[louder]

his verse on the BET Cypher from a few years ago was hot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_KYSyiJ3ds

think i might revisit MMLP2 this weekend.

[louder]

alright so i just started listening to MMLP2. admittedly Em spits some dope verses here and there, but some of those hooks are so corny, i can't get jiggy to them. also why does every song gotta be 4-5 mins? same mistake as Born Sinner and Oxymoron. i swear these rappers just make their songs long as fuck for no particular reason.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

 

[Severian]

Originally Posted by louder

watched it again, so i must add - the hook (especially the choreography) and Cappadonna's verse were awful, everything else was still pretty good though.

I can't believe you said you were going to "steer clear" of the first Wu album in seven years. Are you serious? You watch a bad performance and then it's just "aw shit well they suck now! Those assholes! If they sucked they should have told me back in '93!

... Like, are you for real? Please, louder. Say it ain't so!


I now have a copy of the album (that's right... I've got a CD + vinyl on order, and I have a simple promo to keep me going in the meantime.

Out of respect for my (second) favorite hip-hop entity, and #1 all time favorite hip-hop group, I am listening with caution. Catching the feel of some of the songs but not letting myself binge on it.

It comes out swingin' in classic Wu-Tang style, and I haven't heard a bad song yet. This album is getting shat on by Wu fans left and right, and I think that has more to do with the media hullabaloo that is making Rae, GFK, Ghost, Gza and RZA sound like some ghettofied version of the Beatlws during "Let it Be." Fuck that noise!!!

It's a dope album as far as I can tell so far, without spoiling the entire thing for myself. But shit... Wow did my heart start pounding at the kick off of "Ruckus..." Even though I've heard it before! Several tracks in, and I can't help but call bullshit on the haters. This is as Wu as any of the last three albums, so stop being fairweather fans and go buy the album!!!! On Tuesday that is.

 

Now maybe we can start talking top 10 lists in earnest.

[louder]

listening to 21 Questions. just remembered how great some of the lines were..


"If I ain't rap cause I flip burgers at Burger King
Would you be ashamed to tell your friends you're feeling me??"

"If I fell off tomorrow would you still love me?"

"If I went back to a hoopty from a Benz
Would you poof and disappear like some of my friends?"

"Now would you leave me if your father found out I was thugging?"

"I treat you how you want to be treated, just teach me how"

[louder]

a new Chief Keef and Kanye collaboration titled "Nobody" finally drops next week, i think i've already posted the snippet before but anyway here it is: http://instagram.com/p/rx88nEyQdL/

sounds almost too good to be real.

[noisereductions]

Originally Posted by Severian

Now maybe we can start talking top 10 lists in earnest.

don't forget about the new Ghostface next month...

[h8kurdt]

Originally Posted by noisereductions

don't forget about the new Ghostface next month...

If anything as good as '12 reasons to die' then I'll be a happy man.

[noisereductions]

yeah I have pretty high hopes. Then again, I'm such a Ghost fanatic it's hard for him to disappoint me.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by noisereductions

don't forget about the new Ghostface next month...

I'm sorry... Did you just insinuate that there is a possibility that I would forget about the fact that a new GHOSTFACE KILLAH album is dropping?! 😏

Man, I hate to admit it, but I've been trolling the web for 2 weeks trying to track down a leak. So it's more accurate to say that I hate the fact that I've done that; admitting it isn't that bad. Kind of a relief, actually.

Anyway, I've been unable to get my hands on a proper promo, which is how I usually get my hands on music prior to the release date. And I don't want to just listen to snippets or previews or single songs. I want to hear that fucker from start to finish.

It's a little odd that its being released so soon after A Better Tomorrow. It's almost like GFK is setting himself up for a large scale comparison of his solo work to that of the Clan. To be honest, I think he his album might be more successful. It's inevitable that end of the year wrap-ups are going to make a point of discussing which album comes out "on top."

