When the concept of Wu-Massacre was announced last year, I shrieked like a little schoolgirl. What Wu stan wouldn't? A collaborative effort by three members of the Wu-Tang Clan, as opposed to yet another solo album? The posse cuts on the solo albums were typically the highlight anyway: the members of the Wu-Tang Clan sounded (mostly) good alone, but when combined with their brethren, it was akin to mixing chemicals and having the beaker explode with joy and/or spunk. So when I first heard that Method Man, Ghostface Killah, and Raekwon would be joining forces to battle the dark side, I was, obviously, excited. There was even an article where Ghost was quoted as saying that these three are not forming a new group, because they were already in the Clan, leading me to believe that Wu-Massacre wouldn't betray the original intentions of the Wu: to take over the game using creativity instead of cliché.
Wu-Massacre quickly jumped to the top of the list of Wu-Tang Clan projects that I actually wanted to hear. (Astute followers of HHID will notice that, as of this writing, I still haven't written about Ghost's Ghostdini: The Wizard of Poetry In Emerald City, the posthumous Ol' Dirty Bastard “album”, or Inspectah Deck's Manifesto. Just because I love the Wu doesn't mean that I need to go batshit crazy about every album, you know. I still haven't reviewed the first Afro Samurai soundtrack, either.)
And then the concerns started appearing.
First of all, Wu-Massacre was going to be released on Def Jam Records, a label that (a) has had issues in the past with marketing Method Man and Ghostface Killah albums (Raekwon is essentially an A-list indie rapper), and (b) sucks balls today, with its emphasis on artists such as Rick Ross. But that was still workable, because Def Jam is still a major, and that just means that there may be more facings of Wu-Massacre on store shelves at Best Buy. This could still work.
And then the tracklisting leaked. Wu-Massacre only features twelve tracks, two of which are (what I assume as unnecessary) skits. Ten tracks total. Well, that isn't a big deal, right? Put our three hosts on every track, with the occasional guest (names such as Deck and (ugh, really?) Cappadonna were thrown about), and ten tracks could stretch out fairly easily. It's better to have Wu-Massacre half short and twice strong, right? All killer, no filler?
When I read about who would be contributing beats to Wu-Massacre, a sinking feeling started to seep in, because the only person I actually wanted to see on the fucking album, The Rza, only handled the beat on one song. I realize that the guy is busy, but if music is his first love, one would think that Bobby Digital would have some extra instrumentals lying around in the lab that he could hand over to the guys he broke through with. But, sadly, even this is something I can work around: it isn't as if The Rza is known these days to handle an entire album that isn't his own.
Man, Wu stans can rationalize everything, can't they?
Excitement on the Interweb reached a boiling point when the album artwork leaked, as it is fucking badass. Comic book fans especially were thrown for a loop, as Wu-Massacre now held the promise of being the comeback Wu-Tang Clan album that fans have been waiting for ever since the disappointing (to everyone else, maybe, but not me) 8 Diagrams dropped. Even with Def Jam leaking single after single to various blogs, I remained as amped up for Wu-Massacre as I was for the Slaughterhouse album. There was no way that this album could be a complete fuck-up, right?
And then Wu-Massacre rushed out of the faucet. And mixed in with the praise of Meth, Ghost, and Rae's latest opus were some very detailed criticisms of the project.
And then Method Man apologized for Wu-Massacre, saying that Def Jam rushed the final product (which is weird, since it was originally supposed to drop back in December but was pushed back to today) and that he, Ghost, and Rae didn't get to make the album that they wanted. Meth also told whoever would listen that there wasn't a time when all three rappers appeared in the same room together while creating Wu-Massacre, as they were all busy with other commitments (Rae, in particular, was too busy pimping Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...Pt. II). It was also revealed that our three hosts for the evening had nothing to do with the promotion for the album: the label took the reigns and handled it all, implying that they also had no input on the cool-as-fuck artwork and that Wu-Massacre, as a whole, was a Def Jam construct more so than an actual album.
Fuck.
1. CRIMINOLOGY 2.5
I remember when “Criminology 2” (or “Criminology '09”) first hit the Interweb as a way to promote Raekwon's last album Return To Relevancy. I even mentioned in the comment box (back when I still had one, before it just became ridiculous to maintain) that I was underwhelmed. Today, I still am, but the funny thing, is, this is an entirely different song. While there isn't any way to top the original (from Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...), a good effort would have, I don't know, actually included Raekwon, since it's his fucking song and all; instead, he appears to have gone A.W.O.L. on the very first track on Wu-Massacre. (Which is even weirder when you consider that Ghostface Killah is speaking directly to the Chef at the beginning of the track.) For the record, “Criminology '09” adhered very closely to its predecessor's formula, with BT's beat trying its best to not flat-out copy The Rza's handiwork, and the original “Criminology 2.5” that Def Jam leaked to Blogland was “Criminology '09” with a Method Man homage to the original track tacked onto the end: the version that actually made the final cut retains Meth's verse, erases Rae (that's right, regardless of how it reads on the back cover, the Chef fails to appear on this track), and alters Ghostface entirely: instead of his original contribution, his verse from Rae's “The Badlands” (a European bonus track from Return To Relevancy) opens the album instead. What the fuck? The fact that all three stars now fail to appear on the very first fucking song on Wu-Massacre concerns me more than a little bit.
2. MEF VS. CHEF 2
For the most part, the Wu-Tang Clan don't do well with sequels. (I'm talking about sequels to individual songs, not album titles.) So kicking off Wu-Massacre with two follow-up tracks is uncharacteristic at beat. The appeal of the first “Mef Vs. Chef” (from Tical) was the lyrical battle that sounded as though The Rza recorded the two participants inside an actual boxing ring, as Meth and Rae went toe to toe, bar for bar (at least, until Rae flubbed his lines and threw the fight, a curious goof that Meth included on the album anyway). The Mathematics beat doesn't even try to approximate Prince Rakeem, meaning that both artists (Ghostface Killah, seemingly upset that his name isn't in the title of the song, rightfully sits this one out) are stuck passing the mic back and forth over a truly shitty instrumental, rendering all of their rhymes inconsequential. So far, this album is making my soul cry.
3. YA MOMS SKIT
Entirely unnecessary. Oh, I get it: they're trying to recreate the feeling of listening to the skit that preceded “Method Man” on Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) for the first time. It just isn't funny.
4. SMOOTH SAILING REMIX (FEAT SOLOMON CHILDS & STREETLIFE)
After finishing the sandwich that he picked up from a street vendor during the last track, Ghost tags Raekwon out and spits over a Ty Fyffe instrumental that he sounds custom built for. I'm not sure where the original version of this song ended up, but this remix would have worked better has Solomon Childs been erased from the master tapes, since his chorus is altogether terrible. Meth's boy Streetlife, who makes his obligatory appearance because this is, in fact, a Method Man album in some fashion, also performs an embarrassing verse, attempting to drop the names of all of the Wu members in a clever way, coming across as a mentally retarded follower of The Game. Dude, you've been rhyming since Tical: there's no excuse for you to sound like a fucking rookie now.
