One of the best beats on LGSEO are those that simply do outdated Neptunes at half-speed. You already know, the click-clack of the percussion on “All Issues Thought-about,” the blast of apocalyptic synths with an eerie Hell Hath No Fury edge on “Let God Type Em Out/Chandeliers,” which will get minimize off for a tediously triumphant beat swap so Nas can do Nas. Additionally, “E.B.I.T.D.A.,” which is just a little funky, with its spaced-out In My Thoughts sparkle. The whimsical contact of the beat opens up Clipse’s creativeness. “I’m sleepwalkin’ y’all don’t dream sufficient/My third passport I ain’t seen sufficient,” raps Push. One of many parts that separated the duo from the million rappers getting off coke punchlines on Smack DVDs was that their realism was matched by the head-in-the-clouds spirit of a child wanting by means of the bins at a file retailer for the primary time. The cosmic Neptunes beats had been huge in getting them there, however Pharrell’s newfound opulence flattens that aspect of them.
Up to now, Pharrell’s persona got here by means of in beats that may very well be humorous, just like the tongue-click of “Drop It Like It’s Scorching,” or bizarre, such because the droning hyphy of “Mr. Me Too.” Now, he has this environment friendly professionalism, a method of constructing music that goals to fulfill Clipse followers who’re simply glad to see him and the boys again collectively once more. Let God Type Em Out coasts on the historical past they share with one another and with us, settling for adequate. From time to time on the album, you’ll hear this tag telling us that the music is “culturally inappropriate.” I want it really was.
What’s clear is that Pharrell’s coronary heart isn’t in it, the identical method Pusha and Malice’s hearts aren’t of their disses. “You cried in entrance of me, you died in entrance of me/Calabasas took your bitch and your satisfaction in entrance of me,” raps Pusha, seemingly disgusted on the considered Travis Scott on “So Be It.” However Clipse are a sense, and I don’t really feel that they actually care that a lot about what Travis, or Kanye, or, uh, Jim Jones have happening.
That is all a distraction from what Pusha and Malice really do properly: rap. It’s no query that they’ve nonetheless received love for the shape and that their brotherhood is tied deeply to the style. I consider “M.T.B.T.T.F.,” one of many uncommon Pharrell beats with oomph, the place they each whip out an a capella stream that channels everybody from Biggie to Kool G Rap. It’s excessive on their traditional lyrical theatrics, however they’re not attempting too onerous to seize headlines. “You niggas is screenwriters, we dreamwriters/Took chains and touched change like King Midas,” raps Malice from the intestine. Simply Pusha and Malice getting sinister and mythic over a tough beat. I’ll take that.
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Clipse: Let God Type Em Out