The modern age of hip-hop is exciting and innovative. Harnessing the power of the internet, the most unlikely of prospects can become the next big thing. Artists like JPEGMAFIA, MIKE and Standing On the Corner are changing the way in which hip-hop is digested and produced, bypassing major labels and instead growing their fan-base and releasing their music on streaming services like SoundCloud and Bandcamp.
Clipping. is a Los Angeles rap group that started in 2013. Rapper and actor Daveed Diggs, best known for his role as Thomas Jefferson in Hamilton, is the leader of the group. His storytelling-based rap is paired with the rugged production of William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes. The group released its fourth studio album with Sub Pop records on October 18.
There Existed an Addiction to Blood melds multiple genres of music into one. Many songs on the record contain breaks of harsh noise, captivating and shocking listeners expecting a normal rap record. Clipping. take influence from industrial music and the horrorcore sub-genre of hip hop, morphing them into a complete project.
Diggs’s rapping is anxiously sporadic with a looming sinister quality in his delivery. His voice remains monotonous and bare, devoid of the energy most rappers tend to have in today’s landscape. Throughout the hour-long record, Diggs uses his sophisticated rhymes and the power of second-person storytelling to transport listeners out of their element.
“They said she gon’ get you, right?/They said keep her happy though or she’d be comin’ after you,” Diggs raps on “Run for Your Life.” The album occasionally becomes oddly satirical and witty, replicating its 1980s slasher film influence. While dark humor can be found in every corner of the record, it is never too inane.
The third track, “He Dead” contains deep, swirling organs assisted by a chilling feature from Ed Balloon, creating a dense, atmospheric fog of isolation. A lurking evil feels present, as Diggs’s portrays police brutality and racial profiling as a monster.
“How fast can them bare feet run? The answer is barely, isn’t it?” the dynamic rapper asks. Diggs’s thematics and narrative structure are stunning and inspiring. On many songs, Diggs relates current struggles in American society to the tropes of a horror movie.
“Club Down” contains shrieking screams that will make even the toughest squirm. Rapping about the terror and chaos of a mass shooting, Diggs reinforces our fears that any place in America can be home to a shooting, and the club setting perfectly juxtaposes the eerie tone of the song. Hutson and Snipes’ disintegrating production places the final touches on Clipping.’s gory canvas of a song.
Clipping. saved its best for last and released “Blood of the Fang” as the last single to promote their record. The song feels like Clipping. at its peak. The blazing track is intriguing and mesmerizing, with stunning performances that are unique but never too foreign. In his many verses, Diggs raps about how the constant media coverage of war and violence can transform a normal citizen into a bloodthirsty psychopath absent of any moral values. Distorted, chopped 808 bass, paired with animated, constantly changing flows and inflections from Diggs, makes for a track that is worth replaying over and over again.
There Existed an Addiction to Blood is harsh and relentless. While constantly bombarding listeners with innovative and thought-provoking ideas, the record never feels cluttered. The album’s soft, atmospheric moments stick out as much as its bass-filled bangers, and themes remain persistent without becoming too predictable. Clipping.’s effort feels like a natural evolution, celebrating and cherishing the group’s best qualities while also expanding upon previous ideas.