5. OUR DREAMS
Finally, Wu-Massacre supplies listeners with a song that features all three of our hosts: fittingly enough, this is where The Rza puts in his only work behind the boards, flipping Michael Jackson's “We're Almost There” (are MJ's younger recordings less expensive than his post-Off The Wall output? Would this song have even happened had Jackson not passed away last year? Who knows?) into what I believe is one of his most boring beats ever. (Some would call this the work of a more mature Wu-Tang Clan. To that I say: who in the hell wants to hear a more mature Wu-Tang Clan?) Ghost, Meth, and Rae all mesh with the dull instrumental fairly effortlessly, though, so that counts for something. But this shit did absolutely nothing for me. Okay, I lied: the video for this song actually made me laugh, as its homage to David Fincher's Seven (which still holds up, by the way) has absolutely nothing to do with the subject matter.
6. GUNSHOWERS (FEAT INSPECTAH DECK & SUN GOD)
Digem's awkward, intermittent beat might have worked for a hungry mixtape rapper, but not for these established veterans. Rae takes yet another nap (I hope he gets his narcolepsy treated very soon, as I'm getting worried for his well-being) while Meth channels the late Russell Jones on the hook. Ghostface Killah suffers through a cold or something: his verse sounds as though it was performed by Cappadonna. Sun God tries yet again to earn his father's respect, but Ghost pays no attention, of course, because he was nursing the sniffles. In a shocking turn of events, Inspectah Deck atones for the crappy The Resident Patient 2 by actually sounding decent. But when you do okay work on a shitty song, does anybody ever truly hear it?
7. DANGEROUS
Right now, I'm upset that all of the tracks Def Jam leaked to the Interweb from Wu-Massacre implied that Meth, Ghost, and Rae would appear on every song. I'm considering filing a lawsuit against Def Jam for false advertising. It would be one thing if this was a Method Man solo album “featuring Ghostface Killah and Raekwon”, but they all share equal billing, so what the hell, man? Anyway, this song is pretty awful. Apparently, the Wu-Tang Clan that I've grown up with has been badgered into recording material that the label thought would result in more sales, regardless of how well they fit into the Wu canon. Suckers! Nobody buys Wu-Tang Clan albums in 2010!
8. PIMPIN' CHIPP
In what is a bad sign for the trio but a good look for fans of Ghostface Killah, Tony Starks rides for dolo on yet another of his patented storytelling film treatment raps, one that doesn't sound quite as good as his past work, but is still quite enjoyable, as it probably would have fit in well on The Big Doe Rehab. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to discover that Wu-Massacre was made up solely of outtakes from the solo albums of our three hosts. The coda on here threw me off, but the tale itself was alright.
9. HOW TO PAY RENT SKIT (FEAT TRACY MORGAN)
What the fuck?
10. MIRANDA
This sounds as though it was dropped from the final tracklisting of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...Pt. II. The Mathematics piano loop does not grow annoying over time, and Rae, Ghost, and Meth all shoot the shit about women (or possibly the same girl). This was actually pretty ill: easily the best song on Wu-Massacre thus far. Hell, this will probably end up being the best song overall, seeing as though there are only two songs left.
11. YOUNGSTOWN HEIST (FEAT TRIFE DA GOD, SHEEK LOUCH, & BULLY)
In what is probably another leftover from a Ghost solo project, Pretty Toney leaves Method Man and Raekwon stranded on the side of the highway while his friends from the old neighborhood plan a robbery. There's nothing inherently wrong with this track, aside from the fact that it betrays the concept of Wu-Massacre: in fact, I found it kind of entertaining. I'm led to believe that a collaborative effort between Ghostface Killah and The Lox may prove more fruitful, relevant, and profitable than this album, though. Come on, you know you two have thought of the same idea before.
12. IT'S THAT WU SHIT
Wu-Massacre ends abruptly not with a posse cut or a sound bite from a kung-fu flick, but with a track that sounds the least like a Wu-Tang Clan song in the group's lengthy history. Ghost and Meth attempt to throw listeners some lyrical darts, but end up cowering in fear behind the oppressive Scram Jones regime of a beat. I believe that there is no worse way for this album to have ended, and I've listened to a lot of garbage because of this blog. I actually feel betrayed.
THE LAST WORD: What the fuck have I just suffered through? When Method Man, Ghostface Killah, and Raekwon announced their Wu-Massacre project last year, I admit my expectations may have been raised artificially higher than they should have been (I was still riding the high from Raekwon's comeback project), but the only thing that these three manage to massacre is the idea that anybody in the Wu-Tang Clan is still capable of recording a quality piece of work. Almost every single song on Wu-Massacre fucking sucks: every track sounds as though it was patched together in a hurry (which, admittedly, they were), as though Def Jam was putting together a mixtape to advertise a future joint album between these three, but no, this is the actual final product, and man, is it fucking disappointing. Having an “album” of this magnitude come in at less than thirty minutes in length is very fucking questionable. The idea of limiting yourself to only ten tracks is admirable only if most of the songs click. It seems that Def Jam put more thought into the (awesome) album artwork than it did the actual music on the plastic disc within the jewel case. Raekwon only appears on four out of twelve tracks: that may prove to be the smartest move he has made in his entire career. The brunt of this travesty is handled by Ghostface (nine tracks) and Method Man (eight tracks), which makes sense when you consider that these two are actual Def Jam employees, but they clearly were not entirely focused on what they were doing. Wu-Tang Clan fans will snatch this up anyway, but I'm here to warn you that you will not enjoy it. (Remember, nobody purchases albums just so they can have the artwork.) All Wu-Massacre has done is piss me off. All I can hope is that Rae, Meth, and Ghost atone for their misdeeds very soon, preferably on an indie label that won't fucking rush the product.
I realize that a large number of music critics are jumping aboard the Wu-Massacre bandwagon, possibly in an attempt to trick consumers into actively supporting artists who actually deserve the attention. While that is an admirable reason, and while I would love to see Wu-Massacre move more than one million units (as it may convince Def Jam to release more of these type of projects), I can't recommend that you two actively seek this album, as the path will lead only to sadness. Sigh.
WISHFUL THINKING: Since we've seen the worst of what the Wu has to offer, the next logical step would be to try this concept again, but this time with Inspectah Deck, Masta Killa, and Gza/Genius. Not only would a collaboration between these three be easier to pull off (none of them are signed with a major anymore), it could also reignite interest in the unsung heroes of the Clan (yeah, I'm merely including Deck in that category because of his past work and not his current output). They could even use the Three The Hard Way crew moniker that Meth, Ghost, and Rae were going to originally call themselves. If they take their time and hire quality producers (I'm realistic, so not every track needs to be handled by The Rza, but the Clan's leader should do more than just one fucking track) and convince the other group members to stop by and drop a verse or two, they could create a companion piece to Wu-Massacre that could eradicate the memory of what I just listened to and reinvent the Wu-Tang Clan at the same time. Just a thought, fellas.
