Clipse - I'm Good

Your enjoyment of "I'm Good" depends on a few things: your fondness for Neptunes beats that sound like a cross between the T.I. and Common collaboration "Good Life" and a bunch of the beats that Chad and Pharrell did for Slim Thug a few years ago, your tolerance of sung Pharrell hooks and Clipse songs that hew closer to the aesthetic of Lord Willin' than Hell Hath No Fury. Because I'm a sucker for all three things, I enjoy "I'm Good." I just think it works a lot better as a deep album cut than the first official single (was "Kinda Like a Big Deal" kinda just the street single?) from the forthcomingTill the Casket Drops, which is slated for a tentative September release. As always, Malice and Pusha T sound like gold over a Neptunes beat, even if it's one of their tracks that straddles the line between their glittery synthetic schmaltz and their springy, spacey funk that they rarely do these days.

What's more important is that "I'm Good" sounds like a genuine Neptunes track, and not just a Pharrell- or Chad-produced track. From the persistent pop of the drums and the hiss of the claps to the way the keyboards melody compliments the cotton candy synths higher up in the mix, which shine brightly and spiral deep into the tracks spacious cushion, this is the sort of beat that supports rather than hogs the limelight, the kind that the Neptunes were so great at effortlessly churning out until about 2003.

As for the actual rapping, it's less We Got It 4 Cheap hunger as much as it is earned haughtiness, more autopilot than autotune. Pusha T cackles as he compares himself to Shamu and references the Ice Cube classic "It Was a Good Day" while Malice drops two memorable lines, one about the sound his engine makes (purr) and the second likening the colour of his diamonds to that of Minute Maid juice through a very Gucci Mane-esque simile. This is the kind of rapping that gets mistaken for complacency; rather, this is simply the warm-up, the pre-game stretch. Yeah, the Thornton brothers got out-rapped on "Kinda Like a Big Deal," but Kanye's been on fire lately, even with his C+ verse on that Keri Hilson song, and Pusha and Malice are even more laidback here. If this is the track most approaching a single on Till the Casket Drops, then maybe there's reason to loosen those collars and feel a little worried. But if this is the introduction, the one before the smash, then we'll allow Clipse their first-at-bat ground single. They all can't be grand slams, right?