| Product Summary | | Label: Arista Records | | UPC: 00078221475020 | | Release Date: 8/20/2002 | | Buy.com Sku: 60566027 | | Item#: MX7XRW | Format:  CD |
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| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracls and multimedia computer files. | | The Clipse: Malice, Pusha T. | | Additional personnel includes: Ab-Liva, Roscoe P. Goldchain, Fabolous, Faith Evans, Jadakiss, Styles, Jermaine Dupri. | | Recorded at MasterSound Studios, Windmark Studios, Virginia Beach, Virginia. | | This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. | | The Clipse: Malice, Pusha T. | | Additional personnel includes: Ab-Liva, Roscoe P. Goldchain, Fabolous, Faith Evans, Jadakiss, Styles P, Jermaine Dupri, Kardinal Offishall, Baby, Lil' Wayne, Famlay, Clipse, Sean Paul, Bless. | | This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. | | Personnel includes: The Clipse, FamLay, Fabolous, Jermaine Dupri, Jadakiss, Styles P, N.O.R.E., Baby, Lil' Wayne, Sean Paul, Bless, Kardinal Offishall, Faith Evans, Ag-Liva, Roscoe P. Coldchain. | | This includes a bonus DVD disc. | | This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. | | Audio Mixers: Jermaine Dupri; Phil Tan. | | Liner Note Author: Pusha T. | | Recording information: MasterSound & Windmark Studios, Virginia Beach, VA; Silent Sound Studios, Atlanta GA; Star Trak Studios Virginia Beach. | | Arrangers: Pharrell Williams; Chad Hugo. | | Though Virginia's most well known hip-hop exports may have been Timbaland and Missy Elliot, the release of Clipse's debut album introduces a pair of new players to that hegemony. In fact, brothers Gene and Terrence Thornton (Malice and Pusha T, respectively) were born in that cradle of hip-hop the Bronx, but they spent their formative years on the streets of Virginia. LORD WILLIN' is the duo's second try at a debut album, as their previous effort for another label was indefinitely shelved. Turns out it was worth the wait. Produced by none other than the super-hot Neptunes, every track here pulsates with a crisp, funky energy that fully matches the sharply honed rhymes of the Thornton brothers, most spectacularly of all on the autobiographical "Young Boy," which is powered by one of the hardest-hitting grooves in recent memory. | | Though Virginia's most well known hip-hop exports may have been Timbaland and Missy Elliot, the release of Clipse's debut album introduces a pair of new players to that hegemony. In fact, brothers Gene and Terrence Thornton (Malice and Pusha T, respectively) were born in that cradle of hip-hop the Bronx, but they spent their formative years on the streets of Virginia. LORD WILLIN' is the duo's second try at a debut album, as their previous effort for another label was indefinitely shelved. Turns out it was worth the wait. Produced by none other than the super-hot Neptunes, every track here pulsates with a crisp, funky energy that fully matches the sharply honed rhymes of the Thornton brothers, most spectacularly of all on the autobiographical "Young Boy," which is powered by one of the hardest-hitting grooves in recent memory. | | Rap and drugs. The somewhat unholy marriage is now decades deep. Not surprisingly, the conjunction has produced some dynamic musical results that have been readily smoked, ingested, and snorted by the mainstream music listening public. Back in the late '80s, Ice-T was one of the first rappers to blur the lines between the rap world and the underworld. On his single "I'm Your Pusher," which tastefully sampled Curtis Mayfield's "Pusherman," Ice-T compared his whole album (Power, 1988) to drug weight, proposing that his music would be something rap fans would fiend for the same way a smoker fiends for nicotine. In the early part of the 21st century, after the Virginia-based production team the Neptunes' had splashed their electro-synth beats everywhere, from songs with hardcore rapper N.O.R.E. to pop sensation Britney Spears, Pharrell Williams and partner Chad Hugo created their