But Ghostface has earned his stripes. He's worked harder than anyone else in the Clan, and it's paid off. I am reading TONS of EXTREMELY NEGATIVE reviews of the new Wu singles, written on iTunes and YouTube by supposed long time fans. But the early response to 36 Seasons has been almost entirely positive.

This is all very troubling to me. This wu-drama has all been pretty disheartening to me, being such a loyal fan of the group for so many years. I would rather get NO ALBUM than an album that fractures the group, and is loathed by half the contributors. It's making me feel guilty for buying the thing; but I simply wouldn't be Severian if I didn't buy it, and I'd end up feeling just as guilty.

Having my Wu-loyalties divided was never part of the plan for me.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Its why groups rarely can stay together for too long or even the fanbase gets divided. Rap likes bball analogies so its like "reloading" a team with a superstar player with a different cast of role players because roll players can only win you so many championships. You have to bring in new talent in the process shifting the playing style of previous rosters around the new talent. The superstar remains the focal point and continues to win championships. Wu is a rap group that failed to realize this and kept too many of their glue guys and role players and never reloaded the roster. The solo projects have been the better supported as well as lets face it, the better product, over the past ten years or so because those are essentially different rosters around the superstars from Wu. I mean, the Big Three of Wu would be RZA, Ghostface, and GZA and indeed all those guys solo shit has been solid gold. I dig the solo shit of the other Wu dudes, but Wu together just hasn't been championship caliber for some time now..

[h8kurdt]

New Wu Tang is up on those sites if anyone's interested.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

I like this analogy I'm going all out on it..

RZA is the Magic Johnson point guard, the floor general who makes it all happen..
GZA is the bad ass small forward who can do a little bit of everything on the floor and brings the identity of the team to the floor every night.

Ghostface is the flashy shooting guard with the big ego and the big balls to make all the big game shots.

Inspectah Deck is the powerforward with enough power to be a big in under the block but enough speed and finesse to guard every position on the floor so he rocks PF just to fuck with people.

U-God is their brash center who holds it down in the post with the mean mug action and hard elbows for rebounds.

Masta Killa is his back up off the bench who could be the center on his own team but likes to beat up on the bench ninjaz from other teams.

Method Man is the flashy shooting guard off the bench.

Raekwon is the back up point who occasionally gets starting minutes when RZA gets tired from balling it up in all kinds of other teams on other leagues simultaneously as his work with the Wu.

Cappadona (who is actually one of my fav wu by the way) is the back up small forward, again like the starting PF has enough force of energy to be the center but enough fundamental skills to be a guard. He is the point-forward who can play all styles of the game, big ball under the post, pace and space as a floor spreading jump shooter, hyper trapping defense with his quickness to shut down the pick and roll, and of course, motherfucker mastered the Phil Jackson Triangle.

Nobody even knows what the fuck position ODB played, that dude just ran around the court taking on everybody.

[noisereductions]

in fairness, Ghost has a tendancy to release his albums in Nov/Dec a lot. So I'm not surprised. But this is a bit like 8 Diagrams vs. The Big Doe Rehab. And guess which one I like more?

Anyway, I'm open minded. I'm looking forward to hearing both.

@SFAD: Yeah, I've always been a Cappa fan. I think he's overly slept on.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Twelve Reasons to Die came out in like March last year??

[noisereductions]

true, but Ironman, Bulletproof Wallets, Put It On The Line, More Fish, The Big Doe Rehab, Ghostdeini The Great, Ghostini Wizard Of Poetry, Apollo Kids, Wu-Block, and now 36 Seasons all came out at the end of the year. It's just not an uncommon thing for him.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

Its why groups rarely can stay together for too long or even the fanbase gets divided. Rap likes bball analogies so its like "reloading" a team with a superstar player with a different cast of role players because roll players can only win you so many championships. You have to bring in new talent in the process shifting the playing style of previous rosters around the new talent. The superstar remains the focal point and continues to win championships. Wu is a rap group that failed to realize this and kept too many of their glue guys and role players and never reloaded the roster. The solo projects have been the better supported as well as lets face it, the better product, over the past ten years or so because those are essentially different rosters around the superstars from Wu. I mean, the Big Three of Wu would be RZA, Ghostface, and GZA and indeed all those guys solo shit has been solid gold. I dig the solo shit of the other Wu dudes, but Wu together just hasn't been championship caliber for some time now..

