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This was one of the most welcome surprises in years. There was no mention of this album being made and no clue that it was in the works until "Harbor Masters" hit the net about a month before release. The second details of a Wu-Tang-meets-classic-90's-NY-rappers album fleshed out, excitement flooded me. A few more tracks leaked and it was obvious this was going to be something to reckon with.
Now that it's out, this is just what's been missing from the Wu-Tang camp for a while. The last few years have produced some albums that appeared to bring the old Wu flavor back, namely the two Masta Killa albums, GZA's
Pro Tools
, and moments on U-God's
Dopium
and Meth's
4:21... The Day After
, but this has the feel of what
8 Diagrams
should have been.
The features on this album are perfect. It's amazing a concept like this hasn't already come up. Masta Ace and AZ's appearances are moments of pure joy. The only time it doesn't work is when Havoc shows up on "Evil Deeds." It's a solid track for Ghostface and RZA, but it's just not what I want out of Hav. I love when he gets on his high-energy tip. That being said, it's still not a bad song or a bad appearance from Havoc, it's just the one part where expectations are not met.
RZA worked with a soul band, The Revelations, to create the music for this whole album so it brings an obvious cohesive quality. The surprise is how being created by a band brings a certain liveliness to these tracks that begs all hip-hop go in this direction. It's faithfully indebted to the the Wu-Tang boom-bap variant that RZA mastered in the mid-90's era, but it's richer without being glossier. Sonically it has the feel of one of the first round solo projects between '94 and '97.
The second big surprise here is how inspired the Clan members themselves sound. Inspectah Deck especially is attacking these beats in a way that hasn't been heard since he fought for the spotlight on
Wu Tang Iron Flag
. Raekwon has awoken from the slumbered-out mush-mouth flow he's drifted into at times in recent years and Ghostface, the most consistent in the entire Clan, even he sounds more lively here if you can imagine that. U-God, the most slept-on in the Clan, is continuing the show-n-prove he started on 8 Diagrams and Dopium and is here to show what's up. Even RZA stays on cadence.
Therein lies the problem with this release, though. Those are the only members of the Clan that appear here. Method Man is sorely missed. No one in the Clan rides a beat like him or brings the energy that he does. GZA has been the Clan member that's evolved the Wu-sound most successfully across his solo career and to not have him on this album which is colored with a feeling of resurgence is a shame. And when Masta Killa gets in that Chessboxin' mindset and decides to actually rhyme, there's no one more Wu than him.
This is a perfect album in regard to what's here, but it's frustrating at the same time. It screams for the whole Clan to be involved and the fact that a little more than half the tracklist is short instrumentals or RZA philosophizing is disappointing. That certainly adds character and creates an atmosphere so I'm not even suggesting they be left off, but at 35 minutes and 37 seconds, many more full tracks could be added in. Maybe if this proves to be successful we'll get a second volume and see it more fleshed out. Regardless though, the 8 full songs that are here are all exactly what any Wu-head or 90's NYC rap fan will want.
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Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 16, 2015