A few years ago before the The Neptunes were politicking with the elite industry tastemakers, Chad and Pharrell got together with childhood friends Malice and Pusha T and recorded Clipse’ debut Exclusive Audio Footage. Yet, there was a glitch in the Matrix, as Exclusive Audio Footage was scrapped by Elektra even after receiving some favorable press and reviews in a couple of major print publications. Though Exclusive Audio Footage surely offered a glimpse of what was to come, after being dropped Malice and Pusha T went back to Virginia and commenced to hustling as their full-time occupation; and the Neptunes, well they blew up in a major way shortly thereafter with Jay-Z’s “I Just Wanna Luv U” and have not looked back since.

Now with the proverbial “Clipse” loaded and beats cocked, the Neptunes have reunited with Malice and Pusha T at the height of Neptunes mania and made Clipse formal debut, Lord Willin’, the first project to drop on their newly minted (Star Trak) label deal with Arista. It’s a well known fact that most emcees want to be ballers and ballers want to be emcees. And though Clipse spends the majority of Lord Willin’ rehashing their own rendition of the Ten Crack Commandments, it’s really hard to really knock their hustle. Why? Because, Malice and Pusha T maybe upfront slinging the china white, but it’s the Neptunes who cook and package it up.

With a slick appeal that just can’t be denied, the brotherly tandem proves to be more Crockett and Tubbs then Tony Montana as they bumrush the “Intro” with their southern drawls—Pusha T “I speak with corrupted tongue/recognized the underworld since I was young/back in 84 when I saw Crockett and Tubbs as the law/these eyes got big when they televised that raw”and Malice “I suffered heartbreak many times back to back/and still feel belittled sitting here spitting riddles/amongst clown ass rappers who tend to give me the giggles.” Unlike, the Neptunes last “find”, Philly’s Most Wanted, who dropped one cute single (“Cross The Border”) before departing, Clipse prove that they are no one hit wonder. Though the group’s break-out single, “Grindin’”, is the epitome of smoothed out Gangsterism (“so much dough/I can’t swear I won’t change”) there are a number of worthy candidates to follow it up, as “When’s The Last Time” is bound to have club-goers throwing dem boes and just try to keep your head from nodding along with “Comedy Central” with an impressive verse from Fabolous, as this braggadocios fest is so obese the trio decides to omit a hook.

While Clipse are not the most dexterous duo, they manage to keep things interesting with their charismatic flair. The mere smoothness of their voices and arrogant “glow” lends comparisons to a pharmaceutical version of Camp Lo. Yet, there are drawbacks to this approach as there lack of topical diversity becomes redundant. And when Clipse attempts to display some needed versatility the results are sub par as they collaborate with Jermaine Dupri on the drab “Lets Talk About It” and the playful, but disjointed “Ma, I Don’t Love Her” where they muster flimsy one-liners “even if I did twist her/I promise I ain’t kiss her” over bubbly production and R&B crooning.

The Neptunes were subjected to their fair share of criticism in the early stages of there ascent, but they continue to evolve. And while their reputation was made delivering quirky, radio accessible jams that you can’t get out of your head, theirs no denying that the elastic synth’s (“Cot Damn” & “I’m Not You” feat. The Lox) and streamlined keyboards are ultimately grounded in and influenced by old-school hip-hop. This commingling of old and new is exemplified by “Grindin” as the new-age minimalism is intertwined with a falsetto beat box effect that screams old school. Chad and Pharrell have become so deft at crafting accessible hip-hop, that they even turn an ode to sensimillia, “Gangsta Lean”, into one with pop sensibilities that would make B-Real blush.

The only real question the Neptunes have left to answer before they can truly be deemed an elite production team is whether, or not, they can they provide consistent production for an entire LP. And while they certainly proved they could on their own reincarnation as N.E.R.D., they have yet to prove it with other artists from their own stable, as the old knock on the Neptunes (redundancy) does come into play here as “Ego”and “Young Boy” sound eerily familiar to one another in both concept and construction.

While Malice and Pusha T prove to be a very skilled duo, there bound to be stereotyped as the next Group Home or INI, for the simple fact that no one would really be checking for them if they weren’t roasting Neptunes joints? Yet, you don’t think that Clipse really cares about dwelling in Chad and Pharrell’s shadows for a minute do you? As the Neptunes beats and Clipse’ ultra slick lyricism has this tem set-up to win in a major way (including an appearance on Justin Timberlake’s solo-LP). And winning my friends as they say is the only thing that counts.