NEW YORK, Nov. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Critically acclaimed hip-hop duo Clipse and DTLR announce their first retail partnership and the "DTLR Presents Clipse By Popular Demand" tour. This partnership represents the first retail merchandise collaboration with a music artist in the independent urban clothing chain's 26-year history.

At the core of the partnership is the "I'm Good" tee, which highlights Clipse's hit single, "I'm Good," featuring Pharrell Williams, from their upcoming release, "Til The Casket Drops," available December 8. DTLR marketing, buying and creative teams worked with the Clipse and Sony (Columbia Records' parent company) to develop a quality product for customers. "We've been approached by several companies in the past to place artist merchandise items in our stores, but the items never met our standard for fashion or quality. This time all members joined forces to create a product the urban fashion customer would enjoy," says Shawn Caesar, president of Unruly Records, DTLR's Marketing and Entertainment division. Pusha of the Clipse reveals, "We designed this shirt just like we create our music, to give fans something they can rock with for a long time." Mat Vlasic, The Thread Shop President of Merchandising, adds, "Thread Shop is thrilled to partner with DTLR and work with Clipse as the chain's first music merchandiser. We believe this is just the beginning of a long relationship together."

In addition to the apparel partnership, DTLR and Sony have joined to offer fans "The Best of the Clipse" mixtape, mixed by DJ Jay Claxton and DJ QuickSilva, and opportunities to meet the Clipse at DTLR stores in markets during the "DTLR Presents Clipse By Popular Demand" tour. Fans can purchase the "I'm Good" tee in each tour stop and at Clipse performances (merchandise at performances limited to certain markets). "Till The Casket Drops" will be available for purchase in DTLR markets after its December 8 release. DTLR has created special custom store merchandise packaging and wrapped promotional vehicles where products are also available for purchase. The tour kicks off November 27 in Atlanta, GA (full schedule below).

"We wanted to create a partnership with a lifestyle retailer that directly struck a chord with Clipse's core fan base in an innovative way. T-shirts are a staple of the urban fashion lifestyle so what better way to connect with fans than through this," says Anthony Ellis, Vice President of Marketing, Sony Music.

The partnership with Clipse also presents an opportunity to raise awareness of DTLR's community outreach programs. DTLR has a strong commitment to serving its communities and has partnered with organizations and programs that will assist inner-city youth and young adults. The Clipse will participate in DTLR community outreach initiatives in markets along the "DTLR Presents Clipse By Popular Demand" tour. Tour dates and meet and greet locations are as follow:

November 27 - 6:00 PM
Performance
The Gallery
887 W. Marietta Street
Atlanta, GA 30034

December 7 - 9:30 PM - 1:00 AM
Album Release Event/ Midnight Sale
Southern Shopping Center
7525 Tidewater Drive
Norfolk, VA 23505

December 10 - Time TBD
Meet and Greet
Mondawmin Mall
2301 Liberty Heights Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21215

December 12 - 6:00 PM
Meet and Greet
River Oaks Mall
96 River Oaks Center
Calumet City, IL 60409

**For more touring information visit www.clipseonline.com

About the Clipse:

Til The Casket Drops re-unites Clipse with The Neptunes', Pharrell Williams (executive producer of the album) and Chad Hugo, who signed the duo in early 2001 and produced several tracks on the upcoming release. In addition, the single "Kinda Like A Big Deal," the scorching buzz record featuring Kanye West, was produced by DJ Khalil and Chin Injeti. The duo debuted with 2002's Lord Willin', which reached #1 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Album chart and #4 on the Billboard Top 200. Lord Willin' spawned the hit singles, "Grindin'' and "When was the Last Time," which peaked at #34 and #19 respectively on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Their critically acclaimed sophomore effort, Hell Hath No Fury, was 2006's Top 10 album in Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, SPIN Magazine and The New York Times. In 2008, Clipse launched their apparel line, PlayCloths which has been wildly successful selling out the first four seasons in stores and online.

About DTLR:

For more than 25 years DTLR, a Baltimore-based, independent urban clothing chain, has been a leading retailer in the urban fashion industry. DTLR retails urban footwear, apparel, and music and currently operates in regions throughout the East coast and mid-west. DTLR has branches in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, North Carolina (Charlotte, Durham, Greensboro and Winston-Salem), Virginia (Richmond and Norfolk) and Washington, D.C. The retailer's loyal customer base has helped the company experience economic growth during a tough economy, resulting in the opening of two new stores in the Chicago region in Fall 2009.

www.clipseonline.com

www.dtlr.com

www.columbiarecords.com

SOURCE Columbia Records