Lyrically, clipping.’s music attempts to reshuffle and repeat accepted rap scenarios, while eliminating a traditional single-point perspective. Diggs’s writing is heavily citational, like a rough-edged collage, gluing together half-glimpsed images and misremembered references, many of which might feel familiar, and some of which assuredly do not. But even while he consumes and regurgitates established styles, his self-erasure is incomplete; Diggs’s dense, often motormouthed flow remains wholly his own.
Individually, the members are known outside of the group for their extra-curricular artistic projects. Diggs is a stage actor, while Snipes composes music for film, and Hutson is an established noise music artist. Snipes and Hutson have collaborated on many projects, including the score to the documentary Room 237, which was released by IFC in 2013.
In February 2013, clipping. released their debut album, Midcity, on their website. The project was created entirely in-house, with the trio writing, producing, engineering, mixing and mastering all of the material themselves. There was no budget, no outside promotion, no hype-machine, no blog or label interest. In fact, clipping. had no expectation that anyone would bother listening to the album, let alone enjoy it. Nevertheless, reactions were largely positive— despite the uncompromising nature of the production, and its obfuscatory lyrical content— and within five month’s of Midcity’s release, clipping. signed a deal with Sub Pop Records.
CLPPNG, the band’s label debut, was written and recorded between February and October of 2013. Highly well-received, CLPPNG is an album that demonstrates the variety of sounds available when the ‘rules’ of a genre are willfully questioned.
http://www.itsclippingbitch.com
True Believer
clipping. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Flesh is hanging in sun
Purple sky and this war
Women shooting their guns
Men protecting their shores
Running red as these ships
Made for cargo and death
Is a taste on the lips
To the sky with them all
Not a one left on land
Traded in for steel hauls
And they singing like:
True believer, I know when I'm goin' home
True believer, I know when I'm goin' home
True believer, I know when I'm goin' home
I've been afraid-
Three siblings happen to be gods
And they fight as siblings do
The world was only water then
The universe was fresh and new
Enefa poisned Bumba's food
Once just to see what he would do
He vomited the sun which dried
The water leaving land and soon
After came Moon and stars and animal
And man of many hues
The white one in the image of
A sickly god would get his dues
True believer, I know when I'm goin' home
True believer, I know when I'm goin' home
True believer, I know when I'm goin' home
I've been afraid to-
Man walks Moon and he makes time come to a standstill
One gloved hand, diamonds are flickering like candles
This one slip, registered worlds away in vandals
Raised to find this race of beings that could handle
Time inside other bodies so they could sell it
The one thing in the universe no one held yet
Gifts in blood that had been shed as long as time had
Time and he are inseparable in his mind, sad
He must carry the burden of being the one
That time chose, situates him in front of the gun
Talk that talk, stay outta the head and become the best
When times stops, then for him finally there can be rest
True believer, I know when I'm goin' home
True believer, I know when I'm goin' home
True believer, I know when I'm goin' home
I've been afraid to die
True believer, I know when I'm goin' home
True believer, I know when I'm goin' home
True believer, I know when I'm goin' home
I've been afraid to die
Been afraid to die
Been afraid to die
Been afraid to die
I've been afraid to die
I've been afraid to die
I've been afraid to die
Pale gods told me to my face
O yes, Lord
The place I seek I never find
O yes, Lord
True believer, I know when we gwine home
True believer, I know when we gwine home
True believer, I know when we gwine home
I've been afraid
The lyrics to clipping.'s song "True Believer" depict a dystopian world where gods and humans coexist in a state of conflict and despair. The first verse paints a bleak picture of war and violence, with flesh hanging in the sun, purple skies, and women shooting guns while men protect their shores. The ships symbolize a world driven by greed and death, with a taste of destruction lingering on the lips of those involved. The chorus, "True believer, I know when I'm goin' home," suggests a longing for escape and a sense of hope and faith in finding a better place or state of being.
The second verse introduces the concept of three siblings who happen to be gods and their tumultuous relationship. Enefa, one of the siblings, poisons Bumba's food out of curiosity, leading him to vomit the sun, which dries up the water and creates land. This cosmic creation myth parallels the origins of the world and the varied forms of life that emerged afterward. The sickly god, represented by a white figure, seems to represent the concept of karma or divine retribution, as he ultimately faces consequences for his actions.
The third verse explores the theme of time and its significance in the universe. The singer possesses the power to manipulate time and seeks out a race of beings who can handle this ability. Time is portrayed as a precious commodity that can be sold, yet remains elusive for everyone else in the universe. The burden of being chosen by time weighs heavily on the singer, who desires rest and release from this responsibility. The lyrics suggest that in order to find peace, the singer must become the best at what they do and embrace their unique role in the grand scheme of things.
