Inspectah Deck - Uncontrolled Substance (October 5, 1999)

I appreciate you taking the time out from your busy day of tracking the sale-off between Curtis Jackson and Kenny Chesney to partake of another write-up. 1999 was a good year to be a fan of the Wu. Between September and November, there were no less than five solo shots by the core Clan members, of which the remaining two after Uncontrolled Substance I am not looking forward to. (Wu fans will understand when I get to them.) Jason Hunter, he of the continuously-misspelled-inside-Wu-album-booklets rap moniker Inspectah Deck, was the seventh member to burst from the gate, and he had to be pissed that no-name Wu affiliates Wu-Syndicate had their debut blessed by The Rza before his own, and he was a card-carrying member of the Wu! He was on Enter The Wu-Tang, dammit! He deserves respect!

Anyway, before his debut Uncontrolled Substance, Mr. Deck was my second favorite in the group, right behind Gza/Genius on my list. I always looked forward to his guest spots on the other members's solo albums: "Assassination Day", off of Ghost's Ironman, and "Guillotine (Swordz)" from Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (which is also probably Dart Adams's inspiration for the title of his blog) are a couple of favorites I can rattle from my brain. He could always be counted on for a memorable verse, so why wouldn't an entire album by Inspectah Deck, with appearances by some of his Wu brethren, be a good idea?

On paper, it sounds fantastic, but obviously the rest of the Clan had better weed to smoke. The Rza obviously thought his time would be better spent trying to carefully pick his nose using those claw finger things he wore on the second Gravediggaz album cover, than to, I don't know, actually produce more than two songs. U-God (shudder) and Masta Killa show love, but it seems more out of an obligation, in a "maybe if I appear on your album, Rza will let my own solo album come out!" kind of manner (this ploy worked for U-God, anyway); everyone else in the group seems to have stayed the hell away from the studio. I choose to believe that Deck did this on purpose, to ensure that he wouldn't be upstaged by the likes of a Method Man or a Ghostface Killah, because the alternative depresses me.

Loud Records released Uncontrolled Substance with the aid of an ad campaign that featured the other artists on its roster, in a takeoff-slash-ripoff of Apple's "Think Different" print ads. Jason Hunter's ad read "Scan Different". Since that didn't make any sense, especially when compared to everyone else's ads, the buying public didn't flock to the stores (although Wikipedia claims this album went gold, but I don't believe that for a second). As with all Wu albums released in the '90s and early 2000's, I snatched this up on its release date, but as is an alarmingly consistent standard with Wu albums (especially now), disappointment soon set in. Let's see if this album sounds better eight years on.

1. INTRO
There's only one word to describe this: LAME!!! Now here are some more words: this horrifying rap album intro almost made me want to toss this disc into my garbage disposal. However, it wouldn't fit, so I would have to break it up into shards, and I don't have that kind of patience, so I guess I'll continue the write up instead.

2. MOVAS & SHAKERS
Why misspell one word and not the other? Craziness. The Rza hands over one of only two contributions on this track, which acts as a much better introduction to listeners who haven't heard of Deck before. Although if you had never heard of the Wu-Tang Clan, would this album even be on your radar?

3. 9TH CHAMBER (FEAT LA THE DARKMAN, BERETTA 9, KILLA SIN, & STREET LIFE)
The prerequisite Wu-Tang posse cut, but it's telling that everyone except for Deck is a Wu-Tang weed carrier. It doesn't sound bad, but you're left to imagine what this would have sounded like with Rae and maybe Ghost, instead of members of Killarmy, Method Man's official food taster, and La The Overrated Wu Affiliate That Gets A Lot Of Press But Can't Be Bothered To Release A Second Goddamn Album. (Did that sound bitter? Because I am.)

4. UNCONTROLLED SUBSTANCE (FEAT SHADII)
This song is very representative of the type of song that proliferates on Uncontrolled Substance: slow-paced, soulful samples that sound boring as hell underneath Deck's above-average lyrics.

5. FEMME FATALE
It has been brought to my attention numerous times that I tend to trash any Wu track that is produced by Inspectah Deck. Well folks, that's because most of them suck. I am honest enough, though, to admit that it seems Deck saved his best beats for his damn self, although the "Femme Fatale" beat sounds unfinished to me, in a bad way.

