Since their breakout in ’02, The Clipse have soldiered on as ambassadors of the neighborhood pushas, weaving their intricate rhymes with the synthy sounds of The Neptunes. With their third album Til The Casket Drops looming this year, The Clipse have decided to finally expand their sound outside the grasps of Pharrell and Chad Hugo, also collaborating with the likes of Sean C and LV and DJ Khalil.

“It’s just about growing a little bit,” said Malice backstage at the New York stop of the DIESEL tour last night at Webster Hall. “This is the first album The Neptunes didn’t produce solely, 100%, and plus, the fans been calling out to us. They wanna see us get down on other cats’ tracks so that’s what we did.”

Evident from the first few leaks off Casket Drops, the Thornton brothers have also lyrically moved away from the dark “coke rap” label, cemented in particular by their last album, Hell Hath No Fury, where they rode mostly solo, with the exceptions of collabos with their Re-Up Gang cohorts. With their new lead single “Kinda Like A Big Deal,” the duo has turned to Kanye for a guest spot, as well as Keri Hilson for the most recent leak from the upcoming album. No, they haven’t gone soft, but it seems that after grabbing the respect of the critics, the duo is now shooting for mainstream props.

“I think we pretty much already proved our point,” added the older Thornton brother, alluding to claims they’ve made of being the best rap duo out. “We were never one to mingle and have a whole bunch of different features and allow the features to make up a good percent of the album. So this time, it was good to reach out.”

Though The Roots closed out last night’s DIESEL show in signature livewire fashion (with the exception of their collaboration with the ambitious, yet offbeat Lykke Li), The Clipse provided the biggest moment of the evening by bringing out Kanye West for a performance of the single (view below).

(Spotted at The Urban Daily)

Yet even before West hit the stage, the duo held the crowd in rapture with grimey street cuts such as “What Happened To That Boy” and “Keys Open Doors,” despite the fact that earlier in the evening, those in attendance were vibin’ out to DJ sets including the disco-tinged “Blind (Frankie Knuckles Remix)” by Hercules and Love Affair and performances from electro-hop act Theophilus London and the aforementioned onstage oddball Li.

Pusha T of The Clipse explained the group’s bridging-the-gap nature. “We have a strong voice, a diverse fan base, and people aren’t afraid of The Clipse,” said the younger Thornton brother. “They hear the electro side, as well as all the labels that’s put on us. It’s no biggie. Everybody loves us.”

If the duo stay the course on their current trajectory, Soundscan (or zShare download counters) will provide Pusha the confirmation to support his claim. Last night surely made it seem valid.

Because we care for more than just the music released by the majors, here are our picks for the best mixtapes of the year.

8. Ludacris – Gangsta Grillz: The Preview

A showcase for the South’s PLK, Luda also utilized the freedom of the medium to give us “Politics As Usual,” where he rapped “McCain don’t belong in any chair unless he’s paralyzed.” Wrong, yet right.

7. Re-Up Gang – We Got It For Cheap Vol. 3

Not quite as good as the first two tapes, but it marked the first time the unheralded Ab-Liva and Sandman consistently held their own with lyrical heavyweights The Clipse.

6. Wale – The Mixtape About Nothing

It would’ve made for a damn good debut album, even with the Seinfeld concept and DC producer Best Kept Secret filling in for Mark Ronson.

5. Curren$y – Super Tecmo Bowl

N.O. native and one-time Young Money rapper Curren$y blessed us with a mixtape every month from March to October, each with its own distinctive flavor. This one was a particularly ‘90s one as Hot Spitta blazed smooth golden-era classics such as “Lookin’ At The Front Door” and “Buck ‘Em Down” and late-decade bangers like “Its Mine.”

4. Fabolous – Gangsta Grillz: There is No Competition

Back on 2003’s “Think Y’all Know,” Fab said of himself, “his moves is Billy Dee, but he Jigga’s the bars…” pretty much summing his career up in a nutshell. For the first muthafuckin’ time, Fab finally gave us more of the latter with his first set of Grillz.

3. Jay-Z – Hip Hop Is Read Presents: Jay-Z Live at Glastonbury

For most of us broke folk who couldn’t charter a jet over to the UK to witness Hov’s headlining set at the June music fest, here it is in its entirety—premium sound quality and all. His “Wonderwall” cover was sweet revenge but the highlight was his slick “American Boy” freestyle.

2. DJ Jaycee – Eargasms 6

More of a mix than a mixtape, but its remixes—especially the soulful rethinking of “Hello Brooklyn 2.0”—defecate on the originals.

1. G-Unit – Return of the Body Snatchers

This shit right heeere will take you back to 2002. A prime example of why Boo Boo and friends were unstoppable in their early days, when they used to carve their own ghettofied hooks from radio staples—like they do here on Ryan Leslie’s “Diamond Girl.”

- Devin Chanda

It looks like the rap duo have taken a few pointers from Pharrell—minus his affinity for Rainbow Skittles color schemes—for the first release from their brand, Play Cloths.  The gear looks boutique-ready, but it remains to be seen if the moneymaking brothers on the corner will catch on. (Pics courtesy of Hypebeast.com)

Supergroups are a novel idea, just not a very realistic one.  If Nelly has his way though, an ‘09 Bell Biv Devoe will come to fruition, boasting membership from the rapper and hit-making amigos Akon, T-Pain, and Pharrell.  Success is definitely a toss-up, though.  The quartet could very well pump out a fair share of club bangers, but too many hooks (and a vocoder) could spoil the synthy broth.  Here are some dream lineups, though, whose chemistry would be undeniable:

Jay-Z x Kanye West x Scarface x Beanie Sigel

Kanye can just stay behind the boards for this one, flipping rare but timeless samples while the trio of emcees provide the same lyrical acrobatics that gave us classics such as “Guess Who’s Back” and “This Can’t Be Life.”

Diddy x DJ Khaled x Lil’ Jon

Seriously—an ad-lib match made in heaven.

“Take that.” “WE THE BEST!!!” “YEAH!!!” “Who?!? WE!!!!” “OK!!!”

Lil Wayne x Max B

The Martian meets Wavie Crockett.  Weezy’s stream-of-unconscience nonsense will flow smoothly with Max’s tidal wave of hooks (the man can harmonize anything).

Lupe Fiasco x Mickey Factz

If you can tell difference between them, then you need to stop using your Food & Liquor case as an ashtray… if you bought it, that is.

The Clipse x The Neptunes

We just need another album.  Speaking of which… !

-Devin Chanda