• 7.6???????!!!!!!!

    Written at December 12, 2008 1:16 am

    While we appreciate Tom Breihan’s zeal in reviewing the Till the Casket Drops mixtape, [read the full review here; http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/147928-clipse-road-to-till-the-casket-drops ] we feel his energy was misguided. As he admits, this is a mixtape, not to be reviewed like a studio album. He then proceeds to do just that. In the spirit of competition, please allow us a response.

    Go inside to read the rest!!

    The Clipse used to make good girl records? The Clipse have always made good records, period. Unlike many of our peers, we don’t get in the studio with the aim of making a club record, or a record for the ladies. In fact, if you’ve followed our career, you’ll note that even our most popular, club-celebrated joints contain dangerously hard subject matter. We go places other artists wouldn’t dare. Our club success has been almost coincidental, and is more a testament to our overall ability and versatility than it is a shrewd aim to appease a certain segment. We’ve never bent or placated, ever. It’s resulted in some rather public label drama, perhaps you’ve noticed…? Moreover, there’s a prevailing theory that targeting women as the main consumer/enjoyer of hiphop proved the genre’s biggest misstep. Once you start catering, when you worry more about how your product is received versus your own, organic creative process, you should simply drop the mic. Since when was making a successful club/girl record a measure of a rapper’s talent? Instead, that’s an inversion of the intent. Hiphop from its genesis was a meritocracy—a bunch of dudes lined up in a sweatbox trying to outshine the next man. Their aim wasn’t MTV rotation or club spins; it was renown around their hoods. While the technology has improved and the production has gotten more sophisticated, we still approach our music with that same purity. We rap about things we’ve done and seen, and we aim to tell the story in a unique and intriguing way. Our critical success and uncommonly loyal fanbase stand as evidence. We don’t count any perceived lack of club visibility as a shortcoming. In fact, it’s a source of pride, that we’ve managed to endure over a decade without pandering, without compromising, without deviating from our signature sound.

     

    It’s very hard to swallow a review wherein the author slams the album for a full paragraph, but then backs off, saying ‘I’m mostly just quibbling here.’ Well, if you’re admitting the criticism is unimportant and misaimed, what then is the intent? The Clipse have smashed the mixtape circuit for years with the untouchable We Got it 4 Cheap series.  That’s indisputable. And the Clipse are gonna come with it like nobody’s ever heard with our ’09 official studio release, Till the Casket Drops. As a major label release, it’ll have the energy and polish to merit full-bore scrutiny. We invite Tom Breihan and anyone else to focus that critical gaze on it; we’re certain it’ll shine. And by the way, that snide remark about Play Cloths; unless everyone who’s seen, bought, and fawned over the line is lying to us, we seem to have a fashion staple in the works. We’ll take that kind of unilateral reception any day, with (dis)respect to Breihan’s flawed fashion sense. Stick to music, Tom. Well, maybe not our music.

     


    47 Comments »

    1. nation

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 2:01 am

      before i read any of this,

      lern2hyperlinx

    2. noz

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 2:42 am

      “when you worry more about how your product is received versus your own, organic creative process, you should simply drop the mic.”

      This post hardly seems like the work of someone who is unconcerned with how their product is received.

    3. Patrick Bateman

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 2:49 am

      learn how to spell, Nation.

    4. Slangdini

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 7:09 am

      This is exactly why i despise Pitchfork.

      I remember he shitted on Emotionless because he favored the unforgiven sinister clipse. And to me that’s terrible criticism, because its not about if the music is quality or not.

      Its about if Clipse live up to his standard of Clipse music. Like he just wanted coke talk and no conscience or engagement with the rest of the world. And so fly and pop champagne shows ya’ll versatility.

      Props to the Clipse for eloquently nailing pitchfork on their pretentious qualifications

    5. Ian Sigman

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 7:23 am

      Picthfork Media is a bunch of bamas. They recognize WE GOT IF FOR Cheap and Hell Hath no Fury as classics, so they are not completely stupid, but they completely missed on this review… I don’t care what they think because at the end of the day, picthforkmedia.com is a bunch of faggot-ass, pretentious, mid-20s, bloggers who were lucky enough that there are people as dumb as them that would appreciate their shitty and conceited reviews. All I got to say is, I haven’t taken picthforkmedia.com seriously since they reviewed tha carter three and gave it such an inflated review. If picthforkmedia regards music like that as high quality, then truthfully, I could give a fuck what they think…. This mixtape if fuckin classic and I love it as much as any other shit you guys have put out… CAN NOT WAIT to the new album drops!!!! Ya’ll gotta do a show near Virginia Tech or Radford, preferably Radford, because that shit would be crazy.

