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Wu-Tang Clan
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artist information
Track List:
1. Intro (Jah World) - (featuring Junior Reid) / Chamber Music
2. Careful (Click, Click)
3. Hollow Bones
4. Conditioner - (featuring Snoop Dogg)
5. Monument, The - (featuring Busta Rhymes) / Intermission (Jah World)
6. Do You Really (Thang Thang)
7. One Blood Under W - (featuring Junior Reid)
8. Let My Niggas Live - (featuring Nas)
9. Gravel Pit
10. Shaolin Finger Jab
11. Protect Ya Neck (The Jump Off)
12. Redbull - (featuring Redman)
13. I Can't Go To Sleep - (featuring Isaac Hayes) / Outro
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Wu-Tang Clan - The W
(Loud)
Word on the street is that the infamous Wu-Tang Clan isn't the same powerhouse collective as when it came out the gate in 1993. Critics complain about supposedly lackluster solo releases; fans bitch about cryptic rhymes and hard-but-bumpless production by RZA's beatmining protégés. Solo efforts aside, when the Wu assembles, the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. Skeptics, put away your slanderous agenda and get ready: all ten Wu-Tang Clan members are back on the same page with a new project, The W, an album bound to blow away fly-by-night lyricists and hack producers like only Wu-Tang can.
The W is a return to the grimy, rough, basement-recording style that set the Wu apart early in the game. In the beginning, what sounds like muddy, haphazard production reveals a precise blending of kicks and scratches layered with hypnotic texturing, proving once again RZA's compulsive genius behind the boards. The lyricism on these tunes is as diverse as it is skillful; each MC spits darts over individually-tailored tracks. The narrative dexterity of Raekwon, Ghostface, and Inspectah Deck—as their verses dance around the soulful and mellow "Hollow Bones"—displays the true compatibility of RZA's beats and the rest of the Clan's lyrics. Guaranteed timeless bangers are dispersed throughout the record, beginning with "Redbull" (featuring Redman), "Do You Really," and finally "The Monument," which features Busta Rhymes getting as raw as he ought to be. The GZA rips a hidden solo diatribe following "Conditioner" that is reminiscent of his finest "Clan In the Front" days. The highlight of the album has to be the microphone prowess of seldom seen or heard Masta Killah. "One Blood Under W" pairs his monotone with the highly inflected reggae vocals of Junior Reid, and stands as one of the Wu's strongest tracks to date, as well as offering a preview of Masta's much anticipated first solo effort.
The W may take casual listeners a moment to digest. The sometimes lo-fi production and crackle of compressionless vocals could be mistaken for rough mixes on a hurried project. The beauty of Wu-Tang Clan is its deceptive nature—showing only the surface in order to disguise the depth of what lies underneath. Give this disk ten spins before passing judgment, and you will find The W one of the best hip-hop albums released this year.
by Damani
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