My Gut Reaction: Wu-Tang Clan with Various Artists - Legendary Weapons (July 26, 2011)

I should first note that this post isn't intended to signal my return to the blog.  This is simply one of two new albums that I figured I "had" to write about (particularly astute readers should be able to easily figure out the other one) while I search for some better inspiration.  But this isn't the end of the blog (yet), so I'm hoping to have some new content up soon.

A little more than two years ago, E1 Music unleashed an out-of-left-field Wu-Tang project entitled Wu-Tang Chamber Music.  It consisted of the majority of the Clan (minus Method Man, GZA/Genius, and Masta Killa) trading bars, both with each other and with other hip hop stalwarts such as Sean Price, AZ, Sadat X, Masta Ace, and the like, over live instrumentation provided by The Revelations.  It only consisted of eight actual songs (the rest of the album was padded with some truly fucking ridiculous faux-philosophical ruminations from Prince Rakeem himself), but those eight songs were made up, for the most part, of the closest thing to dusty beats that the Wu had spit over since Wu-Tang Forever.  Overall, I enjoyed Wu-Tang Chamber Music, even though I hardly listen to it today: I think the fact that Fizzy Womack, also known as M.O.P.'s Lil' Fame, was one of the project's main producers (along with Noah Rubin and Andrew Kelley) was more fascinating than the music itself.

Although it wasn't the biggest seller in the world (no Wu-Tang album is, really), a few months ago E1 Music trotted out the first promotional materials for the sequel that nobody was really waiting for, Legendary Weapons.  The ingredients were exactly the same: the Wu (still without the involvement of the GZA or Masta Killa, although Method Man was coaxed out of hiding with a lovely pic-a-nic basket) rocking over live musical backing from The Revelations, with producers Noah Rubin, Fizzy Womack, and Andrew Kelley in tow for good measure.  The guest list includes some holdovers from Wu-Tang Chamber Music (AZ returns, along with Sean Price and M.O.P.) alongside some underground cats (Roc Marciano, Action Bronson, Termanology) and some of the Clan's B-team (Trife Diesel, Killa Sin, Bronze Nazareth, and Cappadonna round things out).  Although there are still unnecessary skits, Legendary Weapons actually paid attention to the mistakes of its predecessor: The RZA only appears on the songs and not on any bullshit interludes talking about whatever-the-fuck to nobody in particular.

Now then.

1. START THE SHOW (RAEKWON & THE RZA FEAT. JIMI KENDRIX)

This isn't a good sign as to what is to come. Raekwon and The RZA sound alright, I suppose, even though it's abundantly clear that they shared no interaction with each other while recording their separate verses, but the reason this shit stumbles is because of the musical backing, which fails to sound like the triumphant introduction that “Start The Show” wants to be when it grows up. In short, this sucks. I'm perfectly okay with the Wu rapping over live instrumentation, but the music should sound like something the Clan would have crafted in a dusty basement by themselves, and not like this. Once again, this shit sucks.

2. LACED CHEEBA (GHOSTFACE KILLAH FEAT. SEAN PRICE & TRIFE DIESEL)

This shit, on the other hand, is the tits, and not just because of the kung-fu flick sample at the beginning, although it helps add to the overall feel. The beat on here is dark and simple, like The RZA's early work before he went digital, and all three rappers come through in a big way. Pretty Toney knocks his verse out of the park: that guy truly is the most consistently entertaining artist the Clan has ever produced. And his boy Trife Diesel impresses, as always. But the winner of “Laced Cheeba” also supplies the song with its title in during his final bar: Sean Price, who also appeared on Wu-Tang Chamber Music, continues his 2011 winning streak (after Random Axe and his guest slot on Pete Rock and Smif-N-Wessun's Monumental), spitting as though he has rhymed alongside the Wu for his entire fucking career, he's that nice. This shit is hot. Cue Max's begging for a Wu-Tang / Boot Camp Clik collaborative project...now.

3. DIESEL FLUID (METHOD MAN FEAT. TRIFE DIESEL & CAPPADONNA)

I didn't care much for the beat on “Diesel Fluid” at first, but it grew on me by the time Trife took to the microphone. The track's title, and the fact that he provided a crappy hook, leads me to believe that this was originally a Trife da God solo effort repurposed for Legendary Weapons, so it's fitting that he walks away with the best performance, showing up both an exhausted-sounding Method Man and the reformed gypsy cab driver Cappadonna, who has been attempting to re-establish his relevancy for the better part of a year now. Cappa isn't quite back to his “Winter Warz” days, but he sounds a hell of a lot better than he did on The Yin & The Yang, so it's a start. I just wish the musical backing was more engaging: although I still ultimately liked it, that doesn't mean it didn't sound like the dramatic score from a soon-to-be-cancelled daytime soap opera.

4. THE BLACK DIAMONDS (GHOSTFACE KILLAH FEAT. ROC MARCIANO & KILLA SIN)

It must be an unwritten rule that any track New York's apparent spokesperson Roc Marciano appears on has to share the lo-fi sensibility that his (overrated – yeah, I fucking said it) debut Marcberg revels in. Maybe it's a “whenever you have Twista guest star on your song, you have to speed-rap just like him”-sort of arrangement. Anyway, on what is actually his second collaboration with Ghostface Killah (while he was still a member of the Flipmode Squad, a higher-pitched, fully alert Roc Marcy shared screen time with Ghost, Raekwon, and his boss Busta Rhymes on the latter's Large Professor-produced “The Heist”), Marky Marciano sounds as apathetic as he always does these days (you may read his delivery as “cold” and “calculated”, but I see it as “bored” and “why do I even bother”). However, the track is saved by a stellar Ghost verse (on which he threatens to pull a Natalie Portman and “bust in your mouth like a gusher”) and a surprisingly dope-as-fuck Killa Sin contribution that almost makes up for his court-determined lengthy absence from the game.

5. PLAYED BY THE GAME (INTERLUDE)

…

6. LEGENDARY WEAPONS (GHOSTFACE KILLAH FEAT. AZ & M.O.P.)

This Noah Rubin-produced title track features four artists but runs for only three minutes and twenty seconds, and the last thirty seconds is reserved for an extension of the instrumental. I appreciate the economy of the rhymes on here (given only a handful of bars, Ghost, AZ, Lil' Fame, and Billy Danze all seem to cut the filler in favor of the hot shit), but I wouldn't have minded if this was a bit longer, even if the beat was (and is) fairly dull. Ghost and Anthony make the questionable choice of referencing current artists during their verses (Pretty Toney makes a Wiz Khalifa reference, while AZ seems to briefly channel YC's “Racks”), which has the adverse effect of making them sound like old-timers who want you goddamn kids off of their lawn, but they still lend good performances, especially AZ, who impressed me in a way that he just hasn't been capable of in fucking years. Both halves of M.O.P. come off as subdued and skippable, though, but there always has to be a fall guy.

7. NEVER FEEL THIS PAIN (INSPECTAH DECK & U-GOD FEAT. TRE WILLIAMS)

This is the only song on Legendary Weapons that features Inspectah Deck, so to make up for that, he contributes two verses. Too bad this song was really terrible. There are only so many ways a rapper can talk about his struggles growing up without repeating himself: Deck reached that limit about a quarter of the way through his debut, Uncontrolled Substance. Tre Williams, another holdover from Wu-Tang Chamber Music, also adds nothing to faux-soulful proceedings. The only participant that can walk away from this empty debacle with his head held high is U-God, and that's only because he didn't completely suck. Yeah, I'm just as shocked as you are.

