original story posted march 30, 2010
Riding on the train established through the features on Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt. 2, Method
Man, Raekwon and Ghostface Killah have always been the most prominent figures
within the Wu Tang camp.
Since the
beginning stages of the Clan, these three have essentially stood beyond most of
their other members, maybe outside of GZA.
With the train wreck that came from 8 Diagrams, there has been a void in regards to the future of the
W, but these three rappers are willing to carry the flag high with their collaborative
effort Wu Massacre.
From the jump, the rappers look to rekindle the magic from
their rookie years with
“Criminology 2.5” and “Meth VS. Chef Pt. 2”. While being solid tracks, they fail to hold a
candle to their predecessors and pulling Raekwon out of the roster for the
sequel to “Criminology” just doesn’t make sense. Why take a rapper off a song that was
initially created on his album?
Perceived as the older generation, the three have far from
lost their steps and Method Man utilizes “It’s That Wu S**t” to verbally
assault those that only consider him to be a rapper past his prime.
"Yo, I spit lines from
the rubber room/ Bottom line, I kick mine like a mother’s womb/ I’m still in my
prime, f**k them other dudes/ No biting’s the rule, but we can eat each other’s
food/ Flash a camera at the all-time great/ Single handed increase New York’s
crime rate."
With limited time, Raekwon takes time to Chef up a lyrical
barrage and completely delivers on songs such as “Dangerous” when he drops
gutter raps like these:
"This is crime
station/ my obligation is to look raw as ever, feed my little sons and basians/
Cause they hungry, shinin/ Bullet fly right through the linin."
Maintaining that gutter Wu sound from the old days, the
three are able to weave lyrics effortlessly, but sometimes the features bring
down a track with some corny lines.
“I got my ghostface
on cause I’m a killa/ I live the street life, why, cause I’m that n**ga/ Label
me the beast, call me U-Godzilla.”
While the attempt is notes, Street Life could have presented
lines that don’t come off so elementary.
A true gem from the project comes from none other than
Ghostface Killah as he makes the decision to fly solo on the joint “Pimpin’
Chipp” as he weaves a tale of a fallen pimp and his “employee” that tried to
stay loyal.
The other day I
brought a little gat, where I keep by my lower back/ Cause these n**gas don’t
know how to act/ At the Apollo/ Ray Charles told me “B**tches get in the car cause I want you
to swallow/ I jumped in and his bodyguards followed/ He was quick, I spit the
nut on his ’74 Rottles/ He wanted to invite me to Chicago/ I said “No Daddy”,
he pushed me out and lit up a Marlboro.
As the final song of the album, there is much more to be
wanted from the project. Clocking in
around 30 minutes, it feels as though the sentiments of Method Man might have
been correct when he made the statement that Def Jam placed a rush on the
project. While the three were able to
make very good use of their shortened time, the sky is the limit to what would
have happened had the label been on their side.
Only 12 tracks with 2 skits included? Really Def Jam? Luckily there are no filler songs and all 10
are guaranteed to keep fans nodding their heads.
The trio truly shines when they appear together and it’s
apparent that bulls**t and politics had a hand in the process as Raekown is
only featured on four of the tracks [5 if you have the original “Criminology
2.5].
Instead of an album, most should really consider this to be
an EP or like a mixtape, with no faults to the members, but it is still a solid
addition for the rap sheet of the Wu Tang Clan.
3 out of 5
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