Clipping – Midcity

February 5, 2013 • self-released

I haven't really been listening to quite as much music recently. Not totally sure why (probably work-related), but I've felt the need to experience things in smaller, more intense bursts to try to get everything in. Midcity has been out since February so I'm way behind on everything I wanted to listen to, but at least this falls under the "intense bursts" I guess I'm going for.

Noise and hip hop—two genres I've liked for a while, and two genres that you don't often see together (at least, not at this level; Dälek or Death Grips come near it but still aren't in the same league). Clipping's style almost forgoes the standard styles of hip hop entirely, opting for harsh static, glitch, junk noise, anything dissonant they can get their hands on. It's a really interesting contrast to the more standard rapping that's comparable to a lot of modern rap; against the backdrop of the noise beats it becomes something entirely different. It's still pretty rhythmic music (most of the time), but hearing those rhythms made with static and sound effects instead of drums and samples is offputting, to say the least.

Production aside, it still comes off as a pretty solid album when it comes to hip hop. There's some great scratching (something sorely lacking on a lot of hip hop I hear) and sometimes the beats can get a little catchy on their own. The rapping is quite good too, even if it is a little typical (and I could go without hearing "swag" ever again). They aren't very aggressive at all which provides a nice balance to the head-pounding production—whereas Death Grips beat the listener by shouting relentlessly, Clipping opts to take a more subtle approach to alarm the listener, and it works.

Overall, it's a really cool aesthetic, and I'd be excited to hear more extreme hip hop like this. Midcity is best served in short chunks, though, if the listener wishes to retain their sanity.

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