8. DRUNK TONGUE (KILLA SIN)

The Wu-Tang Clan's comeback kid of 2011 is Killarmy's Killa Sin, who turns this solo one-verse wonder into a tour de force-slash-demo reel for an eventual solo album. The man's absence has turned him into a fucking beast in the booth: The RZA should capitalize on this fact and start utilizing him in more efficient ways (featuring him on the soundtrack to his movie The Man With The Iron Fists could be a good start, Bobby). The production is simple, eerie, and reminiscent of the Wu in its prime, and Killa Sin is in his element, rapping as though his life depended on it, because, let's face it, it probably does at this point. I did not expect him to sound this good.

9. THE BUSINESS (INTERLUDE)

…

10. 225 ROUNDS (U-GOD & THE RZA FEAT. CAPPADONNA & BRONZE NAZARETH)

Noah Rubin's beat sounds curiously like Efil4zaggin-era N.W.A. on codeine, which is supposed to be a compliment. Sadly, that was the only element of the track I can remember clearly; well, that, and the fact that the beat appears to restart before each rapper begins their verse. I've noticed that Cappadonna has received many accolades for his contribution to “225 Rounds”, but I thought he sounded only alright. Better than the other three by far (especially U-God and The RZA, whose submission couldn't be more disconnected from the rest of the group had he actively tried to make it so), but that isn't saying a goddamn thing, really.

11. METEOR HAMMER (GHOSTFACE KILLAH FEAT. ACTION BRONSON & TERMANOLOGY)

This Fizzy/Noah/Kelley-produced track features three artists but lasts for barely two minutes and thirty-five seconds. It's almost as though the Wu themselves want Legendary Weapons to fucking end already. The music is barely noticeable, but Ghostface Killah and his sound-alike Action Bronson (a guy I haven't paid much attention to before, admittedly) both manage to make it do their bidding. Termanology, a dude I normally like, sounds positively amateurish by comparison, as though he recorded his verse for one of his thousands of mixtapes and accidentally sent it via e-mail to the label for inclusion on here. Le sigh.

12. LIVE THROUGH DEATH (INTERLUDE)

…

13. ONLY THE RUGGED SURVIVE (THE RZA)

The first single from Legendary Weapons sounds like a shitty Bobby Digital-era leftover, and not just because of the multiple references to The RZA's costumed superhero alter-ego (and his cousin Billy, oddly). This was a piss-poor way for the label to try to sell this project, so it makes sense that it has since been buried on the album as a whole. The RZArector runs through his verses so goddamn quickly that it's almost as though he decided to spit a few bars while waiting for his popcorn to pop in the microwave, and at the very end, if you listen closely, you can even hear the faint sound of Prince Rakeem cashing his paycheck. This was fucking awful.

14. OUTRO

And we're done.

THE LAST WORD: As a (mislabeled) Wu-Tang Clan album, Legendary Weapons is pretty bland. As a follow up to Wu-Tang Chamber Music, it fares better, but not by much. Although a lot of the performances behind the microphone range between “decent” and “inspired”, the Clan and their invited guests are forced to deal with some shitty musical backing from The Revelations that can only be described as “less than”. A handful of these songs sounds terrific, but when there are only ten of them on the entire album (which at least makes this project longer than Wu-Tang Chamber Music), that doesn't result in a high batting average. Some of the guest stars on Legendary Weapons are surprising, and the fact that the Clan somehow convinced Method Man to actually contribute this time around is interesting in itself, but aside from “Laced Cheeba”, “Drunk Tongue”, and half of the title track (and maybe “The Black Diamonds” if I'm feeling especially masochistic), I can't see myself giving a fuck about this album for longer than the remainder of this write-up. So, like Wu-Tang Chamber Music before it, Legendary Weapons will end up in a box while I wait for a proper group release. And since I actually liked Wu-Tang Chamber Music, you can imagine how disappointed I was with this quickie.  Oh well.

-Max

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Shabazz the Disciple - The Book Of Shabazz (Hidden Scrollz) (October 7, 2003)

Today I'm running another one of those Wu-Tang Clan-related posts.  You know, the ones that will inevitably draw fire due to the blog focusing more on (x) instead of your favorite artist, (y).  Well, here's another move straight out of left field: after today's post, I'm taking a brief break to fucking sleep hopefully become inspired.  You'll be the first to know when I return: this shouldn't take me that long.

David Collins, a rapper who is known (but not necessarily better known) as on-again, off-again Wu-Tang Clan affiliate Shabazz the Disciple, hasn't had an easy time in our chosen genre.  His career has been derailed so many times that it's almost as though a higher power is simply fucking with him at this point.  What follows is a quick rundown.

David was an original member of the group Da Last Future, who represented the Red Hook neighborhood in Brooklyn (hence all of the Red Hook references in his work).  Da Last Future, which also consisted of Hell Razah, Killah Priest, Prodigal Sunn, and 7th Ambassador (also known as Zodiac Killa) recorded a demo that ended up in the hands of The RZA (due to the Killah Priest connection, I'm sure: it's been mentioned a few times that, had Priest actually stepped up during the recording sessions of Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), he would have been the ninth member of the crew and not Masta Killa, who was a late addition), who signed them as the first act to the newly-formed Wu-Tang Records (the first of seven thousand failed attempts by Prince Rakeem to keep all of the Wu affiliates in-house).  Da Last Future changed its name to Sunz Of Man (a name I'm sure you're much more familiar with), hired 60 Second Assassin as an additional member, and they recorded a number of singles, the most notable (for me) being the 4th Disciple (no relation)-produced "Soldiers Of Darkness" (a collaboration with their labelmates Killarmy) b/w "Five Arch Angels", which I don't remember Shabazz appearing on but whatever, in 1995.

Although that twelve-inch single, along with a few others, were relatively well-received, the Sunz of Man debut album, Nothing New Under The Sun, was scrapped by Wu-Tang Records in 1996, although there are still unanswered questions as to why this actually happened.  (There is also speculation that the album was both completed and mastered, and is currently sitting in one of The RZA's many diamond-encrusted vaults, next to his Freddy Krueger-esque Gravediggaz glove, because ads ran for it in The Source.)  While Sunz of Man lived on, recording a different debut album, The Last Shall Be First, Shabazz had had enough, and he, along with 7th Ambassador, left the group.

While spinning his wheels with Da Last Future, David also recorded what would soon become the verse he will forever be best known for, one which will probably be inscribed on his tombstone if we're still using those in the future as opposed to simply marking the location of someone's burial with a hashtag, on the classic Gravediggaz song "Diary Of A Madman" from 6 Feet Deep (or N---amortis, if you're reading this overseas), under his original moniker, Scientific Shabazz.  (He appeared on this song alongside his coworker Killah Priest, which, once again, is probably more because of the RZA connection than it was because they were in the same group.)  "Diary Of A Madman" is an undisputed masterpiece: we won't be debating that fact today as there is no debate, because if you don't like the track, that's akin to saying you don't like freedom or puppies or blowjobs or something.  Rumor has it that The RZA, once he's done filming his kung-fu flick and runs out of honey-dipped blunts, is reforming the Gravediggaz (who quietly broke up after their second effort, The Pick, The Sickle, & The Shovel, and has since witnessed the passing of founding member Poetic) with Shabazz and Priest in tow.  I'm sure the reunion album will drop the same day as The Cure (and Detox, for that matter).

Thanks to the Wu-Tang affiliation, after leaving Sunz Of Man Shabazz was able to sign a deal with The Genius to be a part of GZA Entertainment, which was either a label or a management company, I don't know and/or care.  He unleashed a slew of twelve-inch singles, such as "Death Be The Penalty" and "Crime Saga", and scored tons of ads in the back of The Source for his eventual debut project.  Unfortunately, that project was also scrapped, and GZA Entertainment folded.  Not only did this leave Shabazz unemployed, it also created a rift in his relationship with the Clan, which caused him to (temporarily) sever his relationship with the crew in an effort to find himself.

