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The Clipse vs. Pitchfork Grudgematch

mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
edited December 2008 in Strut Central
I'm not sure who comes off looking worse here, Pitchfork's Tom Breihan (much beloved here at Strut) or the Clipse for deigning to respond to his review. b, 21b, 21a href="http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/147928-clipse-road-to-till-the-casket-drops" target="_blank"1http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/147928-clipse-road-to-till-the-casket-drops/a1b, 21b, 21a href="http://reupgangrecords.net/blog/2008/12/12/76/" target="_blank"1http://reupgangrecords.net/blog/2008/12/12/76//a1

  Comments

  • RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,779 Posts
    Can't stand the grey text on black background:b, 21b, 21While we appreciate Tom Breihan???s zeal in reviewing the Till the Casket Drops mixtape, [read the full review here; a href="http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/147928-clipse-road-to-till-the-casket-drops" target=_blank1http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/147928-clipse-road-to-till-the-casket-drops/a1 ] we feel his energy was misguided. As he admits, this is a mixtape, not to be reviewed like a studio album. He then proceeds to do just that. In the spirit of competition, please allow us a response.b, 21b, 21Go inside to read the rest!!b, 21b, 21b, 21The Clipse used to make good girl records? The Clipse have always made good records, period. Unlike many of our peers, we don???t get in the studio with the aim of making a club record, or a record for the ladies. In fact, if you???ve followed our career, you???ll note that even our most popular, club-celebrated joints contain dangerously hard subject matter. We go places other artists wouldn???t dare. Our club success has been almost coincidental, and is more a testament to our overall ability and versatility than it is a shrewd aim to appease a certain segment. We???ve never bent or placated, ever. It???s resulted in some rather public label drama, perhaps you???ve noticed???? Moreover, there???s a prevailing theory that targeting women as the main consumer/enjoyer of hiphop proved the genre???s biggest misstep. Once you start catering, when you worry more about how your product is received versus your own, organic creative process, you should simply drop the mic. Since when was making a successful club/girl record a measure of a rapper???s talent? Instead, that???s an inversion of the intent. Hiphop from its genesis was a meritocracy???a bunch of dudes lined up in a sweatbox trying to outshine the next man. Their aim wasn???t MTV rotation or club spins; it was renown around their hoods. While the technology has improved and the production has gotten more sophisticated, we still approach our music with that same purity. We rap about things we???ve done and seen, and we aim to tell the story in a unique and intriguing way. Our critical success and uncommonly loyal fanbase stand as evidence. We don???t count any perceived lack of club visibility as a shortcoming. In fact, it???s a source of pride, that we???ve managed to endure over a decade without pandering, without compromising, without deviating from our signature sound.b, 21b, 21 b, 21b, 21It???s very hard to swallow a review wherein the author slams the album for a full paragraph, but then backs off, saying ???I???m mostly just quibbling here.??? Well, if you???re admitting the criticism is unimportant and misaimed, what then is the intent? The Clipse have smashed the mixtape circuit for years with the untouchable We Got it 4 Cheap series. That???s indisputable. And the Clipse are gonna come with it like nobody???s ever heard with our ???09 official studio release, Till the Casket Drops. As a major label release, it???ll have the energy and polish to merit full-bore scrutiny. We invite Tom Breihan and anyone else to focus that critical gaze on it; we???re certain it???ll shine. And by the way, that snide remark about Play Cloths; unless everyone who???s seen, bought, and fawned over the line is lying to us, we seem to have a fashion staple in the works. We???ll take that kind of unilateral reception any day, with (dis)respect to Breihan???s flawed fashion sense. Stick to music, Tom. Well, maybe not our music.
  • ReynaldoReynaldo 6,054 Posts
    "dead-eyed coke-talk"
  • Jonny_PaycheckJonny_Paycheck 17,825 Posts
    I mean the Clipse response is a terrible look but wasn't Breihan all img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/lvl.gif" alt="" 21 back when Hell Hath... dropped? b, 21b, 21I'm just trying to keep tabs here.
  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts
    /font1
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    h, 21
    b, 21In the spirit of competition, please allow us a response.
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21What, precisely, would they be competing with Breihan for?
