Debut album by Brooklyn rapper Elgin "Masta Killa" Turner, ninth official member of the Wu-Tang Clan. Production is mainly done by «Wu-Elements», and is equally split between RZA, Mathematics and True Master, along with individual contributions from non-Wu beatmakers such as Brock, Dave West, Hakim Shabazz, Choco and Baby Dooks. All Wu-Tang Clan members participate in the project, along with Streetlife affiliates, Allah Real (uncredited), Prodigal Sunn & Killah Priest of Sunz of Man.
The disc is opened by a skit on a light oriental beat. "Grab the Mic" is the first cut, produced by Brock: simple boom bap, slow hard drum, honest loop, the beat keeps mid-nineties Wu vibes. Masta Killa delivers bravado bars with a slow, simple, monotonous, good flow. RZA produces the title track: boom bap gloomy, with fast drum and good samples, fast delivery of Master Killer in one of his finest solo records. The next track is done by Mathematics, which features a great boom bap, with hard dry drum and compelling sample, slow flow by the MC. The record seems to be doing pretty well until "Love Spell", where a first attempt to making the LL Cool J / Big Daddy Kane love song emerges: annoying hook by Dave West, which also produces the cut and produces a weak and dull boom bap, with poor drum and poor samples, which doesn't help the slow rapping of Masta Killa.
On one of the best productions of the record, performed by Hakim Shabazz, the rapper leaves room for his sons Shamel, Kareem and Jamel to spit a few bars into a skit. "DTD" is the first Wu-Tang Clan posse: sample of Otis Redding's "Try A Little Tenderness", boom bap of Mathematics with dirty and dusty, hard and tight drum machine, it opens Masta Killa, and it follows Raekwon with an energetic, smooth, regular flow, dope. Master Killer to the second verse with more energy and vitality than before, better flow, more focused and inspired. Then, Ghostface on the last verse, smooth flow, good. Mathematics proves to be the best producer of the album in "Whatever": cheerful boom bap, dirty dusty hard drum, excellent string loop, Street Life shows a good entry and delivers inspired, confident, slow, regular. Incredible attack by Prodigal Sunn, aggressive, hardcore, smoothness, dope flow. Streetlife simple functional hook before the last verse of Masta Killa, slow, inspired, monotonous, good flow.
True Master produces the rhythm of "Secret Rivals", another Wu-posse that completes the Sunz of Man section: discreet piano, dirty and dusty drum, dry, dark and quick boom bap, smooth delivery by Killah Priest; Method Man brings good flow to the table, Masta Killa closes the song with his monotonous and slow rap, he's fine. Skit from the movie "The Buddha Assassinator" (1980) which anticipates "Digi Warfare": boom bap rhythm that breathes the classic mood of the mid-nineties Wu, created by Choco. Honest loop, dirty quick drum, intro, verse, and hook performed by Elgin Turner with a slow and inspired style. There's a short interlude recited by RZA, uncredited, along with U-God, also uncredited and literally left with three words, due to his fight with The Abbot around this time, probably. "Old Man" opens with Ol' Dirty Bastard reciting and singing the hook, Bobby Digital's simple production, slow lean drum, good sample, good delivery of Masta Killa, RZA spits worthily with slow and raw flow, closing chorus and outro of BZA.
"Queen" boasts a splendid production of True Master, Curtis Mayfield's "The Making of You" sample, dirty dusty boom bap, excellent rhythm that also has oriental vibes, slow monotone delivery of Masta Killa. After about twenty minutes, the ninth member of the Wu-Tang returns to having a solo cut, in which he interprets stanzas and hooks. It closes a sung outro of Allah Real, uncredited. A skit opens "School", dystopian boom bap by RZA, dark and obscure sample, hard, dry and dusty drum midtempo, among his best early and mid-2000s rhythms. Master Killer interprets the rhythm with its usual monotonous, regular style. Switchbeat where RZA places a quick, skeletal drum and a tight loop almost to the point of annoyance, delivering with a quick and raw rap. Masta Killa also speeds up his delivery, paying homage to several New York schools, not something you see often in rap. Outro with 2Pac skit that pays homage to the Wu-Tang.