That is why his "debut" album, The Book Of Shabazz (Hidden Scrollz), was released in  2003 instead of in the mid-1990s, when more people might have still given a damn.  I placed the word "debut" in between quotation marks because the topic of today's post is mostly comprised of all of the twelve-inch singles he managed to release before the turn of the century (except for "Death Be The Penalty", an exclusion that makes no fucking sense), alongside a handful of newer tracks recorded especially for the project.  It was released by Battle Axe Records, a label that, regardless of what its logo kinda-sorta resembles, doesn't really have any Wu-Tang ties. 

I just realized that I used up a bunch of words writing an introduction for an album that most of you two probably won't care about.  Oh well.  As you were.

1. THE OPENING (INTRO) (FEAT. YOUNG ANUTT)

Groan...

2. RIGHTEOUS CHAMBA (SKIT)

Use of the term “chamba” aside (thereby confirming some semblance of a Wu-Tang affiliation through six degrees of separation), the most interesting aspect of this skit is when Scientific Shabazz explains that he isn't anything like the character he played on “Diary Of A Madman” while his verse from that Gravediggaz classic plays in the background. However, we're still looking at a skit that immediately follows a rap album intro, and that shit is just uncalled for.

3. RED HOOK DAY

For the first actual song on The Book Of Shabazz (Hidden Scrolls), Shabazz travels a familiar path: he explains how hip hop music inspired him to become a rapper, even mentioning at one point that he was actually discovered by The RZA.  Save for the creepy, high-pitched chipmunk chanting where the hook would normally be, this track wasn't bad at all.

4. 1ST ANNUAL BOOTLEG MUSIC AWARDS

Wow, this skit is really fucking long, and Shabazz sounds really bitter, to boot. What the fuck is up with having three skits within the span of four tracks?

5. HIP POP

So Shabazz creates an awards show skit that is an elaborate way to chew out his former friends. He also uses that interlude to comment on other artists stealing his beats and commercializing them...so he decides to swipe the basic concept of Gang Starr's “Take It Personal” and make it less appealing? How the fuck does that logic work? And here's some more confusing shit: this song is actually entertaining, although I will admit that it comes across as incomplete in a demo track kind of way.

6. OASIS

I have no doubt that Scientifik Shabazz has grown up in and around hip hop, but there are other topics that one can (and should) rap about. Living in the lap of luxury after having grown up in the projects (a boast I don't buy into, since nobody knows who Shabazz the Disciple is) can only provide the fodder for exactly one handful of songs. It's time to move on, son! “Oasis” also hangs around for two minutes too long, so David uses that time to lay down a ton of shout-outs, although he does it so gradually that you won't even notice it, at least until Phil Collins receives some unconditional love.

7. SURRENDER (THIEVES IN DA NITE PT. 2)

It is kind of odd for a sequel to appear before the original song, but it's happened before in our chosen genre, and it will happen again. His beat is fairly interesting, but it takes a backseat to his rhymes, on which he spits from the mindstate of a criminal, stepping the fuck up and making a valid case that he could appear alongside Raekwon and Ghostface Killah and have it feel entirely organic. Maybe one of them should reach out to our host?

8. BKBS

This song contains what is probably the seven thousandth bar stolen from the mouth of The Notorious B.I.G. on this album. (And everyone thinks that Shawn Carter can't leave well enough alone.) Sadly, this track, which shoots for a jazzy feel not unlike early Gang Starr, is all bullshit, which isn't something I would brag about, but clearly Shabazz has a dissenting opinion. Pass.

9. SON RISE (LEEK LOVER INTERLUDE)

Completely and utterly skippable.

10. CREMATE 'EM

Shabazz takes his sweet time coming into the booth, allowing the moody atmosphere to speak for him. Two problems with that tactic: (1) Having someone chant the word “ashes” during the “chorus” is far too comical to sound threatening, and (2) Shabazz adopts an ill-advised speed-rap flow that doesn't exist in this dojo: all it manages to do is steal away all of the man's oxygen, like a cat allegedly can do to a newborn baby. Moving on...

11. CRIME SAGA

This was the only Shabazz solo song I was familiar with prior to picking this disc up, because there was an actual video for it that aired on BET (which was directed by GZA/Genius, which proves that he was, at the very least, taking an interest in his own acts). I also remember this single being advertised in The Source (as a sequel to the earlier “Death Be The Penalty”, a song which, curiously, is not on this album). Anyway, Carlos Bess and Choco lend our host some production that is appropriately dramatic for Shabazz and his criminal profiling: my only complaint is that The Book Of Shabazz (Hidden Scrolls) contains only the clean version of “Crime Saga” (not that the inclusion of curse words could make this good song even better, of course: I'm just not a fan of censorship). My guess is that our host's prior label “accidentally” lost the masters. If you happen to have the explicit version somewhere on your hard drive, please hit me at the e-mail address in the sidebar.

12. PASSOVER (SKIT)

…

13. STREET PARABLES (FEAT. LORD JAMAR)

Smartly, the hook reminds listeners of “Diary Of A Madman”. (While I'm sad that Shabazz will probably end up best known for a single verse on a song that doesn't belong to him, I am intrigued that he was able to gain so much mileage out of that lone performance.) This track started off questionably, and the title suggests quasi-religious psychobabble (as does the presence of Brand Nubian's Lord Jamar, who seems like a weird choice for a guest), but once the beat (also from Lord Jamar...oh, now I get it) kicks in, all of your worries melt away.

14. THIEVES IN DA NITE (HEIST) (FEAT. KILLAH PRIEST & LIL' DAP)

Q-Unique's instrumental is the most Wu-sounding beat on this entire project, and the presence of Killah Priest (albeit on the hook only) only helps strengthen that bond. (The inclusion of Lil' Dap, from Group Home, looks awfully goofy on paper, but better him than Melachi the Nutcracker, who straight up sucks on the mic, whether he has Primo backing him or not). As a result, this song comes off as a natural cousin, both musically and stylistically, to “Diary Of A Madman”, which, if anyone has paid attention to the review thus far, marks the sixty-seventh time I've mentioned that classic song within the context of this write-up. Is that a good thing? Probably not.

15. ORGANIZED RIME PT. 2

A sequel to a song that doesn't appear on the same project? On the artist's debut album? Sure, why the hell not? I wasn't impressed with this song, though. The Lord Jamar instrumental was dull, and the lyrics featured nothing that one could grab on to. This just comes off as a generic non-apologetic crime story that most New York rappers try to pass off as “entertainment”.

16. BLASPHEMY

Meh.

17. GHETTO APOSTLES (FEAT. FREESTYLE, POETIC, & R.H. BLESS)

This posse cut featuring our host's weed carriers would be interesting even without the inclusion of the late Poetic. However, the professional swiftly out-raps all of the rookies, our host included. I could have done without the off-putting beat switch toward the end, but this song still kind of rocked.

18. THE LAMB'S BLOOD

The title sounds as if it would be a better fit for a Killah Priest album (or at least Jedi Mind Tricks, over whose beats Shabazz may thrive). Baby J's instrumental sounds a bit too poppy for the serious lyrics our host tries to kick, so as a result, this comes across as a mishmash. Sigh.

19. WAR TRILOGY (P.O.W. - PROJECTS OF WAR) (FEAT. FREESTYLE)

The Book Of Shabazz (Hidden Scrollz) ends with a three-part suite known as the “War Trilogy”. Shabazz doesn't bother to appear on this installment, and the credited guest only squeaks out about ten seconds of material before the “story” decides to proceed.

20. WAR TRILOGY (M.I.A. - MILITIA INCARCERATED ALIEN)

Poor Freestyle. All he wanted to do was spit a verse (in the middle of a battlefield, apparently – perhaps he should pay better attention to his surroundings), and instead, he gets injured by shrapnel. As depressing as that can be, Shabazz decides that rhyming about helping his friend out is the correct course of action. Hey, maybe you should just put the mic down for a second and actually tend to his needs, huh?

