Is Clipse Coming Out with a New Record?

If someone sat me down and asked me my favorite genre of music at this point in my life, I'd have to say hip hop. That is the one genre that has stuck around through all of my musical flings. I used to love jam music, I still dig dingy blues rock, I went through my alternative rock stage and hung on to some of those artists and I have even found myself enjoying pop music since having kids. The one constant has always been hip hop.

From a young age my older brothers turned me onto groups like Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Del the Funky Homosapien, Biz Markie, Beastie Boys, Run DMC, pretty much any cool hip hop that came out in the early to mid 90's. As I got older I started to listen to my own picks. I was early with Missy Elliot. I bought the Timbaland and Magoo album. I found Biggie on my own. I gravitated to an artist like Fabolous with ease. NERD was my introduction to Pharrell Williams. It was during this time that I came across a group called Clipse.

Back in 2002 I had no idea who Clipse was. But, it turns out that their record "Lord Willin" was produced by the Neptunes, so I was in. The Neptunes were Pharrell's production group at the time. And in 2002 that was all I needed to check an artist out. If Pharrell was attached, I was in because I loved NERD. So I went to the local Best Buy and scooped up "Lord Willin".

What I then heard kind of changed my mind on hip hop. This was different. This, to me, was futuristic. Clipse were great. They had this excellent back and forth that I had not been able to find in other duos. Pharrell's beats and production was top notch. Go back and listen to their massive hit "Grindin". You can understand why it was such a monsterous song. I listened to the record the other day, and while it is all good, "Grindin" is on a whole other planet.

After hearing "Lord Willin", I was fully bought in. I bought the other Clipse records that were out at the time. I listened to them over and over. After four records, they stopped, but I still followed up. I didn't check out any of Malice's stuff, I don't know if he did any solo work, but I kept up with, and still listen to, Pusha T. He is one of my current favorite artists. He still sounds to me like he did back in 2002, and that is an accomplishment all its own. I remember being super bummed out when he had to cancel a show in STL because I had purchased advanced tickets. I am a Pusha T fan through and through.

When I started to see things pop up on music sites I follow that Clipse was possibly going to make a new record, I got a little hype. Then I started seeing more and more people bringing it up. I was still a little skeptical because I hadn't heard anything from Malice or Pusha T. But then they showed up at a fashion show in Paris the other night together, and it seemed legit. I let myself get excited. This seemed like the real deal. To hammer that feeling home even further, Pharrell came out and said he was going to be producing the next Clipse record. This meant it was true. I would hope he wouldn't put that out in the world if he didn't want to get fans' hopes up. So I am all in now. This definitely looks to be true. With Pharrell on board and both Malice and Pusha T hanging out, I am fully expecting and will be patiently waiting for a new Clipse record. They haven't put out any new music since 2009, so I am fully expecting this to be amazing. When these two dudes get together, with Pharrell producing, great things seem to happen. I don't know when a new record will come out, but you better damn well believe that I will be streaming the hell out of it on day one.

I cannot wait. I am overly excited about this. This is some good news on the music front. So far, just the fact that they have announced possible new music, I have found my way back to their old stuff and getting thrilled at the idea of what's to come. The new record can't come soon enough. And when it does, you better believe I will be singing its praises on this very website. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Listen's the Pusha T's "It's Almost Dry"

I have now listened to Pusha T's new record "It's Almost Dry" about three times now. I enjoy it. I do not like it as much as his last record, but with each new listen I find something new that I enjoy about it.

I'm a Pusha T fan. I have been since the first time I heard Clipse in 2001. He just has this very cool flow about him when he raps. It comes out smooth. I think that is why it has taken me multiple listens to really get into "It's Almost Dry". I wasn't ready for it when it first came out. I have been in a pretty deep soul, R&B and heavier rock groove lately. There has been tons of Black Keys, Etta James, Leon Bridges and, I know this is a little out of left field, Bo Brunham on my playlists. So I just was not ready to receive what Pusha T was putting out there. But the more I've heard the better it has become. I truly do like every song on the album. I also appreciate that it is a tight 35 minutes long.

