VMP Magazine

When rappers write about where they came from, there’s often a sense of loving appreciation overflowing from their work — like Jermaine Dupri and Ludacris’ “Welcome To Atlanta,” which gave listeners a play-by-play of the highlights of the city’s nightlife, or Ja Rule’s “New York,” which focused on the grittiness of the city’s streets to proclaim his love for his turf. But Clipse’s 2003 track, “Virginia,” buried deep in their debut album Lord Willin’, flipped the script completely. Delirious and depressing, the Bronx-born brothers, who relocated to the state as kids and grew up in Virginia Beach, announced that there wasn’t shit to do but cook cocaine, taking a realistic approach to establishing a narrative instead of painting broad strokes. Their years spent in the kitchen — over the stove, out of necessity — defined their music and provided the skeleton for three-albums worth of chilling observations, pensive reflections and immersive storytelling.