On this day in 2006, Virginia Beach’s own Clipse released the sophomore LP Hell Hath No Fury. Coming a whole four years after their celebrated, chart-topping debut Lord Willin’, Hell Hath No Fury did everything but disappoint. Produced exclusively by fellow Virginia Beach natives, The Neptunes, this album builds on Clipse’s unique take on mafioso rap culture. The contrast of the album’s hardcore, to-the-point lyrics and Pharrell’s colorfully playful production work to create a new style of drug dealer music.
It’s common knowledge that the hurdles set up in the way of this album’s release were aplenty. Clipse’s early growth led to them being pulled in all directions and, in an interview with Bill Withers, they spoke on how the music industry itself can paralyze an artist, and how that halted their creativity. Nevertheless, the duo came back stronger than ever, delivering an album that set a precedent in east coast rap. During the early 2000s, Virginia was on the rise with artists like The Neptunes and Timberland dominating the production game and Missy Elliot and Ginuwine topping charts. With this album, Clipse was able to keep Virginia relevant as it moved past the halfway point of the decade.
Although the album was not as commercially successful as Lord Willin’, it did peak at #14 on the Billboard 200 and #2 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop albums. The LP sold 78,000 in its first week and produced two singles, “Mr. Me Too” featuring Pharrell and “Wamp Wamp (What It Do)” that both had some success on the R&B/Hip Hop charts.