Though Virginia's most well known hip-hop exports may have been Timbaland and Missy Elliot, the release of Clipse's debut album introduces a pair of new players to that hegemony. In fact, brothers Gene and Terrence Thornton (Malice and Pusha T, respectively) were born in that cradle of hip-hop the Bronx, but they spent their formative years on the streets of Virginia. LORD WILLIN' is the duo's second try at a debut album, as their previous effort for another label was indefinitely shelved. Turns out it was worth the wait. Produced by none other than the super-hot Neptunes, every track here pulsates with a crisp, funky energy that fully matches the sharply honed rhymes of the Thornton brothers, most spectacularly of all on the autobiographical "Young Boy", which is powered by one of the hardest-hitting grooves in recent memory.|
Rovi
100%ネプチューンズ・プロデュース!!!と言ってもネプチューンズ人気に乗っかってる訳じゃない。無名時代からの親友で言わば同じ釜の飯を食った仲。ピョンピョン呼んでるようなネプチューンズらしいトラック上でMaliceとPushatの兄弟かけ合いMCがばっちり合致。 (C)neo
タワーレコード(2002/10/10)
快進撃を続けるプロダクション・チーム、ネプチューンズが自身のレーベルより完全バックアップで送り出すウワサの2人組、クリプスのデビュー盤。粘りのある声質とフロウは耳触りも良く、当然主役はこの2人だと言いたいのだが、やはり本作のキモは最新のネプ・サウンドが聴けるところにある。エレクトリックな音色を効かせたシンプルでいて刺激的な彼ら流のファンク。相変わらず冴えてマス。
bounce (C)卯之田吉晴
タワーレコード(2002年10月号掲載 (P92))