Awich – “Okinawan Wuman” review | エイウィッチ – 「沖縄のウーマン」レビュー

Awich is a 38 year old rapper from Naha, Okinawa, Japan introducing herself almost 2 decades ago off her debut EP Inner Research & Asian Wish Child respectively. She returned in 2017 with the full-length debut 8, which she would follow up by putting out Beat & Heart as well as her sophomore effort Kujaku & Partition. Queendom was fine for what it was & United Queens was a decent prelude to The Union, enlisting one of my top 10 producers of all-time RZA of the almighty Wu-Tang Clan for her 5th studio LP.

After the “Lotus” introductory skit, the lead single “Butcher Shop” featuring A$AP Ferg sets it all off with a boom bap opener giving it to y’all as raw as desired whereas “Fear Us” featuring Joey Bada$$ & RZA after the “Kaiju of Okinawa” skit finds the trio coming together to talk about those afraid of the truth. “Wax On Wax Off” by A$AP Ferg & Lupe Fiasco samples “Jeans Blues” by Meiko Kaji referencing The Karate Kid but after the “Flexin’ in Shibuya” skit, “Shibuya Flex” featuring MIKE & 454 talks about them having to lose it all.

“Hold It Down” featuring Westside Gunn starts the 2nd half referencing the current AEW International Champion Kazuchika Okada set to retire New Japan Pro-Wrestling president Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom 20 while “A Woman Hung Up” talks about being the finest out of Okinawa with a dollar & a dream. “Ghosts of the East” takes the trap route instrumentally looking to haunt the world to their bones & prior to the “Full Circle” outro, the final song “Noble Lies” talks about the very thing that makes the world go around.

To make up for the Juice Crew’s reunion EP getting pushed back, Okinawan Wuman kinda reminds me of Anarchy’s 2nd EP My Mind produced by Statik Selektah celebrating it’s 2-year anniversary last month in the sense that both are fine examples of the traditional boom bap sound originating in New York refined for a Japanese emcee who’s been around for a couple of decades already. Not only that, but I can’t forget to mention the stellar guest list either.

Score: 4/5

スコア: 4/5

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Wu-Tang Clan – “Black Samson, The Bastard Swordsmen” review

The Wu-Tang Clan are the greatest hip hop group of all-time from Staten Island, New York consisting of one of my top 10 producers the RZA, the GZA, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Raekwon, Masta Killa, Cappadonna, the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard & their deejay Mathematics. Originally a trio under the All in Together Now moniker, their 1993 debut Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) became an east coast hip hop landmark & their 1997 sophomore effort Wu-Tang Forever is the greatest double disc hip hop album ever. The W was significantly less polished than most of what came of that era in the Clan & Iron Flag divisively revisited old sounds. 8 Diagrams stirred more controversy due to RZA embracing a experimental, orchestral & more universal production style with A Better Tomorrow during my senior year of high school being regarded as their worst even if “Pioneer the Frontier” has always stood out to me personally. Mathematics would fully produce The Saga Continues… & is doing so again for the Wu’s 8th album preluding their upcoming farewell tour. Not even gonna waste my breath on Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.

After the “Sucker Free City” intro, the first song “Mandigo” is this boom bap opener with 4 of the 9 remaining swordsmen talking about their style taking a strong back & total breath control whereas “Roar of a Lion (The Lion’s Pit)” by RZA & U-God featuring Kool G Rap finds the trio giving middle fingers to all their enemies. “Claudine” by Ghostface Killah & Method Man featuring Nicole Bus crosses over hip hop & soul trying to fight for love while “Shaolin vs. Lama” by Inspectah Deck & Raekwon talks about holding your head.

“Executioners from Shaolin” keeps it rolling by sinisterly cautioning that nobody want smoke with them in a battle just before “Cleopatra Jones” by Masta Killa & Raekwon sees the pair breaking down the affection each of them have a woman who goes by that name. “Warriors 2, Cooley High” by Method Man featuring Benny the Butcher absolutely delivers as a big fan of both Wu-Tang & Griselda just before “Let’s Do It Again” by RZA following his role as Bobby in the A24 Films surrealist comedy drama Problemista featuring RJ Payne, Willie the Kid& 38 Spesh talks about getting stronger as life becomes more difficult.