21. WAR TRILOGY (AMBUSH) (FEAT. FREESTYLE)

Luckily, Freestyle seems to have made a full recovery, as both men trade bars over Baby J's beat. Although this final chapter appears to abandon the theme entirely (there are no ambient sounds of war behind them), this was a fairly nice way to cap off the evening. Kudos to Shabazz for also ending the disc with a somewhat political statement (instead of the explosion that the track builds itself up to, the sound of a newborn baby's cry is heard). So The Book Of Shabazz (Hidden Scrollz) is a hip hop precursor to Gaspar Noe's Enter The Void? Weird.

FINAL THOUGHTS: The Book Of Shabazz (Hidden Scrollz) is a surprisingly entertaining "debut" project from Shabazz the Disciple. He occasionally falls into the same trap that Killah Priest has yet to escape from (boring quasi-religious psychobabble in place of engaging lyrics, over beats that would put the average listener to sleep), but The Book Of Shabazz (Hidden Scrollz) contains enough heat to offset the odd excursion into the world of crap. Shabazz is not without talent, and he deserves to thrive in the hip hop world, especially when there are other “artists” without a single ounce of his skill raking in dough by the fistful. After listening to this, I'm shocked that I took this out of rotation so quickly back in 2003. I do believe that the Wu-Tang affiliation helped the man immensely, though: I'm not altogether convinced that he could make it without the assistance of other Killa Beez. Then again, I'm a Wu stan, so of course I would have liked to have seen more involvement from them.

BUY OR BURN? If you're a Wu stan too, then you should buy this immediately. However, if you're not, I still urge a purchase, but you should probably give the tracks listed below a spin first, just so you'll know what you're getting into. But overall, I thought this shit worked out very well, much more so than what I was originally expecting to recall, so that was nice.

BEST TRACKS: “Thieves In Da Nite (Heist)”; “Ghetto Apostles”; “Surrender (Thieves In Da Nite Pt. 2)”; “Crime Saga”; “War Trilogy (Ambush)”; “Street Parables”; “Hip Pop”

-Max

Reader Review: Adam Tensta - It's A Tensta Thing (November 30, 2007)

(Today's Reader Review comes from Oskari Kiiskinen, who sent in his thoughts regarding Swedish award-winning rapper Adam Tensta's debut album, It's A Tensta Thing. You two may be thrown off by this, but it was about time to take a left turn on this blog. Leave your thoughts for Oskari below.)

These days with MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, and the numerous other ways to peddle your wares for free, finding the best music isn't simple as back in the late 1980s – early 1990s, when you could just go and buy the latest record from any of the household names of early hip hop and get pretty much the best stuff available. The household names of today's hip hop, such as Lil' Wayne, are pretty horrible (opinions, opinions) when compared to old Nas or Rakim, so in order to find the treasures you'll have to dig a tad deeper.

Sometimes, though, the treasure is right there on the surface, just covered in dirt, so you might ignore it thinking it's just another ordinary rock. Such is the case with Adam Tensta's It's a Tensta Thing. The genre he's representing, electro hip hop, is comparable to that mud covering the diamond: it's enough to fool most treasure hunters, at least the ones that aren't wholly committed. Reading the word “electro” probably conjures up thoughts of neon lights, outer space, more neonlights, and wacky sound effects that remind you of your favorite old-school video game. In short, it sounds like something I personally wouldn't usually touch with a ten foot pole, but ignoring an entire sub-genre of music would be ignorant.

I first heard of Adam Tensta while serving in the military. A guy with whom I became friends there, a sworn self-proclaimed audiophile, sent me the link for the music video to "My Cool" which is the last thing you'd expect from someone who takes great pride in having golden jacks for his headphones (who said elitism is dead). It's also the last thing I'd expect to enjoy. But against all odds, I liked what I heard, and after looking into a few more of his tracks, I figured I should get my hands on his debut, It's A Tensta Thing. Tensta, the word that shows up in both the album title and the artist's name, is the name of a suburb in Sweden: based on how he describes growing up there (his lyrics touch on the topics of racism, discrimination, and the like), I'd imagine it to be th Compton of northern Europe. And yet, he manages to keep it all radio-friendly. I'd call that an impressive feat.

Adam also speaks out against drugs, and is, in fact, a representative for Save the Children Sweden and a youth campaign against prejudice and discrimination in Sweden called Alla Olika Alla Lika (thank you ,Wikipedia), which probably means something along the lines of "All different, all alike" (thank you, four years of Swedish lessons). So, apparently, he's a great guy, but don't think I'll go easy on him just because of that.

On with the review.

1. IT'S A TENSTA THING

Let's get one thing out of the way, so that I don't have to bring it up over and over again: Adam Tensta is really not that talented of a lyricist. There isn't anything new or mind-blowing or even clever to be found, so you shouldn't expect any fancy wordplay. Adam also tries to force the rhyme on occasion (usually by butchering the English language), and this can and will sound awkward. So about the actual song, then: this was a good way to introduce the electro sound, as this pretty much is what the entire album sounds like. Sets the tone, if you will. Tensta talks about both Tensta the suburb and Tensta the rapper. Not bad for an intro, actually. Kind of creepy, though.

2. BANGIN' ON THE SYSTEM

I didn't like this one before the review, and I don't like it now. The song is simultaneously all over the place and constantly dragging. There are some decent topic brought up during the lyrics, but the beat doesn't hold your attention, so whatever Adam's saying here goes to waste.

3. MY COOL

Here's the track made specifically for the clubs, on which Adam isn't even trying to act intellectual or deep. That being said, this is still one of the best songs on It's A Tensta Thing, as long as you can appreciate it for what it is. It's rather hard to keep all your limbs motionless while listening to this, and if you start singing the hook like an idiot, don't think for a second that you're the only one: at least, that's how I believe most people will react, as I never do anything like that (*cough*). It's good when you take yourself less seriously every once in a while.

4. WALK WITH ME

Jedi Mind Tricks has one. Young Buck has one. Joe Budden has one. Even Moby has one. And now Adam Tensta joins the glorious ranks of artists who have a song entitled "Walk With Me" in their catalog. This was chaotic and too repetitive to be interesting. There were some sound effects that reminded me of an old video game that I couldn't quite place my finger on. Oh well. Onward.

5. DOPEBOY (FEAT. EBOI)

If you have a subwoofer, prepare for some complaints from your neighbours. This song is simplistic, but it never grows old, thanks to the different elements that combine together with the background melodies. And I really like the “hidden” idea behind the lyrics. I think guest star Eboi didn't really get the joke, though.

6. SEE U WATCHIN (FEAT. NITTI GRITTI)

Four minutes of electro-disco nightmare. I have no idea what is going on with this song, so I'm going to skip ahead. I will, however, give it full points for having quite possibly the worst hook ever recorded in the history of the universe.

7. DO THE RIGHT THING

When the first words in a song are “she's so beautiful”, you know there's trouble ahead. This is a lovey-dovey ballad, and a cheesy one at that. I think I might have even heard some Christmas bells chiming in the background. Bor-ing.

8. THEY WANNA KNOW

One of the best songs on It's A Tensta Thing. It isn't too far electro, it isn't very radio-friendly, and the lyrics are even pretty decent. The gang/bang/thang rhyme scene in the beginning really sums up the depth of the lyricism of this album, but it's not that big of a deal once you realize that this is all there is. The hook is pretty damned awful, but at least it's short. The last forty seconds were completely pointless, though, as it consists of a small clip from the following track chopped & screwed (or at least edited in a similar fashion).

9. I'M SAYIN' (FEAT. ISAY)

This is just more lovey-dovey stuff, but at least it's relaxing this time around, and the hook is...well, if not great, then at least fairly good. Not an artful masterpiece by any means, but good for what it is: a simple, somewhat emotional love rap. Still cheesy, though.

