Wu-Tang Clan – “Of Mics & Men” soundtrack review

The Wu-Tang Clan. What can be said now about the iconic New York hip hop outfit that hasn’t been said already? From their iconic first 2 albums Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) & Wu-Tang Forever to the countless classic solo debuts like Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… & Supreme Clientele, they’ve always been rightfully regarded as the greatest hip hop outfit of all-time. Last time we heard from them collectively in an album capacity was in 2014 with A Better Tomorrow & with a SHOWTIME documentary being recently released, they’re coming together with the help of Nas’ Mass Appeal Records to deliver the soundtrack for it.

The soundtrack kicks off with “On That Shit Again”, where Ghostface Killah & RZA sound vengeful over a piano & some drums. The next song “Seen a Lot of Things” with Ghost & Raekwon pretty much speaks for itself over a prominent electric guitar & after the “Project Kids” skit, we go into the RZA solo cut “Do the Same as My Brother Do”. Where the Abbott kicks some knowledge over a punchy yet orchestral beat. After the “Yo is you Cheo?” skit & before the “1 Rhyme” outro, the final song of the EP is the title track. Where RZA gets with Cappadonna & Masta Killa boast over some prominent drums.

As much as I loved the documentary, this was a decent soundtrack. Most of the performances are fantastic don’t get me wrong, but it sounds like the Clan could’ve fully fleshed it out.

Score: 3/5

Nas – “NASIR” review

Despite saying it was done when DJ Khaled gave us a Major 🔑 in the Summer of 2016, the legendary Queensbridge MC Nas is finally coming through with his 11th album & he has enlisted Kanye West to produce it in it’s entirety.

The album begins with “Not for Radio”, where he vents about how he feels like the world is afraid of African American people over some haunting choir vocals. The next track “Cops Shot the Kid” with Kanye sees the 2 talking about police brutality over a perfect sample of the classic Slick Rick tune “Children’s Story” while the song “White Label” is pretty much a humble brag with a beautiful sample. The track “Bonjour” gets romantic over a soulful beat with some strings while the song “Everything” does talk about the current state of the world over some marching drums & a funky bass guitar, the first 2 minutes could’ve been cut off easily. The penultimate track track “Adam & Eve” lyrically reminds me of his Escobar days over some piano keys & then the closer “Simple Things” pretty much speaks for itself over a soulful beat.

As expected, this is tied with Pusha T’s latest album DAYTONA for being my favorite of the 5 albums that Kanye has dropped within the past month. I’m not surprised by the fact that it’s 7 tracks long given the other 3 albums are also in that length & it’s well produced, but Nas’ performances are a bit underwhelming to where hearing him offbeat is distracting.

Score: 3/5

Black Milk – “FEVER” review

A little over 3 years after the release of If There’s a Hell Below renown Detroit producer Black Milk is finally returning with his 7th full-length album. The opener “unVEil” speaks on living for the moment over a luscious neo psychedelic beat & the next track “But I Can Be” gets insightful over a laidback beat. The track “Could It Be” reflects where he started & where he’s at now over a soulful funky boom bap beat while the song “2 Would Try” vents to an unnamed ex-girlfriend over a smooth jazzy instrumental. The track “Laugh Now Cry Later” talks about how Black Milk sees the world differently nowadays over funky boom bap beat with a luring soul sample & the song “True Lies” gets conscious over a mellow funk rock instrumental.

After the “eVE” interlude, we then get into the next song “Drown”. Here, Black Milk touches down on the ghetto life over a settle guitar & bassline. The track “DiVE” is just an instrumental track with a beautiful flute with some laid-back guitar, keyboards & synthesizers during the second half. The song “Foe Friend” vividly tells the story of 2 friends who eventually fall out with each other over mellow beat & the track “Will Remain” gets ambitious over a funky beat. The closer “You Like to Risk It All / Things Will Never Be the Same” may have a mediocre auto-tune hook, but Black Milk’s compelling story suits the beat perfectly.

Personally, this is up with Popular Demand & Tronic for Black Milk’s magnum opus. The production is probably his most organic & the lyrics are lot smarter than ever before

Score: 4/5