What, you thought you weren't going to see me? I may be the Osiris of this ish, but that doesn't keep work and night class from piling up. I apologize for posting so near the witching hour, but technically 11:30 is still in time to celebrate what remains of this revered Wu-Tang Wednesday. I'll leave you with a quick post before going into hibernation.
Congress may have the power to shutdown the government by invoking the law of the Thunderdome, but it will never stop Wu-Tang Wednesday. To quote one dearly missed Ol' Dirty Chinese Restaurant, "Wu-Tang is forever."
Legend tells that the best way to Protect Thy Neck during the imminent post-apocalyptic hellscape is to barricade yourself within a worthy fortress, fill your bathtub with water, arm yourself with enough Twinkies and weapons (preferably Hattori Hanzō steel) to ride out the fall of humanity, and bump Wu-Tang as loud as possible (so any potential aggressors will know you Ain't Nuthing Ta Fuck Wit).
But until the fun begins, this epic track off the Wu's sophomore double album will have to hold you over while you shatter your mirror in order to prepare a haphazard spear with your broom handle.
Every court needs its jester and, during his all too short time on this planet, Russell Tyrone Jones aka Dirt McGirt aka Big Baby Jesus aka Ol' Dirty Chinese Restaurant aka Ol' Dirty Bastard was the undisputed Clown Prince of hip hop. Ever the absurdist, ODB was interrupting award shows long before K. West was even thinking about college, let alone dropping out. At a time when his solo debut was charting in the top 10, Jones once took two of his thirteen offspring in a limo to collect food stamps while being filmed by MTV News (There are so many things about that sentence to break down, but that's not a misprint, he had 13 kids. And people give Shawn Kemp a hard time).
ODB was blessed with a distinctive voice and uniquely absurd half-sung, half-rapped delivery. "I rap and I sing, but I don't know how to sing," is how he once described his fatherless, free-associative, ludicrously profane style that provided the wild-card energy on 36 Chambers and was so desperately missing on later Wu-Tang group albums.
That style and energy was beloved by many a fan including a budding rapper/producer coming out of Chicago. Kanye West once claimed that, could he be blessed with anybody's voice, it would have been ODB's. With both emcees having recently signed to Roc-A-Fella records, Dirt McGirt was one of the first emcees that Kanye sought to collaborate with when he was recording his debut album in 2003.
I apologize gratuitously for my recent absence from the blog. The past two months for me have been filled with me jumping through hoopstracing Jackson Pollocksfilling out job apps that have no remote chance of being read by HR, interviewing, and partaking in the true Grail Quest of attempting to find affordable New York housing (Legend tells that it can be found somewhere between 110th Street and El Dorado. Somewhere between the Hudson and the Sands of Ilium).
When Alan Moore wrote The Killing Joke, I'm now fairly certain that it was meant to be an allegory for trying to find an apartment in Gotham. It's enough to make even the sanest man go crazy. But now that I've miraculously survived the process unmurdered, with a small shred of my sanity, and without having to part with any organs on Canal Street, I'm back to bring hip hoppery to the people.
I may be working 10-8 most days with a couple of night classes per week, but, now that my partner-in-crime Carver Low and I are in the same city, we can better guilt kindly push each other to post more often. My goal is to have at least one post per day for you good people.
I'll set it off with what will be a weekly series honoring what is arguably the most influential hip hop collective of all time: The Wu-Tang Clan. The posts will showcase stellar songs from the Wu's immense discography of group and solo albums as well as featured tracks, remixes, and rare unreleased songs and freestyles. Think of it as a friendly hump day reminder for Shaolin devotees to Protect Thy Neck. Hit the jump for the first post to Bring Da Ruckus:
De La Soul is the rap equivalent of Alec Baldwin, an act that was very successful in the nineties and probably the most popular of their fellow Native Tongues brothers (it is admittedly a matter of choice between De La and Tribe, but for the sake of the analogy, I'll give the nod to De La), but when the new millennium rolled around they seemed washed up.
But like Baldwin on 30 Rock, De La has reinvented themselves over the course of the past decade. Just when fans were about to dismiss them as De La Were, Posdnuos, Trugoy, and Maseo dropped their critically acclaimed album, The Grind Date in 2004. While not the most commercially successful (see 30 Rock's reviews vs. actual ratings) the album was sonically distinct from anything the group had put out before and I still hold it to be the most underrated album of the 2000's.