own label, Star Trak. The first act signed to the Star Trak label was a pair of Neptunes cohorts known as the Clipse, a sibling duo of highly skilled VA transplants (by way of the Bronx) with some obvious nefarious connections to the world of drug hustling. Pusha T and Malice rocked the rap world in the summer of 2002 with their first single, "Grindin'," a dark and gritty tale of the street pharmacist's everyday strive to make ends meet. Over a thunderous throwback knock from the Neptunes, "Grindin'" was one of the summer of 2002's most prolific anthems and transported the Clipse to the realm of overnight rap success. Lord Willin' is an oft-scary trip down the backstreets of Tobacco Road as Malice and Pusha T recount the trials and tribulations of the drug trafficker-turned-MC. Following in the footsteps of such rap criminologists as Kool G Rap, Nas, Jay-Z, and Mobb Deep, the Clipse offer the Virginia hustler's viewpoint with clever, hard-hitting lyrics like: "...I'm from Virginia where ain't s**t to do but cook/pack it up, sell it triple price/f**k the books..." and "Virginia's for lovers but trust there's hate here...." While the two MCs' presence is invariably formidable on virtually all of the tracks, the Neptunes' pop-ish turn in their beatwork doesn't always do justice to the depths that the Clipse MCs wish to plunder. The Neptunes' synth-gloss production style, while generally soulful and rarely without edge, misses the mark in case of the crossoverish "Ma, I Don't Love Her" featuring Faith Evans, as the MCs seem thoroughly out of their element. The album also has a slapped-together, non-cohesive feel that detracts from its more enjoyable aspects. On the flip side, the follow-up club-banger "When the Last Time" is a catchier alternative to the crew's lead single and tracks like "Comedy Central" featuring Fabolous and "I'm Not You" featuring Jadakiss and Styles of the L.O.X. are also a cut above run-of-the-mill. ~ M.F. DiBella |
Producer: The Neptunes |
Engineer: Andrew Coleman |
Musical Guests | | Fabolous | | Faith Evans | | Jermaine Dupri | | Jadakiss | | Ab-Liva | | Roscoe P Goldchain | | Famlay | | Rosco P. Coldchain | | Styles P. | | Lil Wayne | | N.O.R.E. | | Baby | | Kardinal Offishall | | Sean Paul | | Bless |
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| | Associated Artists and Works |
| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 08/20/2002 | | Original Release Date : 2002 | | Catalog ID : 14750 | | Label : Arista Records (USA) | | Number of Discs : 1 | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : n/a | | UPC : 00078221475020 |
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| | Professional Reviews | | Rolling Stone (9/5/02, p.74)
- 3 stars out of 5 - "...Their verses roll out with an infectious strut, but it's the Neptunes beats backing them up that elevate this to radio-hit heights..."Rolling Stone (9/5/02, p.74)
- 3 stars out of 5 - "...Their verses roll out with an infectious strut, but it's the Neptunes beats backing them up that elevate this to radio-hit heights..." Entertainment Weekly (12/20-27/02, p.128)
- Ranked #9 on EW's list of 2002's "Albums of the Year" Entertainment Weekly (9/13/02, p.156)
- "...The Clipse seize the moment with hustlers' tales culled from Virginia's mean streets, a raw compliment to the Neptune's artsy, unrepentant grime..." - Rating: B Entertainment Weekly (12/20-27/02, p.128)
- Ranked #9 on EW's list of 2002's "Albums of the Year" Entertainment Weekly (9/13/02, p.156)
- "...The Clipse seize the moment with hustlers' tales culled from Virginia's mean streets, a raw compliment to the Neptune's artsy, unrepentant grime..." - Rating: B CMJ (9/16/02)
- "...LORD WILLIN' is a funky juxtaposition of gritty haze slingin' tales....thankfully, Clipse pushes rhymes like it pushes weight..." CMJ (9/16/02)
- "...LORD WILLIN' is a funky juxtaposition of gritty haze slingin' tales....thankfully, Clipse pushes rhymes like it pushes weight..." |
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