Arguably the most experimental Hip-Hop outfit in the game right now, clipping hasn’t feared minimalism in the face of anxiety. Their previous best effort abrasively-speaking,Get Up, shocks in two ways; by using an obnoxious alarm clock as the backbone, and somehow making that sound sonically enjoyable.Knees On The Ground, their newest one-off release as a response to the Ferguson shooting and protests, shocks listeners in similar fashion, this time using a pounding-on-the-door to drive home the fear they intend to instill. Daveed Diggs’ direct, yet lyrically-vigorous verses retell the murders of black children by way of gunfire from trigger-happy cops. It’s hard not to feel the tension in the music, as aggression goes toe-to-toe with the peaceful breezes captured in the chorus, as Diggs takes the position of the cops, “Keep your knees on the ground where they belong.” Helplessness has never been captured so vividly.
