Music
Looking back
Clipse released ‘Grindin” in 2002 and lunch tables were never the same
From almost losing the beat to Jay-Z, to not initially knowing how to make it a hit, we look back at Clipse's breakout hit 'Grindin''
The beautiful thing about hip hop being a relatively young genre is that a lot of its historic moments are in recent memory. Trends from your childhood, sub-genres from your neighbourhood, the days that mixtapes dropped – all part of the cultural chimera that is hip hop’s dynamic history. ‘Grindin” was a song that made history. Its beat has been played on tables in schoolyard cafeterias across the world. “That beat literally took over us,” Amps, a DJ and cultural curator from East London tells me. “Year 7. Every table, banging the beat on it. Freestyling to it / rapping the chorus… This was everyday for the whole year”. Others I’ve spoken to about the song echoed the same sentiment – “[Grindin’] was played through my childhood,” said djxhnwav, while my friends and family also recall how ubiquitous the song, and its distinct beat, were throughout the 2000s.
Making the beat
After the shelving of their unreleased album, Exclusive Audio Footage, in 2000, Terrence ‘Pusha T’ and Gene ‘Malice’ Thornton – better known as hip hop duo Clipse – were ready to hang their rapping boots for good. (Genius, 2020) Even with the local success of their debut single ‘The Funeral’, the Virginia Beach pair had failed to make waves on mainstream charts, which led to Exclusive Audio Footage‘s stalling, and the group were subsequently released from their then label Elektra Records.
However, after encouragement from long-time collaborator Pharrell Williams, the pair signed to Arista Records through his imprint Star Trak Entertainment, and quickly began work on their debut project, Lord Willin’. It was during a recording session with The Neptunes in LA that Clipse created ‘Grindin”, but not without playful goading and almost losing the song to Jay-Z. “I remember being at home and Pharrell saying, ‘Listen, I got this record and if you don’t come to the studio right now I’m gonna give this record to Jay-Z.’ And he just knows that it would burn me up inside if he did something like that.” (Complex, 2011) This came after Pusha T taunted Pharrell into making a “crucial” beat – “I’d be like, ‘you got some aight joints… But you have not made no muthaf*ckin’ crucial shit”. (XXL, 2002)
After Pharrell kicked everyone out of the studio to prove Pusha T wrong, the result was the simple but instantly iconic ‘Grindin” beat. The stripped-back nature of ‘Grindin” allowed both Malice and Pusha T to show off their lyrical prowess. The characteristically Neptunes-produced beat – made with drum presets from the Korg Triton – sits at a relaxed 96 BPM, which coincidentally echoes Pusha T’s demeanour in a 2016 interview with Noisey. “I’m gon’ blame it on Virginia and the laidback lifestyle… the upbringing… it’s calm, man”. Granted he was referring to his lasting youthful appearance, but the same sentiments can be applied to the ease with which both he and Malice float on the beat, and the ease of the beat itself.
The lyrics
Even though ‘Grindin” went on to become one of Clipse’s biggest hits, both Clipse members admitted to not getting the beat at first – even with the goading and competition that were its inception. “It was was so unorthodox that I couldn’t really catch it. The other verses [I wrote] were good, but they weren’t in pocket. And I was like, ‘Man, this isn’t really like a mixtape verse, you can’t mixtape verse this.” Pusha T told Complex, while Malice confessed “I’m gonna tell the truth: I didn’t get ‘Grindin’,’ man!” in an interview with XXL.
That didn’t stop the pair of them from finding the “pocket”, both bringing their specific cadences to the ‘Grindin” beat – inspiring generations of kids to do the same. Thematically, the ‘Grindin” explores Clipse’s ambition and hustle work ethic as young men trying to make it out of their circumstances (primarily with references to drug dealing but hustling to make it is applicable to a wide range of scenarios…) “My grind’s ’bout family, never been about fame,” Malice confidently states in the third verse – and that’s truly what it’s all about for both of them. And in their 2025 renaissance, with a renewed interest in their music and the release of Let God Sort Em Out, the humility, love of the art and familial ties are what have maintained their authenticity and flair.
The legacy of ‘Grindin”
“Grindin’, also known as The Lunch Table Abuse of 2002.” (Genius, 2020) Yes, ‘Grindin” was ranked No.84 in Rolling Stone‘s 100 Best Songs of the 2000s list. Yes, it earned Clipse the 30th spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2002. But its legacy lives in the public’s response to the song; producers and amateurs alike itching to emulate and replicate the Korg Triton’s percussion. Aspiring rappers hoping to fill the sparse instrumental with their own flair. Freestyling over someone banging ‘Grindin” out on a table is a rite of passage – so much so that table-banging featured in Clipse’s Tiny Desk Concert performance.
Hear ‘Grindin” and many more of Clipse’s distinguished discography at their upcoming tour, which kicks off next week. Relive the nostalgia and step into their future.
