After years of setbacks and label drama with Jive Records, Virginia duo the Clipse has officially severed ties with both Jive and the Neptunes' Star Trak Entertainment for a new deal with Columbia Records.

Via a press release, we've learned that the deal with Sony/Columbia Records was sanctioned by industry veteran/producer Rick Rubin and A&R rep Hip-Hop, who went out of their way to bring the duo over to the label.

"I been a fan of the Clipse since I first heard them," explained Hip-Hop. "And I ain't a fan of too many things. Every song they come with it, lyrically. They were on a real short list when I got to Sony; I was going all the way to make this happen. We trying to be more of an artist-friendly company, and focus on artists we really love. I liked them three years ago, I liked them yesterday, and I feel like they can be a group with a future."

The Clipse decided on Columbia over several options they had on the table -- settling on a five-year, 50/50 profit sharing with Columbia for their imprint, Re-Up Gang Records.

"There were several deals on the table, but only one label stepped up to the plate; that was Rick Rubin and Hip-Hop," confirms group manager Tony Draper, who along with attorney Tim Mandelbaum structured the contract. "The Clipse are in a position now where you have to establish them with their own lane, give them the opportunity to build their own entity. Hip-Hop and Rick saw the movement before we ever sold a record for Sony. They didn't make a single commitment, they made the whole commitment."

"The Clipse represent everything that we've all known Rick Rubin to represent: hip-hop in its purest form," added the Clipse's Pusha-T. "To know that the head guy is a creative guy as well, that makes me feel good. I come from being surrounded by creativity. And I felt like in going forward, I wanted to be able to put out as much music as I wanted to. That was my goal. That's been the one thing that's hindered the Clipse. And Sony's allowing us to do that."

Via the new deal, the Clipse will own the masters for its Re-Up Gang artists, Ab Liva and Sandman. And next year, they plan to release a Re-Up Gang compilation style album introducing their new acts, but instead of production solely from the Neptunes, they will outsource. They told Billboard, they wanna work with Timbaland, Danjahandz and Dame Grease.

"I can honestly say that we were all friends before the music and will be friends to the end," Malice said of his relationship with the Neptunes to Billboard. "Everything is business. If we had our way, we would always be on Star Trak. But it's what's working for you and what's not. We just want good energy, and Columbia has both the urgency and the muscle."

The Clipse burst onto the scene in 2002 with their debut, Lord Willin', which went on to sell 948,000 copies.

After a long wait, several delays and lobbying against Jive, their sophomore album, Hell Hath No Fury, finally dropped in 2006. Despite receiving high praise for it, the album was not promoted very well and has sold just 194,000 copies to date.

The first Re-Up release is aimed for March 08. The Clipse are slated to follow come summer.