Enter the 36 Chambers: My Lifelong Obsession with the Wu-Tang Clan

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77. Raekwon - "Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang"


Raekwon released his fifth solo album in March 2011. It featured guest appearances by Method Man, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, Nas, Black Thought, Busta Rhymes, Rick Ross, Lloyd Banks, Jim Jones, Estelle, Kobe James and Raheem DeVaughn. Production was handled by Scram Jones, Oh No, Cilvaringz, Bronze Nazareth, Bluerocks, Selasi, DJ Khalil, Sean C & LV, Kenny Dope, The Alchemist, Mathematics, Xtreme, Evidence and Tommy Nova.

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This is a pretty lackluster end to my Wu-Tang reviews! Not a bad album but a step down from OBFCLII. Ghost, Nas, Busta Rhymes and Black Thought shine in their verses but the rest of the guests bring nothing to the table. The production is solid but nothing too exciting which is a good description of the entire album. Raekwon is on auto-pilot throughout "Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang" and the only time my ears perked up is when one of the aforementioned guests showed up.

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Highlights: "Every Soldier in the Hood", "Silver Rings", "Rich & Black", "Masters of Our Fate"

Review: C+

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I'll have some lists up soon.

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Favorite Wu-Tang group members in order:

1. GZA/Genius
2. RZA
3. Ghostface Killah
4. U-God
5. Inspectah Deck
6. Masta Killa
7. Raekwon
8. Method Man
9. Ol' Dirty Bastard

Top Ten Favorite Wu-Tang Solo Albums:

1. GZA/Genius - Liquid Swords
2. Ghostface Killah - Ironman
3. Raekwon - Only Built for Cuban Linx
4. Masta Killa - No Said Date
5. Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele
6. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
7. GZA/Genius - Grandmasters
8. Ghostface Killah - More Fish
9. Inspectah Deck - Uncontrolled Substance
10. GZA/Genius - Pro Tools

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78. The Man with The Iron Fists - "Soundtrack"

This soundtrack was released in October 2012. Production by RZA, Frank Dukes, Fuzzy Womack, The Black Keys, Kanye West, Boogz & Tapez, Bob Perry, BadBadNotGood, S1, Steven James Brown, Corinne Bailey Rae, Issac Hayes & David Porter.

Track Listing:
1. "The Baddest Man Alive" by The Black Keys and RZA
2. "Blackout" by Ghostface Killah, M.O.P. & Pharoahe Monch
3. "White Dress" by Kanye West
4. "I Forgot to be Your Lover" by The Revelations & Tre Williams
5. "Got Your Way (Sex is a Weapon) by Idle Warship (Talib Kweli & Res)
6. "Rivers of Blood by Wu-Tang Clan & Kool G Rap (listed as Wu-Tang Clan but actually only Raekwon, U-God & Ghostface Killah)
7. "Built for This" by Method Man, Freddie Gibbs & Streetlife
8. "The Archer" by Killa Sin
9. "Just Blowin' in the Wind" by RZA & Flatbush Zombies
10. "Chains" by Corinne Bailey Rae
11. "Tick, Tock" by Pusha T, Raekwon, Joell Ortiz & Danny Brown
12. "Green is the Mountain" by Frances Yip
13. "Six Directions of Boxing" by Wu-Tang Clan (U-God, Ghostface Killah, GZA, Masta Killa, Cappadonna & Inspectah Deck)
14. "Your Good Thing (Is About to Come to an End)" by Mable John
15. "I Go Hard" by Ghostface Killah, Boy Jones & Wiz Khalifa
16. "Bust Shots" by Sheek Louch, Ghostface Killah & Inspectah Deck (bonus digital track)