    6. ken

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 8:20 am

      You guys gotta admit that the cocain banter is getting a bit old.

    7. ken

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 8:20 am

      cocaine*

    8. 3stacsk

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 8:44 am

      loved the mixtape, keep up the good work cant wait for until the casket drops

      i agree with what you guys are saying, that review is misguided. but who gives a fuck what that guy says really? and like you said, its a mixtape, let them wait for the album to get a quality review.

    9. E

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 8:51 am

      First lemme say that your post is extremely well written, much more than my rushed response and especially in comparison to that mockery of a review… But Perhaps you should make music that caters to pretentious, faggot, slow thinking, styleless, idiots. After the review these guys gave carter 3 they lost all respect. Its not clipse fault these pitchfork idiots cant keep up..yes pitchfork you are behind… get with it! The shots at wayne are well deserved -dude first tried to run with clipse flow then thier clothing style with all that bape.. before stealing jim jones “rock star swag” and this is the guy who gets a mill sold, well id rather sell a thousand gourmet kobe steaks than one million mystery meat wayne burgers. Check clipse rhyme patterns , the cultured references, the double etendres cleverly interspersed… but only real slick lyric heads can pickup on that. not dumbass 9-5 bloggers. Keep up Pitchfork!! pusha doesnt care about anyones “streak” lol and streak is all it is. Clipse arent on a streak, they have a loyal fanbase who understands that they rap about much more than coke if you can think and see the big picture…The clipse have quality, qualiity again quality … and integrity..originality..a brand…when one buys Louie V or Gucci they expect that type of quality not rocawear quality. when one listens to clipse they dont expect Mcdonalds lil wayne auto-tuned clubbed out girl catering heartbreak 808, plies fake, sheep music quality…Clipse if you r reading this… please please keep doin it the way you are, dont let these idiots phase you. Real Recognize real..and pitchfork is lookin real unfamiliar…

    10. E

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 9:08 am

      and let me also add that PlayClothes is Dope! fuck what ya heard!

      Q- would you rather wear 10 deep, or crooks, made by some hipster white boys trying to convey urban style , bape (if lil wayne didnt play it out) made by some (all due respect.. ) japanese dude ? or PlayClothes who are made by some of your favorite emcees??

      dope name dope logo dope styles dope music associated …

      hip hop fashion made by hip hop makers

    11. BK Cyph

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 10:13 am

      I dunno homie, that Play Cloths logo is CRAZY! Reminds me of monopoly. The lines is dope, I can’t even front.

    12. TheCo!!inB

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 10:55 am

      it cost you nothin, pay him no mind

    13. fullscale008

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 10:57 am

      guys, i like the mixtape, but the streets are hurting right now. i can’t even cop an O for. you guys are the best lyricists in the game hand down, so why not go the other way. money, fashion, cars, us kids out here wanna here about experience, not about the toys we USED to be able to afford. not saying the street experience isn’t there, but that meritocracy part you were talking about, genius, why not rap more about that? definitely keep up all the legal rhymes going, i just lost all the money i pushed over the summer to a lawyer, that finger to the judge shit is nice, gets me pumped.

      you’re right, girl jams are over, but i know deep down you guys got more rage and aggression and passion for a lot of topics you don’t hear in rap anywhere.

      everyone moving weight is struggling. between the law and the high prices, i get sick when i even put on the fucking radio. A-rab money? kanye on autotune? wayne singing about the VIP ? fuck man

      sorry if this came off as a rant. keep doing what you’re doing, it sounds good. just keep coming at the institution with them bombs , ‘kna mean?

      ready to die dealt with both experiences in the hood. the great life, the shit life. big sounded confident, but you could tell he was scared as a motherfucker. he let his vulnerabilities come through, you could tell death irked him and that he was lying through his teeth. that’s what made it classic, that truth and dread.

      you fellas are the only ones that are ever gonna release a ready to die this generation. and i know it’s gonna be in the casket, so keep it up.