Sorry, I have to disagree with you on the Wu's “Big Three.” You're right that RZA, Ghostface & GZA are three of the core talents, but I'm afraid I'm gonna have to swap out GZA for Raekwon, putting the Genius in the still highly respectable, but not-quite pyramid topping, #4 slot.

I don't know where you're getting your facts, but as far as solo albums go, despite Loquod Swords being (essentially) the ultimate Wu solo album, the rest of GZA's solo output is decidedly less iconic, less interesting and less, ah, good.

Raekwon, on the other hand, unleashed OB4CL, which I think is neck and neck with Liquid Swords. It's better as an album, though it has fewer baller single tracks. Swords has such a distinct sound, and it comes on like a hurricane, rarely letting up on the intensity for more than the length of a sound byte. It's a sprinter, and the album's length is just a little bit too long for Gza's 100 yard dash onslaught.

OB4CL, on the other hand, is in for the long haul. It's a distance record, much more like a lo-fidelity prelude to Wu-Tang Forever, while Liquid Swords is more of a follow-up to 36 Chambers. Does that make any sense?

Plus, Raekwon's mixtapes and other lower profile releases are always gold. Always. GZA has been far less prolific, because he's a cold and calculating mothetfucker, and constant overachiever. He spends too much time staring at the chess board. Raekwon represents the Wu-Tang sound more loyally, with several of his albums just sound more or less like full Clan albums.

But I agree for the most part. RZA, Ghostface, Rae & GZA are the heartbeat of the group... Or maybe each is a different vital organ... I'm not going to get than fucking specific though. Christ, Jim I'm a doctor not a music critic!

👾

[Severian]

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

I like this analogy I'm going all out on it..

RZA is the Magic Johnson point guard, the floor general who makes it all happen..
GZA is the bad ass small forward who can do a little bit of everything on the floor and brings the identity of the team to the floor every night.

Ghostface is the flashy shooting guard with the big ego and the big balls to make all the big game shots.

Inspectah Deck is the powerforward with enough power to be a big in under the block but enough speed and finesse to guard every position on the floor so he rocks PF just to fuck with people.

U-God is their brash center who holds it down in the post with the mean mug action and hard elbows for rebounds.

Masta Killa is his back up off the bench who could be the center on his own team but likes to beat up on the bench ninjaz from other teams.

Method Man is the flashy shooting guard off the bench.

Raekwon is the back up point who occasionally gets starting minutes when RZA gets tired from balling it up in all kinds of other teams on other leagues simultaneously as his work with the Wu.

Cappadona (who is actually one of my fav wu by the way) is the back up small forward, again like the starting PF has enough force of energy to be the center but enough fundamental skills to be a guard. He is the point-forward who can play all styles of the game, big ball under the post, pace and space as a floor spreading jump shooter, hyper trapping defense with his quickness to shut down the pick and roll, and of course, motherfucker mastered the Phil Jackson Triangle.

Nobody even knows what the fuck position ODB played, that dude just ran around the court taking on everybody.

Oh, and you're giving too much credit to U-God. He kinda sucks. Better in the Clan than he is solo, most definitely. But still, probably the weakest link.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

That roster was not taking any solo material into account strictly wu records

[Severian]

Man, I will admit one thing: there were some absolutely cringeworthy decisions about "Miracle" from the new album.

I mean, the verses go hard as hell, but .... well, I guess you'll all what know I'm talking about when you stream the whole thing or buy the album tomorrow.

But... Yikes!!!... seriously... Wow.