"Silverbacks" is the latest Wu-Tang posse track: third and last boom bap provided by True Master, slow dusty dirty drum machine, solid samples, mid-nineties vibes. Regular, slow, energetic delivery of Inspectah Deck, followed by Masta Killa, inspired, flowing, with more energy than usual in the inflection of his bars, it closes GZA with a solid verse and good flow. The last song is "Masta Killa": excellent boom bap made by Baby Dooks, frenetic but light and accessible drum, good samples, oriental vibes, track interspersed with Bruce Lee's skit.
Masta Killa's first album was released in 2004, ten years after the first official solo debut of a supergroup member (Method Man's "Tical", 1994), eleven years after his verse in "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)" (1993) and thirteen years later the Clan's first album ("Words From the Genius" by GZA, 1991). The ninth official member of the Wu-Tang Clan is the last to debut a solo LP, six years after the previous debuts of the later members of the group, with U-God and Inspectah Deck in 1998, and many years after the debuts of the various affiliated artists and groups, including Killarmy (1997), Sunz of Man (1998), Cappadonna (1998; then official member since 2007) and Royal Fam (2000). The LP is part of the third or fourth wave of Wu-Tang releases, but it sounds like it came out during the first, thanks to a solid production that recalls the typical sound of the mid-nineties, coupled with competent rapping.
The production is mainly made by the «Wu-Elements», who realize nine of the fourteen rhythms present, with three rhythms divided between RZA, Mathematics and True Master. This trio of producers doesn't disappoint, not even Bobby Digital, and manages to build a solid soundscape for Master Killer's first release, with a sturdy boom bap, hard, slow, dirty and dusty drums, and good, minimal samples, strong enough to give a different tone to each track. The set of rhythms is completed by beatmakers outside the Wu-universe, such as Dave West, Hakim Shabazz, Brock, Choco and Baby Dooks: among them, only the rhythm of Dave West is questionable, while all the other guys faithfully contribute to creating an excellent atmosphere that nails the Wu-sound of the mid-nineties and takes the listener back to that period, providing musical carpets that don't feel lower than those of the «Wu-Elements». Hakim Shabazz has the best beat, probably, but his work is chosen to be the backdrop to the freestyle of the rapper's young sons. That said, Mathematics has a contender to the best rhythm of the edition with "Whatever".
Masta Killa's lyricism is focused on battle rap and braggadocio with few variations around criminal, socio-conscious and abstract stanzas, and overall, good, solid and competent lyrics. The Brooklyn MC executes his bars with a slow, steady, monotonous flow, which can easily be boring even for a stan, however, the boy interprets the lyrics well most of the time. Together with him, all the members of the Wu-Tang Clan take part in the album: I believe that this is the third solo studio album to present all the members of the Wu-Tang, after "Only Built" and "Liquid Swords" (Cappadonna wasn't an official member at the time). RZA is the main guest with three appearances (one uncredited), all providing excellent performances, giving some of the best moments of the edition in well-executed posse cuts.
Among the great strengths of the project is the fact that it doesn't bring any external guests to the Wu-Tang. Raekwon, Ghostface, Inspectah Deck, and GZA bring out solid performances, while Method Man and RZA sound less good, Ol' Dirty Bastard does his thing and U-God isn't credited and says a single line that goes unnoticed in the middle of the record. Other guests include the Wu-affiliate Streetlife, who does well on "Whatever", the Wu-mentor Allah Real, who sings uncredited the outro of "Queen", and Sunz of Man members Prodigal Sunn and Killah Priest: according to me, they have the two best verses of the whole album, maybe the one of Killah Priest is better, but P Sunn is at that level, and they're competing among them for the title of MVP of this official Wu-Tang album.
Unlike some of the Wu-Tang Clan's biggest products, Masta Killa's debut is released by the Brooklyn independent label Nature Sounds. For being an independent record, it has a good commercial response, entering the rap and pop charts, but failing to climb so many positions. Overall, it's a strong, cohesive, compact and excellent album, with 16 cuts and 48 minutes: sometimes [exaggeratedly] pushed to the status of classic debut, the disk gets great praise from critics, who consider it among the best solo releases of the supergroup.
Highlights: "Grab the Mic", "No Said Date", "D.T.D", "Whatever", "Secret Rivals", "Old Man", "Queen", "Silverbacks", "Masta Killa".
Rating: 8.5/10.
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