The record starts off strong, has some great stuff in the in between and has a perfect ending, with him reuniting with the other member of Clipse. Pusha T has a way of rapping over a beat that is like no other. He is one of the few rappers I have heard who do not really wait for a beat to kick in. When he is ready he goes. And he is good. The flow is so good that it doesn't need him waiting. I love how he just gets to it. He has something to say and he refuses to wait.

The record is produced by Kanye and Pharrell. I do not like Kanye at all. He needs real therapy. He needs true help. He has some mental stuff going on that only a doctor can fix. But the dude can make a beat. He has that skill. That has not left him yet. And the fact that he doesn't rap on this record, save for a few weak bars during some hooks, makes it all the better. The beats are his, you can tell, and Pusha T makes them work. Pharrell, on the other hand, is a true musical genius. He does things with hip hop that have just further pushed the genre to a whole new world. He makes complicated beats sound simple. He knows how to get the best out of his performers. He doesn't dip his toes too far into the water. He lets the talent do what they do best. Sure there are tweaks here and there, but for the most part Pharrell just refines it all in the end. He rules. There is a version of the record on Spotify right now titled "It's Almost Dry: Kanye vs Pharrell", and it is astounding to hear the two producers on the same record and how different they are. And how much better Pharrell is at his job.

I think what I like most about the album, and I mentioned this for a second a minute ago, is how there are now real hooks on the songs. It is all Pusha T's line of thought being put on wax. He has his verses and his bars and he rolls with it. He puts it all out there. He doesn't need a hook. He doesn't need a chorus. He can just go from verse to verse and not miss a beat. Sometimes hooks help, but in this case, I do not miss it at all. It almost seems like a hook would hinder the greatness that is Pusha T.

I am a fan of this record. I have most definitely come around after three listens. I will continue to listen. Pusha T is very famous, but I think he should be talked about far more than he already is by the media. This record is a great appetizer to the new Kendrick Lamar coming out in a day. I will for sure have both albums on repeat for a bit.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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The Greatest American Music: Pusha T's "If You Know You Know"

Awhile back RD and I did a podcast about the best opening songs to records. I’ve gone back and listened to every song I picked, then the record, to see if I still loved them, and I do. With that being said, we left out some great songs. That’s to be expected though. There’s so much great music, and everyone has their own personal taste. But today I want to add a song that I feel I really, really snubbed big time.

In my year end best of’s I do, I picked Pusha T’s record DAYTONA as my number one album of 2018. I still stand by that. And the opening song, “If You Know You Know”, should have most definitely been on my list of best opening songs. This is, not only his best song in my opinion, but one of the best hip hop songs ever recorded. This song really, really sets the tone for the whole record.

When the song opens, it’s a light beat with Pusha talking about a lot of things. It’s almost as if he is reintroducing himself to the public. It’s awesome and unassuming. It reminds me so much of Jay Z’s opener(s) on “The Black Album”. But, I like “If You Know You Know” better. But, when the main beat drops in, this song goes from great to classic. The beat is ridiculously bouncy and incredible. I’ve listened to the song 100’s of times, and I still dance incessantly to it every time it plays. The “bop bop’s” are an amazing touch. And when the beat drops and Pusha comes back on, I mean, come on. He is a great, great rapper. His verses are simply wonderful on the song. He also spans not just his career, but his life in this song. He talks about his drug dealing days all way to his fame and fortune. One of my favorite lyrics is, “I’ve been hiding right where you can see me, the skyboxes right next to Ri Ri”. I mean, that’s poetic man. That lyric says so much about his career. Yes, he’s famous, and yes, true hip hop fans know him, but he’s underrated. He’s so good, yet no one mentions him when they talk about the best rappers alive. That’s why I love the “hiding where you can see me” so much. It’s perfect. Then, he makes it known that he hangs with the biggest pop stars in the world. Ri Ri is Rihanna, I’m pretty sure. That’s incredible to me that he goes to games, and sits with or near Rihanna. I love that he put that in the song. I also love the chorus of the song. He talks about trap doors, car ports, and says more than once, “if you know you know”. Simply saying, the people who get this, will appreciate it. I like to think I understand what he’s talking about. Yes, I grew up in the suburbs, and I’m a white dude, but I know things. I’ve lived a kind of adventurous life. That’s why I feel like I can semi relate to this song.

