Hailing from Virginia, the duo known as Clipse were actually one of the rare first artists to work with the Neptunes. Meeting Pharrell Williams in the early '90s, he was very impressed by their talents and decided to help them get a gig. Hooking them up with East/West Records, an early single flopped and the group seemed done with. Williams was not discouraged, and continued to hype the group until Star Trak/Arista picked up the group in 2001. The Neptunes stepped behind the boards and the end result was Lord Willin', their 2002 full-length debut. ~ Bradley Torreano, All Music Guide