After getting caught up in label politics for over three years, Hell Hath No Fury - Clipse’ heavily anticipated follow up album to their 2002 hit, Lord Willin’ - has proven to be well worth the wait. Although Jive may have been right about this album lacking a hit single, like “Grindin’”, there is a reason this evil-minded, drug-suggesting release is one of the years most critically acclaimed albums in music, not just hip-hop.

The Neptunes handled the production on the entire album and created a sound that is much more sinister than Neptunes aficionados may be accustomed to, but one that perfectly compliments the dark, vivid imagery of emcees Pusha T and Malice. On Hell, the duo found a way to deliver even deeper and darker content than that of Lord Willin’ that further enhances the grimy synthesizer - driven ambiance of the album. The production is very sparse - there’s usually a lot of space between snare hits and only a few distinct layers of sound per beat. This leaves a lot of lyrical freedom for the emcees. On Lord Willin’, there was a lot of fun-loving, party beats covered by raw, dark lyrics while Hell Hath No Fury puts Pusha T and Malice in a dirty, ugly comfort zone that allows them to keep a cool and calm consistency throughout the album. On the intro track, “We Got It For Cheap” The Neptunes lay three broken up organ notes over a variety of hand drums, bass drum hits and claps. On the very next track, “Mama, I’m So Sorry”, the sparse, yet perfectly executed, production continues with a constant high hat behind chopping bass and snare drums topped with a beautifully sequenced, sweeping accordion sample. The Neptunes approached producing this album with the same mentality of a modern NFL quarterback - do as little as you need to get by, don’t force anything and don’t make mistakes. As long as they keep their team in the game, they can rely on their two playmakers to take it from their.

Complimenting the increased consistency in production, Clipse have greatly improved their lyrical content. The duo’s gaudy flows have always been reason enough to catch the listener’s attention, but now they’ve added much more social and political relevance. Despite having little-to-no positive content - nearly every track is clouded with suggestions of cocaine dealing, gang violence and misogamy - Clipse have a relevance behind their seemingly cliché lyrics that most rappers lack. While other rappers glorify and brag about their lifestyle and success, Pusha T and Malice simply tell their story (which just so happens to involve a lot of cocaine dealing). Along with the self-reflection, there exists the clever wordplay the group has always had in their repertoire. “I philosophize about glocks and keys/ Niggas call me young, black Socrates,” raps Pusha T on “Mama, I’m So Sorry”. On the same track Malice raps, “Same hustle, yet my hustle’s now flows/ I once gave it away at 30 grams an ‘O’”. These coke-pushing moneymakers capture the ugly reality of the rap industry, as well as the drug game. When Pusha says “With dreams of being a rich man’s bitch”, he may be poking fun at women leaching on to rich, successful men, but he is also pointing out that no matter how rich and powerful a rapper becomes, he is still the pawn of a record company. Clipse consistently find clever, sometimes even tongue-in-cheek, ways to describe their lyrical inspiration. Plus, they prove to have picked up some class along with their riches. Showing interests beyond hoes, rims and jewels, they have distinguished themselves as world traveling, automobile enthusiasts and art admirers with lines like “From Italy’s Milan to the shores of Napali/ Now I consider Ferrari’s and Salvador Dali’s.”

With twelve of the Neptunes’ finest tracks in recent memory, Hell Hath No Fury is exciting upon first listen, but gets better and better with strong staying power. The Virginia Beach brothers prove to be the perfect fit for Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo’s production, and vice versa, creating what is probably the best producer-rapper team in mainstream rap today. No skits, no bullshit, just quality rap music - and, quite frankly, one of the best albums of 2006.

by Gunnar Ludwig

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