THE CLIPSE GIVE THE LOWDOWN ON THEIR DRUG EMPIRE

Virginia based rapping brother duo “The Clipse” entered the hip hop mainstream 6 years ago with their classic hardcore album “Lord Willin”. Produced in its entirety by the then still hungry Neptunes, “Lord Willin” became an instant street classic spurning the hustler’s anthem “Grindin”, on which they waxed lyrical about their profitable drug business.

Of course, when you first listened to the track your probably assumed that these cats were, like many rappers before them, merely making up tough-guy stories so as to appear credibly hardcore in the fans’ eyes. But on the real though, these cats have apparently been running a drug-peddling business since they were teens and they have kept at it even though they have sold a million-plus records. Crazy right???

In a fascinating editorial feature in Blender magazine the duo actually go as far as admitting this; the icing on the cake is that they actually give up and coming hustlers a blueprint for success. I got three words for y’all – ONLY IN AMERICA!

Check out their top 4 pointers for running a drug empire:

No. 1
Find a need, Fill a Need
Malice: “If you have a good commodity, your services will be needed everywhere – it’s supply and demand. Start out in your own hood, where people know you. Find good employees who have the business’ best interests at heart and can bring in revenue. Conduct yourself in a low-key manner – don’t bring anything of a flamboyant nature to the work area.”

No. 2
Build a Client Base
Pusha T: “Establish a reputation for having the best product – give away free sample to prove it. It might mean taking a loss, but that’s what you do to be known. There ain’t no marketing plan, it’s all word of mouth. People are loyal to whoever has the best. The market determines prices. Whatever money the customer has, that’s what you charge.”

No. 3
Mark Your Territory
Pusha T: “When your operation begins to grow, ensure your product is the only one being worked in the area. Outsiders tend to not play by the rules, and that’s when bad things happen. Any intrusion must be addressed immediately. Handle competition with proper etiquette – rivals can get along, as long as everyone stays in their proper lanes.

NO. 4
Excel in Customer Service
Malice: “See, that’s one of the things about the business we’re in: we can enforce a strict no-refund policy. But you must always be open and available to handle problems that come up. If we hear a complaint from a customer, that means the product was not up to snuff. We deal with those situations internally – punishment by removal. You don’t want to be removed.”