The Three Starts of Clipse

When you start talking about Clipse, it's hard to not mention the Neptunes, the production team behind several platinum tracks. But we'll do our best to focus as much as possible to the duo called Clipse, and give the brothers all the due that they deserve. That's the deal. We're talking about a hip hop group formed by two brothers, Malice and Pusha T. Both live in Virginia now, but they were born and raised in the Bronx.

But what gives about the Neptunes? Well, to be honest, it was the production company that gave Clipse their start. We're talking way back for some of youngsters-back in 1993, when Malice and Pusha T (aka Gene Thornton and Terrence Thornton) met one of the Neptune producers, a kingpin by the name of Pharrell Williams. Stop me if you've heard this before.

Too late. I'm going to keep on going with the story. Anyway, Pharrell liked the Clipse sound so much that he started working with them, and eventually got them linked up with Elektra. It was this connection with Elektra that led to the first Clipse album, the 1997 "Exclusive Audio Footage." Never heard of it? That's because it wasn't released with Elektra. The first Clipse song off it, "The Funeral," didn't do well enough to get the album released as well. Them the breaks, right?

A Second Start

Clipse got out of their contract with Elektra, and got them instead with Arista. Good move, again thanks in part to Pharrell and Neptune. By the time 2002 rolled around, the second "first" Clipse album came out, this time released in its entirety. Called "Lord Willin,'" the record went all the way to number one and hit gold standing. Two of the Clipse songs off the record-"When the Last Time" and "Grindin"-were big hits.

Another big Clipse hit around this time were the Clipse lyrics that made their way onto Justin Timberlake's big first song, called "I Love You." But all was not honkie dorie at this point. In 2003, the second Clipse album was under work, but it would get put on hold because Arista fell apart as a record label. Clipse ended up on Jive Records, a relationship that was far from good. Clipse ended up having to sue Jive to get them released from their contract.

But during all this legal chaos, Clipse didn't sit quiet. They released a mix tape with a new group, called the Re-Up Gang. The group was made up of them and Philly rappers Sandman and Ab-Liva. Then finally, in 2006, Clipse came to an agreement with Jive and got to release their second Clipse record, "Hell Hath No Fury."

A Third Start

After a bit of commercial disappointment with their second album, Clipse moved on from Jive finally and joined Columbia Records in 2007. This is the opportunity that the brothers are looking for, so expect big things from them. They have a Clipse album for 2008 called "Spirit of Competition," and a 2008 album from their Re-Up Gang-a studio album this time, not just a mix tape.

From Clipse to Hip Hop Music