“Mr. Me Too” is a scathing, confrontational anthem by the hip-hop duo Clipse, released in 2006 from their legendary album Hell Hath No Fury. The song, featuring their producer Pharrell Williams, is not just a boast about wealth; it is a direct and angry attack on “copycat” rappers, hangers-on, and “haters” who mimic their style without originating it. Born from years of frustrating label delays, the track is a defiant “we’re back” statement, separating the “originators” (Clipse and Pharrell) from the “Mr. Me Toos” who simply follow their trends.
1. The Frustration That Forged a Masterpiece
To understand the raw, cold anger of “Mr. Me Too,” you must first understand the four-year nightmare that Clipse endured to release it. In 2002, the duo of brothers Pusha T and Malice released their debut album, Lord Willin’. Guided by the futuristic, pop-friendly beats of The Neptunes, the album was a critical and commercial smash, spawning the iconic single “Grindin’.”
Following this success, Clipse recorded their follow-up, Hell Hath No Fury, and delivered it to their label, Arista Records. However, Arista was merged into Jive Records, and the new executives had no idea what to do with the duo. The new album was dark, minimalist, and uncompromisingly street-oriented. Jive, home to pop acts like Britney Spears and NSYNC, wanted them to make softer, more radio-friendly music.
Clipse refused. This began a long, agonizing period of label limbo. For years, their masterpiece album was shelved, and the duo was legally barred from releasing music elsewhere. They were trapped. They watched as the very “coke rap” genre they had pioneered was being co-opted, imitated, and watered down by other artists.
“Mr. Me Too” was born from this profound frustration. It was one of the first tracks to leak from the shelved album, and it spread like wildfire. It was not just a song; it was a statement of intent. It was the sound of two artists, pushed to their breaking point, grabbing the mic and screaming at the entire industry.
2. The Sound: A Cold, Menacing Return
The song’s production, crafted by The Neptunes (Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo), is the perfect sonic backdrop for this anger. Unlike the bright, percussive bounciness of “Grindin’,” the beat for “Mr. Me Too” is cold, menacing, and minimalist. It is built on a stark, hypnotic synthesizer riff that sounds like a sci-fi horror movie, and a brutally simple, punishing drum pattern.
The sound is intentionally hollow and sparse. It creates a vast, empty stage for the lyrics to echo and hit with maximum impact. This is not the sound of a party; it is the sound of a confrontation. It is the sound of the Hell Hath No Fury era: raw, icy, and unforgiving.
3. Verse 1: Pharrell, The Trendsetter’s Complaint
In a brilliant structural move, the song’s first verse is not from Clipse, but from their producer, Pharrell Williams. This was a crucial decision. In the mid-2000s, Pharrell was arguably the single biggest trendsetter in music, fashion, and culture. His style—from trucker hats to BAPE hoodies, to his Billionaire Boys Club brand—was the most copied look in the world. He, more than anyone, was the target of “Mr. Me Toos.”
Pharrell’s verse serves as the song’s thesis. He is not rapping from the perspective of a drug dealer; he is rapping as a global mogul, listing the very trends that others are biting. He establishes that he is doing “deals like the majors” while others are just “haters.”
He then gives a specific resume of his trendsetting. He mentions his “Ice Cream sneakers” and the fact that he “signed his first skater” (Terry Kennedy), proving he was moving in cultural spaces (skateboarding) that were “authentic,” not just following trends.
He scoffs at the copycats who “pay three and buy yourself some Bapestas.” Pharrell was the one who popularized the rare Japanese BAPE brand. He is the originator; the “Me Toos” are just late, high-paying customers.
His verse is a whirlwind tour of a life that “Mr. Me Too” can only dream of. He is on a “double-decker boat” in the Mediterranean. He is buying massive “Asscher cut” diamonds and telling jewelers at Lorraine Schwartz to “hit him up.” He is in Aspen with P. Diddy, in Italy with Donatella Versace, and calling from his cell phone to order a Ferrari “Enzo,” one of the rarest cars on the planet.
He concludes by defining the very person he is attacking. He knows what the listener is thinking: “Wow, I want that too.” Pharrell turns on them and says, “Okay, everybody meet Mr. Me Too.” He has set the stage. He is the originator. Anyone who just copies him is a “Me Too.”
4. Verse 2: Pusha T, The King’s Return
With the theme established, Pusha T grabs the mic. His verse is the song’s central, furious question. He directly addresses the years the group was “gone” due to their label issues. He compares their absence to being in a “paddy wagon,” as if they were locked up.
He looks at the rap game that has been operating without him and expresses his disgust. He says, “Streets was yours, you’re dunce cappin’ and kazooin’.” He is calling every other rapper in the industry a bunch of “dunce cap” wearing, kazoo-playing fools. It is a total dismissal of the entire hip-hop scene.
He asks the song’s most important question: “I was just assumin’ you’d keep the coke movin’ / But I got one question, what the fuck y’all been doin’?” This is a layered, brilliant line. He is saying, “We invented this ‘coke rap’ lane. We were gone. We assumed you would at least keep it going with some level of quality.” Instead, he returned to find a watered-down, inauthentic product. He is appalled by the state of the genre.
