Clipse - Til the Casket Drops

Til the Casket Drops is the 2009 album where Clipse pushed their icy Virginia street rap into brighter, more expansive territory.

Brothers Pusha T and Malice had already built a fearsome reputation with Lord Willin' and Hell Hath No Fury, and their third album found them on Columbia, broadening the palette without blunting their lyrical edge. The Neptunes returned for much of the production, though the record also made room for outside producers and a wider cast of guests. The result is warmer and more melodic than its predecessor, with the brothers trading verses as sharp and unsparing as ever.

"Kinda Like a Big Deal" with Kanye West is a swaggering standout, while "I'm Good" with Pharrell glides on a smooth, sunlit groove. "Popular Demand (Popeyes)" teams them with Cam'ron and Pharrell, and "Freedom" sets the scene as the album's opening statement.

It would be the duo's last album for more than fifteen years, until their 2025 return with Let God Sort Em Out, which makes it a fascinating snapshot of a pair at a crossroads.

For fans of lyrical, cold-blooded hip-hop, this pressing fills an important gap in the Clipse story on vinyl, and it still sounds as slick as the day it dropped.