Clipse
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Clipse | |
|---|---|
 Malice (left) and Pusha-T (right) |
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| Origin | Virginia Beach, Virginia |
| Country | United States |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Genres | Hip-hop |
| Labels | Elektra Records (1997–1998) Star Trak Entertainment/Arista Records (2001–2004) Jive Records (2004–2006) Re-Up Records/Jive Records (2006–present) |
| Members | Malice Pusha-T |
| Website(s) | Official Website |
Clipse are a Virginia based hip-hop duo. Formed by brothers Malice (born Gene Thornton in 1973) and Pusha-T (born Terrence Thornton in 1977) in 1992, they are best known for their 2002 hit single "Grindin'" and their affiliation with multi-platinum production team, The Neptunes.
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[edit] Biography
The Clipse began their career in music in 1993 when they met Pharrell Williams, one half of the production team The Neptunes. Impressed with their lyrical talents, Williams formed a working relationship with the duo. He eventually helped them secure a recording contract with Elektra Records in 1997. Under Elektra and with The Neptunes handling its production, the Clipse recorded their debut album, Exclusive Audio Footage. Its first single, titled "The Funeral", helped generate interest in the album from fans, but failed to make a significant commercial impact due to poor promotion from Elektra. With "The Funeral" deemed a failure, Exclusive Audio Footage itself was shelved indefinitely. The Clipse were released from their record contract shortly afterward.
In early 2001, Williams signed the duo to Arista Records through his recently established Star Trak Entertainment imprint. The Clipse released their commercial debut, titled Lord Willin' on August 20, 2002. The album opened at #1 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-hop Album chart and #4 on the Billboard Hot 200, fueled by the strength of its first two singles, "Grindin'" and "When the Last Time", which both peaked at #34 and #19 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Ma, I Don't Love Her" with Faith Evans was released as a third single and was a modest hit, though did not achieve the same success of the two previous singles: it never reached higher than #86 on the Hot 100. Despite this, on October 1, 2002—only a month after its release—Lord Willin' was certified gold by the RIAA.[1]
In late 2003, the Clipse began recording material for their second album, titled Hell Hath No Fury. However, further work on the album ground to a halt in 2004, when Arista Records was dissolved into its sister label Jive Records, as part of a larger merger between Sony Music Entertainment and BMG. Due to contractual ambiguities, the Clipse were forced to stay on Jive, while Star Trak and the rest of its roster moved to a new home at Interscope Records.
While the Clipse resumed work on the album, and eventually finished its recording, they became increasingly frustrated with Jive, as the label overlooked them in favour of the more "pop" oriented acts on its roster, causing Hell Hath No Fury to suffer numerous delays in its release. As the delays continued, they asked for a formal release from their contract. Jive refused to grant their request, and in turn, the duo sued the label. While the litigation took place, the Clipse started their own record imprint, known as Re-Up Records and released new material through their critically well-received We Got It 4 Cheap mixtape series. Pusha-T also created the "Re-Up Gang", a quartet made up of himself, his brother Malice and two Philadelphia rappers: long-time friend Ab-Liva (of Major Figgas) and newcomer Sandman.
On May 9, 2006, the Clipse finally reached an agreement with Jive Records to release the album through Re-Up Records along with Jive.[2] Despite two more changes in its release date (originally August 29 and then October 31) Hell Hath No Fury was finally released on November 28, 2006, after an almost four year delay. It has spawned two singles thus far: "Mr. Me Too" with Pharrell Williams and "Wamp Wamp (What It Do)" with Slim Thug. While the album has received a great deal of critical acclaim, sales were modest at 78,000 in the first week.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio Albums
| Album cover | Album information |
|---|---|
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Exclusive Audio Footage
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Lord Willin'
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Hell Hath No Fury
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[edit] Mixtapes
We Got It 4 Cheap Series:
- 2004: We Got It 4 Cheap: Vol. 1 (Hosted by Clinton Sparks)
- 2005: We Got It 4 Cheap: Vol. 2 (Hosted by Clinton Sparks)
- 2007: We Got It 4 Cheap: Vol. 3
Miscellaneous:
- 2006: We Got the Remix (Hosted by DJ Benzi and Evil Empire)
[edit] Singles
(Chart positions from Billboard magazine)
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| U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. R&B/Hip-Hop | UK Singles | |||
| 1999 | "The Funeral" |
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Exclusive Audio Footage |
| 2002 | "Like I Love You" (Justin Timberlake featuring Clipse) |
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Justified |
| 2002 | "What Happened to that Boy" (Baby featuring Clipse) |
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Birdman |
| 2002 | "Grindin'" |
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Lord Willin' |
| 2002 | "When the Last Time" (featuring Kelis & Pharrell Williams) |
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Lord Willin' |
| 2002 | "Ma, I Don't Love Her" (featuring Faith Evans) |
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Lord Willin' |
| 2002 | "Cot Damn" (featuring Ab-Liva & Rosco P. Coldchain) |
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Lord Willin' |
| 2003 | "Hot Damn" (featuring Ab-Liva & Rosco P. Coldchain) |
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The Neptunes Present... Clones |
