Songoftheday 9/22/23 - She tried to let the rest fit in I'm like "nah, love, that's forbidden", I ain't for squishin' that's a problem to the wheel well...

 

 

"When The Last Time" - Clipse

from the album Lord Willin' (2002)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #19 (one week)

Weeks in the Top-40: 15

 

Today's song comes from the rap duo Clipse, who cracked the top-40 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 in the summer of 2002 with "Grindin'".  Pusha T and then-Malice followed that up with the single "When The Last Time". Written by the pair with producers Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, aka the Neptunes, the record is your usual club track with the first verse having them grab a couple of women (out of the throng going for them) for a sex-filled ride to the club, but as soon as they're down the girls are tossed to the curb so the boys can find new meat in the VIP lounge. Ugh. This continues throughout, and it that's your gig, you'll find the pole-ready groove meaty. Pharrell and pre-"Milkshake" singer Kelis sing backup and appear in the music video...

 

 "When The Last Time" became the Clipse's biggest crossover success, reaching the top-20 on Billboard's Hot 100 in December of 2002, while climbing to #8 on the R&B Singles chart and #7 on the Rap Singles list. Internationally, the single just missed the top-40 in the United Kingdom, stopping at #41. 

A third single from Lord Willin',  the player anthem "Ma, I Don't Love Her", featured R&B A- list singer Faith Evans. While it stopped down at #40 on Billboard's R&B Singles chart, and #86 on the Hot 100, the song became the groups' sole top-40 hit in the UK at #38. That was follwed by "Hot Damn", which is credited to be featuring rappers Ab-liva and Rosco P. Coldchain, stalled at #58 on the R&B singles chart, but stayed on the list for a respectable 20 weeks. 

Unfortunately, in the age of a whirlwind of label mergers leaving carnage in its path, the Clipse were shifted over to Jive, where they fought for years to release their next album Hell Hath No Fury. By the time it came out in 2006, their momentum in the mainstream had evaporated. While the album came in at #14 on the Billboard 200 sales tally, and #2 on the R&B Albums list, it sold a fraction of their last. The big single from the set, "Mr. Me Too", featured Pharrell in the lead verse as well as on the production, but it konked out at #65 on Billboard's R&B chart. 

After a one-off set listed as The Clipse Presents: The Re-Up Gang, which went to #8 on the R&B Albums chart and #55 on the Billboard 200, Pusha T and Malice signed with Columbia records, releasing their third and so far last album together Til The Casket Drops, which came in at #46 on the Billboard 200 and #9 on the R&B Albums list. The second single from the record, "I'm Good" featuring Pharrell, brought them back into the top-40 at #27. 

The pair split in 2010, with Pusha T aligning with Kanye West, and will appear solo on this series. Kanye would also eventually bring the Clipse back together as a featuring artist on another song that'll hit this series.

(3/10)

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Here's the pair performing on MTV....

Tomorrow I'll have my top tunes from this week, and Songoftheday will return Monday with a superstar slumming for Bond. James Bond.