The last noteworthy mafia album is "Roots of Evil": at the end of 1998, Kool G Rap gives a final twist to the subgenre and gives us one of his latest masterpieces. At that point, the wave of the subgenre was long over and the undertow was about to bring more waves of greater intensity, shiny suits, jiggy, shock rap, bling, the return of alt rap, and so on. At the end of 2003, Raewkon released his third studio album, four years after his previous one, the disappointing "Immobilarity".
The rapper finds himself having the same problem as his competitors who had released a classic in the mid-nineties: Jay-Z, AZ, Nas, Mobb Deep, GZA, Snoop Dogg, OC, Redman, KRS-One, The Pharcyde and G Rap himself are trying to find the formula that brought them so much success on their albums. Nobody will find it again, with the exception of Shawn Carter, who among these guys has the best ear for rhythms. For more or less everyone, the formula is quite simple actually, even if it's much easier to write it than to realize it: excellent music, flawless rap.
Without listening to the record, simply from the tracklist, you can easily see how Raekwon is also trying to find the 1995 formula. The rapper has a solid narrative in his strings, is a good lyricist and one of the best performers in the game, and in order to find good music, he decides to invest in amateur producers. By rightfully giving up on RZA, which as a producer is over at this point of his career, and by mistakenly giving up even the best professional producers on the scene, Raekwon completely relies on this tide of unknown guys, among whom stand out DJ Khalil, EZ Elpee and Emile, who can't create the sound he is really looking for: in this way, he makes the same mistake he did on the previous album.
The Staten Island MC senses that one of the secrets of the success of the first LP was the large number of performers: in the rapping department there are guys representing Terror Squad, Mobb Deep, CNN, LOX and Wu-Tang Clan, which the author includes again after ignoring it on his previous album. Ghostface Killah, Masta Killa, Inspectah Deck, Method Man and Cappadonna (still affiliated, later official member) participate in the edition, together with Wu-Tang affiliates Tekitha, Ice Water and external guests Havoc, Fat Joe, Tiffany Villarreal, Capone and Sheek Louch.
Chef Raekwon removes "chef" from his moniker for the first time on the cover, and decides to imprint all his mob product on his mafioso moniker Lex Diamond, removing a final "s" from the original surname. Rap is honest, I believe a fan of the mafia rap might find something interesting in this listening hour, however, most of the material is boring especially due to the colorless production provided by these amateurs. Most rhythms don't work and most performers disappoint: the major guest of the album is practically never credited, is Polite, MC friend of Raekwon initially part of the disbanded group American Cream Team, then moved to the new formation created by the rapper, Ice Water. Polite is featured in half the album, seven tracks out of fourteen, often tasked with providing the hook: "Pit Bull Fights", "Missing Watch", "Clientele Kidd", "Robbery", "Pa-Blow Escablow", "Planet of the Apes" and "Wyld in da Club". The Ice Water group participates in two tracks and confirms to be one of the worst acts related to Wu-Tang: Stumik, P.C., Cigar, Polite and the affiliate MC Ultra prove to be among the worst rappers on the album and perhaps, of the period in the East Coast, devoid of personality, devoid of good technique, with soporific flows and all sound alike.
Havoc, Fat Joe, Capone, Sheek Louch, and the Wu guys all seem to go on autopilot, no one makes a banger or a robust track. There's Ghostface Killah, but if you're expecting something even just like the "Only Built" tracks, you'll be even more disappointed. "Musketeers of Pig Alley" and "Ice Cream Pt. 2" are the two tracks that come closest to being Wu posse: the first is forgettable, the second is hideous, it's all that the original isn't. The production of this cut is unacceptable and impossible to deal with, the choice of Raekwon's hook is wrong, his lyrics is scandalous, Method Man is a little better but it sounds uninspired, it closes Cappadonna doing what he didn't do in the original, that is, exaggerating terribly. The poetic line "I love you like I love my d*ck size" is iconic and works because it comes in the middle of the verse, when you don't expect it, placing it at the beginning of the verse isn't the same thing. To underline the contribution of Tiffany Villarreal in one of the best songs of the LP, "The Hood".
Published by H2O Records and distributed by Universal, the album gets a lukewarm commercial response and gets mixed reviews from specialized critics, who don't spare negative criticisms. The disc is mediocre, generic, shoddy, and has unnecessary skits that interrupt the smooth flow of the product. The only memorable track from the entire album is the latest, "Once Upon a Time", Raekwon's clear homage to his favorite film: Spontaneous's cinematic production, he's the only producer who has found an excellent rhythm, midtempo dry drum, wonderful strings, elegant piano. Lex Diamonds' crisp rap is accompanied by Tekitha's ethereal, harmonious, melodic voice, which elevates this song above all others with a wonderful performance and makes it one of the best in Raekwon's discography.
Rating: 4.5/10.
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