Cilvaringz — I

When the Wu-Tang Clan arrives in Amsterdam for the promotional tour of the new album "Wu-Tang Forever", and during the concert a space for local talent is announced, Tarik "Cilvaringz" Azzougarh, a young boy of Moroccan origin born in Dordrecht and raised in Tilburg, Netherlands, he stands there, somehow gets on stage and spits bars in freestyle for two minutes in front of everyone, impressing Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man and RZA, who would like to sign him. However, it's the same ODB that causes the sudden security intervention that brings everyone off the stage, including the young Tarik, who's no longer able to contact RZA. With nothing to lose, the boy starts traveling from home to New York to chase Bobby Digital, sends letters, sends tapes, delivers demos personally to RZA's mother and sister, and on the fifth flight in two years between late 1997 and 1999, Tarik decides to camp in front of the Razor Sharp studios in New York. When he meets Bobby Steels' sister again in front of the studios, he convinces her to contact RZA and shortly thereafter the young man signs with Wu-Tang Records, becoming the first non-American affiliate of the Wu-Tang Clan.

Since 2002, Cilvaringz has been touring with his entertainment company, touring the world opening Wu-Tang Clan shows, and recording his debut album, which came out in 2007. The production is handled by Cilvaringz and is also done by members of his group Lin Brotherz Moongod Allah and Barracuda, as well as Wu-Tang-related artists such as RZA and Wu-Elements Bronze Nazareth, True Master, 4th Disciple and Allah Mathematics. The guests are Salah Edin, Roger Peterson, Michèle van der Aa, Feathers, Senna, Dorona Alberti, Ne-Yo, Pharrell Williams and the Wu-Tang Clan: from the supergroup come RZA, Raekwon, Masta Killa, GZA, Ghostface Killah and Method Man, as well as Killa Sin, Beretta 9, ShoGun Assason & 9th Prince of Killarmy, Killah Priest, Shabazz the Disciple & 60 Second Assassin of Sunz of Man, and Blue Raspberry.

The disc is opened by an introductory skit that symbolizes in a precise way the arrival of Cilvaringz in the Wu-Tang, so much so that it seems to be built on purpose, instead it's an authentic excerpt from the movie "Shaolin and Wu Tang" (1983). In the rest of the record, Cilvaringz deals with socio-conscious, political and religious topics from a different perspective than your common rapper and with a greater awareness and, despite the fact that he doesn't have above-average texts, particular metric schemes or an intriguing flow, he manages to get to the bottom of his point with good English and a competent style, delivering bars with hardcore rapping, as it should be rapped on a Wu-Tang album. When he distances himself from these issues, he's bragging or addressing other topics such as the state of hip-hop ("The Saga"), the invisible lack of unity within the same Killa Beez world ("Brothers Ain't Brothers"), dedicating tracks to his woman ("Sheherezad, My Beloved"), to his idol Michael Jackson ("Forever Michael") and celebrating RZA throughout the album as he gave him the chance to stand out.

The production seems to be a continuation of the heyday of W. Cilvaringz chooses beats that sound as Wu-Tang as possible, with raw, hard, lethal (but accessible) drums, calm and ethereal melodic samples, heavy bass lines, horns, strings, soul extracts, and especially kung-fu movie skits that make the overall vibe more Shaolin than any other affiliate album. The quality of the individual rhythms is still not at the same height as the best achieved by RZA and the Wu-Elements, nevertheless, they hold up quite well with the contemporary rhythms set by the Wu-Tang and the musical section of the album as a whole holds up to all the Killa Beez releases of the same period, when it doesn't surpass them by far.

Through his own label Ringz & Partners Entertainment Group (RPEG Ltd.), Cilvaringz obtains distribution agreements that allow him to successfully sell his first LP worldwide, releasing with TopNotch in the Netherlands, Entak in Japan, Nocturne in France and Babygrande in the American market, Universal is behind them all. The record sells over sixty thousand physical copies globally, which is a major achievement for the Wu-Tang Clan's first European affiliate. Praised by critics for bringing back the typical sound of the Staten Island supergroup, appreciated by the public, the project launches him among the top figures in Wu: the LP received such a positive reception that it convinced RZA & Cilvaringz to make an entire Wu-Tang Clan album done in the same way and inspired by this record, made over six years with the verses discarded by the rappers of the supergroup in the sessions of some of their worst records and sold in a one-copy, "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin".

Highlights: "The Weeping Tiger". On the best production of the record, the work of RZA — RZA? For real? It's so unbelievable that he was still capable of making rhythms of this kind and this power that it's hard to believe that it wasn't recorded years ago. The beat is too good to be "recent" and Shallah Raekwon sounds like this is a stanza discarded from his "Lex Diamond Story" — Ghost acts intro and outro and Cilvaringz spits hardcore next to Lou Diamonds, I'll still pretend that his verse isn't "pasted" even though it sounds exactly like that, because the effort works somehow and is probably Cilvaringz's best track. Ah, there's the uncredited singer Senna to give an even more cinematic feel to the cut. "In the Name of Allah". On a commendable production signed four hands by RZA & Cilvaringz, the lead rapper is the last to perform in a posse track with Masta Killa, Killah Priest, RZA, with the Method Man intro and the hook of Shabazz the Disciple. "Blazing Saddles". Cilvaringz hooks up this joint with Killarmy and creates a kind of banger in some way. "Dart Tournament". Another banger with Killa Sin, while Blue Raspberry singing in the finale. "Valentine Day Massacre".

Rating: 7.5/10.