-Max
RELATED POSTS:
Catch up on the Wu by clicking here. You may want to set aside a day or two: there's a lot of posts about the Clan. I'm just saying.
In 1998, Trevor Smith, recording under the alias Busta Rhymes in an attempt to hide from his past as an animal trainer at a petting zoo, released his third manifesto dictating how the world was going to end at the start of the new milennium, which he titled E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front. The album cover depicts a world that has, ostensibly, already moved past the Final Front, with its remaining citizens praying to the giant fireball in the sky for some better music to play while the Earth transitions into a planet where only cockroaches and that lonely bookish guy from The Twilight Zone with the broken glasses can coexist.
At this point, Busta Rhymes had what could technically be referred to as a "successful" solo career. After spending some time in the Leaders Of The New School and reinventing himself as the go-to guy for a hot sixteen bar cameo, Trevor rolled the dice and bet that audiences wouldn't get sick of hearing him for the duration of an entire album, a gamble that had mostly worked up until this point. His debut, The Coming, was surprisingly good, and its follow-up, When Disaster Strikes, has some pretty interesting moments, but instead of choosing to hone his craft, Trevor decided that what his fans wanted to hear was more of the exact same shit, and so E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front, ridiculous title and all, was born.
This album is notable as being the first on which Busta Rhymes chose to not work with the late J Dilla, a producer who had handled some of the back office work on the previous two projects. Instead, Busta elected to work with Swizz Beats, who was inexplicably popular at the time (and still is, technically, although the reasoning is still inexplicable), and also selected his guest stars carefully: aside from his own crew, the Flipmode Squad (whose inclusion shocked absolutely nobody, although their restriction to only one track was a move I didn't see coming), there's only one other rapper that takes to the mic alongside Trevor: the like-minded but more-prone-to-sexual-battery Mystikal. The other cameo slots were filled by the likes of Janet Jackson and (huh?) Ozzy Osbourne, chosen especially to help Trevor expand his act beyond the three rings that he had dominated for the past decade.
So, did the experiment work? No, not really.
1. INTRO: THERE'S ONLY ONE YEAR LEFT
This otherwise pretentious rap album intro is passably interesting in that it sounds as if an aborted script for a Terminator sequel was swiped from the studio and given to an actor to perform in a synopsized fashion. And then Busta actually steps in and derails this train right from the very first fucking track, completely neglecting how creepy the rest of the intro was, just to get people to dance. The fuck?
2. EVERYBODY RISE
Busta Rhymes is the perfect artist for this Nottz beat, and I even like the piano keys sprinkled throughout, as if the instrumental was a set of cupcakes crafted for a child's birthday party. But this song still sucks. Just because Busta is the perfect outfit for the day doesn't mean that the man gets a free pass to spit some shit about the end of the world. This track isn't as revolutionary as the title or Busta's overall demeanor would lead one to believe. I wonder if Trevor woke up on January 1, 2000, took a gander out of the window, and shouted “Fuck! I knew I shouldn't have focused n that ridiculous Y2K myth for three fucking albums!” I sincerely doubt it.
3. WHERE WE ABOUT TO TAKE IT
Tracks such as this make me wish that Busta Rhymes remained the go-to guy for a hip hop cameo, and not a solo artist with several albums under his belt. This isn't bad, but it most certainly isn't any good.
4. EXTINCTION LEVEL EVENT (THE SONG OF SALVATION)
Is this your song of salvation? Because it sure as fuck isn't mine. Nottz brings a beat which sounds incomplete, the chanting on the chorus is unnerving, and, if played in reverse, Lucifer himself will rise from the underworld just to tell you to turn this shit off. And then he'll take your ice cream cone and sleep with your mother. Why? Because he's a dick, that's why.
5. TEAR DA ROOF OFF
If this song is about how “we built shit from the ground up”, then this is the equivalent of Zion in The Matrix Reloaded, and when taken as such, it's kind of funny to thing of all of those motherfuckers in the cave sequence dancing like Ewoks to some Busta Rhymes. Sadly, producer Swizz Beats will never be a part of any hip hop regeneration, his contributions to post-devastation Haiti notwithstanding, as he turns in yet another lackluster effort that I'm sure everybody but me fucking loves. For his part, Busta uses his talent to mesh with any sort of beat to good use, so he ends up sounding alright, but this track gets no love from me.
6. AGAINST ALL ODDS (FEAT FLIPMODE SQUAD)
I guess it would be too much to ask for the Flipmode Squad to pass the mic around and cover the Phil Collins song, although that would have been fucking hilarious. All six members of the crew (Serious had already left, Lord Have Mercy was still hanging around, and Rah Digga was now in the fold) only get about eight bars each, so nobody sticks around long enough to annoy the listener. The beat (surprisingly handled by Jamal, also known as Mally G of Illegal and the Def Squad b-team) is decent, as well. The skit at the end has decidedly nothing to do with the end of the world, by the way.
7. JUST GIVE IT TO ME RAW
I find it interesting when rappers reference other rap songs in their rhymes, whether they're talking about someone else's tracks or their own past work, so I found Busta's shout-out to Raekwon's “Ice Cream” to be pretty cool, even though the title of this song leads me to believe that the more obvious choice should have been Ol' Dirty Bastard's “Shimmy Shimmy Ya”. Regardless, this shit sucks mad cow taint. Has Busta Rhymes completely fallen off? Probably. But every passing moment is a chance to turn it all around.
8. DO IT TO DEATH
Aside from Trevor's occasional excursions into complete gibberish, and a hook that will try your patience, this song wasn't that bad. I credit Rockwilder's instrumental, with its consistent tone that keeps things moving, as Busta hasn't gotten a chance to rhyme over something decent in quite a while, and when the artist and the beat click, it can be a beautiful thing. This song isn't perfect, but it'll do.
9. KEEPIN' IT TIGHT
Unlike this weak shit. What the fuck, Busta? Are you actively trying to alienate your fan base? Because your plan is working.
10. GIMME SOME MORE
The first single from E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front, and by far the most creative track on the entire disc, with DJ Scratch looping Bernard Herrman's “Prelude from Psycho” and giving Busta Rhymes carte blanch to rip shit up. The skit that precedes “Gimme Some More” is ridiculous and does nothing to promote this track: conversely, the Hype Williams-helmed video is successful in its aping of an old-school Warner Brothers cartoon, albeit in live-action form. This is simply two minutes and thirty-eight seconds of Busta Rhymes perfection. No wonder it was pushed as a single. If only the rest of the album was up to the same standards.
