2002 was a good year for The Clipse, the rap duo made up of brothers Malice and Pusha T. After years in the hip-hop scene and being bounced around from labels, dropped from contracts, and overall dealing with industry politics the lyrical heavyweights found a stable home with long-time friend Pharrell Williams’ new Star Trak imprint to release their album Lord Willin’.

It instantly seemed like a match made in hip-hop heaven as the first single "Grindin" was a major hit and greatly embraced by the public.

The Clipse were praised heavily for their lyricism and street influenced lyrics, which brought a much-needed intermission from the constant talk of jewelry and women, which was and still is omnipresent in hip-hop. Generally speaking, the critics seemed to have one major problem with the album and that was the fact that it seemed to be one-dimensional as The Clipse seldom talked about anything but drugs. I found it refreshing to hear a group find a good formula and stick with it throughout a whole album.

With the level of lyricism they displayed they could have rapped about milk and cookies and it would have sounded hot. The Clipse followed up "Grindin" with "When The Last Time," which became one of the biggest club singles of the year. If you were in a club ,you were goin g to hear that and everybody was going to go crazy, guaranteed. It was an unlikely match up but Pharrell’s futuristic production sounds meshed almost perfectly with the metaphor and lyrics focused content of The Clipse.

While the subject matter may have been limited, the way it was delivered was always different and always entertaining. What was interesting about The Clipse as well is that both brothers were equally talented and if one lacked in one area the other would pick up the slack. The album was a surprise. It deviated from everything that was going on in hip-hop and even more surprisingly it came from Virginia. The album went platinum and was one of the last albums of its kind to do so. Bottom line is this, if you want to hear that raw, lyric driven hip-hop then Lord Willin’ is for you and despite what the critics say, it is a classic. I’ll leave you with some lyrics.

Top, down, chrome spinnin’
You see the boss grinnin’, I'm lovin’ these damn women
I let two get in
She tried to let the rest fit in
I'm like, "Naw love, that's forbidden"
I ain't for swishin’, that's a problem to the wheel well
Trust I know them 20's real well
Now we coastin’, me, two chicks and toastin’
I turn up the volume, watch the bass get 'em open
Soft-spoken, with a wild side
I love 'em in the ride; they love it in the ride
We was movin’ bodies before we hit the party
'Fore the DJ started cutting’, I was already fuckin’
Cinderella'd you girls from nothin’ to somethin’
Hit the parking lot and hear the club system thumpin’
Lose the face, you two's was great
But it's to the V.I.P. I got new moves to make

Hey, it's just a day in the life
Club nights, one of the reasons I love life
Chicks be, in the back tipsy
We gets in for free, e'ryday wit me
Two-steppin', you see each crew reppin'
Slippin’ on the floor, mirrors and walls is sweatin’
Shorty in my ear say she got a thong on
And I love how she move any time a song on
I like that ma, you do something to me
Come this way and prove something to me
Fast or slow, she got the right moves
And I got the right dough for any date that I choose
I'm open, but naw, I don't lose focus
If the shit jump off, you know the thing that I'm totin’
But I'm only here to party, y'all
Carry every weekend like it's Mardi Gras

When they say "last call" that don't mean the night's over
That mean it's time for her to show ya
How quick she can hop out those Gucci loafers
Pin her ass to the sofa and attack the cho-cha
S&M chick, ass pushin’ a choker
But I thought about how rich I am and said, "No sir!"
Chick was crazy, gave her crazy space
What did it the "Whip Appeal," or my Babyface?

The night's still young and I'm already leanin’
Cruise through the lot on the deuce-2's gleamin’
The liquor in me and I don't need a reason
Obnoxious with the women, hot tucked in the linen
I pull up, let her get in, she know from the beginnin’
She added to list of them chicks that I done been in
Her head spinnin’ and my head spinnin’
Mine from juice and ginnin, hers from neck and chinnin
I'm a winner, man