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Renowned YouTuber and Twitch streamer Clique Productions amassed a strong following over the years with his 2k career and gameplay simulations. His consistent YouTube uploads and popular videos allowed Clique to have 681k subscribers on his main YouTube channel at the time of this article's publication.
A theme of Clique's YouTube channel is having recognizable hip-hop instrumentals from the likes of J. Cole's "Cole Summer" and DOOM instrumentals play as background noise for his simulations. He has spoken about his music taste in various videos from giving praise to BIG K.R.I.T., MF DOOM, J. Cole, JID, and more.
His debut three-track project Time's Ticking displays his influence from those aforementioned artists. His low-toned delivery is similar to DOOM's and his ear for instrumentals are similar to that of KRIT's and Earl Sweatshirt's.
The visual starts out with the track "Groundwork" that's filled with numerous references to NBA along with the YouTubers/streamers and hip-hop cultures. In the opening bars, he blends references about Ice Spice, Anthony Davis, Mark Phillips from RDCWorld, Chauncey Billups, Kids Next Door, Kareem Hunter, and Pierre Bourne. "Groundwork" is a display of Clique's pen which can surprise many considering this is his debut project.
One bar that stood out in the song is "Checks still clear, I got my momma paid, the safe's been looking shiner than Freddie Gibbs, I'm just trying to crack my piñatas". He became a homeowner recently due to his YouTube success and repaid his mom with sincere gratitude.
"Top Dollar" is the next track in the video and Clique raps about how he elevated himself in life from his work ethic. The Lou Williams-referenced hook has Clique sending the message that he doesn't care for external validation. It's an upbeat song that's a smooth transition from the prior song.
The video closes out with "Sink Or Swim". Clique displays vulnerability by speaking about how he overcame thoughts of hopelessness by recalling a personal conversation with an old man. Aside from how the mixing could be a little bit better, there's plenty of potential for Clique's upcoming debut album Hourglass, which is dropping on February 24th.
Like how the past 2k MyCareer modes had players recording music as side quests, Clique is venturing into a new avenue by doing something similar. His debut album Hourglass will drop this Friday the 24th.
Follow Clique on Instagram and Twitter @ImClique_
Written by: Jay Guevara. @justinhisprime on all social media.
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