11. IZ THEY WILDIN' WIT US & GETTING ROWDY WIT US (FEAT MYSTIKAL)
Mystikal, a once-popular rapper who was convicted on charges of sexual battery and extortion, and was just recently released from prison, pairs up with our host for a track that was, ideally, supposed to showcase their similar styles and please fans of both artists. Busta forgets this arrangement entirely, and rips his rhyme partner to fucking shreds, leaving Mystikal by the side of the road like one of those chicks ditched by the Bang Bus. This would have made for an impressive feat if the song were memorable in the least bit. Also, the title is far too long.
12. PARTY IS GOIN' ON OVER HERE
One of the few blessings of this album is the high number of tracks that clock in at under three minutes, as if Busta's schizophrenic personality couldn't be bothered with focusing on a single theme for longer than that allotment. On here, he wastes a perfectly good DJ Scratch beat with some inane party rhymes, and frankly, it deserved much better than that.
13. DO THE BUS-A-BUS
I believe this was a single as well, but not this Jimmie Spicer “Bubble Bunch”-sampling version: a remix (found on Violator: The Album) was released to radio instead. Busta is the perfect artist for this type of old-school beat, as well, and he fares a bit better than he did on “Everybody Rise”. Ultimately, this song is more of a novelty than anything that will cause you to hit 'repeat' on your iPod, but this isn't bad. The skit at the end is unnecessarily violent, but comically so, and I'll admit that I chuckled a couple of times, but now I feel dirty.
14. TAKE IT OFF
I have no basis for this feeling, but this instrumental (provided by Fantom Of The Beat) sounds to me like something that a solo Q-Tip may have declined before Busta picked up the pieces. This may explain why he doesn't sound one hundred percent comfortable on here, but at least he does the best he can. This will never become anybody's favorite song, but it could have been a lot worse.
15. WHAT'S IT GONNA BE? (FEAT JANET JACKSON)
On here, Busta Rhymes tries to be all things to all audiences, or at least two highly specific audiences: folks that like Busta Rhymes, and folks that still follow Janet Jackson's career. What he failed to include in his calculation is that the latter group's numbers have been dwindling ever since she dropped The Velvet Rope, and hiring her to sing about making you have wet dreams wasn't the best way for her to win her fans back. The fact that this was played to death on MTV and BET is more of a testament to the power or payola than anyone actually loving this song. As you can imagine, this isn't any good, but it wouldn't stop Trevor from hooking up with other R&B singers in the future. Sigh.
16. HOT SHIT MAKIN' YOU BOUNCE
In my professional opinion, if you're ever in a club where the dance floor is flooded with a wave of shit from the restrooms (rendered warm to the touch by the hot spotlights), you probably will want to bounce...right up out of that club. That just isn't sanitary. Sometimes, rappers come up with metaphors that make absolutely no fucking sense.
17. WHAT THE FUCK YOU WANT!!
Well, I would like you to provide some better music for me to listen to. But I can't have it all. The Diamond D instrumental is decent enough: another rapper could probably turn this into their signature track, but for Busta Rhymes, this is just another Tuesday morning. The end of the album is a strange place for Trevor to suddenly become aggressive, though.
18. THIS MEANS WAR!!! (FEAT OZZY OSBOURNE)
Rap-rock has never really caught on for a really good reason: it usually sounds terrible. (I'm not even that big of a fan of Run DMC and Aerosmith's “Walk This Way”. Sue me.) So this track, which samples Black Sabbath's “Iron Man”, is predictably awful, which is interesting, since Busta's manic energy would seem to be a perfect fit for a rock song. (Maybe he should try another genre entirely: can you picture what could happen if Trevor paired up with The Prodigy?) I'm more impressed with the fact that Busta convinced Ozzy Osbourne to actually appear in the studio, but I'm still left wondering how in the hell they hooked up in the first place.
19. OUTRO: THE BURIAL SONG
This outro is over five minutes long, which is completely reckless unless there's a hidden track that appears, which there is not. The title is also misleading: this isn't a song, it's a spoken word performance by a paranoid Trevor Smith. God, what a fucking waste of my time this has been.
FINAL THOUGHTS: E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front is some bullshit pressed onto vinyl and wax that was shipped to store shelves under the banner of “entertainment”. Instead of any actual good music, what we receive is nineteen tracks of Busta Rhymes on cruise control, a man who is not interested even the slightest bit in elevating his craft, choosing instead to continue recording the same song over and over again. (“The world's going to end?” Check. “Flipmode is the squad!” Check.) This bloated mess contains exactly one good song, which makes for some truly pathetic odds, not to mention a severe waste of your money. Seriously, what the fuck?
BUY OR BURN? Don't do either one: purchasing or downloading this album would give it the validation that it does not deserve. Instead, track down the lone good song and let this one be.
BEST TRACKS: “Gimme Some More”
-Max
RELATED POSTS:
Maybe you'll have better luck with the other Busta Rhymes write-ups, which you can read by clicking here.
Fifteen years ago today, Eric "Eazy-E" Wright passed away from complications after contracting the AIDS virus. This came as a shock to music fans everywhere, especially those who actually followed gangsta rap, as this was most definitely not how anybody expected one of the founding fathers of West Coast hip hop to go.
A lot of ink has been spent describing how Eazy-E made peace with his former friends Dr. Dre and Ice Cube on what was essentially his deathbed. His passing pretty much killed any possible N.W.A. reunion, as evidenced by the fact that any later collaboration between various combinations of The World's Most Dangerous Group (with an occasional aside from Snoop Dogg) never really resonated with the public.
A year and a half prior to this monumental event in hip hop history, though, Eazy-E flat-out hated Dr. Dre.
In 1992, Andre Young found a way to get out of his contract with Eric's Ruthless Records: by force. In partnering up with Marion "Suge" Knight, Dre found a kindred spirit, someone who also believed that Dre should be making some money off of his own fucking work. (Sure, Suge allegedly strongarmed Dre out of his earnings later, but Andre didn't see that coming in 1992.) Eazy was rightfully pissed that his cash cow was snatched out away from under him (because MC Ren wasn't exactly raking in the dough), so he scrapped what was supposed to be his next project, something called Temporary Insanity (as the first time I heard of this album was on Wikipedia, I'm prone not to believe it), and instead crafted an EP declaring all-out war on Dr. Dre and his right-hand man Snoop Doggy Dogg, mainly because of all of the random shit-talking that transpired on Dre's debut The Chronic.
That EP, awkwardly titled It's On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa (what the fuck is that supposed to mean, anyway? Does Eric want to kill Cold 187um? I thought they were friends!), featuring the direct assault "Real Muthaphukkin' G's", went on to sell five million motherfucking copies. That means that over five million people were possibly convinced that Eazy-E was actually the bigger man in this historic battle. Sure, aside from MC Ren, Eazy tended to surround himself with a gaggle of jackasses (Bone Thugs 'N Harmony don't count, but Jerry Heller and the early incarnation of the Black Eyed Peas most certainly do), but when he focused on a subject as dear to his heart as getting fucked over for his money, Eric Wright was a very compelling voice that is missed in our chosen genre.
Yeah, that last paragraph was nice and all, but I've never actually listened to It's On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa until today. So is it any good?