Before anyone comments, I know this song doesn't feature Nas or any of the Wu-Tang. If you listen to the (still very dope) song, none of the emcees sound like Mr. Jones or the original nine. It's one of the great mysteries of the internet. The track has been floating around the web since 2004, labeled as an unreleased Wu/Nas collab and NO ONE KNOWS WHO THE EMCEES ACTUALLY ARE.
It kind of sounds like Jedi Mind Tricks/Army of the Pharaohs. Perhaps it's one of the countless C-list Wu-Tang Affiliates. I'll leave it to a higher ranking Iluminati better conspiracy theorist than myself to figure it out. Perhaps, like Stonehenge, Jack the Ripper, or the reason Friday Night Lights got cancelled, we were never meant to know who or why they did it.
One of the more underrated emcees of all time, Wu-Tang-affiliate Killah Priest isn't even given credit for his best song. Because his solo track "B.I.B.L.E." was included as a bonus song on the re-issue of GZA's Liquid Swords, many mistakenly attribute it to the Genius. This song, along with the album as a whole is a CLASSIC. GZA's magnum opus stands the test of time and still ranks among my top-10 albums of all time.
A couple days ago, I took the time to listen to 36 Chambers for the first time in about a year and immediately was reminded of why the album ranks as my second favorite of all time (behind only Reasonable Doubt). This author had only made three trips around the sun when Wu-Tang released their magnum opus in 1993, but the purely raw sound that pervades the album truly stands the test of time.
Considering that Ghosface Killah aka Tony Stark aka Ironman is highlighting the spring concert next Saturday, I thought it was only fair to give shine to some of the Wu-Tang legend's better songs. The Ironman has been the most consistent Wu member since the turn of the century and with tracks like these, it's easy to see why.
In an era when the West Coast was dominated by the smooth, refined G-Funk sounds of Doggystyle and The Chronic, the early Wu-Tang albums of the 90's backed, by the raw, gritty production of RZA, prooved to be the antithesis of this movement. Other than the classic Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers, GZA's Liquid Swords is perhaps the premier album from the most lyrical Wu member and has to be included in any Top-10 lists.
2/3 of Wu Massacre stop by for a track that reminds me a lot of the "House of the Flying Daggers" sound that I loved so much. It's been out for a minute, but the CD-quality just dropped. *crosses fingers* Wu Massacre is set to be released on February 31st.
This song is an example of why I'm a huge Wu-Stan. Rare for a single, it has no chorus, just classic verses from 8 of the 9 original members (and one by Cappadonna) and an intro by ODB. Instead of a hook, the track relied purely on lyrical skill and epic beat to propell itself into hip hop lore (I may or may not know every lyric). The track comes off of the groups sophomore LP and simply goes as proof of why Wu in their prime were on top of the game. I've also included a rare pre-36 Chambers Demo Tape that I came across earlier today (not their best stuff, but a piece of hop hop history none the less). Enjoy.
Russell Jones aka Ol' Dirty Bastard aka Dirt McGirt aka Big Baby Jesus, was one of the most comical figures in hip hop history. His name Ol' Dirty Bastard, like many of the original Wu Tang member's names, pays homage to a kung fu flick, but was chosen because, as Method Man asserts on "Can It All Be So Simple," "we got the Ol' Dirty Bastard, cuz there ain't no father to his style." A truer statement has never been made about this unique figure in hip hop known for his absurd, half-rapped, half-sung, profane, free associative lyrics. ODB was more than just a hypeman, he was a beloved jester, a man that new how to live life to it's fullest. It is the distinct lack of ODB on all Wu releases after their classic debut Enter The Wu Tang (36 Chambers). While the Clan still had the rhymes of the 8 other members (including his cousins RZA and GZA), ODB's impact on the next few Wu collaboration was largely (and noticibly) absent due to his incarceration for various charges. ODB was that wild card that helped put Wu over the top and the group hasn't been the same since his tragic death in 2004. ODB was known for his antics in and out of the studio, even interrupting the 1998 Grammy's to complain about Wu Tang Forever losing to Puff Daddy (seriously, anyone losing to Diddy is probably a big slap in the face, but I thought this video would be applicable since it is much less contrived than Kanye's recent outburst).
Wu Tang is for the children and don't you ever forget that. This song is probably his most recognizable (other than possibly "Brooklyn Zoo") and is off of his solo album Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version (my second favorite Wu Tang solo album behind GZA's legendary Liquid Swords). RIP ODB.