10. 80'S BABY

I love this song. Adam talks about his childhood in the 1980's and early 1990's. The beat is easy on the ears, and I can easily relate to the lyrics, as I am also an “80's Baby”. Gets you feeling all nostalgic. I also loved the hook, which is simple but catchy, and the sample used is perfect. This one's a keeper.

11. S.T.O.L.D. (FEAT. EBOI)

A one-verse effort with Adam delivering a couple of words in the beginning (I think, anyway) and guest star Eboi delivering the actual verse? Unnecessary, you might say, and I might agree. I would have liked to hear Adam create a whole song with this beat, which was really good.

12. INCREDIBLE (FEAT. ISAY)

A melancholic number dedicated to Adam's mother. His touching lyrics tell an interesting story over a simple, mellow instrumental, delivered with some extra spices that make it that much more delicious. The beat being simple works very well here, as it lets you focus on the performance. The hook was also pretty good, but I think it might have worked better had a female vocalist been commissioned to sing it.

13. BEFORE U KNOW IT

Adam Tensta is the master of delivering songs that can instantly change your mood from sad to happy, from nostalgic to energetic, and so on. Good luck keeping your legs from moving to this beat. “Before U Know It” has a very catchy chorus and some pretty good lyrics, once again, and the beat is quite groovy and catchy as well Makes you wonder why Adam doesn't use the faster flow on display here all the time, as it suits him well. I never really understood who this song was supposed to be aimed at, though.

14. SAME FACE

A good way to wrap the album up. This is the most serious and conscious song on It's A Tensta Thing, with our host discussing politics and life in general over a moody beat. The hook doesn't really work, but that's my only real complaint.

FINAL THOUGHTS: It's a Tensta Thing is a really solid debut for Adam Tensta, with a handful of great songs, two handfuls of good songs and no real filler to speak of, unless you count “S.t.o.l.d.”. The producers have gone to great lengths to make sure the album gets radio play and moves units, and that shows from time to time, but it still manages to present a fairly unique and original sound to the masses, one which is easily approachable and modern. Usually that would spells trouble, but Adam manages to keep the proceedings enjoyable, even for music fans who can be rather uptight when it comes to critiquing (such as myself). All in all, It's A Tensta Thing is a great album. There are some artistic side trips that don't pan out, but the album is a mostly great debut, even if the lyrics aren't exactly what we would call clever, they aren't over-the-top cliché or 50 Cent-bad, either.

BUY OR BURN? This is worth the investment, hands down.

BEST TRACKS: “My Cool”; “They Wanna Know”; “80's Baby”; “Incredible”; “Before U Know It”

- Oskari Kiiskinen

(Questions? Comments? Concerns? Leave your thoughts below.)

Not Available In Stores! Ras Kass - Van Gogh (2001) + Goldyn Chyld (2002)

In celebration of Independence Day, today's overlong post (which will remain at the top of the page for four days due to its length) is devoted to the efforts of an artist who tried his damnedest to free himself from the shackles imposed on him by his record label.  For all of my readers outside of the United States, today's post is about Ras Kass, but you should still read it anyway.

Now Ras Kass, born John Austin IV, has been the recipient of a lot of shit from me on HHID, but let me make it clear that none of my trash-talking has ever been directed at his talent behind the microphone.  Although the man is prone to overly loquacious verses that sound at least three minutes longer than they actually are, Rassy is considered one of the better rappers from the West Coast (and in our chosen genre as a whole) for a reason: the man can fucking spit.  Combined with having something to actually say, Ras Kass should have been a beast in the booth, selling out venues and watching with glee as his first two solo albums, Soul On Ice and Rassassination, flew off store shelves.  Instead, Rassy has become an also-ran, a man with actual talent who has yet to stumble upon the correct combination to unlock the secrets of having and retaining a massive fanbase.  In short, his taste in instrumentals is fucking terrible, so much so that now, every time I come across an artist who has the talent but not the ear needed to keep things either interesting or enjoyable, I diagnose them with having "Ras Kass syndrome", a phrase that has also earned me a bunch of shit throughout the run of this site, but I'm still right.

Rassy also believed that I was right, apparently, as his planned third solo project for Priority Records, Van Gogh, was his attempt to appease his label gods by diverting attention away from his impressive lyricism in favor of catchier beats and cameos from West Coast artists that would help the audience remember that, yes, Ras Kass was a California-based rapper.  After handling a lot of the production himself on Soul On Ice (in a co-producer capacity, but he was still behind the boards) and ceding much of Rasassination to the likes of Stu-B-Doo and, strangely, East Coast stalwarts Big Jaz and Easy Mo Bee, John decided to actually spend some of his label's money for Van Gogh, securing assistance from names such as Battlecat and Jelly Roll in a musical capacity and Xzibit, Tash, Nate Dogg, Tray Dee, Saafir, and Kokane in the booth, a decided change of pace from his sophomore effort, which included The RZA, Jazze Pha, and Twista pulling their weight.

Rassy even went so far as to reserve a beat from The Alchemist for what was supposed to be the first single from Van Gogh, "Home Sweet Home".  Unfortunately, this instrumental was the cause of some controversy in our chosen genre, as Al then turned around and sold it to Yonkers-based rapper Jadakiss (from The Lox) for his single "We Gonna Make It", which left Ras Kass high and dry.  Forced to reconfigure Van Gogh, Rassy decided to record a response track of sorts admonishing The Alchemist for his shady business practices, which I'll be getting to in a bit.

Unfortunately for him, Van Gogh was heavily bootlegged on the Interweb well before its intended release date in 2001, which led Priority Records to ultimately scrap the project almost entirely.  This frustrated Rassy to no end, because he was unhappy with his label situation (he felt that he had never truly had the full support of their marketing department, which had the adverse effect of causing his first two albums to tank) and wanted nothing but to get the fuck off of Priority.  Their decision to shelve Van Gogh meant that Rassy had to essentially start all over again in order to release a third album in his contract, keeping him permanently housed between a rock and a hard place.

1. HOT GAME

The third album from Ras Kass starts off with a song on which our host acknowledges the existence of other rappers, which isn't what you expect from a guy who is this full of himself. He has complimentary words for the likes of Eminem, Jay-Z, and 2Pac, but everyone else can fuck themselves in hell, apparently, as this diatribe against the lack of variety in our chosen genre moves itself along. Rassy spits enough goofy punchlines to help listeners remember why they might be listening to Van Gogh in the first place, but the use of Sunshine Anderson's lone hit “Heard It All Before” during the chorus, utilized to drive our host's point home, dilutes the overall message, especially since, at this point, we've all heard Ghostface Killah do essentially the same thing with her song to much better effect. This was alright, but it wasn't real.

2. GOLDYN CHILD

Whenever this song comes up in a conversation about Ras Kass, the participants are almost certainly talking about its DJ Premier-produced remix: most heads seem to have forgotten about this original incarnation, rumored to have been produced by Dr. Dre (although I highly doubt it). Rassy builds his case for being one of the top representatives of West Coast hip hop, and lyrically, the dude is still pretty fascinating (he's always had a way with words that lend a heightened credibility to his sarcastic verses), but if Van Gogh is his attempt to appease a commercial audience (and his label), crawling up his own asshole isn't the way to do it. Also, the beat is dull: it only sounds a tiny bit better than the instrumentals from Soul On Ice and Rasassination, so there's still his "Ras Kass syndrome" to contend with.

3. BACK IT UP (FEAT. KOKANE)

This beat sounds like something Xzibit would have rhymes over after hooking up with Dr. Dre's crew and playing to a wider audience, so it's strange to hear Ras Kass taking the Alvin Joyner route. This track isn't awful: it has an undeniable Cali feel, and the hook, provided by Kokane, lends itself to the party atmosphere, even if our host's lyrics frequently slide back into old habits. His reference to The Weakest Link dates this song terribly, but otherwise, this track was alright. Not really what you expect, or even want, to hear from Ras Kass, though.

