After a 16 year hiatus and with no go-to band in place, Clipse‘s Tiny Desk took lots of time to piece together. At first, I didn’t know exactly what they were looking for in terms of sonics, but it clicked when I was told what they didn’t want: no jazzy renditions of their music. They meant no disrespect to jazz at all, and if you follow the duo’s music, it boils down to hard drums and even harder synths. Hybrid drummer Daru Jones, who played on last year’s Tiny Desk for the LOX, was the first choice because of his unique ability to mix traditional and electronic drum sounds. He provided the authenticity needed for this set, and everything else fell into place.
The excitement for the Thornton brothers’ return reached its apex instantly as someone in the crowd yelled “Oh my god!” at the opening note of “Virginia.” There was no lull as the band coasted through “Keys Open Doors” and “Momma I’m So Sorry,” from Clipse’s most celebrated album, Hell Hath No Fury. I found so much to analyze witnessing the dichotomy between Pusha T and Malice up close. Malice is more collected in his movements, intensely scouring the room with his eyes while his brother is much more animated, even letting out a sinister laugh mid-set.
Recorded weeks ago, the two performed songs from their new album Let God Sort Em Out for the first time, including a chilling dedication to their deceased parents, “Birds Don’t Sing.” Before the tears from the crowd could dry, we got the moment we’d been waiting for in “Grindin’.”
The first half of the year in hip-hop hasn’t been the most exciting, so the timing of this reunion couldn’t be better. Here’s Clipse delivering its best live performance ever recorded and one of the hardest Tiny Desks of all time.
SET LIST
- “Virginia”
- “Keys Open Doors”
- “Momma I’m So Sorry”
- “Chains & Whips”
- “Birds Don’t Sing”
- “Grindin'”
MUSICIANS
- Pusha T: vocals
- Malice: vocals
- Briley Harris: keys
- Darryl Woodson: keys
- Yoo Q!: DJ, background vocals
- Daru Jones: drums
- Brittney Mills: background vocals
- Tariq Ali: background vocals
TINY DESK TEAM
- Producer: Bobby Carter
- Director/Editor: Joshua Bryant
- Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell
- Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame, Mitra I. Arthur, Alanté Serene
- Audio Engineer: Josephine Nyounai
- Production Assistant: Dhanika Pineda
- Photographer: Michael Zamora
- Copy Editor: Hazel Cills
- Tiny Desk Team: Maia Stern, Lars Gotrich
- Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
- Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson