Song 288: Clipse, “Mr. Me Too” (2006)
Posted: October 15, 2013 Filed under: 365 Songs | Tags: 2006, Clipse Leave a comment
The spare Neptunes beat on Clipse’s “Mr. Me Too” says it all. We don’t need a lot to do a lot, it says. We just need our skills and an 808 or two.
Hip-hop has a long history of insulting the jealous and the imitative, and “Mr. Me Too” may just be the most direct example of this kind of track. “I know what you’re thinking,” raps Pharrell in the song’s bridge, “Why I call you Me Too? ‘Cause everything I say, I got you sayin’ me too.” Benzes, cash, and most importantly, power—Clipse has it, you don’t. Stop saying you do.
What I love about this track is what Pusha T described in an interview with MTV as “the total disruption of radio.” This sounded like nothing else in the mainstream when it came out in 2006, and it still sounds otherworldly. The track buzzes and hums, but it’s not dense; it’s as sparse and uncomplicated as the laid-back delivery of Pusha T, Pharrell and No Malice.
Pusha T has gained some exposure in the past few years as a Kanye acolyte, and I hope this attention—as well as his recent, well-reviewed solo record My Name Is My Name—inspire him to get back in the studio with his Clipse cohort No Malice.
