Clipse

Midnight, Roseland Theater

By Casey Jarman

[DOPE-GAME RAP] Clipse has elevated the dope-game rap genre to a new level of artistry, propelling its rep with slick, painstakingly constructed lyrical assaults rather than the shock value and two-word choruses of most mainstream rap. Not that the Virginia-based duo can't shock—brothers Pusha T and Malice take the insider vernacular and outlaw chic of diamond-clad throwbacks like Camp Lo and combine it with lyrical density on par with Hova himself. That combo, sprayed over Space Age (not to mention commercially viable) beats by hip-hop's prodigal production team, the Neptunes, can be apeshit overwhelming or thinking-man subtle. That all depends on what Clipse wants you to hear.

WWeek 2015

Casey Jarman

Casey Jarman

Casey Jarman is a freelance editor and writer based in East Portland, Oregon. He has served as Music Editor at Willamette Week and Managing Editor at The Believer magazine, where he remains a contributing editor. He is currently working on his first book. It's about death.

Willamette Week’s reporting has real-life impact that changes laws, forces action by civic leaders, and drives compromised politicians from public office.

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