CLIPSE interview !

[Myrealname]

Pushing Rhymes Like Weight,
The Clipse have serious rapping
skills, serious friends & a serious
infatuation with the white stuff
by DeMarco Williams

“We had a lot of doors slammed in our face.
One time, they even flew us from Virginia to
L.A., to the Interscope office. We were told
we had a deal, but the next thing we know,
we’re on the plane coming back.”

Maybe if they rhymed about Claritin or Celebrex, things would be different, but instead controversial MC duo The Clipse– brothers Gene “Malice” and Terrence “Pusha T” Thornton, rhyme about powder and bricks. You know... cocaine. Making paper as snow-pushers while trying to get a rap deal, the Bronx-born, Virginia-bred artists now have nuthin’ to do with their time but hand-pick beats from high school friends the Neptunes, promote their (certified Gold) debut album Lord Willin’, and tour with Nelly.
But Malice, the older of the two brothers, insists that the rap game ain’t all that different from the crack game...

Technically, Virginia is considered the South. Do you connect your sound with folks like Nappy Roots and Ludacris?
It’s not about whether I want or don’t want it connected, but I don’t believe that it is. Virginia used to be, like, really, really country. I remember that time, man. But it’s picked up a lot. The speed used to be exceptionally slow. We done came around, man. So nah, I don’t affiliate it with the other deep, down, dirty south music.
How would you define the Clipse sound?
The Clipse is definitely, in my opinion, Virginia. Everything you hear on the album is just about what we did in Virginia, how we lived in Virginia, and how Virginia is. The Virginia street perspective has never been heard before. We have a lot of hot artists coming out of Virginia, doing their own thing, but they each represent a different realm of the state. And the Clipse? We tackle that Virginia street perspective. Man, I couldn’t even sit here and make it a commodity. It is exactly what it is. No more, no less.
Listening to your album, you might think Virginia’s all about drug-dealing.
Well, I’m going to be for real with you: Honestly, there’s really nothing to do in Virginia. The beach is kinda hot during the summer, when the kids are out of college. But outside of that, I wouldn’t even recommend anyone coming. [Regarding] the hustling, well, that’s just where we was at during that point in time. We’ve always been familiar with the street element; we always did our thing. When we first got signed with Elektra in ‘97, it was just a new day. Everything was good. But when everything fell through with Elektra, we had to turn back around to where all the grindin’ took place. Even being down with Elektra, you’d be surprised at the people you meet. You meet the best [drug] connections with the best numbers. So, that would even get you into the whole game deeper. That was that point in time. Next album, maybe we’ll try to save the world.
If you saw a 14-year-old kid on the block selling drugs, what would you tell him?
I’d tell him to put that shit down immediately. But you didn’t say what financial condition he was in. I couldn’t tell anyone to starve. If he had a choice, I’d definitely say put it down, and run from it as fast as possible.
You and the Neptunes have known each other since high school. Those guys are producing for everybody now, but did you ever want to keep them all to yourself?
Nah. This is a question I’m proud to answer. Folks have asked about the acts who came out before us. But man, the one thing in this game that you can’t plan for is timing. There’s just no telling. In order for us to be where we are today, the Neptunes had to do what they had to do. There’s never been any type of conflict or animosity or envy or jealousy. We knew that the Neptunes would be hot. These bruthas are musically-inclined: They know what the fuck they’re doing. And they’d be the first to tell you that they don’t just make beats, they make music. So it only makes sense to me that they would be extremely successful.
What kept your head up during those tough times, watching other folks shine when you weren’t?
Basically, man, it’s just never been 100% about the rap thing. We really believed in our
music, but I figured whatever I did I was going to be alright. Period. But I thought we’d have a niche for rap. It wasn’t just Elektra [that turned us down]: It was Universal, Sony, Tommy Boy, Priority, Dreamworks. We had a lot of doors slammed in our face. One time, they even flew us from Virginia to L.A., to the Interscope office. We were told we had a deal, but the next thing we know, we’re on the plane coming back.
But you’ve made it now. With all of the touring, promoting and interviewing, was the struggle worth it?
It’s what you do, so you have to love it. Yeah, the politics of the game took some of the love out of it, but you still have to love what you do. I worked in fast food and convenience stores before, and I’d rather be where I’m at now. It’s not totally perfect, but I’m happy with it. If you don’t like what you do, you don’t need to do it. I used to be that dude always writing: I always had a fresh freestyle waiting. But nowadays, when I write, there’s usually a check waiting on the other end.
What do you think you’d be doing now if you weren’t rhyming?
I’m sure I would’ve been in school. But the Neptunes– Pharrell [Williams] and Chad [Hugo]– really showed us that this rap game was tangible, and that’s what we went with. I really didn’t even have a Plan B. I just went with it, and I’ve been fortunate.