The Clipse song that spoke to Tyler, The Creator on an “unconscious level”
Tyler, The Creator is one of Pharrell’s biggest fans. He knows everything about the rapper/producer, from his solo work to his music as N.E.R.D. and The Neptunes. The Virginia legend is undoubtedly a major influence on his career through his own music and those with whom he frequently collaborates, including one of his closest groups: The Clipse.
The Odd Future rapper once described their song ‘Mr Me Too’ as “flawless.” Tyler first heard the record when he was a school kid. He was drawn in by not only the hip-hop style but also the effortlessness of the music video, in which Pharrell was at the centre.
“I was 14 when the song was released,” he told Numéro. “It was the start of YouTube, of videos showing skaters flying flat one their face, and I would see Pharrell in this music video wearing a yellow XXL T-shirt with all his necklaces… It was amazing! By the way, only a few projects like that were released at that time, and listening to this kind of rap with a hyper minimalist beat that sounded like a Pac-Man bug… it made me love it instantly!”
He added, “It spoke to me on some unconscious level. Without even thinking about it, I told myself it was flawless. It is still one of my favourite songs today – I will always like it, even if it’s not exactly my favourite one.”
‘Mr Me Too’ was the lead single from Hell Hath No Fury, released in 2006. Pharrell produced the song and also contributed vocals to it. Pusha T once explained the meaning behind ‘Mr Me Too’ during an interview with MTV.
“It’s the total disruption of radio,” he said. “There’s nothing on radio that will even be close to it. It just addresses Mr Me Toos. Mr Me Too is the person that sits there and examines your style and takes a piece of it. Also taken from the stage name Justin Meetoo. It addresses the competitive dude on the street who, when you get this or that they’re like, ‘Me too.'”
Push is well aware of Tyler’s fandom, recently crowning him Clipse’s biggest fan. “As a fan of the discography, Tyler is the number one Clipster,” he told Apple Music. “He can tell me things about albums and the time periods and everything, from production to raps, when it comes to Clipse albums.”
Tyler will live out his wildest dreams on July 11th when he officially appears on a Clipse album: Let God Sort Em Out. The song, ‘P.O.V.,’ is produced by Pharrell—a collaboration he could only fantasise about during his youth. It will be his second collaboration with the pair, after teaming up on ‘Trouble on My Mind’ from Pusha’s Fear of God II: Let Us Pray project in 2011.
He rapped on the song, “Pharrell said ‘get ’em’, so I got ’em/ Tripped on Bristol Palin then I accidentally shot ’em/ Then it ricocheted and killed the game, I’m a problem/ ‘Cause I wanna fuck the world but not a fan of using condoms.”