The Neptunes #1 fan site, all about Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo

Surprise surprise, “Til The Casket Drops” has been pushed back again… The album is scheduled now for a November 10th release according to Prefixmag.com. The Clipse are caught in a position that is enviable and impossible all at once. Releasing Hell Hath No Fury was enough of a victory after the years it spent languishing in record-company limbo; that it delivered on the its considerable hype was just icing on the cake. The problem facing Malice and Pusha T is how to follow up an album championed by everybody from Christgau to XXL — Hell Hath No Fury is one of only six albums to achieve that magazine’s highest rating. The answer seems to be to call in a veritable Super Friends team of producers and give Cam’Ron a ring. We’ll know if it worked come Nov. 10, when Sony is scheduled to release ‘Til The Casket Drops.

Prefixmag: How do you follow up something like Hell Hath No Fury?
Clipse: It’s never any pressure to for us, because we didn’t set our sights on trying to outdo the last album. Our music is based on who we are at that time in our lives, and that’s why the energy in Hell Hath No Fury came from a hard place. We had to deal with all the political garbage that was happening and couldn’t concentrate on the more creative side of the music. It was all raw edges. This time around, we were in a much better place. Our fans will notice that this album is much more in the mindset of Lord Willin’.

P: How much of a vindication was it when the album finally came out?
C: I wasn’t worried about it coming out. I was more concerned that the people who supported us through our four-year sabbatical would get to hear the album. The fans were the ones who kept our name out there. There was a lot of stuff coming out, but we always had people backing us up, saying that our stuff would kill if it was out. We owed them big for that, so I’m glad for them that Hell Hath No Fury was finally released.
(more…)

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*summitonthesummit.com

Though no working title has been confirmed for the album, it is said that the set will be released on November 23rd. Details are still sketchy regarding Rihanna’s new album, but a new confirmation has just been brought forth by Play.com that the set is slated to be made available in stores on November 23rd later this year. Notwithstanding the release date, working title for the record remains in question. Rihanna, who has had a rough year after she was assaulted by ex-boyfriend Chris Brown during an argument in February, has been working on her new studio album for quite sometime. She keeps things related to the record under tight wraps, but it is widely believed that she has enlisted the help from some top notch musicians for the set.

The All-American Rejects’ vocalist Tyson Ritter, record producers Stargate, James Fauntleroy, Christopher “Tricky” Stewart, The-Dream, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Kanye West, OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder, Soulja Boy, Shontelle and Pharrell Williams are all rumored to make contribution to the album. Most recently, Ne-Yo shared with E! News during 2009 MTV Video Music Awards on September 13th that he and Rihanna had been in a songwriting session. “Expect an edgier, almost angrier Rihanna on this one. Rihanna says some things on this album that you’ve never heard her say before,” he revealed. Fellow music star Akon also uttered some words about Rihanna’s upcoming album, saying “I’m going to lighten her up. I don’t want an angry Rihanna.”

*aceshowbiz.com

Pusha and Malice live in a world of their own devising. You’re welcome to visit, but don’t try to tell them they’re imagining things. Hip-hop may be an ever-changing beast, but one thing is constant: The Clipse’s sense of self. They might not be shouting it from the rooftops, but they clearly think they’re the best in the game—which is a little surprising, given their track record. After receiving a platinum plaque for their eerie and exceptionally witty debut, Lord Willin’, they fell into label purgatory. Four years and two mixtapes later, the even darker Hell Hath No Fury had critics and fans fawning, but still bricked like a Kwame Brown jumper. Despite the difficulties, Pusha T. and Malice still believe in the Clipse. And somehow, their bravado is understandable; it’s what’s gotten them here, after all.

When the Internet became saturated with no-name MCs and endless mixtapes, they concluded that fans value quality over quantity. When the economy cratered, they figured their fashion taste could sustain a clothing brand. And when they signed their Re-Up Gang label deal with Sony, they felt strong enough to branch out from under the Neptunes’ wings and recruit outside production for their third album, Til The Casket Drops. In fact, that unshakable certainty is probably why our boy KAWS jumped at the chance to design their album art (and this story). The whole thing may sound more crazy than confident, sure—but the best usually are.

Complex: It seems like Till The Casket Drops is very disconnected from the industry as a whole. Like, “Fuck that, this is what we’re on.”
Malice: This album is like redemption for me. We’ve been through so much with the label, with so much in our lives. Around Hell Hath No Fury, it was just rough times. You could probably hear it in the music. We had a lot of dead weight around us that got cleared out. This time around, everything is freer; we’re in a happier place. You can really hear the change in the music. Listen to “I’m Good.” You can feel it that we’re better. Definitely. Hell Hath No Fury is about when it was more raw. This album is more along the lines of Lord Willin’. And you know Hell Hath No Fury is my favorite album.

C: Why is it your favorite album?
Pusha: It’s everything I want to hear in rap. My taste isn’t the most commercial of tastes. When I put on an album, I find those records I like. If I’m listening to Ross, I’m listening to “Mafia Music.” If I’m listening to Jeezy, I’m listening to track 17. That’s what I want to hear.

