Clipping – Say The Name – Single Review
Finlay isn’t a massive fan of hip-hop. Clipping’s ‘Say The Name’ defies that. What more do you need to know.
Let’s be real – hip hop really isn’t my go-to genre. A lot of it just thematically doesn’t float my boat, and what’s left stylistically doesn’t interest me. The little pockets that remain, however, I would describe as going ‘hard AF’. Think NWA, Run The Jewels, Backxwash, Shad’s A Short Story About War, Lethal Bizzle if you’re willing to stretch definitions. Recently, something else joined that list. Visions Of Bodies Being Burned by clipping., especially the opener – ‘Say The Name’.
A horrorcore homage, this track is a masterpiece of menace and aggression, delivered through slick lines and brutal instrumentation. It’s a refreshing cleaner from the trap beats and crude lyricism that seems to dominate the airwaves nowadays and achieves so much more tonally for it.
The menace I mentioned is there right from the start. The intro and choruses are a modulated sample of Daveed Diggs repeating a Geto Boys lyric – “candlesticks in the dark, visions of bodies being burned’. Originally in a paranoia anthem, that atmosphere of fear is only intensified by the deep synthetic treatment to the vocal. It’s a line that grabs you straight away and sticks with you.
As a retelling of the story of Clive Barker’s Candyman character, the main body of the lyrics keep this air of threat. With constant references to the brutal acts of revenge this character carries out, that was always certain. What was less sure was the smart references to black American history and other horror films. For example, verse two combines references to Rosemary’s Baby, Psycho, a myriad of classic hip-hop tracks, and the great northward migration into one slick, horrifying verse.
One of my favourite references to the original story is regarding how to summon the Candyman – repeat his name five times in a mirror. The three verses end with “say the name”, and the pre-chorus asks you to “say it again” five times and say the name twice – completing two sets of five. It’s an innocuous detail that highlights the level of attention paid to crafting something that’s referential, but not gimmicky.
Closing on a massive instrumental outro sure was a choice, and its one that works for me. With maybe 4 synth riffs duelling for supremacy, it’s what some people could term a mess. I prefer interesting and experimental, but maybe that’s just me. With industrial chimes clashing over the top, it’s a real cacophony of noises that brings a suitably twisted end to the track. You could maybe even call it an aural “Guernica in blood”.
Say the name.