All in all, what Pusha T packs into less than 3 minutes to open this incredible album is nothing short of amazing. As I said, I get hyped every time the song plays in my car. My kids, who probably shouldn’t listen to it, but I want them to be exposed to good music, love to dance to the song too. My daughter LOVES this song. “If You Know You Know” is one of the best openers to any album ever, and I felt like I had to remedy me not mentioning it during the podcast. This song rules, and everyone, if you haven’t listened to it yet, stop what you’re doing and listen to it right now. It’s that good. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Ty understands when Pusha T is talking about being the guy next to the celebrity. After all Ty is the guy next to world famous podcaster, and extremely attractive man, RD.

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The Best Music of 2018

As promised last Friday I am going to come to you all this week with my top 5 things in sports, movies, music, tv and podcasts. These lists were a bit more difficult than usual because I am very set in my ways now. I also don't get out to the movies as much, but I have seen enough to make a list. I like doing this every year though, and that has not changed at all. I'm also ready to hear why I am wrong for the top 5 things that I have picked.

Today I am going to start with my top 5 albums/music that happened in 2018. I will count down from 5 to one. It also needs to be said that my list is different from others. You will see what I am talking about as I get into my top 5 music of the year. Lets get started.

At number 5 I have the three song EP released on Spotify this year by the band Heartbones. I heard about Heartbones since I am a fan of Har Mar Superstar. I follow pretty much all the music stuff he does, and when I heard he was going to team up with Sabrina Ellis, and do the songs of "Dirty Dancing" live, I was intrigued. Unfortunately for me I did not get to see them live, but I was blessed with the three songs they put out. The songs are also originals, they are not covers from "Dirty Dancing". I love these songs. They have that 80's synth sound, but made to sound more modern. Har Mar is perfect for this type music. He is a pop singer. His voice is perfect for that style music. And he shines on these 3 tracks. I had never heard of Sabrina Ellis until now, but she rules. Her voice is also great for this style pop music. These 3 songs I can listen to in the car with the kids, and they sing and dance along with them. I love these 3 tracks. I cannot wait to see what they come up with when they do eventually put out a full album. If the rest of the tracks are 1/3 as good as "Little Dancer", "Disappearer" and "This Time it's Different", it will most likely end up on my top 5 albums of 2019. If you are a fan of either Har Mar or Sabrina Ellis, or well made pop music in general, check out this 3 song EP. It rules.

At number 4 I do have a full album, and it is a soundtrack. That album is "Sorry to Bother You" by the Coup. First things first, this is not the same record with the same name that came out in 2012. I like that record to, but this is the soundtrack to a movie that you will definitely hear more about on Wednesday. But, the soundtrack to the movie is all new material from one of our greatest hip hop groups. Boots Riley and the Coup come just as hard on this record as they do on every other one they have released. The opener, "OYAHYTT" comes at you hard. It gets you ready for the rest of the record. Boots Riley crushes the vocals, and the guitar in the song is perfect. LaKeith Stanfield also crushes his verse on the song. It is a great table setter. From there on out we get great songs featuring people like tUnE yArDs, Janelle Monae, Killer Mike and E-40. It's a relative who's who of hip hop and R&B. This soundtrack comes hard, it makes me want to watch the movie and is a good, 9 song rap record. The Coup always do good stuff, and this record is no different. It's awesome.

At number 3 I have Nathaniel Rateliff and the Nightsweats "Tearing at the Seams". This record is amazing. I loved his first record, but I was hesitant on the second. I am always hesitant on second records from people who's first record I cherish. But a friend of mine, who's musical taste I very much trust, texted me and told me it was one of the best records he had listened to in quite some time. That night I downloaded the record and listened to it three times. It was, and still is, amazing. Rateliff and his band totally crush this record. It is so good. It is a shift in the alt rock genre of music. Rateliff has that gruff voice that I love in rock music. His band is amazing. The addition of the horn section was phenomenal. The way the record is sequenced is perfect. The fact that he has a song called "Intro" that comes in the middle of the record is one of my favorite things about it. This is a record I go back to every month or so and remember why I like it so much. It is such a good modern rock record. Rateliff and his band are on a big time upward trajectory. Now I cannot wait to see what they do next. I will have no trepidations when they put out their third record. I will listen to it the day it comes out. For the time being though, I have "Tearing at the Seams", and that makes me very, very happy.

