Artist's Name
| Saturday, October 27th,
2007 |
 Rap
duo the Clipse has signed a 5-year, multimillion dollar contract
with music mogul Rick Rubin at Sony/Columbia Records.
A&R rep Hip-Hop - who has helped guided the careers of
Jay-Z and Kanye West and helped to broker
the Clipse deal - said he personally sought out the pair.
"I been a fan of the Clipse since I first heard them,"
Hip-Hop said via statement. "And I ain't a fan of too
many things. Every song they come with it, lyrically. They
were on a real short list when I got to Sony; I was going
all the way to make this happen. We trying to be more of an
artist-friendly company, and focus on artists we really love.
I liked them three years ago, I liked them yesterday, and
I feel like they can be a group with a future."
Clipse - consisting of Virgina brothers Pusha T and Malice
- first hit the airwaves in 2002 with their platinum debut,
Lord Willin'. In late 2006, they dropped the critically acclaimed
Hell Hath No Fury and have since released several volumes
of the "We Got It 4 Cheap" mixtape series.
Their multimillion dollar contract with Columbia accommodates
not only forthcoming Clipse albums, but also solo efforts
from each brother, and collective recordings with MCs Ab-Liva
and Sandman. Together, the foursome comprises the Re-Up Gang,
which will enjoy 50/50 profit sharing with Columbia and will
retain ownership of their masters at deal's end.
A Re-Up release is slated for March of '08, followed by a
Clipse album scheduled for this summer.
"The Clipse represent everything that we've all known
Rick Rubin to represent: hip-hop in its purest
form," said Pusha T via statement. "To know that
the head guy is a creative guy as well, that makes me feel
good. I come from being surrounded by creativity. And I felt
like in going forward, I wanted to be able to put out as much
music as I wanted to. That was my goal. That's been the one
thing that's hindered the Clipse. And Sony's allowing us to
do that."
The group's manager, Tony Draper, said there were several
deals on the table, "but only one label stepped up to
the plate; that was Rick Rubin and Hip-Hop."
Clipse join a roster of urban acts including the recently
signed Jim Jones and Beyoncé.
| 
