In 2005, Wu-Tang affiliate James "Dreddy Kruger" Dockery, a member of the Royal Fam, decided to bring hip-hop back to its most original essence. This is a phrase used by practically all underground artists to promote their new albums, but for once, someone did it, this guy had enough courage and luck to pull this thing off in the best possible way, releasing an independent project through his own label Think Differently Music, which before then had only released the first self-titled album by the Four Horsemen, the group composed of Killah Priest, Kurupt, Ras Kass and Canibus.
After being a rapper linked to Killa Beez, collaborating on the albums of Gravediggaz, Sunz of Man and GZA, as well as the song "La saga" by the French group IAM, Dreddy Kruger takes care of this project entirely. Half the record is produced by Wu-Element Bronze Nazareth, a third of the beats come from Preservation, and the remaining set is rounded out by Wu-Elements RZA and Allah Mathematics, as well as Fred One and DJ Noize. The guests are GZA, RZA and U-God of Wu-Tang Clan, Timbo King of Royal Fam, Prodigal Sunn of Sunz of Man, Bronze Nazareth of Wisemen, Solomon Childs of Theodore Unit, La the Darkman, CCF Division, Ras Kass of The Four Horsemen, Tragedy Khadafi of Black Market Militia and outside the Wu universe Vast Aire, Sean Price, Byata, C-Rayz Walz, Casual, Rock Marciano, Vordul Mega, MF DOOM, Del Tha Funky Homosapien, Littles, Khalid, Planet Asia, Scaramanga Shallah, Aesop Rock and RA the Rugged Man.
The introduction is followed by "Lyrical Swords", one of the strongest tracks on the tape: midtempo drum, rough bass line, sample from The Mighty Marvelows' "Your Little Sister", GZA runs quietly over this soundscape joined by Ras Kass that dominates easily this beat invented by Bronze Nazareth. The leader of the Wisemen is behind the keyboards for "Slow Blues": sample from Little Sonny's "The Creeper Returns", midtempo drum, solid bass, good keyboards, electric guitar. Vast Aire opens the posse, then the Russian female emcee Byata delivers with a good flow over this rocking and essential production. Timbo King goes well in the next verse, then the posse is closed by the leader of Sunz of Man Prodigal Sunn that tears the track with an hardcore rapping. DJ Dore, Nebulla and Preservation create the soundscape of "Still Grimey": dusty midtempo drum, robust bass, sad piano keys, gloomy, tight, tense samples from Wanderley Cardoso's "Aprendi a Sorrir". The Wu-Tang Clan rapper U-God in the first verse with a monotonous flow, he performs the hook. Then Sean Price of Heltah Skeltah, delivers with energy, killing the cut. This fantastic musical carpet sees another dope performance by P Sunn. Then the posse is closed by C-Rayz Walz with a good style.
Skit, then Bronze Nazareth and Hellfire Machine for the beat of the title track. The rhythm is let breathe: dry midtempo drum, vocal sample, rough bass line, dusty strings. Casual opens with his irregular rap, then Tragedy Khadafi spits bars for the next stanza. The Queens emcee, part of the Black Market Militia, drops hardcore, Roc Marciano in the third verse with a sharp and syncopated style, then Vordul Mega with elegance to close the posse. Skit, then follows what should be one of the strong points of this Wu-Tang Clan LP: RZA and MF DOOM meet in "Biochemical Equation", in the only production of The Abbot, spectacular, he pulls out an amazing beat, so well done that it doesn't seem his. It sounds more like a beat that would come out of the keyboards of Metal Fingers in 2005. Triumphal, tight rhythm with soul sample looped tight from Donny Hathaway's "She Is My Lady", deep bass line, elegant piano, dope strings. Steelz enters raw, hardcore, slow and offers a verse in which he reflects on the temptations of the devil. The chorus of RZA arrives in continuity with his stanza, shot, instrumental bridge. Then, MF DOOM kills the cut with a verse that It might be more familiar to Killah Priest's catalog than RZA's, but it works just the same here. Bobby Digital returns raw and drop a third verse. The piece is hailed as a classic in the Wu-Tang discography.
