It’s very hard to swallow a review wherein the author slams the album for a full paragraph, but then backs off, saying ‘I’m mostly just quibbling here.’ Well, if you’re admitting the criticism is unimportant and misaimed, what then is the intent? The Clipse have smashed the mixtape circuit for years with the untouchable We Got it 4 Cheap series.  That’s indisputable. And the Clipse are gonna come with it like nobody’s ever heard with our ‘09 official studio release, Till the Casket Drops. As a major label release, it’ll have the energy and polish to merit full-bore scrutiny. We invite Tom Breihan and anyone else to focus that critical gaze on it; we’re certain it’ll shine. And by the way, that snide remark about Play Cloths; unless everyone who’s seen, bought, and fawned over the line is lying to us, we seem to have a fashion staple in the works. We’ll take that kind of unilateral reception any day, with (dis)respect to Breihan’s flawed fashion sense. Stick to music, Tom. Well, maybe not our music.

The Clipse used to make good girl records? The Clipse have always made good records, period. Unlike many of our peers, we don’t get in the studio with the aim of making a club record, or a record for the ladies. In fact, if you’ve followed our career, you’ll note that even our most popular, club-celebrated joints contain dangerously hard subject matter. We go places other artists wouldn’t dare. Our club success has been almost coincidental, and is more a testament to our overall ability and versatility than it is a shrewd aim to appease a certain segment. We’ve never bent or placated, ever. It’s resulted in some rather public label drama, perhaps you’ve noticed…? Moreover, there’s a prevailing theory that targeting women as the main consumer/enjoyer of hiphop proved the genre’s biggest misstep. Once you start catering, when you worry more about how your product is received versus your own, organic creative process, you should simply drop the mic. Since when was making a successful club/girl record a measure of a rapper’s talent? Instead, that’s an inversion of the intent. Hiphop from its genesis was a meritocracy-a bunch of dudes lined up in a sweatbox trying to outshine the next man. Their aim wasn’t MTV rotation or club spins; it was renown around their hoods. While the technology has improved and the production has gotten more sophisticated, we still approach our music with that same purity. We rap about things we’ve done and seen, and we aim to tell the story in a unique and intriguing way. Our critical success and uncommonly loyal fanbase stand as evidence. We don’t count any perceived lack of club visibility as a shortcoming. In fact, it’s a source of pride, that we’ve managed to endure over a decade without pandering, without compromising, without deviating from our signature sound.

The Clipse were given a 7.6/10 on their latest mixtape, criticized for making “girl songs” and blasted for their Play Clothes title and logo.  Should mixtapes be reviewed like albums? Are you feeling Play Clothes? 

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Tags: The Clipse

This entry was posted on Friday, December 12th, 2008 at 2:31 am and is filed under News. You can skip to the end and leave a response.