Cappadonna, Masta Killa & U-God all link on up “Dolomite” for another hardcore boom bap track justifiably boasting that you can’t tell ‘em shit since they’ve been around longer than the 80s crack epidemic & going deep enough in the projects where no one else can go, but then the “Trouble Man” outro shows off Kameron Corvet’s skills through a brief verse. “Charleston Blue, Legend of a Fighter” by Cappadonna featuring KXNG CROOKED officially ends the album with the latter talking about fatherhood & Cappa penning an open letter to his mother while the bonus track “Sinners (Mo’ Better Blues)” by the Def Squad was a cool reunion minus Redman.

7 & a half years since The Saga Continues…, the Clan homages the blaxploitation & martial arts genres of films that shaped them 5 decades ago. I appreciate that all 9 members were able to contribute lyrically testing each other’s swords unlike U-God being the only absentee on the predecessor & some of the finest in the underground today joining them felt like a rewarding passing-of-the-torch moment. 1 final noteworthy mention has to be Mathematics displaying his growth & development as a producer with the selection of beats he’s arranged.

Score: 3.5/5

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RZA – “Bobby Digital & the Pit of Snakes” review

This is the 5th EP from New York emcee, producer, actor & filmmaker RZA. Widely known as the de facto leader of the almighty Wu-Tang Clan, he was actually the 2nd & last person of the group following GZA to come out with a solo effort before their full-length debut Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers by dropping his debut EP Ooh I Love You Rakeem under Tommy Boy Records just 5 months after The Genius put out his full-length debut Words from the Genius under Cold Chillin’ Records. The Abbott eventually put out his own debut album Bobby Digital in Stereo in the fall of ‘98, which I personally think gets criminally overlooked because people were expecting The Cure & I think it’s safe to say it’s never seeing the light of day at this point. Digital Bullet was a worthy sequel too, but I can’t say the same for Birth of a Prince or Digi Snax. He returned from a 14 year hiatus back in March to drop the DJ Scratch-produced Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater & I still maintain that it’s RZA’s best solo effort since Digital Bullet even though the overall reception was mixed, so I was definitely curious to hear how Bobby Digital & the Pit of Snakes would play out especially since he’s back on the boards for the whole thing also.

“Under the Sun” is a guitar-driven opener talking about how we are all 1 whereas “Trouble Shooting” mixes boom bap & rock to confess that trouble keeps finding him. “Something Going On” has a grander tone to the instrumental as RZA talks about not wanting to die alone just before “We Push” works in some pianos to remind everyone that there’s more to the story.

The track “Cowards” brings back the rock influences which is nice except that the singing throughout is absolutely God awful while the penultimate song “Fight to Win” shoots for a more solemn aesthetic striving for victory. And prior to the “Live Your Own Rhythm” outro, “Celebrate Life” finishes the EP with a colorful ballad about commemorating our time here on planet Earth.

Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater might be a tad bit better in my personal opinion, but that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy Bobby Digital & the Pit of Snakes for what it is because RZA really did drop 2 great EPs back-to-back. The whole concept of him figuring out the nature of his reality & himself is well thought out with him continuing to evolve as a producer & actually suiting him compared to the Wu sounding like they didn’t fit over a majority of the beats that he cooked up for the Clan’s last 2 group albums 8 Diagrams & A Better Tomorrow.

Score: 3.5/5

RZA – “Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater” review

RZA is a 52 year old MC, producer, actor & filmmaker from New York City who’s widely recognized as being the de facto leader the almighty Wu-Tang Clan. But he was the 2nd & last person of the group following GZA to come out with a solo effort before their full-length debut Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers, dropping his debut EP Ooh I Love You Rakeem under Tommy Boy Records just 5 months after The Genius put out his full-length debut Words from the Genius under Cold Chillin’ Records. It wasn’t until late ‘98 though where RZA put out his own debut album Bobby Digital in Stereo, which I think gets criminally overlooked because people were expecting The Cure. He then followed it up with a worthy sequel Digital Bullet, but I can’t say the same for Birth of a Prince or the conclusion to the Bobby Digital trilogy Digi Snax. But after teasing it during Method Man & Redman’s 4/20 Verzuz, he’s returning from a 14-year break in the form of his 4th EP produced entirely by DJ Scratch.

