The United States of CLIP on Tour

CLIP is never one to hide her emotions. The NY-based internet rap princess popped on the scene with her 2020 smash “Sad B!tch” and has since dominated her lane of genre-fluid alt-pop. Since then, she's graced a 2022 PAPER cover, released a trove of music that expanded her sonic universe and became a fashion darling.

The staggering heights of her rising star status were clarified on the road this summer when she toured with Montell Fish and Homixide Gang. She played packed stages and shared her truth for fans and new converts alike. But even with the glitz of all those flashy lights, she still had moments of insecurity and exhaustion. The highs and lows of touring mayhem provided a moment for her to reflect on her music career, and to see how far she’s come.

“I’m really grateful that I got the opportunity to not only go on tour, but go on two tours back to back. I met so many different types of people and saw, like, all of America,” CLIP tells PAPER. “I did a tour with Rico Nasty when I was first starting out, but I was so disassociated and depressed, and I couldn’t really experience it and be in the moment because I was worried about so much shit,” she reflects. “These tours — I was so anxious and scared. But I got the best advice ever before I got on my flight: ‘Have fun, rock out.’ And that’s literally what I did.”

CLIP took PAPER behind the scenes of her whirlwind summer of touring. From an emotional return to Texas, to a friend-filled stint in Los Angeles, to a hometown hero moment in NYC, it was a time to remember. Where better to take a walk down memory lane than PAPER Magazine?

My first date on tour with Montell Fish. I was really nervous because it was a complete vibe change, because I was just on tour with Homixide Gang, and I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t really know what his audience would fuck with, but they ended up really vibing with me. So I got really happy, and I just got off the stage and started dancing with them. It was a really intimate, cute moment. They set the tone for the rest of the tour with Montell.

On the Homixide Gang tour, I was mosh-pitting and turning up. But this one (the Montell tour), I was able to be intimate and sing my emo songs and really just vibe with the audience.

This was my LA show. I used to live there. I was so nervous to come back, but I did it. It was the first show where I had my visuals. Me and my friend DIY’ed my cover and my visuals, and it ended up being really cool, just to see it in real life like that. It was a really important show for me, because the friends I made in LA popped out for me and surprised me, and my friend styled me. It was a full-circle moment as fuck. This was the first time I stage dove, and it was so amazing.

This was in New York, my hometown show. I had my little cat ears. I just had my cat ears and a dream. I was performing one of my favorite songs and they made the vibe really intimate for me. Anytime I played “NEEDMYFIX,” the crowds ate it up. They made it dark for me, brought their lights up, and just let me be in my zone, and they would sing along with me. It was really beautiful.