1. EXXTRA SPECIAL THANKS
I have to admit, Eric's verbal assault on both Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg actually does set the tone for what I'm expecting to hear on this EP. A rap album intro that isn't useless? Wow.
2. REAL MUTHAPHUCKKIN' G'S (FEAT B.G. KNOCC OUT & DRESTA)
Dr. Dre clearly won the war, what with his many successes in the music industry and Eazy being dead and all (too soon?), but I've always preferred this dis track over “Fuck Wit Dre Day”. B.G. Knocc Out and Dresta are decent enough behind the mic, I suppose, but I don't ever want to hear them not talking smack about Death Row Records, as this seems to be their calling. But Eazy's two verses steal the show, with venom encircling Eric's words like a babbling creek, a feat he would never again attain. Rhythm D's beat grabs your attention immediately, and Eazy's threats have a perfect mixture of humor and reality to them (a lot of folks forget that Eazy-E made a lot of money off of The Chronic). This still sounds fucking awesome today, both in your car and in your earbuds. One of the finest dis tracks ever recorded. And yes, I'm completely serious.
3. ANY LAST WERDZ (FEAT COLD 187UM & KOKANE)
On the cassette maxi-single of “Real Muthaphuckkin' G's” (which was released to radio in the altered form of “Real Compton G's”, a diluted track that still packed a surprising punch), “Any Last Werdz” appeared immediately after the main attraction, making this the only other song from It's On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa that I'm already familiar with. Eazy's collaboration with most of Above The Law, a crew that had their own issues with Dr. Dre and chose the appropriate side, is actually really boring, possibly because this nothing to do with either Dre or Snoop. The hook and chanting throughout are catchy enough, but Eazy-E is burdened with carrying the weight of all three verses, and they happen to be not so great.
4. STILL A N---A
Over a simple Yella instrumental (remember that guy?), Eazy tries to prove that his past success hasn't changed his overall demeanor. I have to give the man some credit: I truly anticipated this entire EP being a huge middle finger to Andre Young, but Eric has proven over the past couple of tracks that he's looking at the big picture, and Dr. Dre only plays a small cameo role in his life story. Which is surprising, considering Dre's name appears in the goddamn title of the album. (Imagine Curtis Jackson naming his major label debut Get Rich or Kill Ja Rule. What would you expect the entire album to be about?) Eric's ranting is far more polished here than on any previous disc in his catalog, but this track is still merely okay, as it is fairly predictable in the way that gangsta rap tends to be.
5. GIMME THAT NUTT
Yella's beat is pretty fucking amazing, almost too good for Eric Wright to waste with such a generic sex rap. Someone needs to jack this beat ASAP for promotional use only: this sounds like the kind of instrumental J-Zone would have given Eric had they had the opportunity to work together. Including references to N.W.A.'s previous (superior) sex raps renders this track a throwback gift to fans who have followed up to this point. Unnecessary, but it has its merits.
6. IT'S ON
Rhythm D's approximation of a Dr. Dre beat circa The Chronic is perfect for Eazy to trash talk his former friend and the new guy on the scene (lest we forget, Snoop dragged himself into the fray by pledging allegiance to Dr. Dre and proclaiming that “Eazy-E can eat a big fat dick” on “Fuck Wit Dre Day”; you'll notice that Eazy hasn't really taken shots at anybody else on the label, because they all kept their mouths shut). “Real Muthaphuckkin' G's” is the far better track, but this is still a pretty entertaining sleeper hit, even though Eric treads the same water that he threw into Dre's face on the previous dis song.
7. BOYZ N THA HOOD (G-MIX)
While it's old news that Eazy-E made money off of The Chronic as a condition of releasing Dre from his Ruthless Records contract (I wrote about that five songs ago, you two! Keep up!), I wonder if Dre made any residual checks for this unneeded remix of a track that he produced for Eazy back in the day. Probably not, since Eazy and Jerry Heller notoriously fucked him out of money in his contract: maybe this song was included on the EP as yet another fuck-you to his face? Or maybe Eric Wright ran out of ideas and decided that what this project really needed was a filler track that could double as a bathroom break. Who knows?
8. DOWN 2 THA LAST ROACH (FEAT B.G. KNOCC OUT, ASH TREY (KOKANE), MR. ROACH CLIP (EAZY-E), & SHAKI)
For the final track of the evening, Eazy-E and his friends lead you to believe that they will focus solely on Dr. Dre's seemingly backwards progression from a drug-free rapper who doesn't smoke weed or cess (“Because it's known to cause brain damage”, as he says on N.W.A.'s “Express Yourself”) to a guy who loves the green so much that he named his debut album The Chronic. However, the song is simply about the joys of getting “high like a motherfucker”; Eazy and his friends use their goofy aliases and voice distortion software to simulate the feeling one gets after smoking himself stupid, but the overall effect is more annoying than entertaining, not unlike Dre's “The Roach (The Chronic Outro)”. The educational interlude midway through was fairly interesting, though. There was no reason that this absolutely had to last longer than fucking seven minutes.
THE LAST WORD: It's On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa may have functioned a bit better if it were a true attack record in every sense of the word, but alas, Eazy-E's hatred toward Dr. Dre and his new friend Snoop Doggy Dogg (one will also note that Eric doesn't say shit about Suge Knight) is limited to mainly two tracks and an intro. While those songs are masterful in their dismantling if a hip hop legend (there are claims contained within those records that Dre still has to contend with to this day), the rest of the package is trite gangsta rap that hits all of the major points, as if Eazy had a checklist running through his mind. The production, mostly provided by Rhythm D and DJ Yella, is somewhat compelling, but Eazy's skill level behind the mic leaves a lot to be desired. The best tracks in here are entertaining, as that was what Eric Wright was best at doing, but the worst songs will make you want to throw this CD into a nearby ditch. It is what it is.
-Max
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Read up on Eazy-E by clicking here.
(Since D. Silbs mentions it in the very first sentence of his Reader Review for KiD CuDi's Man On The Moon: The End Of Day (yeah, great title, Scott), let me address it right now: I have been perfectly content to ignore the man, thanks. I just haven't been impressed enough by the man to run out and buy his album, although after reading through this, I believe a trip to the library is in order, at the very least. Anyway, I know a lot of you two have been waiting for this, so be sure you leave some comments for D. Silbs once you're finished reading.)
Since Max seems perfectly content to ignore one of the biggest names in hip hop currently (I still have no regrets), I have to come in to save the day. I'm speaking, of course, about KiD CuDi. He released some bullshit mixtape that people speak of as legendary (he's referring to A Kid Named Cudi), but frankly, it sucks. However, when I heard a few of the singles from his debut album, Man On The Moon: The End Of Day, I was intrigued, if not a bit impressed. So, I decided to pick up a copy for myself with a twenty dollar bill I found lying on the ground. I listened to it that first day three of four times straight through, and I haven't listened to it since, because I wanted to sit back and listen to it again with fresh ears so that I don't sound biased. Anyway, enough about me, let me get to the man of the hour, KiD CuDi.