Pusha T’s verse is a re-education. He reminds the “Me Toos” what real kingpin rap sounds like. He uses the classic Clipse formula: “Pyrex stirs turned into Cavalli furs.” This is the core of their art. The work (stirring cocaine in a Pyrex pot) is directly translated into the luxury (designer fur coats).
He reminds the listener that this is not a game. His “niggas caked up” (rich) are “sellin’ gray and beige dust” (heroin and cocaine). This is a grim, realistic detail, not a pop-rap fantasy. He warns that if you “have that money right,” you will “end up in the trunk taped up.”
He separates himself from the cowards. “We don’t chase or duck, we only race for bucks.” He then shows the physical toll of this “grind,” peeling so many “money rolls ’til our thumbs get the paper cuts.”
The verse ends with the most direct and honest line of the song. He boasts about his “South Beach Gallardo” (a Lamborghini) and then explicitly calls out the source of his frustration: “These are the days of our lives and I’m sorry to the fans / But them crackers weren’t playin’ fair at Jive.” He states, on the record, that Jive Records (the “crackers”) treated them unfairly. This line confirms that the song’s entire, aggressive energy is aimed at his label just as much as it is at rival rappers.
5. The Chorus: The Mocking, Sarcastic Hook
The chorus of “Mr. Me Too” is one of the most disrespectful in hip-hop history, precisely because it is so simple and mocking. It is just Pusha T, in a bored, sarcastic tone, repeating, “I know, I know, yep, yeah, you too / Okay, we get it, yep, yeah, you too.”
This is the sound of the originator sighing at the copycat. It is the verbal equivalent of a pat on the head. When a “Mr. Me Too” pulls up in a fancy car trying to impress them, this is their internal monologue: “Oh, you have one too? That’s adorable. We get it. You’re trying so hard.” It robs the copycat of all their power and status.
6. Verse 3: Pharrell’s Final Explanation
Pharrell returns for a short third verse to drive the point home with a crystal-clear explanation, as if he is speaking to a child. He asks, “I know what you thinkin’, why I call you ‘Me Too?’ / ‘Cause everythin’ I say, I got you sayin’, ‘Me too’.”
He gives a perfect example. “I say I got a Benzo, you say, ‘Me too’.” But then he exposes the real difference. The “Mr. Me Too” is “hangin’ out the window so they can see you.” This is the key. The copycat’s motivation is not personal joy or success; it is a desperate, insecure need for public validation.
Pharrell then delivers the final blow. He separates the levels of wealth and access. He points out that the “Me Too” is flexing a car (a Mercedes-Benz), but they are silent when Clipse and Star Trak are “in that G2 / Or that G3 or G4 like we dos.”
He is talking about Gulfstream private jets. He is telling “Mr. Me Too” that they are not even in the same conversation. While the copycats are hanging out of car windows, Pharrell and Clipse are in the sky, looking down on them.
7. Verse 4: Malice, The Philosopher King
Clipse’s other half, Malice, gets the final verse. As he often does, Malice plays the role of the “philosopher king,” providing the larger, more cinematic context for the lifestyle.
He begins by reinforcing the theme: “Niggas bite the style from the shoes to the watches.” He calls Clipse “cloud hoppers” (another private jet reference) and “tailored suits like we mobsters,” connecting their street game to a more respected, “classic” form of organized crime.
Then, Malice delivers one of the most famous lines in the Clipse catalog: “Break down keys into dimes and sell ’em like Gobstoppers.” This is a brilliant, layered metaphor. It compares dealing kilos of cocaine (“keys”) to selling “dimes” (ten-dollar bags). The comparison to “Gobstoppers” (a children’s candy) does two things: it highlights the addictive “sugar-rush” nature of the product, and it frames the entire, dangerous operation as something mundane, easy, and child’s-play for him.
He boasts of his specific, ultra-high-end car: a Bentley “‘Zure” (Azure convertible) with the “Mulliner” package. The Mulliner is the custom, coach-built division of Bentley, a level of luxury far beyond what a typical “Me Too” would even know about.
Malice then turns his anger, like Pusha, toward other rappers. He calls them “whisperers” who “choke on your own spit just as soon as you mention us.” It is a violent, vivid threat.
He ends the song, and his verse, by providing the philosophical justification for this entire, unapologetic, high-risk lifestyle. He gestures to his wealth—the “mink on the floor”—and taunts the listener: “Make you hot, don’t it?” He knows he is stoking their envy.
He explains why he lives this way: “Tomorrow ain’t promised, so we live for the moment.” This is the hustler’s creed. The “Me Too” is just copying the look of success. Clipse is living a philosophy born from the risk of their reality. Because they could be dead or in jail tomorrow, they must spend all their money on minks, Bentleys, and diamonds today.
8. The Legacy of “Mr. Me Too”
“Mr. Me Too” was a cultural atom bomb. It did not just re-announce Clipse; it defined them. It was the anthem of the Hell Hath No Fury era. The song’s leak created such a massive, cult-like demand that it helped force Jive Records’ hand, ultimately leading to the album’s release through a special deal.
The song cemented Clipse and Pharrell’s status as untouchable originators. It is a perfect, self-contained thesis on authenticity, the frustration of the music industry, and the vast, unbridgeable gap between the “originator” and the “copycat.” It remains one of the coldest, smartest, and most potent “diss” tracks in hip-hop history.