Collaborative album between Staten Island rapper Ghostface Killah of Wu-Tang Clan and Yonkers rapper Sheek Louch of The LOX. Music is provided by Frank Dukes, Fithestate, John "Jmac" McCall, The Futuristics, Vinny Idol, Shroom, Phonix Beats, Jon Woo, Moose, Odie Peken, Red Spyda, V Don, Last Child, Joe Milly, Andrew Kelly, Termanology and Erick Sermon. The guests are exclusively from Wu-Tang Clan (Raekwon, Cappadonna, Method Man, Masta Killa, GZA and Inspectah Deck) and The LOX (Styles P & Jadakiss).
The tape opens with "Crack Spot Stories": dusty downtempo drums, soft bass, wonderful sample from Smokey Robinson & The Miracles' "Much Better Off", a wonderful work by Fithestate behind the keyboards. Ghostface launches the track that tells some drug stories, as the title soon reveals, reciting his lyrics with a slow, regular, heavy, dirty, scratchy style. Sheek in the second stanza with a smooth, velvety flow, flies on Robinson's loop. Chef Raekwon is the first guest on the record, descending on the beat with a calm, smoothness, clean, beautiful rapping style, he's totally at ease on this brilliant soundscape. The track also sees a second guest with the arrival of Jadakiss who completes the work with his rough, regular, dope voice. Excellent opening for this collaborative record.
John "Jmac" McCall slows down a sample from Zulema's "See" to establish the beat of "Pour That Martini": boom bap, uptempo drums, solid bass, shrill horns, clean strings, solid production. Rough hardcore delivery by Ghostface, Sheek continues this battle before Cappadonna arrives, who adds a touch of elegance to the cut with his typical style, entering hardcore by breaking down the door and delivering roundhouse kicks to anyone who comes in front of him like he's a rap version of Chuck Norris, spitting hardcore and giving one of his most memorable performances since "Supreme Clientele". Phonix Beats and The Futuristics are credited for the production of the third choice: boom bap with harsh drum, dotted bass, creepy sounds, the two emcees are joined by Method Man here.
Fithestate returns behind the keys on "Guns for Life": amazing sample from The Friends of Distinction's "And I Love Him", boom bap, dusty drum, raw horns stretched out, distant bass, keyboards in the background. Inspired hardcore delivery by Ghostdeini, Sheek Louch proves to be in good shape, the album then welcomes the first of many appearances by Styles P, who tears the track. Vinny Idol lays down an interesting beat for the posse "Comin' for Ya Head": sparse midtempo drum, dark piano keys, dotted bass, obscure samples. Sheek Louch comes in forcefully and launches the cut, Ghostface moves with more careful steps and with a slow, thoughtful, cautious style, paying homage to the Rumble in the Jungle. Hook by Sheek Louch, verse by Styles P with a slow, irregular rapping, then the posse is closed by Lou Diamonds with a velvet style.
Shroom makes an excellent boom bap for the number six choice, "Cocaine Central": dry midtempo drum, robust bass, elegant piano, bell loops and rusty riff. Tony Starks sweeps the beat with a lethal rapping. Chorus by Styles P, guest for the third track in a row on this project, the joint is closed by Sheek Louch with a smooth flow. Jon Woo places annoying g-funk synths on "Take Notice", one of the rare tracks without guests on the record: boom bap, harsh drums, fat bass, dusted percussion, rhythm close to the club. Hardcore delivery by Ghostface, hook and final verse by Sheek. Odie Peken, Moose and Termanology are credited in the production of "Drivin' Round": splendid sweet sample from Heartwave's "Sho'nuff Must Be Luv", deep and powerful bass line, elegant keyboards, silky rapping by Sheek Louch, phenomenal enveloping beat by the boys. Short soft hook by Erykah Badu, beautifully sung. Who can fit on this beat but Masta KIlla with his calm, velvety, regular, dope flow style. Cottony chorus, GZA pulls out bars with a conversational style, slow, irregular, off-putting, killing the cut in his own way. Final hook. Wu-Block pearl with the notable absence of Ghostface, the only one on the entire record.
Frank Dukes lays down an exquisite boom bap beat for "Different Time Zones": dry midtempo drum, haunting melodic vocal loop, solid bass. Ghostface drops hardcore bars, Sheek Louch spits out the next stanza with energy, Inspectah Deck follows with an effortless loose execution. The tenth choice pays homage to the Fat Boys, shoddy rhythm invented by Red Spyda, poor uptempo drum, outrageous hi-hats, scattered sounds, Jadakiss joins the Wu-Block, but he can't save this thing. V Don behind the keys for "All in Together", roaring bass, lively drum, dirty horns. Ghostface starts right away and delivers a few bars before a long hook, then leaves room for Sheek Louch. The tune is completed by Jadakiss and Styles P, so it's the only one on the tape to feature the full LOX: and at the same time a curious choice, as the hook lasts longer than the verses, which are all short. Also, it would be finished at less than three minutes, but it goes another two with a skit.
Erick Sermon blesses this project: huge sample from Roger Webb's "Assignation", sparse midtempo drum, dark piano, robust bass, thick horns. Chorus and loose delivery from Sheek Louch that opens the track, energetic entrance from Ghostface, velvety rapping from Shallah Raekwon to close the joint. Last Child delivers a gem of a rhythm on "Stella", thanks to a sample from Mandrill's "Moroccan Nights": boom bap, uptempo dusty drum, hi-hats support, horns, lively bass. Tony Starks delivers an extra verse in a flowing and energetic way, Sheek Louch fantastic in the second stanza, Method Man grabs the mic and turns this joint into a classic of the Wu Block collaboration by reciting his verse with a relentless, silky, beautiful, dope rapping. Joe Milly produces "Been Robbed": sparse drum, rough bass, dirty strings, samples from Honey Cone's "Stick Up", Sheek & Ghost exchange short verses interspersed only by a haunting loop of the sample.
Frank Dukes creates the last beat of the tape, that of "Bust Shots", which seems to show hints of "Tearz" by Wu-Tang Clan: dusty uptempo drum, dotted bass, hypnotic keyboards. Inspectah Deck has the honor of opening the track with a good flowing style, hook formed by scratched samples, good rap by Sheek in the second stanza, Ghostface closes with an excellent flowing flow. The bonus track is a remix of this last piece produced by Andrew Kelley: there are the same interpreters and verses on a different beat, more melodic and light, which gives a slight contrast with the delivery of the boys. This time Ghostface opens the games, Sheek Louch continues and Rollie Fingerz arrives at the end closing the joint, this remix has its reason.
Recorded between 2011 and 2012, is announced in 2011 originally, and then released at the end of 2012 by E1, selling over 12,000 physical copies in the first two weeks, entering the pop chart at #73 spot. It's a street album with a lyricism that mixes LOX and Wu styles, there are Ghostface and Sheek Louch, then Wu-Tang, LOX, LOX and Wu-Tang, over tight beats with soul and jazz samples who don't make any concessions, it's wonderful.
Sure, obviously, there are some rhythms that sound less good than the others, older than the others, someone could say that these battles are a bit repetitive and that the topics start to fall into the clichés of the genre proposed here (old school gangsta rap done well), but that's what you should expect from a Wu-Tang/LOX collaboration and that's just what it gets, and you should be happy with that. They're all there, you've got Jada, you've got Chef, you've got Styles, you've got Rebel INS, you've got GZA, the bad ones are left out, there's really nothing to complain about. Critics expect the album to fall apart sooner or later but it never does and that disappoints those shitty professional reviewers. Ghostface & Sheek remain standing and make one of the strongest collaborations of the season. 7/10.
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