6. THE GRAND PRIX (FEAT U-GOD & STREET LIFE)
My thought process leads me to believe that Deck, obsessed with his guest appearance in Pete Rock's video for "Tru Masta" where the artists race around the track, decided to steal the video's idea and make a song out of it. Better than "9th Chamber" in the Wu-Tang posse cut contest. But that U-God guest appearance...(sucks teeth)...

7. FORGET ME NOT
Meh.

8. LONGEVITY (FEAT U-GOD)
Jason, did you accidentally run over U-God's foot one morning, and as part of the settlement he received two slots on your solo debut? That's the only logical explanation. Another would be that Baby U was the only guy in the studio showing any kind of support, which is sad considering the chorus of this song talks about the power of the Wu-Tang Clan as a whole. Sigh...

9. WORD ON THE STREET
A lot of Wu fans didn't really like this song when it was released as a single, but I took to it immediately. Hands down, the best production work Deck has ever done, for himself or otherwise. The video leaves a lot to be desired, but Deck's rundown of a crime in progress is effective as usual.

10. ELEVATION
I love how the song seems to end around the forty-second mark, and then Deck's voice returns loud and clear. This song itself isn't bad, but nothing here really sets itself apart from your average crappy rap album.

11. LOVIN YOU (FEAT LA THE DARKMAN)
Right before this track starts, your average random rap skit is played, and Lauryn Hill's "Lost Ones", my favorite track off of The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill, is heard underneath the chattering. I just thought that was interesting, that's all! Anyway, this song is decent; I like the beat, but how La became the Wu's go-to for the guest spot around this time in their history (he also appeared on Dirt McGirt's N---a Please) is beyond me.

12. TROUBLE MAN
As a thank-you for appearing on his solo debut, the almighty Pete Rock hands over one of his treats for Deck to rip. Not even close to being as catchy as "Tru Masta", but it's a sound you wouldn't expect to hear on a Wu-Tang album, and as a nice change of pace, it sounds pretty good.

13. R.E.C. ROOM
I remember there being some sort of controversy as to who actually produced this song. I believe The Rza took credit for a period of time, but True Master has his name in the album booklet. This song is the closest to a "Wu" sounding track you'll hear on the entire album. As much as it saddens me, since I loved this song back in the day, it doesn't sound very good today. Go ahead; the comments section is there for a reason.

14. FRICTION (FEAT MASTA KILLA)
Once you get to this point, and you're listening to the second Rza song, you'll realize that Robert Diggs actually gave more instrumentals to Cappadonna than to his own teammate, and you'll cry salty tears into your keyboard. Masta Killa wouldn't get his opportunity to follow up on his solo album promise until friggin' 2004, so for my two readers who look for the Wu reviews, it's going to be a looooong time before I get to that one. Just hang in there.

15. HYPERDERMIX
I guess I somehow misread the liner notes eight years ago, because I just discovered that Large Professor actually didn't produce this song; he only mixed it. Deck sounds like he's been behind the boards his entire life; it's that good. But I'm sure Extra P had something to do with that.

16. SHOW N PROVE
My favorite song on the album also happens to be the second to last song. I guess it's good that he buried it close to the end; otherwise I would have been prone to skipping it. I always liked how Mr. Deck rhymes about religion versus faith, and how they are not mutually exclusive. I remember there being some controversy about this track as well, but whenever religion is involved, I am surprised when the religious sect doesn't care. Also, the beat sounds great; I believe this was released as a single at one point, since I have the 12-inch somewhere, but I have no clue how this was received on radio, if they played it at all.

17. THE CAUSE (FEAT STREET LIFE)
A pretty weak way to end your debut album. Jason, thank you for playing; we have some lovely parting gifts for you down the hall. No, down the hall. Yes. Yeah, right there outside of that door. That one. No, that one. The one that says 'exit'. Yes, you got it.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Uncontrolled Substance is not a good Wu-Tang solo album. There, I said it. As a solo debut from Joe Rapper from the street, it's not awful. Deck's lyricism has always been top notch, and unlike Ras Kass or Canibus, his ear for beats isn't infected (and no, I did not just compare Inspectah Deck to Ras Kass or Canibus). The majority of the disc is "white noise hip hop"; it's comparable to listening to ocean waves as an aid to falling asleep.

BUY OR BURN? It's a burn. There's no way it could be anything else; it sounds that boring for the most part. However, the "best tracks" I list below are worth your eartime, so if you seek out those songs only, you'll be alright.

BEST TRACKS: "Show N Prove"; "Word On The Street"; "Hyperdermix"; "Trouble Man"

-Max

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