    14. Darius

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 11:05 am

      Ay yo dis ya boy Darius
      Could u put me on?
      I wanna be one of y’all Re-Up niggaz
      Full disclosure - I’m white
      Fuller disclosure - I’m Tom Breilahan

    15. Breihan Hater

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 11:35 am

      Tom Breihan is a 7 ft. tall giant and hates on Play Clothes simply because of the fact that they don’t come in big and tall sizes.

    16. BLuHaZe

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 12:23 pm

      who / what is pitchforkmedia??? the mixtape is dope..

    17. dronkmunk

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 12:31 pm

      Breihan responds
      http://dipdipdive.blogspot.com/2008/12/well-this-is-interesting.html

    18. Ryan

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 12:37 pm

      why read pitchfork for hip hop reviews??
      why read pitchfork?

      the mixtape is hot!

      p.s. cocaine banter never gets old.

    19. Havingsomethoughts

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 12:56 pm

      Though there were some missteps I thought the review was pretty fair and balanced. From reading other reviews it’s obvious Breihan is a huge Clipse fan and a huge rap fan, and is one of the only current music journalists who is able to talk intelligently while still being entertaining. The mixtape is really good, but there’s not a separate scale for a mixtape. If there was this would surely get an 8.5-9, but if it’s to be measured next to Hell Hath No Fury, I don’t think anyone can deny that this album is not up to that standard. Breihan’s reply is right here: http://dipdipdive.blogspot.com/

    20. Incilin

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 1:23 pm

      Wow, I don’t know if it was Push or Mal, but this was wayyy more sensible than most blogs by rappers. And in case you aint know, Breihan is a fuckin douchbag who already got ethered by DallasPenn and Combat Jack. Peep game;

      http://dallaspenn.com/weblog/?p=1331

    21. Sun Tzu

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 1:25 pm

      Nation suck dick I think, actually he licks balls for the whole nation of testicles. Hyperlink? u dont see that hyperlink in the first paragraph? its people like you, let me re-phrase that, its things like you that turns the postive atmosphere upside down. If the hyperlink was incorrect, what does that have to do with the content anyways? I clicked on the hyperlink and it took me straight to the source. Leave the staff at Re-Up Gang Records alone, and let them get back to cookin that crack on that white stove!

    22. chronwell

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 1:25 pm

      I stopped reading Breihan’s blog on the Voice’s site last year.I forgot what he wrote but he irked me too. He’s always intellectualizing black culture and if its too smart or uppity to begin with, he trashes it.Hip hop colonialism at its snarkiest!

    23. Trinibwoy

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 1:49 pm

      While I don’t agree with Tom on this review since I think this mixtape is the best I’ve heard in years and deserves a higher score, I think he defended his position reasonably and is almost always on point.
      Are you really going to bash a man because he didn’t think your work was flawless but merely great? If so then that seems like someone who cares a hell of a lot about how their music is received.

    24. Vic

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 2:04 pm

      I am huge fan, but I have to agree with Tom. The mixtape is not We Got It for Cheap; Hell Hath No Fury caliber. Don’t get me wrong its on heavy rotation right now, but it just doesnt have that feel. The “Still Got it for Cheap” track is a banger and the snippet Pusha played on the video blog was insane! You’ve spoiled your fans; we expect classic after classic anything less is disappionting and that’s the problem.

    25. Fat Daddy

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 3:36 pm

      Yea, if breihan was going to criticize you for anything it should have been the garbage yall put out through Koch last summer. Somebody should have told yall about that.

    26. SHOUTSTOMYDUDECRI

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 3:51 pm

      while I’ll admit I haven’t downloaded this tape or heard a tape for a few years now, I don’t think Tom was way off. He started his piece with something that would get attention, and had to close the piece with that point he felt was relevant. Its one of the rules of writing where if your bring something up you have to put it to bed. Maybe that was just his gripe or one he’s felt has been buzzing around for a min when the name “Clipse” is thrown around.

      You guys have always been on that mindset and I’m happy you have the power to be stubborn about not deviating from it one bit. (got caught dealin’ was dope!!) Especially since you always are consistently great on each go round. Tom just likes the girly songs I guess and wanted to have an excuse to take a jab at your newest project, Play Cloths.

      You should send him a framed “Ma’ I don’t Love her” cd pro for christmas.