Overall, "True Believer" delves into themes of war, creation, karma, and the pursuit of inner peace in a chaotic world.
Line by Line Meaning
Gods
Three siblings happen to be gods
Flesh is hanging in sun
Men protecting their shores with bodies hanging in the sun
Purple sky and this war
War happening under a purple sky
Women shooting their guns
Women actively participating in the war by shooting guns
Men protecting their shores
Men defending their homeland
Running red as these ships
Ships covered in blood
Made for cargo and death
Ships designed for transporting goods and causing death
Is a taste on the lips
Experiencing the taste of blood
Kissing any ground left
Embracing any remaining land
To the sky with them all
All the people are sent to the sky
Not a one left on land
No one remaining on the ground
Traded in for steel hauls
Exchanging their existence for machine-like bodies
And they singing like
They sing together, expressing their emotions
True believer, I know when I'm goin' home
Believing in the certainty of returning home
I've been afraid-
Being scared and uncertain
Three siblings happen to be gods
There are three divine siblings
And they fight as siblings do
Engaging in typical sibling arguments
The world was only water then
The world was primarily covered in water in the past
The universe was fresh and new
The universe was young and recently created
Enefa poisned Bumba's food
Enefa intentionally tainted Bumba's food
Once just to see what he would do
She did it out of curiosity
He vomited the sun which dried
Bumba regurgitated the sun, causing the water to evaporate
The water leaving land and soon
As a result, land emerged
After came Moon and stars and animal
Following that, the moon, stars, and animals appeared
And man of many hues
People with various skin colors were created
The white one in the image of
The depiction of a sickly god as a white person
A sickly god would get his dues
The sickly god would face the consequences of his actions
Man walks Moon and he makes time come to a standstill
A man controls the moon and halts time
One gloved hand, diamonds are flickering like candles
He wears a glove while diamonds sparkle like candles
This one slip, registered worlds away in vandals
His slightest mishap has a significant impact elsewhere
Raised to find this race of beings that could handle
He was raised to discover a species capable of managing
Time inside other bodies so they could sell it
Transferring time into other bodies to be sold
The one thing in the universe no one held yet
Time was the one thing nobody possessed until now
Gifts in blood that had been shed as long as time had
The gifts he carries are a result of the blood spilled throughout history
Time and he are inseparable in his mind, sad
He is deeply connected to time, which saddens him
He must carry the burden of being the one
He bears the responsibility of being chosen by time
That time chose, situates him in front of the gun
His destiny is to be in the line of danger
Talk that talk, stay outta the head and become the best
Ignore others' opinions and strive to excel
When times stops, then for him finally there can be rest
He can only find peace when time ceases to exist
Been afraid to die
Having a fear of death
Pale gods told me to my face
Pale gods directly spoke to me
The place I seek I never find
I can never discover the place I desire
True believer, I know when we gwine home
Having unwavering belief in returning home
I've been afraid
Experiencing fear of the unknown
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Fintage House Publishing
Written by: DAVEED DIGGS, WILLIAM MORAN HUTSON, JONATHAN RALEIGH SNIPES, ALVIN CHEA, DORIAN HOLLEY, STEVEN KAPLAN, CLAUDE MCKNIGHT, PAUL OUTLAW, JOHN WILLIAM SNYDER, DAVID THOMAS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Michelangelo Clemente
splendor and misery is really something else, it tells you a story, it makes you listen to music and it all can be read on different points of view. this song with this video has it all, its about history, the black history, the music history, from the work songs to the hip hop, but also the sci fi story. besides the fact that is nice to see a video of a song you have been listening for a year. cheers for clipping
Mr. Sir
The sci fi story is so strange and foreign in music. I really love it.
Victoria Appiagei
hip-hop real raw lyrical era lyrical Dope poetry music awesome Cool good lyricism poet powerful
Cecil Hawes
@Bluemanzee oh trust me, I know very well what they're into. 😂
Ethan S
+Cecil Hawes Was probably just the other two members. If you watch clipping.'s What's In My Bag video, you'll see they're into the most obscure shit ever.
cas aseoche
Mkorb that and HOOO boi if you listen to all the songs in one go, the bgm is connected
Heck it fooled me into thinking I was listening to one track this whole time and when I checked (I was just lying around), I was on the third one already
yocrow tree
I can't help but think about space oddity and old slave songs about black freedom and their struggles whenever I listen to Splendor and Misery. Clipping really tie the themes of alienation and struggles for freedom extremely well.Mixing sci-fi storylines with makes it even sweeter.
I DID GT
It's clipping.
Merlijn Toby
Clipping really love their single shot music videos
nocturniquet
i love them too