clipping – “Splendor and Misery”

The play “Hamilton” has, of late, captured the hearts of more or less everyone. It’s blend of catchy hip-hop, an almost entirely African American cast, and an interesting take on colonial America has propelled it to the status of acts such as “Cats” and “The Lion King.”

One of the cast members, Daveed Diggs, who portrays the Frenchman Lafayette in the play, has garnered special attention for his unique voice and his especially quick rapping. However, what many fans of Hamilton do not know is that Diggs isn’t limited to the stage. He also records and performs with the experimental noise-hop act clipping. While we’re on the subject of sci-fi concept albums, he just released one too!

“Splendor and Misery” picks up not at all where 2013’s “CLPPNG” (notable for never once using the word “I” throughout the length of the album) left off. Where “CLPPNG” focused on the inner city, drugs, and violence, “Splendor and Misery” is a no-holds-barred space opera.

The story follows the sole survivor of a slave uprising aboard a deep-space cargo ship and the onboard computer that falls in love with him. The whole story is delivered by Diggs atop unorthodox noise beats, taking the listener on a journey into the trance-inducing depths of space.

However, this album does sometimes fall victim to the trap mentioned earlier, in that it sometimes sacrifices musical focus for the storyline. For the most part the music is much more airy and (fittingly) spacey, however, it simply does not fit the group as well as the more driving beats found on their (sort of) self-titled album. Mostly gone are the bouncing choruses and slamming noise, instead replaced with Digg’s bars over simple ambient noise.

Although this album is certainly a unique and enjoyable listen, it simply doesn’t deliver as strongly as clipping’s previous work.

For Fans of: Death Grips, Shabazz Palaces, Merzbow, Experimental hip hop