  • ajrafflesajraffles 124 Posts
    /font1
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    h, 21
    b, 21
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    h, 21
    b, 21In the spirit of competition, please allow us a response.
    b, 21
    b, 21
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    font class="post"1
    b, 21
    b, 21What, precisely, would they be competing with Breihan for?
    b, 21
    b, 21
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    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21Unnecessary bandwidth consumption is my guess.b, 21b, 21AJ
  • Jonny_PaycheckJonny_Paycheck 17,825 Posts
    img src="http://wrt-intertext.syr.edu/images/tom.JPG"1b, 21b, 21"I'm just a gansgter, I suppose. And I want my corners."
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
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    h, 21
    b, 21I mean the Clipse response is a terrible look but wasn't Breihan all
    img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/lvl.gif" alt="" 21 back when Hell Hath... dropped?
    b, 21
    b, 21I'm just trying to keep tabs here.
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21He still gave the new mixtape a 7.6. That's not exactly a major diss. b, 21b, 21Clipse got tenderberries.
  • verb606verb606 2,518 Posts
    I think what this goes to show is that Pitchfork carries weight in the skreetz. Who knew?b, 21b, 21Nathan Rabin wishes he had rappers e-clapping back at him like this.
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
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    b, 21I think what this goes to show is that Pitchfork carries weight in the skreetz. Who knew?
    b, 21
    b, 21Nathan Rabin wishes he had rappers e-clapping back at him like this.
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21b, 21 img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/funnypost.gif" alt="" 21
  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts
    /font1
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    h, 21
    b, 21
    b, 21
    b, 21"I'm just a gansgter, I suppose. And I want my corners."
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21"I know Nick Sylvester. The real Nick Sylvester."
  • BrianBrian 7,618 Posts
    noz all up on the re-up gang blog
  • SwayzeSwayze 14,705 Posts
    better than my 4.3b, 21i have no sympathy b, 21 img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/WHYMUSTICRY.gif" alt="" 21
  • dayday 9,611 Posts
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    h, 21
    b, 21better than my 4.3
    b, 21i have no sympathy
    b, 21
    img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/WHYMUSTICRY.gif" alt="" 21
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21[mylanta]Poast yer reviewz! [/mylanta]b, 21b, 21For real though, despite their replying being NAGL, it was a pretty well written response. b, 21I haven't even heard this yet. Is it better than the new Common? img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" 21
  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts
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    b, 21better than my 4.3
    b, 21i have no sympathy
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    img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/WHYMUSTICRY.gif" alt="" 21
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1
    b, 21
    b, 21[mylanta]Poast yer reviewz! [/mylanta]
    b, 21
    b, 21For real though, despite their replying being NAGL, it was a pretty well written response.
    b, 21I haven't even heard this yet. Is it better than the new Common?
    img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" 21
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21I really doubt that either one of them authored it--it had self-important college-age intern written all over it.
  • Young_PhonicsYoung_Phonics 8,039 Posts
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    h, 21
    b, 21better than my 4.3
    b, 21i have no sympathy
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    img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/WHYMUSTICRY.gif" alt="" 21
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1
    b, 21
    b, 21[mylanta]Poast yer reviewz! [/mylanta]
    b, 21
    b, 21For real though, despite their replying being NAGL, it was a pretty well written response.
    b, 21I haven't even heard this yet. Is it better than the new Common?
    img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" 21
    b, 21
    b, 21
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    font class="post"1
    b, 21
    b, 21I really doubt that either one of them authored it--it had self-important college-age intern written all over it.
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21b, 21 img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/emil.gif" alt="" 21
  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts
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    h, 21
    b, 21better than my 4.3
    b, 21i have no sympathy
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    img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/WHYMUSTICRY.gif" alt="" 21
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1
    b, 21
    b, 21[mylanta]Poast yer reviewz! [/mylanta]
    b, 21
    b, 21For real though, despite their replying being NAGL, it was a pretty well written response.
    b, 21I haven't even heard this yet. Is it better than the new Common?
    img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" 21
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1
    b, 21
    b, 21I really doubt that either one of them authored it--it had self-important college-age intern written all over it.
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1
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    b, 21
    b, 21
    img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/emil.gif" alt="" 21
    b, 21
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    h, 21
    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ehhzu7.gif" alt="" 21b, 21b, 21It read like the work of an eighteen year-old who discovered rap by reading about We Got It for Cheap II on Pitchfork and composed it with a heavily thumbed-through thesaurus by his elbow.
