2008 compilation featuring most of the major Wu-Tang Clan affiliates. Bronze Nazareth, a Wu-Tang affiliate and member of the affiliated group Wisemen, is the main producer on the record. Additional beats are provided by Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind, Hi-Tek, RZA, Mathematics, Preservation, Scram Jones, and Blue Sky Black Death. Participating on the album are GZA, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, RZA, Masta Killa and Inspectah Deck of Wu-Tang Clan, Wu-Tang affiliates Almighty, Ras Kass of The Four Horsemen, Bronze Nazareth of Wisemen, Timbo King of Royal Fam, Killah Priest & Prodigal Sunn of Sunz of Man, Trife da God of TMF, T.H.U.G. Angelz, Killa Sin of Killarmy, Icewater, C-Rayz Walz, Warcloud of Black Knights, Solomon Childs of Theodore Unit. Non-Wu-Tang guests include MF DOOM, Hi-Tek, Jedi Mind Tricks, Vast Aire, Dion, The Willie Cottrell Band, Lord Jamar, Kasim Allah, Sean Price, and Blue Sky Black Death.
After a skit, the first track is taken from Almighty debut album "Original SIN" (2008): "Killa Bee Swarm" is the umpteenth masterpiece in Bronze Nazareth's discography. Two sample skits anticipate the entrance of Bronze himself. Top boom bap, perfect midtempo dusty drum, chopped and looped female soul sample, amazing piano, tough bass, vinyl crackling sound that accompanies the listener in a loop giving a vintage feel to the soundscape. Bronze enters with a regular flow, energetic, rough, loose. The boy keeps it between the Killa Beez bringing Timbo King of Royal Fam to the following verse. Timbo King drops gangsta bars with a rough, raw, irregular flow, 5-Star follows with an effortless style, Killah Priest closes, calm, smoothness.
"Lyrical Swords" is hailed as one of the finest choices of "Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture" (2005), released by Dreddy Kruger of Royal Fam: midtempo drum, rough bass line, sample from The Mighty Marvelows' "Your Little Sister", robust musical carpet provided by Bronze Nazareth. GZA runs quietly over this rhythm joined by Ras Kass (member of The Four Horsemen) that dominates easily here. The fourth pick comes from Bronze debut "The Great Migration" (2006), "More Than Gold" becomes "More Than Cold" here: sample from Bobby Bland's "Deep in My Soul", hard midtempo dusty drum, raw bass line, chipmunk soul sample, fresh piano keys. Bronze drops two verses, in the midst there are Timbo King that goes hardcore over this rough beat.
Stoupe is the producer of "On the Eve of War (Julio Cesar Chavez Mix)": gloomy, vibrant strings, hard skeletal drum, Vinnie Paz spits hardcore e rips the cut. The Genius' hook sampled from "Third World" ("The Soul Assassins: Chapter I", 1997), then GZA kills the track with his style. "Iconoclasts" is a Wisemen track. Bronze, Addicted Kru Sounds and Syndaesia behind the keyboards: deep loop of horns, solid bass line, soft midtempo muddy drum. Killah Priest of Sunz of Man starts with a slow rapping, regular, enveloping, calm for his battle. Bronze continues the cypher with a regular, slow style. Phillie in the third verse, then Kevlaar 7 and Illah Dayz. In the sixth stanza, Vast Aire of Cannibal Ox goes with a desperate, irregular and urgent rapping style.
"My Piano" is taken from "Hi-Teknology³: Underground", elegant piano keys in the first moments, then sample from Camilo Sesto's "Fuego", roaring guitar riff, skeletal midtempo drum, phat bass line in background, the production is realized by Hi-Tek, he performs intro and first hook. Second hook by Dion. Ghostface Killah enters hardcore and kills the cut, smoothness, dope rapping. Dion's chorus, then Raekwon closes the track with his velvet style, completing another classic from the duo Rae & Ghost. The tune is then inserted in Chef Raekwon's "Babygrande Recordings". "Biochemical Equation" is a collaboration between MF DOOM and RZA for "Wu-Tang Meets Indie Culture": DOOM delivers one of Bobby Digital's last masterpieces, both contributing to the production and the rapping on this cut, which was initially despised by even the harshest critics. Triumphal, tight rhythm with soul sample looped tight from Donny Hathaway's "She Is My Lady", robust bass line, elegant piano, beautiful 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 verse, shot, instrumental bridge. Then, Metal Fingerz runs with a verse that works here. The Abbot returns raw and drop a third stanza, in retrospect this record is hailed as a classic in the Wu-Tang catalog.