    27. Joeschmoe

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 4:21 pm

      Still peddlin’ the same ol’ dumb nigga coke rap…aint sayin’ nothin’ new so nobody’s review even matters anyway…

    28. brick

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 4:21 pm

      honestly, i think this mixtape is amazing. I havent stopped listening to it since it dropped. You guys have been my absolute favorite group from the day I heard Grindin’. my post isnt nearly as in depth as many of these other peoples may have been, but i dont give a shit because Clipse knows what their fans love, and they brought this time like they bring it everytime. 09′ is theirs

    29. brick

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 4:26 pm

      i just have to say it, “pop champagne” should never be touched by anyone ever again. its flat-lined, its done with, dead.

    30. wait and see

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 4:42 pm

      the mixtape is aite but hell hath no fury is a very hot album. If its wack its wack the blogger top was doing his job.. Hey man we can’t dick ride everything. As a clipse fan I thought the mixtape was aite. But I’ma wait till I see Till the casket drops if it can beat Hell Hath No Fury.

      http://www.allmusicguide.com clipse hell hath no fury

    31. b-ease

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 4:49 pm

      I think this mixtape is top 3 this year (and its been a dope year). I’ve been rocking it since I dl’ed it last week.

      With that said, the first thing I thought after reading Tom’s review yesterday (before I read this rebuttal) was, “that was fair”.

      It was a good review, 7.9’s a respectable number on pitchfork.

      Y’ll need to keep it moving. You’re the Clipse, not Kanye.

    32. b-ease

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 4:51 pm

      Yea, if breihan was going to criticize you for anything it should have been the garbage yall put out through Koch last summer. Somebody should have told yall about that.

      ^^
      GATTTTTTT (c) crazy88

    33. AmpGeez a.k.a. Hate Is The New Love

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 5:54 pm

      I fux with Pitchfork & The Clipse & I think the review was pretty accurate. Does the tape go hard? Yeah, but it’s lesser product from a group capable of making classic material. It kinda seemed uninspired, just like the ripoff that was the Re-Up Gang album. Cats need to stop blindly dickriding & look at things with an objective eye sometimes.

    34. AmpGeez a.k.a. Hate Is The New Love

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 6:00 pm

      P.S. Tom’s right about the lighter fare. I know Pusha & Mal aren’t supposed to care about the mainstream, but I think that’s BS. Show the versatility that we know you’re capable of, & elevate the “Coke Rap” style that you’ve been branded with. Complacency is an MC’s downfall everytime.

      And I liked “Ma, I Don’t Love Her” lol.

    35. Osiris The Great

      Comment made on December 12, 2008 at 7:59 pm

      Truth be told, the clipse need all the realistic criticism that can be dished…if it’s nothing but the internet love affair that they’ve been bombarded with since their mainstream relevance faded 5 years ago, then we’ll get nothing but the same ole coke fairy tales over and over and over again until it frankly gets boring…it’s a shame too, cause lyrically their top notch…their use of vocab and imagery is among the best…but instead of hearing some creativity and true artistry, all we get are these Miami Vice fanasties about cars they really cant afford and never been unless Pharrell let them sit shotgun, or foreign countries they’ve never been to, or coke they don’t sale…

    36. Darius

      Comment made on December 13, 2008 at 10:52 am

      can darius get some luv in this club?

    37. Ty

      Comment made on December 13, 2008 at 1:24 pm

      Can’t wait 4 Play Cloths to make its official debut…

    38. • It should be about good music (NOKANYE) « ended up bloggin’

      Pingback made on December 13, 2008 at 7:09 pm

      [...] then someone from the Clipse camp, probably Malice or Pusha, came back with a post here, and the money quote of that We Rap Fuck Everything Else being: The Clipse used to make good girl [...]

    39. brandonsoderberg

      Comment made on December 14, 2008 at 7:57 pm

      From the same dudes who claimed they didn’t care what a “Tree huggin as bitch” had to say. Why worry so much about a Pitchfork review, especially a positive one?? It’s clear you never read the site or you’d see that a 7.6 isn’t a bad review.

      Also, presumably the girl record line was in regards to the group’s earlier ability/interest in being hard and interesting and complicated that were STILL great club records.

    40. Clipse svarar på Pitchfork-recension — Kulturbeef — Popponny!

      Pingback made on December 15, 2008 at 7:25 am

      [...] The Clipse har i ett öppet brev till Pitchfork-recensenten Tom Breihan kritiserat den upplevda förvirringen i hans recension av [...]

    41. Eric Sheffield

      Comment made on December 15, 2008 at 11:54 am

      GO READ THE REVIEW ON PITCHFORK TO THE RE-UP GANG ALBUM!!! THAT’S THE ONE THAT MATTERS MOST!

