As good as this is it still seems like a dry run for the masterful
Hell Hath No Fury four years later; there's little this one does that the other one doesn't do better, and what few things this does that the other doesn't (uptempo party stuff), probably didn't need to be done at all. Generally the more uptempo the beat is, the worse Clipse do with it. They're masters of creepy, disturbing rap music, telling tales of utter amorality, and the best of this stuff follows that pattern. Still, this is vintage Neptunes, and Pusha T and Malice are so well-matched that they seem to be split from the same consciousness; their rapping is top-level the whole way through, completely unmatched in its violent realism, and it's only when the album tries to be "fun" that it fails. The Neptunes' presence is obvious right away: simple, live-sounding beats and minimal samples, and while they would become far more adventurous on the followup record, this one still has some amazing moments ("Virginia" and "Comedy Central" seem to me to be the standouts here). The famous "Grindin'" is worth the price of admission all by itself, a rap track that uses syncopated sound effects (doors slamming) as the beats, creating an astonishing atmosphere. There are no skits, and the album flows very well, but again it's one of those unlucky albums that lives in the shadow of a superior one.
MY RATING:
7.8
Clipse - "Virginia"
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