Artist: Malice (Gene Thornton) and Pusha T (Terrance Thornton) A/K/A The Clipse'

Reppin': Virginia (born in the Bronx, New York)

Influences: Kool G. Rap, Juice Crew, Eric B & Rakim, Large Professor

Breakthrough Single: Grindin'

Producer(s): The Neptunes

Album: Lord Willin' (Guest Appearances by: Jadakiss, Styles, Faith Evans, Pharell)


When you hear Pusha-T hiss "I'm Your Pusha" over the stripped down drum beat of "Grindin", you figure whatever will follow will be gutter....and it is. What's shocking is that the Neptunes, Kings of Club-Jiggy-Dance beats, hit the hardcore street production jackpot with Grindin'. Grindin' is about getting money. Straight up.

While the Clipse's first album, Lord Willin' is produced exclusively by the Neptunes, they admit they've intentionally passed up beats given to Noreaga, Jay-Z and Brittany Spears. The Clipse say it's not a big thing, they have more in the chamber.

"We had first picks of all the beats you hear now," says Malice, 29, the oldest of the siblings. "We had first pick of all of them. When Pharrell came up with the beats, he would ask Pusha if he wanted them. We got pick of the litter."

Despite seeing their other rappers and urban artists collaborate with the Neptunes and bathe in success while they waited their turn in the music industry wings, the duo says they have no regrets about not keeping the beats for themselves.

"We gave [them] up for whatever reason," Malice continues. "Just 'cause somebody else came out with it, it doesn't mean it was gonna be a hit for us. Everybody who did get them hits, they killed them. We totally give it up to them. They did their thing. [Noreaga's] 'Super Thug' wouldn't have been the same with us on it."

"We come up together," Malice says about meeting the Neptunes as a teen. "We all from the same area. I was known locally for rhyming and Pharell and Chad started doing their thing with the music and we saw where they was trying to take it and everything just made sense. Everything fell [in] line."

There has been some label drama though. The brothers scored a record deal in 1998 with Elektra and released the buzz single, "The Funeral", but after several delays in putting out their would-be LP, the Clipse clipped ties with the label.

"Just some creative differences, man," Malice explains of why things didn't work out. "It wasn't a bad situation. They respected the game and let us off."

"They just let us go, after we seen it wasn't going in the direction we wanted," Push chimes in. "The Neptunes kept it cool by still doing business with them. After that, Ol' Dirty [Bastard's 'Got Your Money'] came out, and a lot of rap hits from Elektra came out."

Without a label, the two kept working on music but were pulled back into selling drugs, a lifestyle they'd left behind once they initially signed with Elektra ("Grindin' "comes from that era, Pusha says).

You'll hear numerous references to selling narcotics in songs like "Grindin'" and "I'm Not You," but the brothers Thornton say they haven't suffered criticism from reflecting a one-time reality they don't condone today.

"I haven't heard any negative feedback 'cause of the [talk of] drugs," Malice defends. "We don't glorify it. We're not saying, 'Go sell drugs.' I do not promote that. I say, 'Do something else.' "

They mix and blend themes on Lord Willin', which drops this summer. "That's our thing down here in the south," Pusha explains of the phrase. "If it's meant to be, it's up to the Lord. 'Lord willin' ' is very old-timey. My mother says that every day. My grandmother says it every second. She could just be talking about me going to the store and coming right back."

On Lord Willin', Clipse tap into their past life on the streets of VA to give listeners a vivid, thought provoking experience. "The album runs like a movie about Virginia" says Pharrell. "These cats have been quietly waiting for a long time and now the timing is right for their unique Virginian perspective to be heard."

The track list for the Clipse's debut album, according to Arista Records:

"Intro"
"Young Boy"
"Virginia"
"Grindin' "
"Got Damn"
"Ma, I Don't Love Her" (featuring Faith Evans)
"FamLay Freestyle"
"When the Last Time"
"Ego"
"Comedy Central" (featuring Fabolous)
"Gangsta Lean"
"I'm Not You" (featuring Jadakiss and Styles from the LOX)