clipping. - Face (2018)

Experimental hip-hop/noise hybrid clipping. was formed by producers Jonathan Snipes (Captain Ahab) and William Hutson (Rale) in 2009. The project initially existed as a series of remixes where the duo put the vocals from preexisting a cappella versions of commercially successful hip-hop tracks over their new beats made with noise and industrial elements. The harsh sounds of the project expanded the next year when rapper and long-term friend Daveed Diggs (also of True Neutral Crew) joined up, completing the group's uncommon sound. The group's debut album, Midcity, was released in February of 2013, released solely online and with no promotion or label backing. The sound was so innovative that within months the project inked a deal with Sub Pop Records, which delivered second album CLPPNG the next year. The album featured guest spots from ex-Three 6 Mafia MC Gangsta Boo, King T, Guce, and others. The group toured with Busdriver and Milo in support of the release. In 2015, Diggs played Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in the off-Broadway musical Hamilton, reprising the roles during its initial Broadway run. Hamilton was an enormous success, winning 11 Tony Awards, the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album. However, Diggs left the Broadway cast during the summer of 2016. Resuming activity that same summer, clipping. released the Wriggle EP (with a title track build around a Whitehouse sample, and guest appearances by Antwon, Signor Benedick the Moor, and Cakes da Killa), as well as the full-length Splendor & Misery, both on Sub Pop. ~ Fred Thomas & Paul Simpson