4. KISS U (FEAT. SIDELINE)

As a “fuck you” to The Alchemist, “Kiss U” kicks off with the beginning of “Home Sweet Home”, with Rassy interrupting the track to point the listener toward “Kiss U” instead, with its attempt at an ethereal chorus falling flat but still connecting with the beat (produced by DJ Khalil, I believe), which sounds more experimental than anything our host has a right to use. Sure, the hook (liberally borrowed from the Beatles song “All My Loving”) makes zero fucking sense within the context of Rassy's shit-talking, but as a car wreck, it works surprisingly well. Our host brings in his weed carrier Sideline for the third verse, on which he pledges his allegiance to Ras Kass by taking a potshot at Al Maman (who Ras then calls “a bitch”). This would have to be one of the worst songs I've ever actually liked: there is no reason that any of this should click with me, but it just does. And I still like this shit today. Sue me.

5. KICK ROCKS (FEAT. TRAY DEEE)

Although Ras Kass is the star, I was still hoping for a guest verse from Tray Deee, as I've liked the work he's put out thus far. Sadly, he's stuck doing the chorus (and the outro, for some reason) on this song, but it's not like any sort of deviation would have mattered anyway: this song sucks regardless. Ras Kass doesn't sound good over minimalist beats such as this one: he spends the entire time trying to catch up with it, spitting random bars that seem to have made the final cut simply because they happened to rhyme. This was pretty bad.

6. 4 MUCH (FEAT. BAD AZZ, TASH, & NATE DOGG)

But not as bad as this horseshit, which works better as four guys talking shit while sitting around Rassy's living room than it does an actual song. “4 Much”, a failed attempt at coining a new slang phrase for being extra busy and working hard (doing “four much” instead of “too much”, you see), is the most ridiculous track in our host's back catalog thus far, as he adapts an ill-advised persona as an actual successful rapper who is living the high life, with all of the trappings (cars, money, bitches, cash, pussy, weed, vehicles, large bank accounts, pot, transportation, ass, wheels, hos, marijuana, and all the cereal you could ever want) that come with it, but since he's never really acted this superficial before (he's had his moments, sure, but the fact that he's actually fairly grounded is what makes him appealing to hip hop heads...that, and his lyrics, of course), he sounds entirely artificial, and the song crumbles under the pressure. Not even cameos from Tash (from Tha Alkaholiks) and the late Nate Dogg can save this shit. Bad Azz, though, I could take or leave.

7. WHAT U WANT (FEAT. MIKE CITY)

In which our host's master plan makes itself known: Ras Kass planned on filling Van Gogh with tracks that, on the surface, sounded like more traditional (read: mainstream) songs, but he packed his verses full of his typical obtuse lyricism and occasionally hilarious side comments, in an attempt to both have his cake and fuck the shit out of it, too. Why else would there be so many goddamn R&B hooks on a Ras Kass album? For his part, Mike City doesn't disrupt the song when he starts crooning, but our host sounds more than a little bit out of his league. The instrumental was actually alright, for what it is: it's Rassy himself who sinks this shit, as he tries to hit on chicks without dumbing himself down (which, by itself, is an admirable trait, but on a rap song, takes a certain combination of skill and luck, and our host just doesn't hit the jackpot on here).

8. IS THIS LOVE

More than a little bit confusing. The chorus (performed by an uncredited guest) has hardly anything to do with Rassy's two verses, but then again, that could be said of nearly all of the tracks on Van Gogh thus far. It seems as though our host actively focused all of his energy on solving his biggest problem, getting his ear for beats looked at and adjusted, but when you're presented with better instrumentals, you still have to learn how to write an actual song, which Rassy never bothered with during his previous two lyrical seminars, Soul On Ice and Rasassination. And his work suffers as a result. I lost the plot to this track about four bars in, but that might also be due to the overall boredom factor.

9. SEX (FEAT. XZIBIT)

Jelly Roll's beat adopts an experimental drum-n-bass quality, automatically making it the most interesting instrumental of the evening thus far, unless you happen to hate that particular musical genre, in which case you're fucked, as Rassy adapts to it fairly nicely. He even manages to stay on topic for the most part, which isn't hard, as sex is one of those things that rappers usually have no trouble talking about at length. Xzibit is completely wasted in his role on the hook, though: sometimes you have to ask yourself why some artists make the decisions they do. Anyway, “Sex” wasn't that bad, even if I can't remember a single fucking thing that Rassy said.

10. NBA (FEAT. XZIBIT & SAAFIR)

The trio of Ras Kass, Xzibit, and Saafir used to be called the Golden State Warriors before the NBA threatened legal action, so it makes sense that these guys would eventually write a song around an instrumental which samples from the theme to those NBA On NBC games. (What makes less sense is their rechristening the titular acronym to “N----z Ball Automatically”, because shut up, that's why.) Anyway, this song was pretty bland (when it comes to ripping off the music from sports programming, this shit has got nothing on Cam'ron's Monday Night Football-leaning “Let Me Know”), and both Rassy and Alvin Joyner sound bored as shit. At least they fare better than veritable punchline Saafir, who was awoken from hibernation to record his verse before he was banished back to his cave. Meh.

11. ONE NIGHT

I suspect that Ras Kass was obsessed with hitting on chicks during the recording sessions of Van Gogh because he was very lonely and secretly hated being cooped up in the studio, even though he knew that he was stuck with Priority until he finished the job. Or maybe he just wanted a metric ton of pussy. It's plausible, I suppose. (At least he didn't become super-obsessed with a woman and chop off his own ear as a sign of affection. I don't think that act would play very well in our chosen genre.) At least those explanations make more sense than Ras Kass actually believing that he had a genuine shot at building a female fanbase by recording all of these radio-friendly, club-ready songs that sound so unlike our host's natural tendencies that he might have been replaced by decaf.

12. AH-HA

What the fuck was this shit supposed to be, Rassy?

13. ROOT OF EVIL (FEAT. KOKANE)

Rassy takes a brief trip back to social commentary land, breaking his train of thought regarding the evils of wealth (and, more specifically, the wealthy, twisting this into a spin on the conspiracy theory rhymes that our host tends to excel at) into three separate segments so that a chorus from Kokane can fit in an inappropriate manner. I really don't understand why Ras Kass decided to follow the road more heavily traveled on here: without the hook, this song might have worked all by itself. Sigh.

14. VAN GOGH

Van Gogh's title track explores Rassy's struggles with his career and with his record label, not really touching on any specific reason why Priority Records sucks, but giving listeners just enough information to keep them on his side of the feud. The simple string-based loop of a beat is okay enough for our host to lyrically demolish: he actually sounds focused for the very first time on this album, which is a problem when you consider that we're almost done here. The hook is ass, though: it made me want to break my (burned) disc in half and slice your wrists with the shards, just so you motherfuckers can feel my pain.

15. TV GUIDE

Ras Kass gets his GZA/Genius on, attempting to string together the names of television programs, actors, and actual networks into a coherent narrative, and while he fails spectacularly, this song isn't awful: Ras sounds engaged, and it clearly took him a while to gather all of his date and write this shit up, so I'll award him a couple of points. There was no need for there to be a chorus: he should have run all of this together in a long one-verse wonder, as the breaks between bars only forces the listener to notice the gimmick, and it gives you time to turn against our host. The ending is also too fucking serious to be linked to the rest of this goofy song. Groan.

A second, revised version of Van Gogh leaked to the Interweb shortly after the first one arrived on hard drives the world over.

1. VAN GOGH INTRO

Well, that rap album intro was unnecessary. More so than usual.