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It's been almost a year and a half since the last Wu-related album "Legendary Weapons" came out so I've been anticipating this soundtrack (and the movie) hard. It starts out with one of the best tracks on the album "The Baddest Man Alive". I have no prior musical knowledge of The Black Keys except that the internet loves them so I was surprised by how right "The Baddest Man Alive" feels. The RZA verses are servicable and elicited a few funny lines but I think the song would have been even better with a stronger MC on it. But that's just a small nit-pick. "White Dress" is a strong Kanye West song and "Just Blowin' in the Wind" brings interesting production with another group I have no prior knowledge of (Flatbush Zombies) and a stronger RZA verse then the opener. "Rivers of Blood" feels like a classic Wu-Tang track and Kool G Rap fits in with Ghostface and Raekwon perfectly. The bonus track "Bust Shots" gives me hope for the Wu-Block album the next Wu releated release that comes out next month.

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The rest of the album is filled with six "ok but not great" gangster songs, and five tracks that while not bad are not anything I would ever listen to again. "I Forgot to be Your Lover" brought back a memory of high school and something that would have been on the Jason's Lyric soundtrack. So overall it's a solid album. Not on the level as the last release "Legendary Weapons" but a huge step up from most of the RZA soundtrack releases.

Highlights: "The Baddest Man Alive", "Rivers of Blood, "White Dress", "Just Blowin' in the Wind", "Bust Shots"

Review: B/B-

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I'll have a Wu-Block review up this weekend. I also just found out a new Masta Killa album came out last tuesday and early word is that it's terrible so I'm looking forward to listening to that.

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79. Wu-Block

Wu-Block is an collaborative album (released in November 2012) made up of the Wu-Tang and D-Block (formerly The Lox) camps. It was spearheaded by Ghostface Killah and Sheek Louch which shows because this is basically a Ghost and Sheek album. They appear together on every track but one with all the other rappers feeling like guest stars. The other features are Raekwon, Jadakiss, Styles P, Cappadonna, Method Man, Masta Killa, GZA, Erkyah Badu and Inspectah Deck. Production is handled by a number of producers most notably Frank Dukes, Erick Sermon, Red Spyda and Termanology.

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The first single for this album was released in June called "Union Square" and it wasn't very impressive so I didn't expect too much from this album but it looks like they felt the same way because that song doesn't even appear on the Wu-Block album. As mentioned before this is basically a Ghostface and Sheek album fortunately they fit well together and their verses are for the most part the strongest. These two can do gangster tales in their sleep and that's for better or worse what this album entails. "Different Time Zones" rides a nice beat and has a solid performance by Inspectah Deck. "Drivin' Round" the only real exception to that "gangsta" formula is anchored by a nice GZA verse but is let down by a bad Erkyah Badu hook and mediocre verses by Sheek and Masta Killa. "Been Robbed" the best track on Wu-Block and it features Ghost and Sheek having fun and joking around (with a great hook sample) which makes for a nice change from the seriousness of the rest of the album. So overall the rapping is fantastic although the subject matter is generic. Most of the hooks are pretty lackluster also which mars the otherwise good quality production.

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Highlights: "Been Robbed", "Bust Shots", "Pour tha Martini", "Different Time Zones"

Review: B

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I'll have updates soon since I've got the new Masta Killa album and Raekwon released a new mixtape this week. Inspectah Deck also has a new album coming out with 7L & Esoteric in a couple weeks. The Wu-Tang has been busy for their 20 year anniversary!

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80. Masta Killa - "Selling My Soul"

Masta Killa released his third solo album in December 2012. It features guest appearances by Kurupt and Ol' Dirty Bastard (not really). Production is handled by 9th Wonder, Masta Killa, Mathematics, Inspectah Deck, Mediate Soul, P.F. Cuttin', Dash, Koolade and Blackinati.

