p-hop is dead, so the Clipse have been relegated to the underground (mixtapes) since the release of their refreshingly-unconventional debut, Lord Willin'. Hell Hath No Fury, their aptly titled sophomore effort –- delayed numerous times due to contract ambiguity at Jive Records -– marks the revival of hip-hop from its untimely death.
Hell Hath No Fury like a Neptunes beat, so of course, the Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo-produced album is hotter than brimstone. The prominent producers use a unique unison of off-kilter instrumentation for Hell Hath No Fury's ominous productions. From snapping snares and wavering wind-instruments on "Momma I’m Sorry," to West Indian steel drums on the Slim Thug featured "Wamp Wamp."
The Clipse accentuate this stellar production by delivering their gripping narcotics-laced narratives with regal rhyme schemes, and hooks that are more addictive than the substance they slang throughout their raps. On the cow bell-carried "Hello New World," Pusha T quips, "Bagging up grams at the Hyatt though / The news called it crack, I called it diet coke," while Malice conjures introspective imagery with lines like, "Anything to keep mama from crying, visiting / you behind the glass while you await sentencing / cause the judge is saying "life" like it ain't someone's life"
What sets the duo, consisting of brothers Pusha T and Malice, apart from other rappers is their ability to relay a 3D synopsis of a street hustler's life style. Though they "Ride Around Shining," where Push T gloats, "float around in the greatest of Porsches / feel like a chuck wagon cause I'm on twelve horses," they also have "Nightmares," where Malice laments, "when you see millions there are many chameleons." They're like the Scorsese's of Rap.
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