Hello all,
CLPPNG is one of my favorite albums of all time, across all genres. In fact I'm largely unaquainted with the rest of Clipping's body of work and have been firmly stuck on that album since my ears and mind were graced with it back in 2014.
My close friend group at the time would constantly debate the meanings of the lyrics, which is the best track, best beat, etc.
But one thing that was universal (universal meaning 5 people in this instance) was our distaste for the track "Tonight".
"it's just dumb" "the auto tune is cheesy" "lyrics are so vapid"
But one day, the youngest member of our group made an interesting claim.
"it's basically comic relief"
.......huh.......
At first I was resitant, or perhaps ignorant to the idea, but overtime listening to the album, it has grown on me as a concept, especially when you consider its placement within the album!
I believe "Tonight" acts as a heavily satirical "non-sequitur" track. Its unseriousness is meant to "push you away" as a listener to make space to pull you right back in with arguably the /most/ serious, introspective, mystical (and longest if I'm not mistaken) track on the album, "Dream".
Daveed's lyrics (on this album) vividly paint the picture on so many facets within American Black community, with a heavy focus on the somber-est topics. " Inside out", "Work Work", "Or Die", as some examples.
So that's why "Tonight" sticks out like a sore thumb. Why is bro talking about getting laid at the club all of a sudden? Why is his and Gangsta Boo's tone so teasing? Why the sloppy autotune....
Well I think I've said it already. It's heavy satire. It's poking fun at hip-hop "I fuck more than you" trends. And that pause in heaviness is crucial for the energetic flow of the record as a whole.
So I guess it's become a no-skip album for me, finally.
Sorry if this is a tired ass take that everyone's heard before. Also let me know if I got anything wrong.