Visions of Bodies Being Burned by clipping.

“Horrorcore rap” was not a genre I listened to, let alone enjoyed, prior to 2020. I use the term “enjoyed” very loosely in regards to the genre, since the band at #25, clipping., is the only band I can name in said genre. But here we are, having thoroughly enjoyed some horrorcore rap and living to tell you about it.

clipping. is more than the silly full stop at the end of their name that makes it difficult to write about them. They’re a trio of late-thirties men who met in various grade-school/college settings: two producers (William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes) and a lead rapper Daveed Diggs. Yes, that Daveed Diggs. In fact, when I first heard clipping., it was on KEXP, and I was stunned to hear Diggs’ vocals singing not about guns and ships and what he’d missed, but instead about gore and blood and horror movie-related nastiness.

I wasn‘t super excited about what I was hearing, but I was a big enough Hamilton fan to look deeper. This was when the band’s previous album, There Existed an Addiction to Blood, was making the rounds a couple years ago, and when I listened I was totally put off and never went back to it. It didn’t make an appearance on the 2019 Top 31.

This new album, Visions of Bodies Being Burned, is actually an extension of that previous work, so you’d think I’d continue to have that bad taste in my mouth, and I did upon first listen. But over time I found myself going back to it a few times. It was the band’s KEXP at home session that pushed them over into the “Top 31 worthy” category for me. Watching the trio put these complicated songs together separately from each of their homes, and then hearing their interview with Larry Mizelle, Jr. afterwards, I found them quite endearing.

I wouldn’t be surprised if you dislike this music. It’s not easy to get into, for sure. But watch that KEXP session linked above, and I think you might have a change of heart.

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1. Saint Cloud by Waxahatchee
2. Fetch The Bolt Cutters by Fiona Apple
3. Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers
4. folklore + evermore by Taylor Swift
5. Untitled (Black Is) + Untitled (Rise) by Sault
6. RTJ4 by Run The Jewels
7. Shore by Fleet Foxes
8. Serpentine Prison by Matt Berninger
9. The Ascension by Sufjan Stevens
10. Making a Door Less Open by Car Seat Headrest
11. Dreamland by Glass Animals
12. A Hero’s Death by Fontaines D.C.
13. Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez by Gorillaz
14. Mordechai + Texas Sun EP by Khruangbin
15. Introduction, Presence by Nation of Language
16. Free Love by Sylvan Esso
17. Miss Anthropocene by Grimes
18. 3.15.20 by Childish Gambino
19. Women In Music Pt. III by HAIM
20. The Third Mind by The Third Mind
21. Superstar by Caroline Rose
22. Impossible Weight by Deep Sea Diver
23. We Will Always Love You by The Avalanches
24. Ultra Mono by IDLES
25. Visions of Bodies Being Burned by clipping.
26. Thin Mind by Wolf Parade
27. The Loves of Your Life by Hamilton Leithauser
28. Palo Alto (Live) by Thelonious Monk
29. color theory by Soccer Mommy
30. Fall to Pieces by Tricky
31. Quarantine Casanova by Chromeo

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All Top 31s