Hip-hop gets plenty of critical recognition nowadays, but it’s not often from the science fiction community. Clipping’s avant-garde rap is far from conventional, though, so its 2016 album Splendor & Misery has branched out from traditional music awards. It was announced today that the experimental record has been nominated for a Hugo Award, the highest honor in sci-fi and fantasy.
The record is going up against episodes of Game of Thrones, Dr. Who, Black Mirror, and The Expanse for Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form). As you may have guessed, it’s super rare that albums receive this kind of attention: As Stereogum notes, the last time a musical act was nominated for a Hugo was back in 1971, when Jefferson Starship got a nod for Blows Against The Empire.
Beyond thrilled to be a Hugo finalist. Thank you all for making that happen. New video by @clopezestrada https://t.co/l4Ppbqhkaf
— clipping (@clppng) April 4, 2017
To celebrate the nomination, the Daveed Diggs-led group shared a new music video for “True Believer,” from Splendor & Misery. The clip, directed by Carlos Lopez Estrada, features an astronaut rising from the underground, staring right into the camera as he ascends into the nighttime atmosphere over the course of the dark and brooding song.
Clipping is undoubtedly a unique entity in contemporary hip-hop, so revisit our profile of the group to learn more about how it came to be.