| 2006 | "Mr. Me Too" (featuring Pharrell Williams) |
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Hell Hath No Fury |
| 2006 | "Wamp Wamp (What It Do)" (featuring Slim Thug) |
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Hell Hath No Fury |
[edit] Guest Appearances
(All songs feature the Clipse unless otherwise noted)
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| 1999 | Kelis | "Good Stuff" ** | Kaleidoscope |
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| 1999 | Pras | "What'cha Wanna Do (Bang Your Head)" (Neptunes Remix) |
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Kelis |
| 2000 | 504 Boyz | "D-Game" ** | Goodfellas |
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| 2000 | Angie Stone | "Everyday" (Neptunes Remix) ** |
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| 2001 | Backstreet Boys | "The Call" (Neptunes Remix) | The Call: Remixes |
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| 2001 | N*E*R*D | "Am I High?" * | In Search Of... |
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| 2001 | N*E*R*D | "Truth or Dare" ** | In Search Of... | Kelis |
| 2001 | Philly's Most Wanted | "Street Tax" | Get Down or Lay Down |
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| 2001 | Philly's Most Wanted | "Cross the Border" (J.B.M. Remix) ** | Get Down or Lay Down | Fabolous |
| 2001 | Kelis | "Popular Thug" ** | Wanderland |
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| 2001 | Kelis | "Daddy" * | Wanderland |
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| 2001 | Eric Benét | "Love Don't Love Me" (Neptunes Remix) |
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Pharrell Williams |
| 2001 | Royce Da 5'9" | "Mister Baller" | Rock City 2.0 | Pharrell Williams, Tre-Little |
| 2002 | Justin Timberlake | "Like I Love You" | Justified |
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| 2002 | Baby | "What Happened to that Boy" | Birdman |
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| 2002 | Nivea | "Runaway (I Wanna Be With U)" ** | Nivea |
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| 2003 | 702 | "Star" | Star |
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| 2003 | Ginuwine | "Hell Yeah" (Remix) | The Senior | Baby, R. Kelly |
| 2003 | N*E*R*D | "Loser" | The Neptunes Present... Clones | Spymob |
| 2003 | Rosco P. Coldchain | "Hot" ** | The Neptunes Present... Clones | Boo-bonic |
| 2003 | Rosco P. Coldchain | "Son Will Shine" ** | Hazardous Life... The Mixtape | Jadakiss |
| 2003 | Rosco P. Coldchain | "Itchin' to Get Ya" | Hazardous Life... The Mixtape |
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| 2003 | Rosco P. Coldchain | "Don't Take it Personal" | Hazardous Life... The Mixtape |
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| 2003 | E-40 | "Quarterbackin" | Breakin' News |
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| 2003 | E-40 | "Quarterbackin" (DJ Quik Remix) | Breakin' News |
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| 2003 | Nelly | "#1" | Da Derrty Versions: The Reinvention | Tha PostaBoy |
| 2003 | TLC | "Hands Up" (Remix) | 3D (import version only) |
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Philly's Most Wanted | "Cocoa Leaf" |
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Fam-Lay, Rosco P. Coldchain |
| 2005 | Clinton Sparks | "Where You Been" | Maybe You Been Brainwashed |
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| 2005 | Faith Evans | "Goin' Out" ** | The First Lady | Pharrell Williams |
| 2005 | Slim Thug | "Click Clack" ** | Already Platinum |
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| 2006 | Ol' Dirty Bastard | "Operator" | A Son Unique | Pharrell Williams |
| 2006 | The Notorious B.I.G. | "Just a Memory" | Duets: The Final Chapter |
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| 2006 | DJ Khaled | "Where You At" | Listennn... The Album | Freeway |
| 2006 | Donell Jones | "I'm Gonna Be" | Journey of a Gemini |
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| 2006 | Pharrell Williams | "Stay With Me" ** | In My Mind |
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| 2006 | Dre | "Chevy Ridin' High" (Remix) ** |
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Dirtbag, Fat Joe, The Game, Rick Ross |
| 2006 | The Game | "One Blood" (East Coast Remix) | One Blood Regional Remixes |
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Note:
- * features Malice only.
- ** features Pusha-T only.
[edit] Trivia
- Prior to 2001, Pusha-T went by the moniker "Terrar", a simple play on his first name, Terrence.
- Pusha-T's verses were excised from the version of "Popular Thug" that appears on The Neptunes Present... Clones album. He was replaced by Kelis' then fiancé, Nas.
- It is often rumoured that Pusha-T ghostwrites for Pharrell Williams. Pusha-T denies the rumour, however. From an interview with AllHipHop.com, in 2005:
| I'ma keep it all the way hood for AllHipHop.com, ya’ll have to understand Pharell is a rapper first. He was a rapper first, he was a native tongue rapper dude first. That’s why the interior like fish eggs line comes out. He does a lot of wordplay trickery. That’s not me writing none of that, that’s all him. [laughs] And I’m putting pressure on him right now on AllHipHop.com that he is the best rapper/producer. Ain’t nobody touching him, I’ll put money on it.[3] |
- The rumour was also mentioned on the Clipse's mixtape, We Got It 4 Cheap: Vol. 2, where Pusha-T says:
| ...And NO, stop asking, I don't write nothing for this man (Pharrell), my whole crew stand on their own two. |
- The duo also were a guest performance on the Nick Cannon show, Wild 'N Out.
[edit] References
- ^ Clipse Strike Gold, Neptunes Want To Go Country (Online news article). AllHipHop.com. Retrieved on June 11, 2006.
- ^ Clipse Tour With Ice Cube; Album Release Date Set (Online news article). AllHipHop.com. Retrieved on June 11, 2006.
- ^ The Clipse: Time's Up, Part 1 (Online interview). AllHipHop.com. Retrieved on June 8, 2006.
