Til the Casket Drops

iTunes Review

Though it lacks the steely focus of Hell Hath No Fury, Til the Casket Drops captures one of hip-hop’s most formidable duos in a moment of transition. For the first time, Clipse collaborate with producers outside of the Neptunes, their longstanding production team, and the risk pays off: DJ Khalil & Chin triumph with the taut, dirty riff of “Kinda Like a Big Deal” and the ghetto reggae of “There Was a Murder,” both of which inspire sharp rhymes and renewed energy. Clipse’s criminal flows just aren’t cut out for the club, but the Neptunes still manage to give Clipse a classic track in the form of “Popular Demand (Popeyes),” a halftime stomp that invites a verse from Cam’ron, whose verbal precision is well-suited to Clipse’s style. Til the Casket Drops isn’t a drug-dealer manifesto on par with the first two Clipse albums, but the final song “Life Change” suggests the group is ready to move beyond crack rap altogether: “Wasted so much time stuntin’ for folk / When really the whole time I was stuntin’ my growth / A message to the youth, what I’m offering is hope / Now something’s gotta change, I’m at the end of my rope.”