  • rootlesscosmorootlesscosmo 12,848 Posts
    no way they wrote that. nothing racist about it.
  • deejdeej 5,125 Posts
    i greatly prefer tom breihan to nathan rabin
  • luckluck 4,077 Posts
    Breihan a href="http://dipdipdive.blogspot.com/2008/12/well-this-is-interesting.html" target="_blank"1responds to the response.b, 21b, 21I'll be honest: I didn't read paragraph one; too many white people getting words in edgewise.b, 21b, 21Rap music isn't really my bag this decade, so should I be surprised at the oft-suburban tenor at the Re-Up Gang Records site?b, 21b, 21/font1
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    b, 21I stopped reading Breihan???s blog on the Voice???s site last year.I forgot what he wrote but he irked me too. He???s always intellectualizing black culture and if its too smart or uppity to begin with, he trashes it.Hip hop colonialism at its snarkiest!
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  • Jonny_PaycheckJonny_Paycheck 17,825 Posts
    /font1
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    h, 21
    b, 21
    b, 21
    b, 21"I like the mixtape. I bang it regularly."
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  • Young_PhonicsYoung_Phonics 8,039 Posts
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    h, 21
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    b, 21"it's sort of a thrill that one of my favorite groups is reading stuff I wrote about them."
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  • jamesjames chicago 1,863 Posts
    /font1
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    h, 21
    b, 21better than my 4.3
    b, 21i have no sympathy
    b, 21
    img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/WHYMUSTICRY.gif" alt="" 21
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1
    b, 21
    b, 21[mylanta]Poast yer reviewz! [/mylanta]
    b, 21
    b, 21For real though, despite their replying being NAGL, it was a pretty well written response.
    b, 21I haven't even heard this yet. Is it better than the new Common?
    img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" 21
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1
    b, 21
    b, 21I really doubt that either one of them authored it--it had self-important college-age intern written all over it.
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1
    b, 21
    b, 21
    b, 21
    img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/emil.gif" alt="" 21
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    font class="post"1
    b, 21
    b, 21
    img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ehhzu7.gif" alt="" 21
    b, 21
    b, 21It read like the work of an eighteen year-old who discovered rap by reading about
    We Got It for Cheap II on Pitchfork and composed it with a heavily thumbed-through thesaurus by his elbow. b, 21b, 21h, 21
    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21I don't know that I would agree with that. It actually reads a lot like the between-song banter they kick on all their mixtapes: Obviously aware and informed, but stilted and sometimes tortuously formal/faux-gentlemanly (e.g. all this "spirit of competition" shit and all those monologues where they say things like "echelon" a lot). The tone of the response strikes me as pretty convincingly Thorntonian.
  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts
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    b, 21better than my 4.3
    b, 21i have no sympathy
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    img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/WHYMUSTICRY.gif" alt="" 21
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1
    b, 21
    b, 21[mylanta]Poast yer reviewz! [/mylanta]
    b, 21
    b, 21For real though, despite their replying being NAGL, it was a pretty well written response.
    b, 21I haven't even heard this yet. Is it better than the new Common?
    img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" 21
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1
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    b, 21I really doubt that either one of them authored it--it had self-important college-age intern written all over it.
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1
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    b, 21
    b, 21
    img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/emil.gif" alt="" 21
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    font class="post"1
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    b, 21
    img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ehhzu7.gif" alt="" 21
    b, 21
    b, 21It read like the work of an eighteen year-old who discovered rap by reading about
    i1We Got It for Cheap II[/i] on Pitchfork and composed it with a heavily thumbed-through thesaurus by his elbow.
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1
    b, 21
    b, 21I don't know that I would agree with that. It actually reads a lot like the between-song banter they kick on all their mixtapes: Obviously aware and informed, but stilted and sometimes tortuously formal/faux-gentlemanly (e.g. all this "spirit of competition" shit and all those monologues where they say things like "echelon" a lot). The tone of the response strikes me as pretty convincingly Thorntonian.
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21You make a convincing case; I guess I really just don't want to believe it was one of them.
  • Young_PhonicsYoung_Phonics 8,039 Posts
    img src="http://homepage.mac.com/kparlato/.Pictures/Fark/Cliches/waisis.gif"1
  • tonydanzatechniqtonydanzatechniq 266 Posts
    How are we sure that Breihan fully understood the Play Cloth Metaphors which this album is based around img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yaoming.gif" alt="" 21
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