Hell Hath No Fury

Editors’ Notes One of the most anticipated hip-hop albums of the '00s, the second LP from Clipse is a masterpiece of Southern rap's vivid street-grind tales, traditional hip-hop lyricism, and future-shocked funk. Brothers Pusha T and Malice had already cemented their reputation as the gifted, severe, tongue-twisting pals of The Neptunes, recording the hit 2002 debut Lord Willin' and appearing on Justin Timberlake's "Like I Love You." But the 2005 mixtape We Got It 4 Cheap, Vol. 2 removed the pair from those blippy, labyrinthine beats, putting a renewed focus on the type of nimble wordsmiths who would rhyme "glocks and keys" with "young black Socrates" (as Pusha does on "Momma I'm So Sorry").

On Hell Hath No Fury, Clipse take the cocaine-trafficking stories of once "regional" artists like E-40, Master P, and UGK and deliver them with giddy wordplay and brash punchlines: "I'm more in touch with the keys, move over Alicia," Pusha raps in the opening track—but one example on an album full of wisecracks. And for all its savvy lines and fur-covered boasts, Hell Hath No Fury doesn't shy away from deeper emotions like guilt and paranoia. The record also comes at the tail end of The Neptunes' reign as the most avant-garde thing on the radio, with songs mixing buzzing noise ("Mr. Me Too"), clack-clacking percussion ("Wamp Wamp"), string overtones ("Ride Around Shining"), and burbling synths ("Trill").