hell Hath No Fury’ sat on the shelf idle for years also as a confused Jive Records wondered how to market them. The Clipse didn’t let it phase them and instead built a huge street buzz with their amazing ‘We Got It For Cheap’ mixtapes. So with so much past label drama, could the Clipse be looking to land somewhere actually being run by an artist? Perhaps a label owned by one of the most successful rappers this decade has ever seen?
“Yeah, well you pretty much know already where the solo is going to end up. I don’t want to get ahead of myself right now”, states Malice letting his guard down slightly. Was this just confirmation of The Clipse as a whole being signed to Kanye’s GOOD Music? “What I will say is that I’ve learnt my lesson, being in the industry as long as I have, I’m not going to put anything out there. But look, it’s coming, it’s going to be good and The Clipse has something very good in store for you.”
The Clipse play The Prince Bandroom on Thursday 9th of December
