Duo explain the stories behind several tracks on album, which drops December 8. The Clipse’s new LP, Til The Casket Drops, is finally coming out next week, and all the brother-duo can do is smile. “I was just vibing out to it,” Malice said of the album recently. “I don’t [usually] listen to [the album]: I do it, I lay it down, I wait for it to get ready, then I go back and absorb it. I feel sorry for a lot of cats. We got that album right now.” Malice said it was “unfair” to ask him what his favorite song from the LP, was but he did list a few he was partial to; “I like ‘Champion,’ ‘[Popular Demand] (Popeye’s)’ ‘Showing Out,’ and ‘Door Man‘ is incredible.” The Clipse recently released the video for “Door Man,” which they shot in Virginia.
“[That’s a] real crazy track,” Malice continued. “It’s everything you want to see, how life is at home for us: getting money, the ‘hood and your homies. We lost a lot of family, so … When I say ‘family,’ I mean people that were down with us, people near and dear to our hearts. Entourage. People who helped build this whole Clipse thing. We been through a lot, but we’re still celebrating — remembering how everything was, how it was supposed to be.” “It’s almost like ‘America Undercover,’ ” Pusha explained of the clip. “We have that ‘America Undercover’ feel, that type of documentary style.” Meanwhile, Push says his favorite record is undoubtedly “Freedom.”
” ‘Freedom‘ is a redemption song,” he said. “It’s an apology, it gives a rhyme and reason for some of the things and some of the attitudes of the Clipse. It says ‘sorry’ just as much as it says we’re better [than other rappers], and we’re still the best … ever.” Both Clipse members maintain that their mistakes are deeper than rap. “Nothing musically,” Pusha answered about what they’re apologizing for in “Freedom.” “This is our lives. This music has affected a lot of people and lot of lives around us. Once we get from in front of the camera, there’s a whole world out there that we’re a part of: family, friends, streets. It’s a lot that goes on and a lot that goes on behind this.”
“A lot of sacrifices have been made behind this music,” Malice offered. “Yeah, that’s the word: sacrifice,” Pusha added with a laugh. “That was a good word.” “The music drove me crazy,” Pusha raps on the track, which was produced by Sean C and LV. “I’m only finding comfort in knowing you can’t replace me/ What a thing to say/ But what am I to do/ I’m role playing the conscious n—a/ And true is true.” Sean C and LV also produced “Never Will It Stop” where the Clipse spin tales of stacking money and ciphering off bricks of powder. DJ Khalil brings a reggae flavor track to the snitch-admonishing “There Was a Murder.” The Neptunes produced “Life Change,” which features Kenna and also talks about redemption.
“I was wretched pitiful, poor blind and naked,” raps Malice, who also describes himself as a troubled soul with heartache in the song. “So much so, I left my family forsaken/ … So much dough, but my spirit ever so vacant.”Later, he rhymes about changing his life and raising a family of four. “I’m back on board due to the Lord’s GPS,” he continues before offering positive hope for the youth. Casket, which also includes the Kanye West-featured single “Kinda Like a Big Deal,” comes out on December 8, along with albums from Gucci Mane, Snoop Dogg and B.G. “Amazing,” Pusha said about being released on a hip-hop-heavy week. “We’re in good company. Let’s keep all the traffic coming! I believe if you going in [the store], you’re gonna have more than just $10 to spend. You might have $50. We’re gonna get one of them [purchases].”