2. HOT GAME

3. GOLDYN CHILD

4. BACK IT UP (FEAT. KOKANE)

5. KISS OF DEATH (FEAT. SIDELINE)

Formerly known as “Kiss U”, except with an altered chorus, one that doesn't rip off the very-expensive-to-sample Beatles any longer. The revamped hook on here is fucking godawful, by the way. Other than a new hook and a different guest verse from Sideline, this is the exact same song, though: Rassy even still kicks off the proceedings with the beginning of “Home Sweet Home”, because at that time, he was simply unable to let shit go. Once again, “Kiss U” isn't that great of a song (it's really more of a guilty pleasure for me), but it's streets ahead of this adjusted version. Rassy doesn't even get a chance to dis The Alchemist at the end of this remake, which makes the intro sound even more out of place.

6. SEX (FEAT. XZIBIT)

7. IS THIS LOVE

8. TWINS (SKIT)

Cute, I suppose, but this bit of interaction didn't really need to be recorded for posterity. It's funny to hear Rassy about to crack up over what his kids are saying on this skit, though.

9. KICK ROCKS (FEAT. TRAY DEEE)

10. 4 MUCH (FEAT. BAD AZZ, TASH, & NATE DOGG)

11. WHAT U WANT (FEAT. MIKE CITY)

12. NBA (FEAT. XZIBIT & SAAFIR)

13. TV COMMERCIALS (SKIT)

Attempts to be funny, but is only useful if you really want to annoy somebody.

14. TV GUIDE

15. AH-HA!

The same song as appears on the first cut of Van Gogh, except with an added exclamation mark, ribbed for your pleasure.

16. ONE NIGHT

17. ARE U MAD (SKIT)

…

18. ROOT$ OF EVIL (FEAT. KOKANE)

The same track as “Root Of Evil”, but with the addition of a dollar sign to the title, because Ras Kass doesn't seem to think that his audience can draw their own conclusions.

19. VAN GOGH

20. IGNANT (SKIT)

…

21. GOD BLESS

The lone all-new song on the “retail” version of Van Gogh finds Rassy waxing poetic about death and why you should be appreciating life while you still can. Considering the sheer volume of focus present on this track, it's clear that “God Bless” was recorded long after the rest of Van Gogh, as Ras actually sounds sincere (except for on the hook, as repetition tends to have an adverse effect on me). The music was a bit too poppy for me to fully appreciate the song, but “God Bless” was still a worthy addition to an album that nobody will ever (officially) hear.

22. EULOGY

Rassy's dedication of the album to fallen comrades and to everyone who passed away in the September 11 terror attacks ends Van Gogh on a solemn note, which is much better than the general indifference the first version resulted in.

SHOULD YOU TRACK THIS/THESE DOWN? Only if you're writing the officially-sanctioned Ras Kass biography. In both of its incarnations, Van Gogh portrays an ideological shift in our host's ideals: it's clear that either his record label refused to release any music that couldn't also be played on the radio, or Ras Kass truly believed that his message would reach a wider audience if he dumbed himself down. Regardless, the label refused to release Van Gogh any-fucking-way. This album features more of Rassy's West Coast contemporaries than ever before, which makes sense, since Ras Kass is a rapper and rappers tend to ask their friends for favors, but the heavy amount of features proves to be distracting for our host, as he seems to adapt his own performances to meet their expectations, thereby leaving the audience out of the equation. Neither version of Van Gogh should be considered essential listening, mainly because they're both pretty much the same album: one of them is simply much longer than the other. Although Rassy's beat selection has significantly improved, everything else has gone downhill, including our host's lyrics, which is the only reason anybody gives a damn about him in the first place. I believe Priority Records made the right call by shelving this shit: Van Gogh isn't very good.

During the time Ras Kass was recording Van Gogh, Priority Records merged with its parent company, Capitol Records, which inherited Rassy's contract and the masters to his back catalog.  You can imagine that, if rampant bootlegging of an album caused Priority to pull back, a much larger company (one that is famous for holding the American rights to the work of The Beatles) would most certainly kill the release and force Rassy back to square one.  In response, John recorded a few new tracks, combining them with the majority of Van Gogh and calling it Goldyn Chyld, which was now supposed to be his third solo album.

For Goldyn Chyld, Rassy felt that he was given a second chance, and decided to pull out all the stops, calling in favors from such A-list names such as DJ Premier, Busta Rhymes, and Dr. Dre.  This move made it all the more obvious that Ras Kass was operating under an agenda with a singular focus: to get the fuck off of Priority/Capitol by selling as many units as possible, thereby hopefully granting him the cache to earn his release.  I'm still not certain how he was looking to accomplish this feat, as Goldyn Chyld consists mostly of leftover tracks held over from the Van Gogh project, but whatever.

Unfortunately, Goldyn Chyld was also hit with problems from the get-go.  Due to the name-brand recognition they felt it would garner for their artist, Capitol insisted on earmarking the newly-recorded track "The Whoop", produced by Dr. Dre, as the first single from the project.  Both Ras Kass and Dr. Dre objected to this, as neither man felt that it was the type of song that could be used to push the product to the masses: instead, Rassy wanted to use the DJ Premier-produced remix of "Goldyn Chyld" to gain back the audience that knew him for his microphone prowess.  Unsurprisingly, Capitol did what they wanted anyway, and the result was mediocre at best.

Around this time, Ras Kass was also busted for D.U.I., which ended up being his third strike, guaranteeing that he would spend time behind bars.  Two weeks before he was to start serving his prison stint, Priority/Capitol told him that Goldyn Chyld would also never see the light of day, as their interest in the project had waned considerably (and because this project also leaked to the Interweb, thanks to the help of some benevolent being that felt that Rassy's work deserved to be heard, I'm assuming).  Ras Kass then made the curious decision of obtaining the rights to Goldyn Chyld while running from the law, even going so far as to record some tracks while acting as a fugitive.  He eventually turned himself in to the authorities, but after serving nineteen months behind bars, he found that he was still stuck with his Priority/Capitol contract, and they had no real intention of ever releasing him from his obligations. 

What, you were expecting a happy ending?

1. REVELATIONS 22:22 (FEAT. DJ KAY SLAY)

Rassy reuses the intro from the longer version of Van Gogh, but this time he tacks on an updated one-verse wonder filled with enough punchlines to make you forget the man;s label woes, although his reference to the terror attacks on September 11, 2001 come across as a bit shocking and in poor taste when compared to what he said on the outro of Van Gogh. DJ Kay Slay is reportedly the guest featured on here, but I didn't hear him at all, which is probably for the best. Ras attacks this dark, feverish instrumental with more intensity than anything found on the two aborted fetuses of this project, so that's something.

2. GOLDYN CHYLD (DJ PREMIER REMIX)

I have no idea why this song is considered a remix: it has little to no relation to the original. (The reference to Osama Bin Laden is proof enough that Ras most certainly revamped his verses.) DJ Premier lends Goldyn Chyld some unexpected heft, and Rassy sounds decent enough over his trademarked boom bap, even though it's fairly obvious that our host doesn't feel entirely comfortable over beats as stark as this one. But this song definitely doesn't sound like much of a single: I'm actually going to side with the label again on this one. (A street single, perhaps, but not something released to radio: in 2002, nobody outside of New York would have played this shit.) This track is merely alright, and it shares a curiosity factor with Xzibit's Primo-handled “What A Mess” (in fact, the two songs sound similar to me, although I liked Alvin's joint more), but it is nowhere near the best work from either participant.

