Clipkingz

At a time when most rappers desire to be as famous as pop stars, topping pop dominated charts and are concerned with getting their songs played on pop radio stations while still doing rap music, folks of the younger generation who weren’t born during the golden age of hip-hop are made to accept any rap record as hip-hop even when such isn’t real hip-hop.

In 1991, rap icon Q-Tip made it clear that “Rap is not Pop” on Check the Rhime a single from A Tribe Called Quest’s biggest album The Low End Theory. He wished every other rapper would be concerned with aesthetics and not numbers. Nas also saw the anomaly in the industry and did a song he titled Hip-hop is dead which was more of a wake-up call to rappers than a statement.

But the light of real hip-hop isn’t completely put out, as there are a few rappers keeping it real in spite of and upholding the true culture. A rap duo still doing hip-hop in its pure, undefiled and uncompromising form go by the stage name Clip Kingz. They keep a low profile, but are beasts on the mic. If you are a true hip-hop head, their music is everything you’ve ever needed.

Their seven track EP titled Valley of Kingz, has the talented duo do hip-hop in its purest form without regard to the state of affairs in the music industry, where rappers are watering down hip-hop in a bid to sound more appealing, sell records, and get acceptance in the music community.

This is a classic hip-hop EP as it contains all the element of a true hip-hop record being that it is socially conscious, represents the streets, and has got great rhyme schemes and punchlines. The EP reminds one so much of the golden age of hip-hop, where MCs cared more about spitting powerful bars laced with impressive rhymes than dropping melodious hooks.

This is the 21st century where Trap has become the face of hip-hop, and so to do rap music with a Boom bap production in this age takes a lot of gut and dedication to the culture. Clip Kingz do just that and they do it with such admirable finesse, a bold move we consider plausible.

During a skit on First and Foremost the first track on the EP, hip-hop icon Krs One can be heard saying “Hip-hop is a new civilization; it is the first thing human beings do when they come into existence.” A great way to open a record that glorifies hip-hop in its realness. We are certain you’d agree with us on that.

Hip-hop isn’t just a music genre, it’s a way of life, and Clip Kingz make it very clear on this Magnum Opus. Enough said, give yourself a treat today by rushing over to SoundCloud to listen to this classic hip-hop record. Thank us later. - Anrfactory