6 Things We Learned From the 20 Years of 'Lord Willin' With Clipse ComplexCon Panel

Image via Complex Original

Before aligning with Arista and Star Trak Records, Clipse was signed to Elektra. In 1999, they released their single “The Funeral,” which was meant for their original debut, Exclusive Audio Footage. When that single flopped commercially and the album was shelved, Pharrell helped the duo get out of their deal so that they could pursue other options. Today, Push and No Malice revealed that one of those options was Master P’s No Limit Records. “We definitely entertained signing to No Limit,” Push said. “Just being fans of [Master] P and what they had going on. Being fans of that whole independent wave and the impact they had.” 

“Grindin” was an immediate street classic, but it didn’t take the charts by storm as quickly. The single debuted at No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100, but LA Reid knew the song was amazing and should’ve been pushed better by the label. Push recalled overhearing a conversation during an Arista marketing meeting—which is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group—where the music executive threatened to fire the entire staff if they didn’t begin promoting the single properly: “I stumbled across a marketing meeting, and this was the meeting where they go over what’s on the roster,” Push told Complex. “LA Reid was in there, and he pointed to this paper and was like, ‘And this! This record has so many spins on the radio, and I know we didn’t spend any money on it or haven’t done anything. Matter of fact, if you don’t get record up on the charts, heads gon’ roll, I’m firing the whole staff!’”

Longtime friend and fellow rapper FamLay is the only feature artist to get his own solo song on Lord Willin. The Norfolk rapper made a cameo appearance in the music video for “Grindin,” but when Pusha and No Malice tapped him to record his verse for “FamLay Freestyle,” it was his first time ever rapping or recording professionally. “I remember when we were recording, I was rapping and T was like, ‘That’s 16 [bars],’ FamLay said light-heartedly as he remembered struggling to fit all of his rhymes in the structure of the song. “I was like, ‘Damn, I didn’t even get to all my good stuff yet.’ So we had to kind of piece it together as I figured it out.”

There are certain perks that come with working closely with legendary producers like Neptunes, one of which is having access to a bountiful vault of beats that they were making for all kinds of talent like Jay-Z, Foxy Brown, Usher, and more. Clipse got first pickings to most of the beats they wanted, but they did end up missing out on snagging the beat that would end up becoming “Pass the Courvoisier”—all because they didn’t ask.

“I told him we wanted ‘Pass the Courvoisier,” No Malice said. “And [Pharrell] was like, ‘Man, you should’ve told me. I would’ve gave it to y’all.’ But by that time, Busta already had it. I love that beat.”

The question everyone had coming into the anniversary panel was “What’s the future of the Clipse?” When Andrew Barber finally asked them tonight, the duo didn’t give him a direct answer, but they also didn’t shut the idea down. “The Clipse live forever,” No Malice said immediately. When asked if the door was still open for another Clipse tape, he said, “I mean, come on man,” with a snicker. Fans aren’t the only ones who want another Clipse project, either. Steven Victor was also on stage egging the duo on and saying that he wanted them to return with another classic. “It was a good try,” No Malice said after Barber attempted to get more information out of him. At least we know the door isn’t closed.