At number 2 I have more of moment than an entire record or EP. But, "This is America" is a seminal moment in music, and out current culture, and it fully deserves to be on my top 5 music list for 2018. When Donald Glover, AKA Childish Gambino, released this song and video, you could feel a shift in political hip hop music. It is such an important song, but the video puts it over the top. That video is astonishing. It is haunting. It is terrifying and it is all true. Glover and director Hiro Murai knew exactly what they were doing this when they released it. I still, many months later, go back and watch this video from time to time. I listen to the song almost daily, especially when I exercise. It is such an important piece of music and art. It will be remembered for years to come. I would bet a good amount of money that my kids will study this song and video when they are in high school and college. Everything about "This is America" will be historically acclaimed and remembered. It is the most important piece of pop culture to come out in 2018.

And my number one record, and it is only ahead of "This is America" is because it is a full record, I have Pusha T's "Daytona". This record is the perfect hip hop record. Pusha T, from the start, crushes all the songs. He puts himself at, or near, the top of current emcee's. The opener, "If You Know You Know" has one of the best beats I have ever heard on a rap song. And Pusha crushes with his rhyming. And in a short 25-30 minutes he touches on so many important things and he nails it all. What stands out most is his "diss" track of the highly overrated Drake, and he doesn't even have to mention his name. We all know exactly who he is talking about, and like only he can do, he pulls it off without even mentioning him. I grew up listening to Clipse, they were one of the first real hip hop groups I devoured, and to see where Pusha T is now makes me so happy. "Daytona" is wonderful. I listen to this record all the way through once a week. Usually when I run. It is a perfect hip hop record. It has anything and everything a hip hop fan could want, and it is short and to the point. I love this record. I have not heard anything nearly as good as "Daytona". It is number one, and it is number one with a bullet. This record rules. It is, by far, the best record of 2018.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for my top 5 TV shows of the year.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He was going to wait on his best music list to see if Run the Jewels did another surprise album drop just before the new year. Only a few hours left guys.

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The Worst Things of 2018

Next week I will spend the 5 days of the week doing my best of 2018 in movies, music, tv, podcasts and sports. I will do a top 5 of each category. Today though I want to do a similar list, but I want to do the one thing I consider the worst of 2018. I'll pick the worst tv show, movie, album/musician, podcast moment and sports moment. Before I get into it, I do have to say that this is just my opinion. I know that I will have a few things on here that will be odd and make people mad, but that is what year end lists are for, are they not? This will also be much quicker since I am just picking one thing from each category. My best of lists next week will be a bit longer. Okay enough preamble, lets get to it.

I'm going to start with sports because this was quite possibly the worst thing for me, as a sports fan, that has not only happened this year, but has happened in a long time. I am of course talking about Michigan getting absolutely crushed by the University of Ohio State in football. I have written about this game already, so I won't go as deep into detail as I did the Monday after the game. But this was awful. Michigan's vaunted defense got torched and refused to adjust all game long. This was their best chance in a long time, they were the better team on paper, and they laid a total egg. I mean, their offense scored 39 points, but it was all garbage time, and it was all for naught. They gave up 62 points, over 500 yards of offense, and it could have been much, much worse. Michigan blew it on the biggest stage for them in quite some time, and it was painful to watch. They had their best chance to beat their hated rival for the first time in 7 years, and a possible playoff berth at stake if they won the Big Ten title. They got none of that. They choked. They got crushed and it was, by far, my worst sports moment of 2018. Nothing else was even close.

