Clipping | |
|---|---|
 Clipping in 2025. From left: Snipes, Diggs and Hutson | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S.[1] |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Labels | |
| Members |
|
| Website | www |
Clipping (stylized asclipping.) is an Americanexperimental hip-hop group fromLos Angeles, California. The group consists of rapperDaveed Diggs and producers William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes.[4]
Daveed Diggs and William Hutson met inelementary school, and Hutson and Jonathan Snipes were college roommates.[5] The group began in 2009 as a remix project, with Hutson and Snipes takinga cappellas of mainstream rap artists and makingpower electronics and noiseremixes of them to amuse themselves. Diggs joined in 2010 and began to write his own raps over their compositions.[6] They self-released their debut mixtape,midcity, on their website on February 5, 2013.[7] Though their expectations were low, and despite minimal promotion, the mixtape was well-received, and five months later, they signed toSub Pop. Their debut studio album,CLPPNG, was released on June 10, 2014.[6]
The group does not see their abrasive sound as a rejection of mainstreamhip-hop or reaction against it, but as part of a hip-hop tradition, including the likes ofDr. Dre andPublic Enemy producersthe Bomb Squad, who experimented with production and also used harsh,musique concrète-esque techniques in their music. Similarly, they think of themselves as a rap group rather thanindustrial hip-hop,noise rap, or othermashup genres.[6]
On June 14, 2016, they released an EP,Wriggle.[8] They then released their second studio album,Splendor & Misery, later on September 9.[9] A science fictionconcept album,Splendor & Misery was nominated for the 2017Hugo Awards in the category of "Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form)" on April 4, 2017.[10]
In 2017, the group released a single, "The Deep". The song was nominated for a Hugo Award in 2018, their second consecutive nomination in the "Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form)" category.[11]
On September 28, 2018, the group's song "Stab Him in the Throat" was released as part ofThe Rick and Morty Soundtrack. This album was released bySub Pop andAdult Swim and featured songs from episodes ofRick and Morty.
On August 14, 2019, the group released a lyric video to YouTube for a new song titled "Nothing Is Safe", which borrowed heavily from the aesthetics of 1970s and '80s horror films likeHalloween and the soundtrack works ofJohn Carpenter. This was coupled with the announcement that their third full-length record,There Existed an Addiction to Blood, would be released on October 18 of the same year.[12]
On September 12, 2019, a second lyric video was released to YouTube to promoteThere Existed an Addiction to Blood. The track, titled "La Mala Ordina", featured guest appearances from rappers Elcamino andBenny the Butcher, with additional production fromnoise artist The Rita.[13]
On October 3, 2019, a music video for the track "Blood of the Fang" was released to YouTube to promoteThere Existed an Addiction to Blood.
On November 29, 2019, the band released a three-song EP further exploring the world of "The Deep". The EP was also further developed into a novel of the same name by writerRivers Solomon; the members of Clipping are listed as co-authors.The Deep won theLambda Literary Award forscience fiction, and was nominated forHugo,Nebula, andLocus awards.
On June 19, 2020, they released the track "Chapter 319" onBandcamp, along with a previouslySoundCloud-only track, "Knees on the Ground", with all proceeds from the sales donated to organizations dedicated to racial justice. "Chapter 319" was recorded during theprotests after themurder of George Floyd, while "Knees on the Ground" was originally recorded after theshooting of Michael Brown in 2014.
On August 26, 2020, they announced the albumVisions of Bodies Being Burned, a companion piece toThere Existed an Addiction to Blood; they also released the single "Say the Name" on the same day. The album was released on October 23 through Sub Pop.
On November 1, 2020, on theirYouTube channel, they livestreamed a performance of the first variation of the socialist anthemThe People United Will Never Be Defeated! – playing on a tape recorder, under a small flame, on loop, with the picture slowly distorting – until the2020 United States presidential election was called. The performance was for a movement called "#BeginWithTheBallot" byAlarm Will Sound.[14]
On December 4, 2020, Daveed Diggs released a video in partnership with the Disney Channel entitled "Puppy for Hanukkah". The track was produced by Clipping bandmates Hutson and Snipes.[15] On December 25, 2020, a music video for the track "Piano Burning" was released to YouTube to promoteThere Existed an Addiction to Blood.
On September 21, 2022, the band announced and released the first of a series of four remix EPs to be released every Wednesday through October 12 via Sub Pop. The first,Remxng 2.1, features remixing artists includingLoraine James,Bogdan Raczynski, andLauren Bousfield.[16]
On September 12, 2024, the group released the new single "Run It", with their Bandcamp page announcing it would be the first single from their new album that looks to combine hip-hop withcyberpunk elements.[17] The album, titledDead Channel Sky, released on March 14, 2025.[18] Along with "Run It", three other singles were released to promote the LP: "Keep Pushing", "Change the Channel" and "Welcome Home Warrior", which features New York–based rapperAesop Rock.
The group has drawn comparisons to the likes of theGeto Boys,Gravediggaz,Three 6 Mafia,Kool Keith,Eminem,[19]Dälek,Death Grips,My Bloody Valentine,[4]Tim Hecker andShabazz Palaces.[20]The Guardian described their sound as "the sort of shrill thrills you imagine could function as incidental soundtrack music for a documentary about abattoirs or might conceivably be the work of a young band intent on twistingindustrial metal into brutal new shapes. With rapping on top."[4]Rolling Stone called them "[n]imble-tongued, beat-fractured L.A. hip-hop spilled over the abrasive crunches, squeals, clangs, slurps, and static of experimentalmusique concrète."[21]
As part of their experimental style, the band adhere to certain stylistic limitations. Their instrumentation is often derived from real-world samples (e.g. using recordings of bottles being hit or bricks breaking) instead of traditional instruments. Additionally, they frequently incorporatefield recordings into their work.[22] Similarly, Diggs writes his rap in second or third person – all 'I, me' language is off limits.[23] This restriction is not extended to guests and collaborators.[24]
| Title | Year | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Baby Don't Sleep" | 2016 | Splendor & Misery | |||||||||
| "Air 'Em Out" | |||||||||||
| "True Believer" | 2017 | ||||||||||
| "The Deep"[29][30] | Non-album single | ||||||||||
| "Nothing Is Safe" | 2019 | There Existed an Addiction to Blood | |||||||||
| "La Mala Ordina" | |||||||||||
| "Blood of the Fang" | |||||||||||
| "Chapter 319"[31] | 2020 | Non-album single | |||||||||
| "Say the Name" | Visions of Bodies Being Burned | ||||||||||
| "'96 Neve Campbell" | |||||||||||
| "Pain Everyday" | |||||||||||
| "Tipsy" | 2024 | Non-album single | |||||||||
| "Run It" | Dead Channel Sky | ||||||||||
| "Keep Pushing" | |||||||||||
| "Change the Channel" | 2025 | ||||||||||
| "Welcome Home Warrior" (featuringAesop Rock) | |||||||||||
| "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released. | |||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