Scott Mescudi was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, and everybody knows that Cleveland sucks (unless you're a member of Bone Thugs 'N Harmony and/or Drew Carey), which is probably why he doesn't feel the need to mention his hometown repeatedly like every other rapper on the fucking planet. Near the end of high school, he began rapping acapella in front of his mirror, and during his college years he hooked up with a producer by the name of Dot Da Genius, who supplied CuDi with beats to rhyme over, one of which eventually turned into the hit single "Day 'n' Night."
Anyway, remember that bullshit mixtape I mentioned earlier? It ended up in the hands of none other than Kanye West, who has some pretty shitty taste in music. (He once included Paul Wall on one of his albums. Paul motherfucking Wall.) Regardless, 'Ye felt it was legit, so he signed the KiD to his label, G.O.O.D. Music. Soon after, CuDi was featured on the all-Auto-Tune 808's & Heartbreak, introducing himself to the masses on the title track. Afterward, CuDi released his own hit single, which I already mentioned above but will discuss in more detail in a bit, and now we have the album, Man On The Moon: The End Of Day.
Let's do this.
1. IN MY DREAMS (CUDDER ANTHEM)
I guess you can call this a rap album intro, but it doesn't completely suck. I'm pretty sure CuDi is singing on here, for the duration of the entire track, which sort of pisses me off, but whatever. The beat is somewhat majestic and yet, a little sleepy, but it sets the tone for the album fairly well. That's all well and good, but then Common pops in and speaks for absolutely no reason whatsoever.
2. SOUNDTRACK 2 MY LIFE
Wow. Even though the beat is extremely simplistic, it still rocks, and CuDi rips it apart accordingly. The first few lines are some of the best you will ever hear the man spit: "I got 99 problems, and they all bitches / Wish I was Jiggaman, care free livin' / But I'm not Shawn, or that Martin Louis / I'm just that Cleveland n---a rollin' with them Brooklyn boys". You will not be disappointed with this joint.
3. SIMPLE AS...
It starts out with some freaky sample of a some voices repeating "A,B,C” and “1,2,3". Get it? As simple as A,B,C! Yeah, I didn't think it was funny or clever either. This beat is just too boring, as it consists only of drums and that annoying-ass sample (taken from, of all of the musical acts in the world, fucking Orchestral Manoeuvers In The Dark). Sure, KiD CuDi spits alright, I suppose, but I fell asleep after listening to about 30 seconds of this shit. When I woke up, Common reappeared, still failing to do anything of any substance. Pass.
4. SOLO DOLO (NIGHTMARE)
The music sounds like it was made up of some strange Asian harp, and sadly this becomes a recurring theme on the album: boring beats. The vocals on this track aren't too bad, but I don't even know what a "Solo Dolo" is supposed to be. Even if CuDi is providing some fairly introspective lyrics, that doesn't automatically make the song any good. I'll skip this one, too.
5. HEART OF A LION (KID CUDI THEME MUSIC)
This track picks up right where "Soundtrack 2 My Life" left off. CuDi still got a no-name producer for this song, but for his part, Free School provides a beat that completely pumps me up: when the instrumental goes for a bit of a walk during the chorus, I lose all control, because of how awesome this shit sounds. CuDi also raps on here rather than using that half-singing, half-rap shit he's been trying to pass off as music for the last three tracks. So, this song is definitely a winner in my book.
6. MY WORLD (FEAT BILLY CRAVEN)
This song has some of those annoying background quacks that Hova's "Run This Town" contained, so I naturally assumed this was also produced by Kanye, but the Internet repeatedly tells me otherwise (this was actually handled by Kanye's right hand man Plain Pat), so I guess I'll go with the majority. As for the song? I know its going to really surprise you all, but it's boring.
7. DAY 'N' NIGHT (NIGHTMARE)
Okay, if you haven't heard this song, you need to get out more. This song got an assload of radio airplay, but it actually deserved all of the attention it received. The Dot Da Genius beat is deep and mellow, and even though it is a bit repetitive, it still rocks. CuDi grabs the beat and fucks it hard, spitting some actual deep lines for a radio-friendly song, even though I bet he was completely baked when he recorded this. Still a dope song anyway. (Ha!) (This also got a shitload of club play, as well, thanks to the popular Crookers remix that some of you two may be more familiar with.)
8. SKY MIGHT FALL
Now this song was actually produced by Kanye West, but to be honest, you wouldn't be able to tell without checking the liner notes. There are no sped-up chipmunk soul samples or anything! The bass on this beat is pretty crazy though, and it bumps hard in your car. The chorus is pretty freaking awesome, which is another recurring trend of this album, but one that I hope continues. This was definitely a high-quality track.
9. ENTER GALACTIC (LOVE CONNECTION PART 1)
I can't tell if he's saying "intergalactic" or "enter galactic" but I will assume the latter, considering the title of the song. The beat kind of sounds like something you would hear at a coffee house with a hint of techno influence. The music sounds as if it would be a better fit for Common's talents, but hey, its a passable track.
10. ALIVE (NIGHTMARE) (FEAT RATATAT)
This was produced by Ratatat, who also help contribute some of the lyrics on this gem of a track, Ratatat. The chorus, once again, kicks serious ass, and the two emcees that appear are beasts on here. The beat is, once again, simplistic, except this time, like on "Soundtrack 2 My Life", the simplicity actually works, creating one of the better tracks on the album.
11. CUDI ZONE
The beat goes all techno in the beginning, but then it comes back down to earth and we start to hear CuDi spit some solid rhymes. The beat also wanders a little bit during the chorus, a trait I really enjoy. This song is the first one on Man On The Moon: The End Of Day with a lame ass chorus, from a lyrical standpoint anyway: "My mind sounds like wooo-oooo". Yeah, it sounds just as bad as it reads.
12. MAKE HER SAY (FEAT KANYE WEST & COMMON)
This is the song that samples Lady Gaga's “Pokerface”. KiD CuDi and Common sound very good over this ode to the ladies, but Kanye West steals the show by rhyming in such disgusting detail that I couldn't help but laugh. The only person who can out-rhyme Kanye on the topic of sex is Ghostface Killah, but Def Jam has seemed to have forgotten about that amazing man. That's an argument for another time, I guess.
13. PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS (NIGHTMARE) (FEAT MGMT & RATATAT)
Another production credit for Ratatat and another fantastic beat. The beat is extremely simple again, but in a fantastic way, which paves the way for CuDi to rhyme endlessly about drugs. In the end, he seems to overdose on weed. I'm nearly one hundred percent sure you can't really do that, no matter how hard you try and how much you smoke, but this was a fantastic song anyway.
14. HYYERR (FEAT CHIP THA RIPPER)
This is the kind of beat I was waiting the entire album to hear: heavy on the soul sample with some delicious music playing in the background. Chip tha Ripper adds a quality verse, but CuDi definitely outshines his guest. Let me say this one more time: this beat is awesome.
