(t5!) Heroes Of The Zeroes Singles: #14: Clipse - Grindin' (2002)

Throughout the history of literature and arts, a good amount of work has ventured in vindicating actions that would be considered immoral or downright evil. Shakespeare in his plays has given justification for murder and the Robin Hood folklore has given justification for thievery. Even in movies, we see it: Scarface bounced for greed and deceit, superhero movies defended vigilantism, and Pretty Woman has said that prostitution is ok if you got your reasons.

Rap music has done its share on making us understand why people from the streets participate in ill-advised behavior, which what really begot the genre’s biggest complaint during early-to-mid-zeros: the lack of positivity. People forget that most of these guys are unfamiliar to any type of lifestyle other than the dirty life of the corner hustle. Some of the best, like Pusha T and Malice of Clipse, has done an admirable job justifying the negativity that is tied into the life in the projects. They rapped about what they know. And if you listen to the roof-tearer “Grindin’”, you’d understand why they deal their coke.

Clipse lay down the truth: Everyone’s gotta make a living and dealing is not only the easiest way to cope, it’s also the most lucrative career available for guys like Pusha T and Malice. “Man, I make a buck, why scram?” Why quit the game “when them 20's is spinning like windmills/And the ice 32 below minus the wind chill.” The lyrics of “Grindin’” runs like the cleverly written job description of a drug dealer’s curriculum vitae: (“I'm the...neighborhood pusha/Call me subwoofer, 'cause I pump "base" like that”; “I move 'caine like a cripple/Balance weight through the hood/Kids call me Mr. Sniffles”). The duo also sprinkled a few sales pitches within the verses—“From days I wasn't able, there was always ’caine”; “Lose your soul in... whichever palm I'm holdin'/One'll leave you frozen, the other, noddin' and dozin'”—in case you looking to get glazed, Clipse got your hookup.

Obviously, Virginia’s Clipse weren’t the first emcees to discuss drugs or the life of drug dealing in their songs. They perhaps weren’t even the best to tackle the subject. But what pushed “Grindin” to additional heights is the opus of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, collectively known as The Neptunes. To not talk about The Neptunes when talking about music in the zeroes is like not talking about Apatow when talking about comedy in the past decade. To say the least, they produced some of the decades most notable pop hits (Jay-Z’s “I Just Wanna Luv U (Give It 2 Me)”, Kelis’ “Milkshake”, Britney’s “I’m A Slave 4 U”...just look at their discography in Wikipedia). But out of all those irrefutable triumphs, I’m comfortable to say that the minimal beat in “Grindin’” is their finest creation.

I have a feeling though these beats they create are way too advanced for the typical hip-hop listener. The proof is in the “Grindin’” video. While the men in thuggish frames sporting various jerseys are bobbing with the 4/4 skeleton, the waif in mesh hat is spazzing with the nuances of the beat. This is what places The Neptunes higher than other players: yes, the cracking handclaps and the stuttering kicks in “Grindin’” are the ingredients that make it hard as fuck, but it’s the popping synthetic woodblock, the subtle addition of the hi-hat in the chorus, and Pharrell’s vocal hiccups that put the production over the top.

“Grindin’” in 2002 became the hit of the summer, the sound and the story blasted through open car windows and emanated from backyard barbeques. Clipse re-upped pretty nicely from the parent album Lord Willin’ with the now underrated “When The Last Time”, then not as nicely with “Ma, I Don’t Love Her”. Then the second album Hell Hath No Fury came with in the company of a lot of label drama, birthing two other formidable singles, “Wamp Wamp (What It Do)” and “Mr. Me Too”. I guess they’re most famous for their guest verse for Justin Timberlake’s “Like I Love You”, one of the best featured appearances of the decade. However, if we look back at the zeros, they’ll probably be in the shadows of rap’s most prominent like Jay-Z, Kanye West, or Lil’ Wayne. I don’t know if Clipse mind much because they have a pretty profitable (albeit immorally wrong) career as a back up; like the line Malice left us off with, “I’m just grinding man, y’all nevermind me.”