We have the momentum change once again on "Ain't Cha", as it is a bit lighter in sound. This probably should have been a single as it certainly has the appeal. The Re-Up Gang is featured on here, and while Sandman and Ab-Liva aren't as dope as Tha Clipse, they still hold their own nicely. The beat sounds a bit more conventional for the Neptunes compared to the rest of the production on the album, but it's pretty ill indeed.
"86 karats, you know how much digging in the planet this could take?
Patent leather BAPEs...closet like planet of the BAPE!
Monkey see, monkey do, monkeys following in place
Like I'm living in an episode of Planet of the Apes"
Fire.
"Trill" is basically average as hell, and could easily be skipped. It's not really awful, but pretty much has no replay value because of the horribly droning beat. Malice and Pusha still have the rapping on lock, but I can't sit through this production for more than a minute.
I am also prompted to skip it because the next track is the dangerous "Chinese New Year". Rosco P. Coldchain joins the brothers here for their hardest brag track yet. The song basically spells out that this is not a crew you want to be messing with, unless you want your "crib sounding like Chinese New Year". Oh man, I dare you to bump this and not turn up the bass. Once again, a strongly unconventional beat for Chad and Pharrell, but that is a pleasant surprise, more than anything. With the squeaky synths and thumping bass, the beat is as hard as the verses.
I cannot think of a better way that Clipse could have closed this album off than "Nightmares." While every other rapper will glorify the lifestyle and sum themselves up as the boss of it with no setbacks, Tha Clipse actually allow a chance to bare their souls and show that even though they live lavishly, they are still human and have every one of the emotions we all do. Bilal is on the chorus and the bridge, and simply does an incredible job. While Malice and Pusha T have been on top of their game for this whole album, it is here where I think they truly reach their potential. This is not just a descriptive coke tale with a blind eye to humanity, but rather a real look at how a drug lord would think. If that's not real, then I don't know what is. It’s easily one of the best songs of the year.
Kool G. Rap started the Mafioso tales early in his career. When Raekwon put out Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, this was not just an idea; it was also a common theme within the rap genre. Nas, AZ, Jay-Z, and everybody else followed suit as it was now cool to be the cocaine don, the drug lord with a mink coat sitting in your Louis Vuitton chair, rubbing your hands together slowly, thinking about how you're going to handle the situation. This trend died out at the turn of the millennium when the South took the Hip Hop throne. However, there is still one name carrying the coke rap on their back, and that is Tha Clipse.
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