15. UP UP & AWAY
This beat seems a bit too celebratory. After writing an entire album about depression, drugs, women and lonely childhoods, CuDi emerges seemingly unscathed. How do you go from a shitty perspective to such a great one so quickly? Let's assume drugs until proven otherwise. As for the actual song? It isn't too bad, despite that one complaint. Oh, hello again, Common. Didn't see you there.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Well, Man On The Moon: The End Of Day is definitely better than I remembered it being, even though the first half of the disc contains some of the most boring instrumentals I have ever heard. The choruses on almost all of the songs kick ass, which is rare, and even the one song that has a shitty hook sounds awesome regardless. Even though all KiD CuDi rhymes about is how sad he is and how much weed he smokes, you have to respect the man for not just taking the easy way out and rhyming about tits.
BUY OR BURN? I had to think long and hard about this one, but at the end of the day, I think this one is worth your money. The shitty tracks on here are absolutely awful, but the great songs kick the memory of the crappy songs right out of your head. Maybe you just shouldn't upload the three really crappy songs to your computer.
BEST TRACKS : "Soundtrack 2 My Life”; "Heart Of a Lion (KiD CuDi Theme Music)"; "Day 'n' Night (Nightmare)"; "Alive"; "Make Her Say"; "Hyyer"
-D. Silbs
(Agree? Disagree? Do you love this album, or do you hate the fuck out of it? Either way, make your opinion known by commenting below.)
Here's one of those albums that it took me forever to actually find the patience to sit through. You shouldn't take that last statement as an automatic dismissal of Reflection Eternal's Train Of Thought, though: I'm just not the biggest fan of emcee Talib Kweli. My perception of the man is that he was the obvious weaker half of Black Star, which makes the fact that I have reviewed nearly every one of his partner Mos Def's projects even more apparent now, doesn't it? But I try to have an open mind whenever I write, so I'll attempt to look forward to this revisitation.
Reflection Eternal is made up of the aforementioned Kweli and his producer friend Hi-Tek, who first met up in Cincinnatti, Ohio. Hi-Tek was working with his crew Mood and allowed Kweli to guest on a track: ever since then, they've called themselves Reflection Eternal, even when they're not directly working together. After signing with the once-mighty Rawkus Records, they quickly rushed out a twelve-inch single, "Fortified Live" (which also featured future Black Star mate Mos Def and Mr. Man from Da Bush Babees), with "2000 Seasons" as its B-side: both tracks found their way to the first Soundbombing compilation, with each track helping Reflection Eternal gain a cult following, not unlike opening an independent flick in twelve theaters in New York before slowly spreading out to the rest of the country.
Kweli and Hi-Tek's team took a brief hiatus when Talib and Mos Def banded together to create Black Star. On their critically acclaimed project Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star (named as such because they legally couldn't actually call themselves Black Star), Hi-Tek handled the production on nearly half of the album, including the first single "Definition". After that disc dropped in 1998, Kweli and Mos immediately set about working on their separate projects, with Dante's Black On Both Sides winning the race, hitting store shelves the following year. Kweli took his time, crafting Reflection Eternal's debut album Train Of Thought for an eventual release date in 2000.
Train Of Thought was supposed to be seen as a soulful excursion through New York, as experienced through the eyes of a neo-soul poet in the vein of The Roots, except Kweli didn't have his own drummer following him around. Kweli's rhyme skill had not yet reached his potential, but he decided to fill the album with twenty tracks regardless, since this was essentially his solo debut. (Hi-Tek stays mainly behind the boards, but he does manage to sneak in a verse as practice for his own eventual solo efforts, which I hope to get to later.) Predictably, Talib Kweli utilizes this opportunity to complain about the current state of hip hop (as most underground rappers are wont to do) while positioning himself as the next big thing.
The first single, "The Express", failed to set expectations as high as Kweli had hoped, and the fact that it was later dropped from the project completely for unknown reasons (my guess: sample wars) didn't help matters much. As such, Train Of Thought was met with a surprising amount of unfavorable reviews, surprising only because everybody who loved the Black Star album was expecting this to be a natural continuation. So it wasn't really much of a shock that Kweli and Hi-Tek broke up the band after Train Of Thought was completed, not because Reflection Eternal was no more, but more so that both members could further explore their roles in our chosen genre. Hi-Tek's production work went in a much different direction than anybody had anticipated (he produced for the fucking G-Unit, for God's sake!), while Kweli continued to hone his craft, admittedly becoming more interesting behind the mic.
But yeah, this review is about Train Of Thought.
1. EXPERIENCE DEDICATION (FEAT DAVE CHAPPELLE)
After a brief but unusually bizarre intro by Dave Chappelle (who plays the role of Nelson Mandela), Kweli chimes in with your typical rap album intro bullshit that still manages to thank the fans who have followed Reflection Eternal thus far. Which was nice of him.
2. MOVE SOMETHIN' (FEAT NONYE)
Hi-Tek provides an instrumental that effectively wakes listeners up, informing them of the true beginning of Train Of Thought. Talib does his best to adopt an aggressive tone (even exclaiming “Shut the fuck up!” at one point), but he doesn't sound comfortable behind the mic just yet: already, he comes off as if he hasn't learned anything from the Black Star project. It's time to move somethin', all right: move on, as in on to the next one.
3. SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL
As this song borrows its title from a John Hughes-produced film which only exists because fans of Pretty In Pink (another Hughes-scripted flick) didn't care for the fact that Molly Ringwald made the (obvious, at least to me) decision to not hook up with Duckie (although the lost original ending of the movie does, in fact, have the characters doing just that), my expectations were already pretty low, as if Kweli wrote the track just to offset criticisms for “Move Somethin'”. Well, that experiment doesn't work: Hi-Tek's beat is a roaring thunderclap of dullness, and Talib sounds boring by proxy.
4. THE BLAST (FEAT VINIA MOJICA)
Kweli and Hi-Tek trade verses over this soulful beat, which is more in the vein of the Black Star album than the previous two tracks, even though this is easily the most commercial song on Train Of Thought thus far. But this shit is enjoyable as hell, so I'm not complaining. Even the vocals fit in well, without turning “The Blast” into R&B-lite.
5. THIS MEANS YOU (FEAT MOS DEF)
Mos Def's “Know That”, which appeared on Black On Both Sides, set the bar for Dante/Kweli collaborations (those that weren't technically Black Star songs, anyway), and “This Means You” comes nowhere close to that song's level. This shit sucks. As I choose to ignore this track entirely (okay, one last comment: I hate the chorus), I'm going to instead ponder the fact that nothing on Train Of Thought sounds as lo-fi as Reflection Eternal's much-beloved “Fortified Live”, which also featured The Mighty Mos. I realize that is a much older track, and I shouldn't try to compare this album to the duo's early work, but they could have tacked that song on as a bonus or something.