(more…)

Fans apparently have to wait longer to get a hold of Shakira’s “She Wolf“. The third English studio album, which was set to be released in U.S. stores on October 13, reportedly will not arrive until more than a month later. In the store section of record label Epic Records’ site, the singer’s latest effort is listed to be released on November 17. Last Friday two of your trusty DS reporters attended a listening session for the new Shakira album – a-whooo! – and here’s what we made of it. Like Shakira herself, the album is short but bursting with ideas. To be precise, it features nine new English songs followed by Spanish versions of three of those songs (‘Why Wait’, ‘Did It Again’ and ‘She Wolf’). Nothing else on it sounds like ‘She Wolf’ the song, but if you like ‘She Wolf’ the song, you’ll almost certainly find something to like on She Wolf the album. You know what we’re trying to say, right? The album’s second track, ‘Did It Again’, is also its second single.

It’s a midtempo Neptunes production with an “eh-eh-eh-eh” hook, marching band percussion and lyrics about that guy you keep going back to though you know you really shouldn’t.There are three further Neptunes productions on She Wolf. ‘Long Time’ is a sparse, carnivaly party tune; ‘Why Wait’ is the sort of thing you can imagine Shakira belly-dancing to; and ‘Good Stuff’ is a midtempo track with a Middle Eastern feel and a chorus that’s a bit ’80s radio. That last one, apparently, is Shakira’s favourite on the album. A mooted third single is ‘Gypsy’, an Amanda Ghost co-write that’s probably the most subdued moment here. It’s got a countryish feel to it, complete with mandolin and strings, but the beats are as contemporary as Cheryl Cole’s dress sense. Most likely to split opinion? ‘Men In This Town’. It’s an ’80s-style electro stomper, a bit reminiscent of No Doubt perhaps, with loads and loads of hooks that keep leaping up out of nowhere.

The lyrics are all about the lack of blokes in LA and it ends with Shakira singing “It’s a suicide waiting”. Ominous.The album’s nutjob moment comes on ‘Mon Amour’, a noisy hunk of stadium rock on which Shakira wishes her ex and his new girlfriend a terrible vacation in Paris. “Hope the French fleas eat you both alive,” she sings, “And your room smells, and the toilet doesn’t flush, and the locals treat you mean, and the service takes too long…” The only track we haven’t mentioned so far is ‘Spy’, which is a bit naughty because it’s one of the best on the album. It sounds like the sort of thing Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones might have come up with if they’d been asked to produce a song for a film noir soundtrack: disco strings, a ‘Billie Jean’-style bassline and trumpets that suggest something sexy’s about to go down.

Before we wrap up, we should make clear that this album isn’t nearly as bitty and disparate as we’ve made it sound – Shakira may shimmy from genre to genre here, but She Wolf still sounds like a cohesive record as opposed to a grab-bag of tracks. It’s also very, very good – a comfortable on first listen – and we’re really looking forward to hearing it again. It looks like ‘Did It Again’ In Spanish will be different besides it will be in Spanish because Stephen Marcussen is credited on it and the Miami Symphonic Strings Quartet has credits on The Neptunes produced tune ‘Why Wait’. Check out the Official Amazon Tracklist below.

*digitalspy.co.uk
*aceshowbiz.com

Shakira – She Wolf (2009) (November 17th)
Producers & Guests: Wyclef Jean, The Neptunes, Kid Cudi, Amanda Ghost, John Hill, Miami Symphonic Strings, Lukas Burton, Future Cut, Jerry Duplessis, Stephen Marcussen…
Amazon Tracklist:
01 – She Wolf (John Hill)
02 – Did It Again (The Neptunes)
03 – Long Time (The Neptunes)
04 – Why Wait For Later (The Neptunes, Miami Symphonic Strings)
05 – Good Stuff (The Neptunes)
06 – Men In This Town (John Hill)
07 – Gypsy (Amanda Ghost, Lukas Burton, Future Cut)
08 – Spy feat. (Wyclef Jean, Jerry Duplessis)
09 – Mon Amour (John Hill)
10 – Lo Hecho Está Hecho (Did It Again) (Spanish Version) (The Neptunes, Stephen Marcussen)
11 – Años Luz (Why Wait) (Spanish) (The Neptunes)
12 – Loba (She Wolf) (Spanish) (John Hill)

Leftovers
- Send Me An Angel
- Devoción feat. Gustavo Cerati (Spanish)

If you’ve been keeping up with perennial hip-hop underdogs Clipse, you already know the duo frequently collaborates with art icon KAWS. And with their third studio album ’Til The Casket Drops coming soon, we thought we’d keep the partnership going with our latest collaborative cover. The sick action figure image will be on newsstands everywhere on October 6, but we’re dropping the full feature and behind the scenes video online now to whet your appetite. Oh, and don’t forget, this is Complex cover week—tomorrow we’ve got a second cover collabo between a rapper and artist, and then on Wednesday we’ve got our third cover that shows off the sexy side of Complex. Stay tuned!

*complex.com

Making Of ‘Clipse Complex Cover’