"Pencil" features the only Wu-Tang Clan guests on GZA's latest official album "Pro Tools" (2008): bouncy production by Mathematics, poor, with an annoying loop that's too tight and accompanied by Christmas bells, vibrating bass but too distant to give the track any real effect. The Genius delivers with dignity, Masta Killa goes out in good style, the track is closed by a crude extra-verse by RZA. It doesn't exactly go down in history, because the rhythm is little more than terrible. The tenth track is a classic in Ghostface's discography and consequently also in Trife da God's. Soundscape designed by Hi-Tek again. Raw lyricism by Dennis Coles about a girl devastated by crack abuse. The piece is a revisitation of the original song by Hi-Tek included in his second studio album "Hi-Teknology 2: The Chip" (2006), which achieved good sales success. Acoustic guitar arpeggio, synthesized keyboards, dry hard drum midtempo, vocal samples, vibrant, deep, excellent bass line, pleasant keyboards, other guitar arpeggios. Intro by Starks, hook by Willie Cottrell (father of Hi-Tek), hardcore, energetic, dramatic, velvety first verse by Ghostdeini that immediately tears the cut, killer hook by Willie Cottrell. In the original Cottrell provides a verse after the hook, here he's replaced by Theodore Unit leader Trife da God who enters hardcore dropping bars in a smoothness, powerful, clear way. Chorus, additional final verse by Ghostface with his dramatic style, replacing the closing contribution of Pretty Ugly present in the Hi-Tek album. This version is closed by the original verse by Willie Cottrell which is used as an outro.
Wisemen leader and Wu-Element member Bronze Nazareth offers a masterpiece beat for the fourth choice, "The Obituary (E.B.G.G.)": beautiful deep bass line, dirty dusty drum, chipmunk soul sample rendered by "Don't Change Me Now" by Mavis Staples, looped strings, the musical carpet deserves to breathe at the beginning to be better appreciated, instead the boys attack immediately. Hell Razah delivers with a slow, heavy style in this cut dedicated to friends who have passed away. Then he also goes on a second verse, this time with a heavier, more intense, energetic pace. El Raziel also scores a third stanza, with the usual regular rapping. Then comes the contribution of Shabazz, also with a heavy, slow rapping. Fifth and sixth verse of Bazz, closes an outro of both performers. One of the strongest track of the duo THUG Angelz. Skit, then "Deep Space": the music is provided by Yoof, J Da Flex and Preservation, that is one of the main producers of "Wu-Tang Meets Indie Culture" after Bronze Nazareth. The track is taken from Lord Jamar LP "The 5% Album" (2006). Eclectic, fresh, lively piano, then guitar riff and deep bass from the sample of Ukrainian singer Sofia Rotaru "Only You". Rough rap by Lord Jamar over this soundscape, The RZA goes hardcore, raw, irregular, grumpy, then Lord Jamar returns and delivers another stanza. GZA's "Alphabets" is another pick from "Pro Tools": ruvid bass, skinny midtempo drum, fresh piano loop, vocal loop, GZA drops a couple of verses over a beat realized by Dakimh and True Master.
Lord Jamar is joined by Shallah Raekwon and Kasim Allah in "Original Man", from his debut studio CD. Fresh lively rhythm created by Preservation, the performers spits pretty inspired in this tune. "The Bronzeman" is taken from Bronze debut: skeletal hard midtempo drum, tight loop of strings, bass distant in background, the beat breathes half a minute. Bronze attacks with an extra-verse recited with energy, then Killa Sin of Killarmy delivers hardcore in the last stanza with a smooth, dirty, raw rapping. Skit, then there's "Animal" of Icewater (from "Polluted Water", 2007): Scram Jones' cheap boom bap, poor sample, slow and poor drum, Stumik's weak delivery, Polite, DC and PC perform better, but still in an amateurish way. One of the last tunes of this compilation is "Still Grimey": DJ Dore, Nebulla and Preservation create the musical painting of this choice. Dusty midtempo drum, solid 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, ripping the cut. This fantastic soundscape sees another dope performance by Prodigal Sunn. Then the posse is closed by C-Rayz Walz of Almighty with a regular rap.
Another career peak is fund in Warcloud's "The Ocean" ("The Holocaust", 2006). Skit from a movie, then Warcloud flies on a brilliant production realized by Blue Sky Black Death: boom bap, dry midtempo dusty drum, shimmering strings, chopped female soul loop, deep bassline in the background, dark piano keys loop, short violin loop, simple hook, the emcee drops stream-of-consciousness bars with an unstoppable energetic style. Splendid instrumental that can breathe for a long time at the end, beautiful. The compilation is closed by "Street Corner" from Masta Killa's "Made in Brooklyn" (2006). To me this cut is a classic of Wu-Tang. It boasts one of the greatest productions of this record, provided by Bronze Nazareth and Scuba, originally for "Wu-Tang Meets Indie Culture": 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. The original track has Bronze, Solomon Childs and Byata on the mic, here replaced by three emcees from Shaolin. Beautiful boom bap created by Bronze Nazareth, relaxed, downtempo drum, light strings, piano and female chipmunk soul sample in the background, opens Inspectah Deck with top-notch flow and one of the best delivery in the record, effective, relaxed, smooth, dope. Masta Killa continues on INS' wave, confident, slow, hardcore, smoothness, hook performed by himself, then closes GZA, which kills the entire record with an incredible verse, hardcore delivery, energetic, weighted, flowing, dope. Beautiful cut.
Released by indie labels Wanderluxe and Templar Label Group, the product is ignored by public and critics. Irregular, swollen and senseless, this compilation has its moments, mixing masterpiece tracks, hidden cuts and low-level songs in the vast catalog of the Wu, including both tracks from the boys from Staten Island and especially tracks from their affiliates, with a result that ends up disappointing everyone.
Rating: 5/10.
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