I'm an equal opportunity offender here at Hip Hop 101 and with two legends releasing albums on the same day tomorrow, you knew I wasn't going to leave you tonight with a look back at two classic Raekwon songs. Both come off of his seminal Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..., a classic that, along with (ironically) Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt, set the standard for mid-90's East Coast Mafioso rap. "Knuckleheadz" is the first track after the intro and sets the tone for the rest of the album while "Wu-Gambinos" is one of the classic Wu collaborations with verses by Method Man, Raekwon, RZA, Masta Killa, and Ghostface respectively. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt. II drops tomorrow.
Wu roll together as one, I call my brother son (sun) 'cuz he shine like one.
I finally got around to giving OB4CLII a good listen and will break it down for you people song-by-song:
The first track after the intro, “House of The Flying Daggers” featuring Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah, & Method Man and produced by J Dilla (R.I.P.) is a classic Wu collaboration/battle track and is my favorite song on the album. Each emcee attacks the beat with a fury that has been missing on nearly every Wu track this decade. Check out the equally dope video.
Next track, “Sonny’s Missing,” produced by Pete Rock, brings the tempo down. It is set over ominous, raw, gritty beats that marked the first generation of Wu releases over a decade ago and weaves the tale of a young dealer captured and tortured for information, but who remains loyal and is eventually killed for it. Raekwon’s flow and delivery is straightforward on this song, not siding with either the young man or his captors. Chef simply tells the story as it is, depicting a profoundly haunting picture of urban crime, and allows the listeners to form their own their own judgments.
The natural path of the world is one of progression. The old gives way to the new, which in turn gives way to the newer. In this world where we, more often than not, hold to the mantra of “it’s not what you’ve done, it’s what you’ve done lately,” it is ever so important to recognize where we’ve been in order to know where we’re going.
Though there are always generational conflicts as the old gives way to the new, hip hop is perhaps the only genre of music where these conflicts become vicious. Hip Hop itself, more than any other genre, reflects an exaggerated caricature of American society. Hip Hop has always been a very competitive game. Rappers constantly try achieve the title of “best rapper alive,” which often results in resentment towards old emcees by the next generation instead of the reverence that many hold for past generations of other genres (you won’t hear any current guitarist badmouthing Hendrix in the way that Game is going after Jay).
This is the reason why we need Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II to succeed. Because it is based on it’s success that the future of hip hop will be determined. If OB4CLII is commercially successful, it will show the world that there is still a niche in the market for raw and gritty hip hop. It will show the corporate execs that the future of hip hop isn’t the packaged and wrapped up “rappers” with dumbed down, commercially friendly lyrics like a Drake or post-CII Lil’ Wayne, but the new old school rappers like Wale, Joell Ortiz, and Lupe. It is fitting that it is the legendary Raekwon the Chef and his Wu Affiliates that are offering this referendum. Afterall, it is our entire experience, past, present, and future that defines us as human beings and as our movement.
It is hip hop’s past that will determine the movement’s future and for all of you out there who downloaded the leek of the album (I’ll man up and admit that I’m one of them) and for all of those of you who love hip hop and want to keep it alive, I beg that you cop OB4CLII. It’s classic Wu material and I’ve already pre-ordered my hard copy.
The moment is approaching where we will be able to decide once and for all whether hip hop lived or was reborn. The question I leave you with is which one do you desire?
For those of you not familiar with classic Wu-Tang, Raekwon's 1995 solo debut Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... is a classic East Coast Mafioso rap album (perhaps only surpassed by Jay's Reasonable Doubt as far as Mafioso albums are concerned). As was a common theme with many of the early "solo" Wu releases, the album heavily features guest appearances from other Wu members/affiliates and the gritty, ominous production of RZA-circa the early 90s. Just like nearly every first round Wu album, it's simply a classic with a dearth of songs from "Incarcerated Scarfaces" to "Knowledge God" to the classic Wu collaboration "Wu-Gambinos" (I call my brotha sun 'cause he shine like one).
Hip hop heads worldwide have been eagerly anticipating the sequel to this album, OB4CLII, since it was announced back in '05. The oft-delayed project has frustrated Wu-Stans as label issues with Dr. Dre's Aftermath put the album in danger of never seeing the light of day. Luckily for us, after the nearly eternal wait, OB4CLII will be dropping September 8th (next month is going to be amazing for hip hop between this, The Blueprint 3, M.O.P.'s The Foundation, new Brother Ali, Bone Thugs, and Kid Cudi). The album is hyped as bringing back the old gritty, raw Wu sound that I love so much as showcased by this track (download below). September 8th is quickly approaching people. Get Hyped!
