Words by Khalid Strickland

Some of life’s pleasures are best kept simple: rum & Coke, dinner and a movie, T&A. Lyrically, there’s nothing primitive about Malice and Pusha T, the blood brothers who make up Virginia rap duo, the Clipse. However, they have a rudimentary musical formula: Hard-ass beats and skillful rhymes about pushin’ weight. It’s a recipe that made albums like the platinum-plated Lord Willin’ and the masterful Hell Hath No Fury so appealing. To tide over the fiends eagerly awaiting their next cook-up, Malice and Pusha T have partnered with Koch Records to release Clipse Presents: Re-Up Gang. The Clipse make up one half of Re-Up Gang; the other members are Philadelphia rappers Ab-Liva (of Major Figgas fame)  and Sandman. But instead of a full fledged Re-Up Gang compilation, the quartet take the easy way out, rehashing plenty of material from their latest mixtape, We Got it 4 Cheap: Vol. 3.

The Clipse would have to sell tons of snow to pay the Neptunes again, so the production on Re-Up Gang is handled by capable, no-frills beatsmiths such as Sleepwalkers, Illfonics, M. Bang and Karl Maceo. Scott Storch (who’s surely available at bargain prices these days) provides the beat for the first single “Fast Life.” Whether it’s the blaxploitation funk of “Million Dollar Corner,” or the sinister, plodding drums of “My Life’s The Shit,” some of the beats on this album are tighter than a hipster’s jeans. The Clipse, as always, bring the heat with the lyrics. On “Bring It Back,” another standout, Pusha T further raises his stock with clever lines like, “Try to live with little less remorse/telling my trophy wife these bitches just rewards/And the law don’t understand our troop/we don’t never say shit, we The Blue Man Group.”

So what prevents this album from achieving higher ground? The Re-Up Gang has never had a problem with lyrics, but stuck with low-budget producers, tracks tend to carry on and blend in with one another to form monotony. The synth tones on songs like “Bring It Back” and “Emotionless” all have one thing in common: You can swear you’ve heard them before. Many tracks sound like wannabe-Neptunes beats, and the “original” titled “Money” sounds like a cheap knock off of 50 Cent’s “I Get Money.” And with songs like “Show You How To Hustle” and “We Know” resurfacing from WGIFC3, the collective’s creative process is a tad bit stale this time around.

And not to say that Ab-Liva and Sandman are wack, but their rhymes are serviceable at best. They’re good for some hot bars once in a while, but they’re clearly not in the elite caliber of the Clipse. When handled with creativity and expertise, there’s nothing wrong with rapping about one topic exclusively (M.O.P. does it well). But when average emcees do it, things quickly get tedious. With countless references to “sittin’ courtside at the Lakers game” and “cuttin’ keys like a locksmith,” Ab and Sandman clog the lane and take up space that could’ve been used for more Clipse or a proficient guest (Jadakiss comes to mind). See “Fast Life,” which only features Clipse; where they jettisoned the dead weight to sell the single. Nonetheless, Clipse Presents: Re-Up Gang contains enough to additives to supply a fix for the time being.

3cigs

Watch — Clipse Present Re-Up Gang “Fast Life” Video

Listen — Zen (iTunes Bonus Track) | Celebrate (Feat. Joss Stone) (Both produced by Maestro)