Pusha T

Fun Fact: Clipse began its career in music in 1993 when the Thornton brothers met Pharrell Williams

Claim to Fame: n early 2001, Williams signed the duo to Arista Records through his recently established Star Trak Entertainment imprint. Clipse released its commercial debut Lord Willin' on August 20, 2002. The album opened at #1 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-hop Album chart and #4 on the Billboard Hot 200

Clipse is a critically acclaimed Virginia Beach, Virginia-based hip hop duo. Formed in 1992 by brothers Malice and Pusha T, the group is affiliated with multi-platinum production team The Neptunes.



The Thornton brothers met Pharrell Williams, one half of the production team The Neptunes, in 1993. Impressed with their lyrical talents, Williams formed a working relationship with the duo. He eventually helped them secure a recording contract with Elektra Records in 1997. Under Elektra, and with The Neptunes handling its production, Clipse recorded its debut album, Exclusive Audio Footage. Its first single, "The Funeral", helped to generate fan interest in the album, but failed to make a significant commercial impact. With "The Funeral" deemed a failure, Exclusive Audio Footage itself was shelved indefinitely. Clipse was released from its record contract shortly thereafter.


In early 2001, Williams signed the duo to Arista Records through his recently established Star Trak Entertainment imprint. Clipse released its commercial debut Lord Willin on August 20, 2002. The album opened at #1 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-hop Album chart and #4 on the Billboard Hot 200, fueled by the strength of the first two singles, "Grindin'" and "When the Last Time", which peaked at #34 and #19 respectively on the Billboard Hot 100. Third single "Ma, I Don't Love Her" was a modest hit, reaching #86 on the Hot 100. On October 1, 2002—only a month after its release—Lord Willin was certified gold by the RIAA. Clipse made another dent in the pop music world that year by providing rhymes for Justin Timberlake's first solo single, "Like I Love You," another Neptunes-produced crossover radio hit, as well as "What Happened to That Boy" with Birdman.


In late 2003, Clipse began recording material for its second album, Hell Hath No Fury. However, further work on the album ground to a halt in 2004, when Arista Records was dissolved into its sister label Jive Records as part of a larger merger between Sony Music Entertainment and BMG. Due to contractual requirements, Clipse was forced to stay on Jive, while Star Trak and the rest of its roster moved to a new home at Interscope Records.

(read more @ wikipedia.org)