The duo is made up of brothers Gene "No Malice" Thornton and Terrence "Pusha T" Thornton, who is also currently signed to Kanye West's G.O.O.D Music label. They met Pharrell of the producing duo The Neptunes, in 1993, he formed a working relationship with the duo and helped them secure a contract with Elektra Records. Early mixtape success on Clinton Sparks' Exclusive Audio Footage increased their fan-base, but the group's major debut single flopped. Williams resuscitated their careers by signing them to his Star Trak Label. The Clipse's debut album, Lord Willin', was released in 2002. Label woes delayed the release of their sophomore effort, Hell Hath No Fury, which was released in 2006, to much critical acclaim. During this gap, they released three We Got It For Cheap mixtapes with Ab-Liva and Sandman, the other members of the Re-Up Gang. Their third studio album, Till The Casket Drops, was released in 2009. Their songs have been remixed and mashed up on countless mixtapes, and the unreleased songs they recorded while still on Startrak are out as a mixtape called The Lost Tracks. Pusha-T released his first solo album, Fear of God, in 2011, around the same time that Malice published the book "Wretched, Pitiful, Poor, Blind, & Naked".
Hostage
Clipse Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(Pharrell) Hello?
(Terrar) Yo Pharrell, get the fuck up
Get the fuck up right now
(Pharrell) Huh?
(Terrar) Yo, it's your day date and we go this nigga tied down, right now
(Pharrell) Yo, wait til' I get there
Fuck what you thinkin' nigga?
Hold him up yo, ya'll ready to do this nigga
Why not, I got his ass, I got his ass
(Verse - Malice)
You don't really want none of this though
I let 'em know from the get go
See ya'll is a bit slow
Tryin' come wit the hits but they missed though
Retaliate make 'em drop like a six fo'
Why you hate 'cause I didn't give a shoutout
Or the way that my shine turn the spot out
You think you can rhyme but you not out
Or the way we drop the top when it's hot out
Anyone you can pick and choose
Why ya'll stagnant, my niggaz stick and move
My name say it all, ain't got shit to prove
My whole mental ain't shit to lose
You all niggaz snooze if you wanna
But you gonna be a gonna, please forgive me, your honor
But that fool tried to take what's mine
That's the reason I had to utilize my nine
Otherwise, you can be right here now
Talkin' bout how the Clipse don' bit his style (style)
Back in the day how we did him foul (foul)
Or how we don' switched, how you like me now?
And anything else that them haters may say
Come how you want, just bring it the right way
Mayday, what they gon say
Coming to they hood, the Clipse and Tammy
(Chorus - Tammy Lucas)
Mother fucker what you here for?
Now you wonder why I gotta the chrome four to your ear for
So you can hear yo (Uncle Terrar you gon let him go?)
I don't know
Count to a hundred wit yo eyes closed
Soon every number is a face of a nigga that's gon die yo
They try to hit me but they too slow (Daddy, you gon' let him go)
I don't know
(Verse - Terrar)
Are you ready for the showdown?
It won't be pretty if I get another go down
In all aspects, low down
When I hit him, make sure he won't see another go round
What make him think he can flame wit me
Now he hatin' life cause he tried to bang wit me
Had to show him death weren't a thing to me
Nothin more than a mere blood stain to me
It's pain to see, ain't a nigga rank wit me
Better yet, ain't a mother fucker hangin me
Ten more on your side, what your odds gon be
Slim to none cause they all want to run wit me
The nerve to ask, why Terrar hold the heat?
Hopelessly, they try to steal my deal just to roast the feat
If I'm the one from being followed
Have my girl double back, mack eleven make m holla
And it's just that easy, one trigger one sque-eze
And he droppin' to his kne-es; damn right, lit him up
Give a fuck about him let the paramedic get him up
I had to muffle his heart beat
Hit everything but the baby in the back in the car seat
Had to show his partner talk cheap
And I'ma draw heat, if a nigga think I wanna walk for heat
(Chorus)
(Bridge - Tammy Lucas) (4x)
Think about the things you did
And the things you didn't as a kid
No time to stop cause I'm gonna end your life
(Tammy Lucas - repeat to chorus)
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
(Chorus)
The lyrics of Clipse's song Hostage seem to be about a violent altercation that takes place between the Clipse and someone else. The song starts with a phone call, where someone informs Pharrell that they have someone tied down. The rest of the song is full of threats and violent imagery, with the Clipse asserting their dominance and power over their enemy.
Malice's verse seems to be about the Clipse's supremacy in the rap game. He boasts about his rhyming skills and how his music turns heads. He warns anyone who tries to copy him that they will end up getting hurt. Terrar's verse is similar in tone, with him bragging about his ability to handle a gun and take down anyone who tries to mess with him.
The chorus is sung by Tammy Lucas and has a menacing tone to it. The lyrics seem to suggest that the person the Clipse has tied down is asking for mercy, but the group isn't interested in showing any. The bridge reinforces the idea that the person being held hostage deserves what is happening to them, and that their past actions have led them to this point.