6. TOO LATE (FEAT RES)
Kweli has always taken himself a bit too seriously. I mean, hell, his hook on here includes the phrase “Where were you the day hip hop died?”. But still, I kind of dug this track. Hi-Tek provides a rolling instrumental throughout, punctuated with some disembodied vocals (from Res, who would later partner up with Kweli on his Idle Warship side project), that helps build Talib's verses into a modest ranch-style home with three bedrooms, a solarium, and a panic room. Also, historians, please take note that Talib Kweli trumped Nas in referring to our chosen genre as deceased already.
7. MEMORIES LIVE (FEAT BIG DEL & DONTE)
I've always found this song conducive to enjoying reflections on your past life. Hi-Tek's musical backdrop is peaceful, and Kweli, for the first time on the album, sounds completely comfortable behind the mic, as if, yes, this is what the man should be doing with his life. Oddly, when Talib, dives into a brief history of his career, he mentions his work with the Cincinnati group Mood, but neglects Black Star entirely. I did like how the end of this song segues into the next track seamlessly. And also how Hi-Tek found some work for his buddy from Mood, Donte.
8. AFRICA DREAM
Kweli and Weldon Irvine actually man the boards on this track (Hi-Tek receives only a co-producer credit). And they don't do a bad job of it at all: the song is only considered a bit of a mess thanks to Kweli's tendency to cram as many syllables as he can into a single bar, rhythm be damned.
9. DOWN FOR THE COUNT (FEAT RAH DIGGA & XZIBIT)
Oddly sequenced into Train Of Thought, but to be fair, there is really no place where this song would fit coherently. This is probably the track that most hip hop heads gravitated toward immediately upon this album's release, as Hi-Tek switches his style just slightly (prior to his overall extreme makeover as a gangsta rap producer for Curtis Jackson and his buffoons) to make the guests feel at home, and they return the favor with entertaining verses. Kweli even sounds at ease on this collaboration, but it should also be noted that a version of this song (released as a B-side to one of their singles) that features him all by his lonesome is also readily available on the Interweb, and it's equally as interesting. Nice work, guys.
10. NAME OF THE GAME
This one-verse wonder from Kweli is more of an incomplete thought than an actual song, ad a forgettable one, at that.
11. GHETTO AFTERLIFE (FEAT KOOL G RAP)
Hi-Tek custom-builds an instrumental for Kool G Rap and completely forgets that his boy Kweli is supposed to share the beat: as a result, Talib sounds almost laughable with his constant threats. (I will admit that he could probably sound credible today, but not ten years ago.) Oh well.
12. ON MY WAY (FEAT KENDRA ROSS, VINIA MOJICA, & TIYE PHOENIX)
This is just an interlude.
13. LOVE LANGUAGE (FEAT LES NUBIANS)
“Love ain't nothing but a word / A chicken ain't nothing but a bird”? The fuck? Talib Kweli doesn't seem to understand the concept of the love rap, if he's so willing to dismiss the feeling as, well, nothing. Which makes this a difficult song to listen to, since you are unable to take our host seriously. Also, the vocals grate on the ears. Moving on...
14. LOVE SPEAKEASY
You could also look at this as “Love Language (Reprise)”. No, really, you could: you have my permission and everything.
15. SOUL REBELS (FEAT DE LA SOUL)
I've always liked the guitar sample on this track, but I don't really like the song as a whole. It's almost as if Kweli hadn't yet earned the right to rhyme alongside De La Soul at this point in his career. (This theory, admittedly, has some holes in it, as Kweli has sounded fine alongside Mos Def, Common, and Xzibit, all of whom are technically more relevant than De La Soul right now.) I suppose this is proof that one needs more than a funky guitar sample to make a rap song: the lyrics also have to be somewhat interesting.
16. ETERNALISTS
Meh. Yeah, I just wrote “meh”. Deal with it.
17. BIG DEL FROM THE NATTI (FEAT BIG DEL)
This would be hilarious if it wasn't true: for this interlude featuring a half-assed verse from his invited guest, Hi-Tek provides a much better instrumental than he has for his Reflection Eternal partner for the entire fucking album. How fair is that?
18. TOUCH YOU (FEAT DAVE CHAPPELLE, PIAKHAN, & SUPA DAVE WEST)
Dave Chappelle briefly returns to Train Of Thought, this time portraying Rick James, three years before he immortalized his imitation on Chappelle's Show. (I wish I could write that the catchphrase “I'm Rick James, bitch!” originated here, because that would be funny, but alas, Dave only appears for, like, four seconds at the beginning.) His presence is the only halfway interesting element to this wack-ass song, though.
19. GOOD MOURNING
On here, Talib Kweli outshines Hi-Tek's beat (even with a horrible chorus) with verses that detail his perspective with perfect clarity. I think it's time to discuss the unthinkable: Hi-Tek is a good producer, Kweli has (some) skills behind the mic, and whenever the two get together, there is a bit of chemistry (and hip hop heads tend to get riled up with excitement). But I don't personally believe, based on all of Train Of Thought, that Reflection Eternal should exclusively work together for another album. Hopefully their new project features some outside production work, because otherwise, I fear it will be more of the same.
20. EXPANSION OUTRO
And with that, we're done. Oh shit, wait, no we aren't.
The following song immediately follows “Expansion Outro” on the same track.
FOR WOMEN
Runs a bit too long, but “For Women” is easily the most interesting track on the entire second half of Train Of Thought (and not only because it's considered a bonus track, but full credits for the song are seen within the album booklet). The beat, co-produced between Hi-Tek and Kweli, utilizes a simple drumbeat paired up with a melody (as most songs do, I know: I realize that description isn't vague enough), and yet the track sounds fairly grand in scope. Kweli spits four verses (one for each woman, as the title is inspired by Nina Simone's “Four Women”) that all sound accomplished, leaving this as the best way possible to end this album. I wonder why it was categorized as a bonus, though: this could have easily been worked into the sequence.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Train Of Thought comes with the promise of talent from Reflection Eternal members Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek, but listeners will be let down severely. While Mos Def took his charismatic persona and attempted to show his many facets on his Black On Both Sides (regardless of what I've written about it not holding up, I still admit that Mos Def is a man of many talents), Kweli merely relies on workmanlike lyrics, resting on laurels that he hasn't garnered yet. Nothing on Train Of Thought is challenging in the least, whether you're looking at it from a lyrical perspective or a musical one. Hi-Tek's beats are alright, and some of these songs are really good, but there isn't anything on here that suggests that Reflection Eternal should jump back onto this Train anytime soon. A disappointment, and a mostly dull one, at that.
BUY OR BURN? I would burn this one. Kweli wasn't on Mos Def's level at this point: the man was not capable of handling an entire full-length album by himself. I'm sure that Kweli's fans will have something to say about that, but I don't give a fuck: this album is awfully boring. It is what it is.
BEST TRACKS: “Memories Live”; “Down For The Count”; “The Blast”
-Max
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