3. THE WHOOP (FEAT. DR. DRE, BUSTA RHYMES, & DINA RAE)

Makes you feel nostalgic for a time period that never actually existed. Remember when Ras Kass was signed to Aftermath and released that Dr. Dre-produced album? Of course you don't: this shit happened mainly in Rassy's dreams. But he was able to get at least this one track from the good Doctor, who is listed as a featured guest but only acts in a production capacity (unless you count a brief sound bite taken from his “The Next Episode”), leaving Rassy, an annoying Busta Rhymes, and Dina Rae (the female vocalist best known for singing the hooks on the thirteenth track from most of Eminem's albums) to pick up the slack. While I understand completely why the label would want to promote anything Dr. Dre-related over any DJ Premier-produced effort (as 2001 was still pretty popular at the time Goldyn Chyld was supposed to drop), there is nothing about this song that screams “radio friendly” or even “Hey! Listen to me, motherfucker!”; in fact, it's ridiculously boring, and it succeeds only in making Ras Kass sound like another generic rapper from California. I can't recommend this shit to anybody.

4. EVERYTHING AND MORE (FEAT. MYA)

Rather than standing on the corner of Art and Commerce, Ras Kass bolts and goes on a shopping spree, turning in a performance that can only be described as sad. Our host chases after, and wins over, a female conquest that he falls in love with, but the problem is that Ras Kass is no LL Cool J: love raps should never be a part of his repertoire. This wasn't the worst song I've ever heard or anything, and our host mixes in enough vulgarities to help the listener remember that they're still listening to a Ras Kass album, but it was still pretty fucking awful. Remember when Mya actually mattered in the music industry? Actually, maybe my mind is playing tricks on me: it's entirely possible that Mya never actually mattered in the music industry. But she was (and still is) cute, though. Sigh.

5. C WHAT I C (FEAT. PHAROAHE MONCH)

Now this song is much closer to what Ras Kass fans were hoping for. Our host aligns himself with underground stalwart Pharoahe Monch and producer Hi-Tek for an entertaining back-and-forth featuring much shit-talking and a higher-than-expected number of hip hop references. Rassy and Monch bounce off each other admirably, and their chemistry only solidifies what our host lacked with Busta Rhymes (who, admittedly, only performed the hook on “The Whoop” and therefore didn't have much of an opportunity to branch out). This was a fun glimpse into what Van Gogh/Goldyn Chyld could have been.

6. IS THIS LOVE

Unlike this song, which is a glimpse into what Van Gogh actually was.

7. FUCQUP

Because Dr. Dre couldn't be bothered to lend Rassy more than one beat, he outsources to Scott Storch, who used to be the good Doctor's right-hand man before he started dating Lil' Kim and went insane, believing himself to be the greatest producer in history before fizzling the fuck out. The instrumental that ensues is entirely dull and of no consequence whatsoever (which isn't surprising). That's too bad, as Rassy is in top lyrical form on here, delivering verses chock-full of jokes and thinly-veiled threats against his adversaries and his record label (regarding Priority/Capitol, he says, “Ain't nothing move but the Beatles' money”, which sums up his working relationship with them in a single sentence). Also, the chanting in the chorus is fun to repeat, even if the rest of it is too wordy. Overall, could have been worse.

8. NBA (FEAT. XZIBIT & SAAFIR)

9. SEX (FEAT. XZIBIT)

10. 4 MUCH (FEAT. BAD AZZ, TASH, & NATE DOGG)

11. DRINKS UP HIGH

This is the exact same song as “What U Want”, except now rechristened with a title that cuts right to the chase (read: makes the song sound at least nineteen shades more generic than before).

12. HAPPINESS

Our host tricks listeners into thinking that “Happiness” will be a celebratory song about the importance of family, mothers in particular, since he dedicates the track to both his own mother and the mother of his children. But the song quickly takes a darker turn, focusing on doing whatever it takes to provide for your family and to earn your own “Happiness”. Mixed messages much? Still, it was refreshing to hear Ras Kass actually focus on a singular topic (something that hasn't happened very often in this overlong write-up, and I'm sure hip hop heads with kids of their own can relate to Rassy's mindstate. The instrumental is fairly bland, though, and the hook sucks exclusively left nuts, so go into this song at your own risk.

13. BACK IT UP (FEAT. KOKANE)

14. KICK ROCKS (FEAT. TRAY DEEE)

15. KISS OF DEATH (FEAT. SIDELINE)

It's interesting that, on his third attempt at releasing this song, Ras Kass refuses to let the whole Alchemist situation go, as “Home Sweet Home” still finds itself as the introductory joke on this track. Mind you, this was long after everybody stopped giving a fuck.

16. THE SEANCE (FEAT. KON ARTIS)

With the darker beat and the dialogue samples from the film The Others, which sounded a lot creepier when taken outside of the context of the movie, I thought “The Séance” was going to be a spiritual cousin to Soul On Ice's “Nature Of The Threat” or Rassassination's “Interview With A Vampire”, a six-minute-plus lyrical exploration of death (as hinted by the title). Well, close, but no cigar: after the sound bites play out, the Kon Artis instrumental (which is so fucking old that he wasn't even using his Mr. Porter alias at the time) kicks in, and the darkness is cast aside in favor of a generic beat and some horrific singing from the guest star. Our host does actually touch on the subject of death, but is broken up into three separate verses, so as to make “The Séance” sound more palatable for a mainstream audience that doesn't really exist, and he sounds pretty good regardless, I have to say. His third verse focuses on the current rap beefs of the time (remember when J-Ro of The Alkaholiks hated Xzibit?) and how a record label can still profit off of the death of their artist (and not necessarily by taking out life insurance policies on them, as some large corporations do to their employees, but I'm probably not that far off). There's plenty to chew on provided by the song, but the presentation left a lot to be desired, although to be fair, most of that is Mr. Porter's fault.

17. HATE ME MORE (FEAT. JELLY ROLL)

I don't know what this shit was supposed to be, but Ras Kass decided to end Goldyn Chyld with something that sounds like a terrible rap song, on which our host decries his many haters, with a shitty Jelly Roll beat (and chorus) accompanying his screed. But I could be mistaken: since this song failed to grab my attention and because I've just listened to three fucking albums all for the sake of a single post, my mind did its fair share of wandering. Suffice it to say, this song sucked.

SHOULD YOU TRACK THIS ALBUM DOWN? Only Ras Kass diehards should even bother. The problem with Goldyn Chyld is the same as with Van Gogh, although, admittedly, it is slightly more successful: Ras Kass is trying to find the connection between art and commerce, but he fails miserable, because his GPS is using an outdated map. The production upgrades on Goldyn Chyld sound fantastic on paper (DJ Premier! Dr. Dre! Hi-Tek! Kon Artis?), but the execution is lacking: it's almost as though our host wasn't sure what to do with himself after getting that genie to grant his wishes. As it is, both Goldyn Chyld and Van Gogh will always be held in high regard, as they are the “lost” Ras Kass albums, but that distinction isn't quite justified, as neither project is very good: the man is capable of much better work. For the most part, Ras Kass loses his lyrical focus in favor of trying to impress a general audience, and some of what results is flat-out fucking embarrassing to sit through. Ras Kass deserves better, and so do his fans. You should only bother with tracking these two (or three, depending on how obsessive a collector you are) albums down if you just absolutely have to have something that you're not technically supposed to have. Otherwise, these projects are meh at best.

And now, just because I mentioned it far too many times throughout this post:

HOME SWEET HOME

After listening to the song that caused Ras Kass so many fucking problems, I'm led to one conclusion: Including “Home Sweet Home” on Van Gogh would not have helped it to sound better. All it would have done is given Rassy a valid reason to include another A-list producer in the liner notes. The song itself (which I assume is readily available on the Interweb, although I've had a copy on my hard drive for about a full decade now) is alright, with Ras running at full steam with his goofy bars and general shit-talking at a personal high, but it's hard to say that “Home Sweet Home” is a better song that Jadakiss' “We Gonna Make It”: although they use the same backing, the two tracks serve entirely different functions in our chosen genre. Still, this track is worth the hunt if you're a Ras Kass fanatic (although if that describes you, this song is already on your fucking computer, but you get my point).

-Max

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