      WHAT THE CLIPSE NEED TO READ IS THE PITCHFORK REVIEW OF THE RE-UP ALBUM - THE FANS GOT SCREWED ON THAT COMMERCIAL, SHINY, OVER-PRODUCED NONSENSE WITH VERSES WE’D ALREADY HEARD A YEAR BEFORE!!! THIS MIXTAPE GOT A BETTER GRADE THEN THAT PIECE OF GARBAGE. FUCK SANDMAN!!! THAT RE-UP ALBUM SUCKED BALLS AND I LOVE YOU GUYS AND HAVE BEEN BUYING YOUR RECORDS SINCE BEFORE “LORD WILLIN’” I CAN’T WAIT FOR TIL THE CASKET DROPS!

      PEACE!

    42. yo

      Comment made on December 16, 2008 at 5:58 pm

      Yeah its pitchfork. typical pitchfork. famous for being overly angry about everything ever.

    43. ENIG

      Comment made on December 16, 2008 at 9:40 pm

      Wow, Clipse ate dude. Pitchfork gets that a lot though.

    44. Dj Trigga Extreme Media Dj's

      Comment made on December 17, 2008 at 10:15 pm

      wow so i read the review and i read the response and by far the review was one of the worst reviews i have read in a long time…not that it holds any truth but because (and im from new york –queens that is and with heavy west indian influence) and west indians would call that response a bunch of fuckry !!!!!! Now i will start backwards and work my way up….I wont quote too much but the comment about playcloths was ridiculous….first off when i was little my mother told me when im going outside to go put my play clothes on …because u cldnt get your good clothes dirty..so with that….the brothers creativity and whoever else assisted or is on staff with playcloths…i think its fuckin genius if you as me. That is that…moving on….1st of reup gang was a official gang kinda of like wutang to me except the group is smaller…..now we all had our favs in wu but u cld never say ghost was the weakest or maybe …rza was the weakest…so in turn sandman wasnt the weakest…at all his lyrics were sickening…and was different from the brothers or abliva….so was he weak to tom because tom doesnt hadnt really listen to sandman before reup…never the less i dont agree….the mixtape to me and this is my opinion…to me was what you call recreation for reup….they jacked for beats and they killed them….they cld have done it with drama again or mr sparks ..(im looking forward to get familiar) but it wasnt neeeded….i felt a certain way when i listened to this mixtape….its not how i felt when i listened to vol 3…i was waiting for vol 3….i was waiting hard….this was unexpected…i logged on and was like oh shit …and was still juss as happy because i been on clipse since the funeral…so im not a new comer so to hear them on this was kool for me ..as a dj i hear alot of artist..hop on shit …like rick ross for example…he started a deeper than rap site and hopped on madd shit ..unofficial remixes if you will addiction…pop champange etc…..and it was kool and i thought to myself why dont clipse do that to keep them selves out there i mean im a fan of them so that is my opinion and what i would like to hear…dats just me ..so all in all it was a mixtape..maybe it was put together madd quickly…but they are lyrical giants todo smething like this is for the fans period….and i didnt feel that it needed the type of review that it got…tom said how he felt and i treated it as such….but pusha ton malicious and mr liva …..got a good thing going right now andi have no doubt in my mind till the casket drops will be one of the most anticipated albums of 2009….

    45. AJ

      Comment made on January 8, 2009 at 11:10 pm

      Tom Breihan is not the enemy at P-Fork. Read yourself an Ian Cohen hip-hop review. I guarantee only 2 to 3 sentences within the entire piece will provide any evidence whatsoever the the guy actually listens to the music. The rest of his pieces consist of irrelevant, pretentious, hateful character attacks.

    46. BKL

      Comment made on February 20, 2009 at 3:35 am

      fuck pitchfork they are the lamest mother fuckers that exist on this planet. breihan can eat a dick along with their whole fucking crew they dont know shit about music or writing reviews. music critics are some of the lowest forms of people. they are mostly failed/lame musicians anyway.

    47. So, Your Band Got A Bad Review In Pitchfork… [The More You Know] « clubantietam.com

      Pingback made on March 25, 2009 at 1:17 pm

      [...] EVEN THINK ABOUT… Calling out the writer. It just makes you like like a total dick. When Clipse responded to the generally positive 7.6 review of their When The Casket Drops mixtape, picking apart Tom [...]

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