When it comes to podcast/podcast moments, I have to go with "Comedy Bang! Bang!" not doing their usual Halloween episode. I look forward to this every year, and Halloween came and went with no visit to Boogie Woogie Avenue. I didn't get to hear Bret Gelman and Jon Daly do their thing. There was no Comedy Fang Fang this year. No weirdo ghosts for me to cackle with laughter at. It was a real bummer. The biggest disappointment with no "CBB" Halloween episode was the absence of Leo Carpatzi and his daughter Scaroline to sing their version of "The Monster Mash", which is always my favorite part. Although, as you will see next week, they do make up for it a bit in their Christmas episode. But, no 1122 Boogie Woogie Avenue, no Scaroline, no Mesmor, it all bummed me out. This episode is one of the few things I look forward to for a "holiday" that I am not the biggest fan of. Hopefully they remedy this next year because their Halloween episodes are some of their best.

My worst music of 2018 is kind of weird, but it struck me as odd, and kind of stupid to be completely honest. So, you all know how I feel about Drake. He is a wannabe, a front runner, a HORRIBLE rapper, he is just trash all around. So, for him to think he could even touch Pusha T was a joke and made that my most disliked music moment of the year. There is no beef, Pusha T is a far superior rapper, and always will be, when compared to Drake. He has lived that life. He has earned and grinded hard for everything he has accomplished. He isn't a fake, a phony or a frontrunner. Pusha goes about his business and makes incredible rap music. He literally started from the bottom. Drake was on a teenage high school drama in Canada when he was a kid. He is from the suburbs. He's never had a hard day in his life. He is a fake, a phony and a wannabe like I said before. He's a poseur. Pusha T will always, always be a much, much better rapper. So will thousands upon thousands of other rappers that a lot of people may not know about just yet. Drake is a rapper for white tweens. Pusha T is for a true hip hop fan. This whole beef was pointless and dull. Find something better to do with your time Drake because you are not even a top 500 rapper of all time. You are trash.

With TV I was very conflicted because the 2 shows that I think are the worst were 2 I LOVED last year. With that being said, what in the hell happened to "Westworld" and "Legion"? Am I not smart enough? Do I not get it? Am I not hip enough anymore? I don't know, and that was my biggest problem with both these shows. I feel like they decided to really just make some weird stuff and see if major critics would bite, and boy did they ever. I have read a lot of best of lists, and most have both shows on their lists. I totally disagree. Now, it needs to be said that I didn't finish either season. But I didn't finish because I was too tired of sitting there in utter confusion for hours after watching an episode. I made it through 3 of "Legion" and 2 of "Westworld" and just gave up. These shows are already confusing enough, but like I said, I felt like the writers were just messing with me now. They were intentionally trying to confuse me. I like my intelligence to be tested time to time when watching a show, but in watch these 2 shows this year, I felt like I was being made to look like a fool. Like I was stupid because I didn't get it. That is not how I should feel when watching a show. TV shows and movies should let you escape and have fun. I got none of that from "Westworld" or "Legion" this year. That was a bummer for me.

Finally, my worst movie of 2018. I have to admit that I don't get to the movies as much as I would like, but I still watch a fair amount On Demand and on streaming services. With all that being said, the worst movie I saw in 2018 has to be "Avengers: Infinity War". Now, I kind of liked the movie, but compared to everything else, it just doesn't stand up. I found parts of it dull and dragging. I don't like that Thanos wipes out half the population, but we just have to accept that most of those people are still alive because it's a "comic book movie". It would have been so much cooler if they really did kill off all the characters that Thanos killed. I found Thanos kind of dull and, while an okay bad guy, he was no Heath Ledger Joker or Tom Hardy Bane or Alfred Molina's Dr. Octopus or Ultron or even a marginal bad guy like The Mandarin. I think my biggest problem lied within my expectations for the movie. They were through the roof, and that is unfair. But still, my wife and I saw this movie on opening weekend, with a packed theater that had a 10 month old there, and we both left kind of shrugging our shoulders. It wasn't like when we saw "Black Panther" or the first "Ironman" or the "X-Men" movies. We left those exhilarated. With "Infinity War". we left unfulfilled. That is why I have it as my worst movie of the year.

Okay, I got the bad stuff out of the way. Come back next week where I will dedicate one day with a top 5 of 2018 for each category. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Ty is lucky to have survived the Thanos snap so he can dump on the movie. Others in the SeedSing virtual cube farm were not so lucky. We forward to seeing Tina S when the next movie “fixes” all the important deaths.

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