Tag: U-God

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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U-God – “Venom” review

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Almost 5 years after the release of the highly underrated The Keynote Speaker & with his autobiography coming out earlier this month, Wu-Tang Clan member U-God is returning with his 5th full-length album. The opener “Exordium” brags about his success as an MC over an orchestral beat & the next song “Unstoppable” talks about his longevity over a decent Powers Pleasant instrumental. The track “Epicenter” with Raekwon, Inspectah Deck & Scotty Wotty sees the 4 telling us that the Clan is the central point of hip hop over an sinister boom bap beat from DJ Green Lantern while the song “Bit da Dust” tells the story of someone getting stuck over a DJ Homicide beat that sounds like something the Wu-Elements would’ve produced.

The song “Elegance” is a smooth love tune with a decent hook from Nomdiq while the track “Climate” touches down on the current state of hip hop over some sinister keys & punchy drums. The titular song gets braggadocious & the way he flows over the beat is perfect while the track “Felon” reflects on his criminal past over a Large Professor instrumental with a killer rap rock vibe to it. The song “Legacy” is an ode to U-God’s own legacy & the horns in the instrumental where a nice touch.

The track “Whole World Watchin’” brags about how skillful he is over a gritty horn-inflicted boom bap beat from Lord Finesse while the song “XXX” with Method Man sees the 2 venting about a couple jealous exes they had over a infectious beat. The penultimate track “Jackpot” is basically a Scotty Wotty song since U-God doesn’t appear on it at all & while it’s not terrible, I feel like it didn’t need to be on here. The album then closes with “Wisdom”, where Golden Arms gets insightful over an ambitious beat.

Honestly, this is up there with The Keynote Speaker & Golden Arms Redemption as one of U-God’s better solo albums. The production is mostly on point & lyrically, it’s probably his most mature one yet.

Score: 4/5