After the intro”, the title track kicks it all off on a symphonic note as Bobby Digital makes his glorious return whereas “Pugilism” mixes some keyboards & strings to get in his shit-talking bag except his vocals are mixed WAY better than it was when he originally dropped it on YouTube last spring. “Never Love Again” keeps the orchestra vibes going getting lovey dovey while the song “Fate of the World” dispiritedly vents about the current state of the world. The penultimate track “Fisherman” goes into jazzy territory talking about how “no one knows for whom the bell tolls” & lastly, “Kaiju” ends the EP getting conscious on top of a militant beat.

I really didn’t know what to expect from this EP given how mid Birth of a Prince & Digi Snax were as well as the 14 year time gap, but I can honestly say this is The Abbot’s best solo effort in 2 decades. I love how DJ Scratch’s production is pretty much a love letter to The RZA’s unique sound down to the Kung Fu movie samples as he details the collision between him & his alter-ego.

Score: 4/5

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

Wu-Tang Clan – “The Saga Continues” review

When it seemed like 2014’s A Better Tomorrow would be the almighty Wu-Tang Clan’s final group album, they’re now returning with their 7th official full-length album (excluding the single-copy of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin) & they have enlisted Wu-Elements member Mathematics to produce it in it’s entirety. After a 91 second instrumental intro with a spoken word sample & then an actual spoken monologue from the Clan’s de facto leader RZA, we are then treated to the album’s first song “Lesson Learn’d”. Here, Inspectah Deck teams up with Redman to remind you that they never play around over a hard hitting boom bap instrumental & I also didn’t mind Deck’s jab at the Once Upon a Time in Shaolin purchaser Martin Shkreli near the end of his verse, given that he’s an evil culture vulture. The track “Fast & Furious” is pretty much Raekwon & Hue Hef getting mafioso over a menacing instrumental & while Hue was just ok, Rae definitely made up for it. After a short instrumental interlude that takes it back the group’s early days with a Kung Fu sample, we are then lead into the next song If Time’s Money (Fly Navigation). It’s pretty much a Method Man solo cut, but he makes up for his last album The Meth Lab by hopping on an instrumental you can really kick back to & spitting a long yet charismatic verse.

The track “Frozen” may have a lazy hook as it recycles a couple Rae & Ghostface Killah lines from “4 Horsemen”, but the verses from Meth about pushing the limit as well as the vivid storytelling from Killah Priest & the lethally angry Chris Rivers make up for it some keys along with a bass guitar & a regular guitar. After a 45 second skit with a soulful instrumental in the background, we then get into the next song “Pearl Harbor”. Here, the late Sean Price gets with Meth & RZA to confrontationally spit bars like being the greatest & telling your crew to wear shorts with an image of you on it over some gritty horns as well as some keys & an organ. I also love how RZA brings back his Bobby Digital alter ego during his verse & the one line he makes midway through his part about how he can turn Lady Gaga heterosexual again was pretty hilarious. The track “People Say” sees Deck, Meth, Rae & Masta Killa linking back up with Redman alongside to get braggadocious over a very soulful boom bap beat. “Family” is a 1 minute skit containing a sample of a mother talking about family (hence the title) & the next song “Why Why Why” is basically a conscious RZA solo cut over some funky bass & some decently sung vocals from Swnkah.

The track “G’d Up” is basically Meth & R-Mean talking about being just that & the beat is pretty luscious, but the Mzee Jones hook sounds like a cut-rate T-Pain. The song “If What You Say Is True” sees Cappadonna along with GZA & Masta Killa getting with Streetlife to spit some abrasive battle rhymes over some sinister horns. The “skit” Saga is less of a skit & more of RZA spitting about haters not wanting the Clan grow & even a cool reference to the Flint water crisis over some beautiful strings. The 91 second “Hood Go Bang!” has a decent Redman hook, but then lone verse that Method Man delivers nearly has the same rhyme scheme throughout that it’s crazy. The final song in the track listing is “My Only One”, where Cappa along with The Abbott & Tony Starks rap about their boos over a grimy instrumental. The next 2 tracks are just a 2 minute interlude with a funky instrumental & long spoken word sample & then a 45 second monologued outro from the RZA over the same instrumental as the one in the intro.

At the end of the day, this was a lot more consistent than the last few group albums. It feels more like a compilation considering the fact that there’s only 1 or 2 group members on a number of tracks & U-God not being on it at all, but everyone including almost all the features go & Mathematics probably made it the Clan’s most well produced album since The W

Score: 4/5