Where to start? Ok, first off Masta Killa is one of the most mellow rappers I've ever heard so putting out an album with equally mellow production and basically no guests means this album will put you to sleep in a hurry. "No Said Date" his first and best album worked so well because it mixed his soft delivery with great beats and guest spots that complemented him. Here the only guest star is Kurupt who is on two songs in a row, he reuses lines he's said in the past and raps his typical misogynist nonsense the complete opposite of the theme Masta Killa has going for the album. The production besides "Food" which was done by 9th Wonder is forgettable. "R U Listening" uses the same beat as "Crack Spot Stories" off the Wu-Block album and it's used to much greater effect on that album. "Wise Words" uses the beat from 2Pac's "Keep Ya Head Up" and is basically a spoken word of Masta Killa talking about that song which is about as boring as it sounds. The lamest part of this album though is that it was advertised as "featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard" and what that consists of is on the song "Dirty Soul" we have Masta Killa for the first part of the song just name off all the soul artists he likes and the second part he raps in Ol' Dirty Bastard's style with a ODB sample occasionally cutting in. To use a dead artists name to sell your product and then that artist not actually being featured is pretty despicable.

Highlights: "Soul and Substance", "Food"

Lowlights: "Wise Words", "Part 2", "Divine Glory", "Dirty Soul"

Review: D

[ledfloyd]

I'm sure you've heard 12 Reasons to Die by now? It's probably my favorite Ghost album since Fishscale.

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Nope I actually haven't. Thanks for reminding me about this thread I need to catch up.

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81. Raekwon - "Lost Jewlry"

Raekwon released this free mixtape in January 2013 as a warmup for his scheduled new album later in the year. If features guest appearances by Freddie Gibbs, Faith Evans, Maino and Altrina Renee. Production is handled by Statik Selektah, Scram Jones, Buckwild, Vin da Chin, Frank G., DJ Thoro and Roads-Art.



I've mentioned before but I'm not the biggest Raekwon fan. He's a solid rapper but most of my favorite Rae songs are due to the production or guest stars. This album features four guest appearances none of which add anything of value. The production is decent overall (with the three Scram Jones tracks being the highlights) and the album features the usual Raekwon mix of New York gangster stories and female trouble tales. The weirdest thing about "Lost Jewlry" (yes it's really spelled like that) is the intro. The intro is just a one minute long Statik Selektah instrumental. Now Statik is the biggest producer name on this thing why would you put his beat on your album and not rap over it? Baffling. It's also my favorite track on "Lost Jewlry". So yeah my favorite track on a Raekwon album has nothing to do with Raekwon.



Highlights: "A King's Chariot (Intro)", "Young Boy Penalties", "Came Up"

Review: C

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82. Inspectah Deck, 7L & Esoteric - "Czarface"



Inspectah Deck, 7L & Esoteric came together to release this album in February 2013. It features guest appearances by Ghostface Killah, Cappadonna, Roc Marciano, Oh No, Action Bronson, Mr. MFN Exquire and Vinnie Paz. Production is mainly by 7L & Spada4 with DJ Premier also doing a track.



This album came out of nowhere for me. I wasn't very knowledgeable about 7L & Esoteric before listening to this so I didn't really have any expectations and the last couple Deck albums have been mediocre so surprisingly this is one of the best Wu related albums in years. The first thing they get right is the production. "Czarface" sounds like how I had hoped the Wu-Tang would be sounding 20 years later and not the generally poor production that RZA has been serving up in the latter half of his career. The samples are all over the place from G.I.Joe and Superfriends cartoons, Adam West Batman, old WWF promos, George Carlin and even a sample from a inspecting your deck DIY video. Thankfully the rapping doesn't disappoint either. Inspectah Deck sounds more energized then he has in years and Esoteric holds his own and even overtakes Deck on a couple tracks. If I had a complaint I guess it would be the guest spots could have been better. They got talented MC's but none put in their best work on this album. Oh No's verse is really the only standout. None of the other guests are bad they just don't really shine. But that's just a nitpick. GET THIS ALBUM!



Highlights: "Air 'Em Out", "Cement 3's", "Rock Beast", "Savagely Attack", "Let it Off"

Review: A