THE CLIPSE – DRIVEN IS A GIVEN!!!!

The labels kept pushing the Clipse back but fortunately that was no set back for Pusha and Malice. They stayed on their hustle and grind throughout the politics of the music industry pushing mixtapes, a book, and a clothing line. With their new album Til The Casket Drops, which includes a series of bonafide hits, the Clipse promises to never stop! Check it out…

{Lisa} Who picks the songs for your albums because the tightest songs have been on your mixtape? So what’s up with that?

{Clipse} When we do the mixtapes such as the WE GOT IT FOR CHEAP series, it’s therapy for us. The album is one thing, but when we do our mixtapes, it’s our street vibe. We had a hard time with our label…a whole bunch of complications, set backs, and delays. So when we weren’t able to put an album out on time, we would get into our zone, consider everything we thought was wrong with HIP HOP, and then make the music WE wanted to make.

{Lisa} Which brings me to my next question…what’s wrong with Hip Hop in your opinion?

{Malice} I personally enjoy what’s going on today in Hip Hop, but I think it’s a void as far as lyric-driven Hip Hop. But there is a hand full of us like Styles P and Jadakiss, who still focus on lyric-driven Hip Hop. That’s the Hip Hop that we know, love and enjoy. So that’s what we represent.

You’re from the VA; tell us how the music industry is in Virginia. Do other artists stand a chance to duplicate your success?

I think there’s a lot of opportunity in Virginia thanks to Teddy Riley. He came in and set up shop right on Virginia Beach Blvd. He’s showing a lot of cats in the music industry there that it is tangible and that it can be done. He opened the doors for us (Clipse). He also discovered the Neptunes and Pharrell. Virginia has Timbaland. We got Missy, Trey Songz, and Chris Brown…so there are a lot of doors that have opened up in Virginia?

How did u meet Teddy Riley?

Pharrell introduced us and in a round about way, Teddy had a lot to do with grooming the Clipse.

What took u so long to bust out with this new album?

Well the story of the Clipse…we always had a problem with the label in some form that never had anything to so with the Clipse. It always had to do with the politics of the game. Now it’s all spilled milk. Were with Sony right now and the ball is really rolling. Our single “I’mGood” ft. Pharrell is out. That was our summertime anthem. We got “Eyes On Me” ft. Keri Hilson. Also “Kinda Like a Big Deal” ft. Kanye West. The new album is called Til The Casket Drops and it will be out December 8th . It’s Hip Hop on steroids.

With “Til The Casket Drops”, did you stick to the same formula?

Yeah. But one thing has changed…this is our first album that wasn’t 100% produced by the Neptunes.

A lot of people reading this interview are artists trying to get a deal with labels like Sony, What advice do u have to offer them?

We would say that now, it’s not always about the major labels. You can do it independently and take advantage of the internet. Start your internet campaign, get yourself out there, and you can be heard & seen by thousands of people.

Hip Hop use to represent our ghetto poets, but lately it’s been all about the bling and materialism. Which direction do you see Hip Hop going in? Will it ever be the way it use to be?

It depends on the individual. As far as the Clipse, we always give you the full spectrum. We give you the good, the bad, and the ugly. We don’t always paint glorious pictures. We also let you know about the consequences and the ramifications of everything that you do. Everything has a consequence.

{Malice} Personally, I like to hear about things that are going on in the world a little less about the superficial things in music. But this is entertainment. At the same time…Hip Hop didn’t raise me even though I grew up listening to groups like N.W.A.

It didn’t raise you but Hip Hop is raising our children today.

Exactly, that’s what I know. It didn’t raise me, however, now, I have to keep in mind Hip Hop is like their (the youth) lifeline or a rule book to how to live their life. So you have to know who you are and enjoy music for what it is…and don’t try to live by everything you hear.

I’m trying to provide a road map for independent artists and starving artists who struggle to make it but continue to strive to make it like you did. Is there something you can tell them not to do?

We can tell them what helped the Clipse. Be about your craft. Be about what it is you do. Anybody who has been in a situation like ours or have walked in our footsteps may have fell by the wayside. But when the labels couldn’t get it right, when the labels didn’t know what to do with the Clipse, when the labels didn’t know how to market us, we stayed busy. We made mixtapes, we put out a clothing line. {Malice} And I wrote book.

What’s the name of your book?

Wretched, Pitiful, Poor Blind and Naked. And it’s coming out at the top of the year. And you can find our clothing line Playcloths.com

What are your proudest moments?

You’ll see it at Maliceoftheclipse.com. It’s a new blog and an eye-opener on how to take this entertainment industry. It shares a lot of personal stories and allows you to see that everything ain’t always how it appears. And it’s directed towards the kids. We’re trying to help them out a little bit.

Your fans are loyal. What is it about the Clipse?

One of the reasons our fans stick by us so much because they can count of the Clipse to deliver real music. Our music comes from a direct place, we don’t sugar coat nothing, we let you in on our lives, tell you how we really live and even talk about our present experiences. We just want it to be known that the Clipse music is a genuine and thought-out music. It’s a thinking man’s music that doesn’t leave you at a dead end. And that there’s a lot of food for thought within our music ~

Follow Lisa Ford on www. twitter.com/lisafordblog

And make sure you Go to Amazon on the right column and cop that album! Tightwork!