Overall, the song is filled with violent imagery and boasts about power and dominance. It's a gritty track that showcases the Clipse's skills in the rap game and their ability to intimidate their enemies.
Line by Line Meaning
You don't really want none of this though
I know you're not really ready to face me
I let 'em know from the get go
I made sure they knew what they were up against from the start
See ya'll is a bit slow
You guys are moving too slow to keep up with me
Tryin' come wit the hits but they missed though
You're trying to come at me with attacks, but they're not effective
Retaliate make 'em drop like a six fo'
If you try to mess with me, I'll make sure you suffer
Why you hate cause I didn't give a shoutout
Why are you angry just because I didn't acknowledge you?
Or the way that my shine turn the spot out
You can't handle how much attention I'm getting
You think you can rhyme but you not out
You think you can compete with me, but you're not even close
Or the way we drop the top when it's hot out
You can't handle how cool we are
Anyone you can pick and choose
You can try to challenge me with anyone, but you'll still lose
Why ya'll stagnant, my niggaz stick and move
You're not progressing, but my team is always on the move
My name say it all, ain't got shit to prove
My reputation speaks for itself, I don't need to prove anything to anyone
My whole mental ain't shit to lose
I've got nothing to lose, so I'll take any risk necessary
You all niggaz snooze if you wanna
You can choose to ignore me, but it won't end well for you
But you gonna be a gonna, please forgive me, your honor
You're going to regret it and I'm sorry, but I had to do what I did
But that fool tried to take what's mine
That person tried to take something that belonged to me
That's the reason I had to utilize my nine
That's why I had to use my gun
Otherwise, you can be right here now
If I didn't act, you could have been killed right now
Talkin' bout how the Clipse don' bit his style (style)
Talking about how we stole his style
Back in the day how we did him foul (foul)
How we were unfair to him in the past
Or how we don' switched, how you like me now?
Or how we've changed, and now we're the ones on top?
And anything else that them haters may say
Any other negative comments from the haters
Come how you want, just bring it the right way
You can try to fight me, but make sure you do it fairly
Mayday, what they gon say
When I come around, what will the people say?
Mother fucker what you here for?
Why are you even here?
Now you wonder why I gotta the chrome four to your ear for
Now you see why I have my gun pointed at you
So you can hear yo (Uncle Terrar you gon let him go?)
Now you can listen to what I have to say (asking Terrar if they should let the person go)
I don't know
I don't have the answer
Count to a hundred wit yo eyes closed
Count to 100 with your eyes closed
Soon every number is a face of a nigga that's gon die yo
Each number represents a person who will soon die
They try to hit me but they too slow (Daddy, you gon' let him go)
They tried to attack me, but they were too slow (asking if they will let the victim go)
Are you ready for the showdown?
Are you prepared to face me?
It won't be pretty if I get another go down
It'll be ugly if I have to fight again
In all aspects, low down
I'll play dirty in every way possible
When I hit him, make sure he won't see another go round
I'll hit him so hard that he can't get back up
What make him think he can flame wit me
Why does he think he can compete with me?
Now he hatin' life cause he tried to bang wit me
Now he's regretting challenging me
Had to show him death weren't a thing to me
I had to prove to him that I'm not afraid of death
Nothin more than a mere blood stain to me
All I see him as now is a bloody mess on the ground
It's pain to see, ain't a nigga rank wit me
It's painful to see someone who can't compete with me
Better yet, ain't a mother fucker hangin me
No one can beat me or bring me down
Ten more on your side, what your odds gon be
Even if you bring 10 more people, your chances of winning are still low
Slim to none cause they all want to run wit me
Your chances of winning are slim to none because everyone wants to be on my side
The nerve to ask, why Terrar hold the heat?
How dare you question why Terrar has a gun
Hopelessly, they try to steal my deal just to roast the feat
Hopelessly, they try to cheat me just to mock my accomplishments
If I'm the one from being followed
If I'm the one being followed
Have my girl double back, mack eleven make m holla
I'll have my girlfriend come back with a gun to protect me
And it's just that easy, one trigger one sque-eze
It's that easy to kill someone with just one shot
And he droppin' to his kne-es; damn right, lit him up
He'll drop to his knees and I'll shoot him. Hell yeah, I'll do it.
Give a fuck about him let the paramedic get him up
I don't care about him, let the paramedics deal with him
I had to muffle his heart beat
I had to silence his heartbeat
Hit everything but the baby in the back in the car seat
I shot everything except for the baby in the backseat
Had to show his partner talk cheap
I had to teach his friend a lesson
And I'ma draw heat, if a nigga think I wanna walk for heat
And I'll draw my gun if someone thinks I'll back down
Think about the things you did
Think about your actions
And the things you didn't as a kid
And the things you didn't do when you were younger
No time to stop cause I'm gonna end your life
No time to waste, I'm going to kill you
Contributed by Reagan O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Earl Bodkin
One of Neptunes best productions classic pushaT
Lesly Therasse
Classic HipHop period
AhmedFiasco
love this
Steven Fuller
Finally found it
Y05H1 BUGATT1
🖖
EKdaGoat
Reminds me of Jigga What?