The choice number nine is a homage to Ol' Dirty Bastard: DJ Noize builds a light, sad, essential jazzy beat, with soulful sample looped in the background and scratches of several efforts by Ol' Dirty. Del tha Funky Homosapien gets a funky solo accompanied by the music of Bronze, with a usually tight looped soulful sample that never sounds bad, in a tune that sounds pretty well, unfortunately the rapper sounds bizarre and listless. A skit takes us to "Street Corners", it boasts one of the greatest productions of this record, provided by Bronze Nazareth and Scuba: intro sampled by Gil Scott-Heron's "Brother", downtempo dusty perfect drum, phat bass, beautiful silky violins, elegant piano keys, sample Jean Plum's "Back to You" made chipmunk soul and looped tight. Bronze Nazareth delivers smoothness, slow, fluid. The soundscape sounds appropriate for Bronze himself, but it's even better for Theodore Unit emcee Solomon Childs, that kills the rhythm with his slow and hardcore rapping. Byata enters determined and takes the track. The year after, Masta Killa takes the beat to build a Wu-Tang Clan classic of the same name (he remove a final "s" from the title) with GZA and Inspectah Deck for hi sophomore album "Made in Brooklyn".
"Listen" has a pleasant boom bap beat created by Bronze Nazareth, hard drum midtempo, solid bass, vocal sample looped tight, bridge with splendid strings. Inside Littles, Khalid (Dreddy Kruger's cousin) and Planet Asia, alla quite inspired here: Littles, rapper affiliated to Mobb Deep, kills the cut with a sharp narration. Ras Kass & GZA meet again for "Verses", on one of the sickest beats of the tape: sample from Al Green's "I Wish You Were Here", thundering bass, slick, clean and clear strings, perfect crisp drum, eclectic piano keys a little bit melancholic, sad vocal sample, amazing soundscape. Scaramanga Shallah opens this posse with a regular, pretty good flow. La the Darkman advances into the second verse with a slow, syncopated, irregular pace. Ras Kass enters hardcore and immediately tears the cut, GZA closes with the fourth verse.
Preservation produces the self-titled cut with Bronze: Dreddy Kruger sends the beat to Del tha Funky Homosapien with the producer's name written on it and the rapper keeps it as the title of the track. The boy exchanges a couple of verses with Aesop Rock on an exquisite production, piano scale, dry midtempo drum, pleasant samples. "Cars on the Interstate" is perhaps the only unsuccessful production of the album, it presents a badly synthesized sound, too tight, repetitive and bouncy, a hook that struggles to mesh, average deliveries, too bad. The beat is invented by Mathematics. The tune sees a couple of verses by ShaCronz with a hook of Freemurda, both members of the CCF Division. "Give It Up" is produced by Preservation: the Ad Libs classic sample of the same name is let to breathe, fresh drums, thundering bass, clean strings. Then RA the Rugged Man comes in with some intricate and inlayed flows, dope rapping. Hook left to the sample, then J-Live goes smoothly with a regular style. The rhythm breathes one minute at the end. The tape is closed by "Black Dawn", a (deserved) solo by Bronze Nazareth on a wonderful soulful jazzy boom bap rhythm, extraordinary with the last tight looped soul sample, good delivery. There's a final outro.
The album brings together indie rappers and Wu-Tang affiliates, with some appearances from Shaolin: the result is a fresh album, musically close to Wu-Tang thanks to the gritty, soulful and nostalgic production of Bronze Nazareth and Preservation, but lyrically distant, also due to the way the project is built, that is, by connecting verses of different artists who do not meet in the studio. Dreddy Kruger places the title on the cover, then in the center he prints a "W" that takes the shape and colors of Apple: despite being the main element for which the record is bought, isn't enough to secure the boy a distribution contract, which is found with more difficulty than usual, because the absence of big names convinces the majors not to bet on it. Released by Think Differently Music and Babygrande Records, the project is welcomed by critics and the public, selling over 50,000 physical copies. There's practically no material for Wu-Tang Clan fans, it's more of a showcase to rediscover the affiliates and to know how some of the most anticipated underground artists would sound on Wu productions.
Rating: 7/10.
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