Rap duo returns home, celebrates success

The last time we heard from Clipse, the Virginia Beach-based rap duo, brothers Gene and Terrence Thornton (aka Malice and Pusha T, respectively) were feuding with their record label.

Such disputes are about as common as a desperate celebrity "leaking" a sex tape, but Clipse's dispute with Jive Records became a defining mini-drama for the guys, who parlayed their vehement creative differences into a groundswell of grassroots fan support and then one of the most critically acclaimed albums of 2006. "Hell Hath No Fury," their masterpiece, was a grim, at times nightmarish work that explored a kingpin's highs and lows - its intensity owing in part to their label drama.

As they return home to perform at The NorVa on Tuesday, they've got a new outlook, and almost as much to celebrate as they do new drama to deflect.

Let's get the bad stuff out of the way. Their homecoming show Tuesday will be their first since the death earlier this month of Thomas Holmes, who was left in a vegetative state following a shooting inside Granby Theater in 2007 after a Clipse performance. The group was unaware, as they called from Cleveland last week for a phone interview, that Holmes had died, but they reiterated their regret over what happened that evening.

"Our condolences go out to his family," Pusha said. "That scenario was a personal matter. Nobody wanted to come out to a Clipse show and see things go haywire. Our hearts go out to the victim and all victims of violent crimes everywhere. Everyone was in danger that night - those bullets didn't have anyone's name on them."

The shooting might seem like a perfect opportunity for finger-wagging. After all, Clipse have built a career on rapping about the thug life.

Earlier this year, that theme came to life when their manager, Anthony Gonzalez, turned himself in to federal authorities over accusations that he ran a massive drug cartel through a now-shuttered nightclub in Virginia Beach.

Talk about your PR nightmares.

"It's unfortunate what happened," Malice said, "but all I know is what he meant to the group, how much he gave to the community and his family. He's a good guy and will have his day in court."

As for their day-to-day business dealings, Clipse manages itself, Pusha said. "We know the game."

Months before Gonzalez's surrender, Malice had taken to his own blog, www.maliceoftheclipse.com, to begin to portray a side of himself unheard in his music.

In his vlogs he's seen playing golf, horsing around with his kids (in a manner shockingly at-home and endearingly goofy for a rapper) and reading Bible passages. He even raps about being a sinner redeemed through Christ on the remix to Mary Mary's gospel crossover jam "God in Me," which will likely prove to be one of the year's most unexpectedly good rap cameos.

He's not naive about the messages in his music but is working to create some balance.

"Our music gives you the full spectrum," he said. "We paint the pros and the cons. But my Web site is directed towards a younger generation to let them know that as far as music, this is entertainment, not a guide on how to live your life."

He said that as he grew up in a stable, two-parent, middle-class home in Virginia Beach, he knew that N.W.A. was fiction set to music - not an endorsement to become a gangbanger.

"I had role models."

Now he's looking to become one. When in town, he's been quietly slipping into a recording studio off Witchduck Road working informally with a friend who's mentoring at-risk youths through music. Sometimes he buys them studio time so they can channel their frustrations through music. Sometimes he talks. Sometimes he listens.

"I think it's been very effective," he said. "There are girls involved, too. We give them hope. The thing is, you don't know until you've been exposed. But once you're exposed, you have something to reach for."

Which brings us to more good Clipse news. In 2008, they partnered with the RP55 group based in Virginia Beach to launch Play Cloths, a streetwear line consisting of T-shirts, outerwear and sweats. The Clipse line has become a big hit. The hard-to-find line is stocked in superchic boutiques like Collette in Paris and is selling out in malls, due largely to the group's cred with hipsters, Internet rap geeks and die-hard hip-hop fans. Play Cloths is going into its fourth season.

When Clipse's fourth album, "Til the Casket Drops," arrives in October, it will represent a few coups. They are free from Jive Records, cause enough to cut cake and pop champagne. Secondly, Rick Rubin, who co-founded Def Jam and has produced for

Dixie Chicks, Johnny Cash and U2, personally brought Clipse over to Columbia Records. Rubin threw his full support behind Clipse, who have had much more critical acclaim than commercial success, and even invited them into his home.

"He said, 'Don't try and cater to everybody.' And that they'll evolve around us," Malice said. The affirmation helped them to stay on course.

Musically, their new album finds the guys straying from their standard course. It's the first time Clipse worked with producers other than the Neptunes, and there's a wider range of guests, including Kanye West and R&B it-girl Keri Hilson. They're not aiming to go pop, but being underground cool can only go so far until you want to be appreciated commercially, too. Who cares if people say they're sellouts? They did, after all, appear on Justin Timberlake's breakthrough "Like I Love You."

"I don't think who we are as people is in question," Pusha said. "As far as music goes, they identify with us. People know what Clipse is about. The new music is only us expanding and showing more creativity."

Malcolm Venable, (757) 446-2662, malcolm.venable@pilotonline.com