Clipping (band)
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Clipping (stylized as clipping.) is an American experimental hip hop group from Los Angeles, California. The group consists of rapper Daveed Diggs and producers William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes.


History

Diggs and Hutson met in grade school, and Hutson and Snipes were college roommates. The group began in 2009 as a remix project, with Hutson and Snipes taking
a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...
s of mainstream rap artists and making power electronics and noise
remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...
es of them to amuse themselves. Diggs joined in 2010 and began to write his own raps over their compositions. They self-released their debut mixtape, '' midcity'', on their website on February 5, 2013. Though their expectations were low, and despite minimal promotion, the album was well-received, and five months later, they signed to
Sub Pop Sub Pop is an independent record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana (band), Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the gru ...
. Their first album, '' CLPPNG'', was released on June 10, 2014. The group does not see their abrasive sound as a rejection of mainstream hip hop or reaction against it, but as part of a hip hop tradition, including the likes of Dr. Dre and
Public Enemy Public Enemy is an American Hip-hop, hip hop group formed in Roosevelt, New York, in 1985 by Chuck D and Flavor Flav. The group rose to prominence for their political messages including subjects such as Racism in the United States, American r ...
producers The 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 than industrial-rap, noise-rap, or other mash-up genres. On June 14, 2016, they released an EP, '' Wriggle''. They then released their second studio album, '' Splendor & Misery'', later on September 9. A science fiction
concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
, ''Splendor & Misery'' was nominated for the 2017
Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by th ...
s in the category of " Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form)" on April 4, 2017. 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. On September 28, 2018, the group's song "Stab Him in the Throat" was released as part of ''The Rick and Morty Soundtrack''. This album was released by
Sub Pop Sub Pop is an independent record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana (band), Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the gru ...
and
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and featured songs from episodes of ''
Rick and Morty ''Rick and Morty'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated science fiction Animated sitcom, sitcom created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon for Cartoon Network's nighttime programming block Adult Swim. The series follows the misadvent ...
''. 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 like ''
Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...
'' and the soundtrack works of
John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, composer, and actor. Most commonly associated with horror film, horror, action film, action, and science fiction film, science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s, he is ...
. 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. On September 12, 2019, a second lyric video was released to YouTube to promote ''There Existed an Addiction to Blood''. The track, titled "La Mala Ordina" featured guest appearances from rappers Elcamino and Benny the Butcher, with additional production from
noise Noise is sound, chiefly unwanted, unintentional, or harmful sound considered unpleasant, loud, or disruptive to mental or hearing faculties. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrat ...
artist The Rita. On October 3, 2019, a music video for the track "Blood of the Fang" was released to YouTube to promote ''There 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 writer Rivers Solomon; the members of Clipping are listed as co-authors. ''The Deep'' won the
Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary Foundation, Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ+ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ+ literatur ...
for
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
, and was nominated for Hugo,
Nebula A nebula (; or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral, or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regions, such as in the Pillars of Creation in ...
, and Locus awards. On June 19, 2020, they released the track "Chapter 319" on Bandcamp, along with a previously SoundCloud-only track "Knees on the Ground", with all proceeds from the sales donated to organizations dedicated to racial justice. "Chapter 319" was recorded during the protests after the murder of George Floyd, while "Knees on the Ground" was originally recorded after the shooting of Michael Brown in 2014. On August 26, 2020, they announced the album '' Visions of Bodies Being Burned'', a companion piece to ''There 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 their
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
channel, they livestreamed a performance of the first variation of the socialist anthem '' The People United Will Never Be Defeated!'' – playing on a tape recorder, under a small flame, on loop, with the picture slowly distorting – until the
2020 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 2020. The Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and California junior senator Kamala H ...
was called. The performance was for a movement called "#BeginWithTheBallot" by Alarm Will Sound. 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. On December 25, 2020, a music video for the track "Piano Burning" was released to YouTube to promote ''There 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 including Loraine James, Bogdan Raczynski, and Lauren Bousfield. 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 with
Cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting said to focus on a combination of "low-life and high tech". It features futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyberwa ...
elements. The album, titled '' Dead Channel Sky'', released on March 14, 2025. Along with "Run It", 3 other singles were released to promote the LP, including; 'Keep Pushing', 'Change the Channel' and 'Welcome Home Warrior' which features New York based rapper Aesop Rock.


Style and influences

The group has drawn comparisons to the likes of the Geto Boys, Gravediggaz, Three 6 Mafia,
Kool Keith Keith Matthew Thornton (born October 7, 1963), known professionally as Kool Keith, is an American rapper and record producer known for his surreal, abstract, and often profane or incomprehensible lyrics. Kool Keith has recorded prolifically both ...
,
Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...
, Dälek, Death Grips, My Bloody Valentine, Tim Hecker and Shabazz Palaces. ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' 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 twisting
industrial metal Industrial metal is the fusion of Heavy metal music, heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating Heavy metal guitar, metal guitar riffs, sampling (music), sampling, synthesizer or music sequencer, sequencer lines, and Distor ...
into brutal new shapes. With rapping on top." ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' called them " mble-tongued, beat-fractured L.A. hip-hop spilled over the abrasive crunches, squeals, clangs, slurps, and static of experimental musique concrète." 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 incorporate field recordings into their work. Similarly, Diggs writes his rap in second or third person – all 'I, me' language is off limits. This restriction is not extended to guests and collaborators.


Discography


Albums

*'' CLPPNG'' (
Sub Pop Sub Pop is an independent record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana (band), Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the gru ...
, 2014) *'' Splendor & Misery'' (Sub Pop & Deathbomb Arc, 2016) *'' There Existed an Addiction to Blood'' (Sub Pop, 2019) *'' Visions of Bodies Being Burned'' (Sub Pop, 2020) *'' Dead Channel Sky'' (Sub Pop, 2025)


EPs

*'' Wriggle'' (Sub Pop, 2016) *''Face'' (Deathbomb Arc, 2018)


Mixtapes

*'' Midcity'' (Self-released, 2013)


Remix albums

* ''REMXNG'' (Self-released, 2016) * ''CLBBNG Vol. 1'' (Sub Pop, 2022) * ''REMXNG 2'' (Sub Pop, 2022) ** ''REMXNG 2.1'' ** ''REMXNG 2.2'' ** ''REMXNG 2.3'' ** ''REMXNG 2.4''


Live albums

* ''Double Live'' (with Christopher Fleeger) (Sub Pop, 2020)


Singles


References


External links


Official website

Clipping
discography at
Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...
{{Authority control Hip-hop groups from California Musical groups established in 2009 Musical trios from California American industrial music groups American noise musical groups Horrorcore groups American experimental musical groups Sub Pop artists Underground hip-hop groups