Clip is a West Oakland artist who is beginning to build a name for himself in local rap. Upon meeting Clip, one would immediately notice his high energy and self confidence. Moments after stepping into Thizzler HQ, he eagerly inquired about an interview to talk about his new single “I Love My Thot”, which dropped only a couple of weeks ago. Self-assured he exclaimed, “it’s popping right now!” At the time, the record may have had about 300 views, but in a few days it had racked up over 20,000 views, so maybe he was on to something. I had a chance to talk with Clip about establishing his rap career and of course his new single “I Love My Thot”. Check it out below.
Thizzler: How long have you been doing music?
Clip: I ain’t going to lie. It’s just some hood nigga shit. It was my dream just like everybody else. We liked it, and were listening to it all the time. I had no choice but to start doing music. I would say I took it seriously last year, in the last six months.
T: What happened that made you decide that “now is the time to take it seriously”?
C: It’s just something you can’t really explain. You just know you’re built for it. Everybody believed. I would make little hood songs for my little niggas to listen to. And they’re like “this shit sounds good!”. So I’m like fuck it. I’m going to give this one shot!
T: Who were the artists that inspired you as you were learning to rap?
C: I don’t know what my mom was listening to when I was in her stomach, but that’s what really started it. So I thank her.
T: Okay. Who are your favorite rappers?
C: Uhh me. My nigga Gabbo. Tupac at one point. Lil Wayne at one point. Too Short, E-40, Mac Dre of course. I always had influences rather it was from the East Coast or the West Coast. I don’t give a fuck if it was from Nigeria. I like good music.
T: You have a song called “I Love My Thot”. Tell me about it.Â
C: I swear to God, it was honestly something I thought would never go anywhere. First off shout out to 7Figs Productions for blessing me with the beat. That’s a childhood friend of mine. We come up with all these ideas and he says bro you have to network and it’ll all come together. A car can’t be built by itself. You need tires, air conditioning, hella components before it’s running! So he blessed me with the beat, and I took it to DJ Twelvz’ studio. He was tired of my drunk ass coming through, but this time he was like, “damn this shit’s making sense now”. I slept on it for a couple of days, and started rocking with it.
T: What would you say the record is about?
C: It’s basically about a thot. You know most dudes will say, “this bitch this, this thot that,” but you still love her though. Okay, she’s texting this nigga, but aren’t you going to put up with it? You’ll still love her and buy her clothes! So I made a song about that. It’s basically glorifying women in another sense. Even though it’s a derogatory term, it’s really giving praise to them.
T: Interesting. So it’s a song about being in love and accepting your lover doing you dirty?
C: Exactly. How many times have you caught your doing something and y’all looking at each other crazy but you kiss her right in the mouth? You still love her. You’re going to put up with it. Are you going to fight? You don’t want to do that. You still love each other.
T: Was there a person that inspired that record?
C: No comment. I can’t thot and tell.
T: You mentioned that “I Love My Thot” was blowing up. How can you tell?
C: I got promoters hitting me up. I’ve only had it up for a week, and it has over 20 thousand already. So I believe I’m getting their attention. If 20 thousand people are looking at it, they have someone next to them. So that’s 40K!
T: What would you say it is that sets you apart from other artists?
C: They just can’t fuck with me. I’m sorry, they just can’t. I’m not trying be cocky, but it’s psychology. I did this myself. I’m fronting my own money. I didn’t ask nobody for shit. Well I did, but they didn’t give it to me. It’s all me.
Hella real niggas don’t be in the industry. I feel what they go through. A lot rappers didn’t have to go through real shit like getting shot and stabbed. I don’t have a manager. I’m doing this all on my own!
T: What was the real shit you’ve been through.
C: First of all, the realest shit was to be born in Oakland and to make it to a certain age. I was just shot and stabbed a couple of weeks ago. It just happens. It’s just shit that you go through in life. I don’t feel like I’m better than anyone. It’s just stuff I went through and I’m still going through it. I hope one day God puts me on that pedestal like “nigga keep going. Do this music shit. You were always the chosen one.”
T: What is it that you want your fans to know?
C: I want them to know that it’s more than what we all perceive. It’s more than what the government lets you know. It’s more than what your parents let you know. Nigga we don’t know, until we do know. Don’t judge me. It’s not what it seems.
T: Okay. What’s next for you?
C: This Clip Boys shit is about to take off. I’m giving niggas hood deals: a Clip chain and five bands. If it sounds good, DM me. I’ll get a lot of little niggas out of the streets. I’m not going to play them, but I’ll old-school Master P them though. A Clip chain and 5 bands, and my shit heavy. None of that light shit they be wearing in videos. Tell them niggas to stop wearing those light ass chains.
Check out everything from Clip right here on Thizzler. You can follow Clip on Instagram at @clipboyss.