DJ Muggs vs. Gza/The Genius - Grandmasters (October 25, 2005)

In a Wu-Tang first, one of the original nine artists agreed to record an entire album produced by someone who is a well-known artist in his own right, but is not an actual part of the group. I'm referring to DJ Muggs, and his collaborative album with Gza/Genius is called Grandmasters.

Allegedly, these two hooked up because of their mutual love of chess, a theme that is prevalent on Grandmasters, from the song intros to the song titles. A few favors were called in on both sides, and the end result is an album that isn't technically a Gza solo album, but may as well be considered as one.

DJ Muggs started his theme of linking up with a single artist with Grandmasters. He would later attempt to master this particular category of rap album with collaborations with Sick Jacken (from Psycho Realm) and Planet Asia. Having one guy produce your album seems to be an anomaly in hip hop these days, but at one point in time, kids, this was the normal way to do things. Hopefully this will encourage more producers to take more interest in projects such as this, although I realize that, as a whole, the days of having your album done by one guy have been over for at least a decade.

I realize this intro is short, but I'm still not feeling one hundred percent. After this post, I'm taking a few days off to rest, so that the write-ups can appear more consistently. Also, I strongly encourage my two readers to start leaving more comments, as validation of a blogger's work is greatly appreciated.

Here you go.

1. OPENING
A very self-indulgent rap album intro. Listeners don't need to be reminded that DJ Muggs and Gza/Genius are the stars of the show: their names appear on the album cover, side by side. Seriously, folks, it's just music: it's not the cure for cancer.

2. THOSE THAT'S BOUT IT
Considering the fact that this song follows such a ridiculous intro, this track actually sucks even more than it would under regular circumstances.

3. DESTRUCTION OF A GUARD (FEAT RAEKWON)
The Rza barely appears at the very beginning, so he doesn't get a credit, and Raekwon's verse sounds forced, but the Gza himself sounds pretty good. However, the music threatens to swallow him whole, as Muggs tinkers with the instrumental, mostly with decent results. DJ Khalil remixed the track shortly after the release of Grandmasters and tacked on a guest spot by Ras Kass, making that song the only track in history that features both Raekwon and Ras Kass. I'm not a fan of the remix, but I'm sure many of you two are.

4. EXPLOITATION OF MISTAKES
This is good, even if Gza sounds like he's been getting into Raekwon's Ambien stash. The tale he weaves is thick with vivid imagery, and the simple beat serves its purpose and stays out of the way. Personally, I liked the gimmicky clacking of the typewriter keys, as it gives the impression as Gary Grice playing God with his creations.

5. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
This is the first track that sounds like it would be right at home on a more traditional Gza/Genius solo album. Flat out awesome, from the beat to the lyricism, even if Gza lets some curses fly but, confusingly, censors others. What the hell is that about? (This is the track which Gza performs a capella on "Elastic Audio" off of Pro Tools, for those of you that care to know.)

6. ADVANCE PAWNS (FEAT TH ERZA, RAEKWON, & SEN DOG OF CYPRESS HILL)
I've grown tired of Muggerund's incessant need to reutilize specific vocal samples on his projects as a form of audio signature (such as the guy shouting "Attention!"). Prince Rakeem sounds good, the Gza is simply the Gza (that's a good thing), Raekwon is half awake, and Sen Dog must have been very depressed in the studio the day Muggs was creating the track, since he barely does anything worth mentioning on here. However, the beat is Soul Assassins II-outtake flat-out dull.

7. QUEEN'S GAMBIT
Hey, kids! Are you sick of Gza's penchant for writing song lyrics based around a single theme, such as magazines, record labels, and animals? You are? Then you'll probably be annoyed with this song as well, which is about football. (American football, my overseas readers, although I admit it would be pretty funny to hear The Genius rhyme about soccer.) Well, at least the beat is decent.

8. ALL IN TOGETHER NOW (FEAT THE RZA)
The title pays its respects to the Gza's first rap crew, which was a trio made up of himself and his cousins, the Rza and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard, who appears briefly during the intro thanks to the magic of archival footage. As sweet as the sentiment is, though, I wasn't that impressed with the final product.

9. UNSTOPPABLE THREATS (FEAT MASTA KILLA & PRODIGAL SUNN)
With a title like that, you would certainly expect the beat to sound a lot more aggressive. Also, you wouldn't expect a Wu-Tang B-teamer to make an appearance, but maybe that's just me. Maybe it doesn't matter, though, since the song is boring, and the presence of Masta Killa wasn't helping.

10. UNPROTECTED PIECES
Muggerund's instrumental makes for a valid case which insinuates that Eminem isn't really influenced by Dr. Dre's beats: whenever he needs to create an instrumental, Eminem turns to DJ Muggs for inspiration and/or something to swipe. I can't even recall the Gza being on this song, but he must have been.

11. ILLUSORY PROTECTION
The hook grabs you with what could be a sequel to "Unexplained" off of Liquid Swords (or whatever the fuck it's called, since that's the song that isn't titled correctly on that disc), and the beat carries you the rest of the way. This is more of the type of song that I was expecting from a team-up of this magnitude.

12. SMOTHERED MATE
I love this fucking song. It's got a great sound to it, with the guitars and the organs having their way with the drums. By far, this is the best collaborative work DJ Muggs and the Gza will ever do. Curiously, both Raekwon and The Rza receive writing credits for this song. Although the liner notes are of the variety that shouldn't be trusted (for example, Raekwon apparently didn't write his own verse from "Destruction Of A Guard"), it's still interesting to note. Did the folks that put the package together fuck up completely, or is there a version of the track with more Wu-Tang members on it? Did the Gza actually need help to write his verses? We may never know.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Grandmasters is a bit underwhelming. Lyrically, Gza/Genius has done better: although a handful of these tracks do deserve a place in the Wu-Tang canon, Gary sounds as if he came up with the lyrics on the spot for the most part, and was too lazy to switch things up. (The notable exceptions would be "Exploitation of Mistakes" and "Queen's Gambit", although the latter still isn't a good song.) Behind the boards, Muggs sounds barely inspired by his cohort for most of the disc: the tracks may as well have been Cypress Hill leftovers that he needed to clear off of his computer before he could start working on some new shit. (Or, they may have possibly been the beats from the DJ Muggs/Inspectah Deck collaboration album that has been fully recorded (allegedly) and never released.) This was hardly the blockbuster collaboration we had all been hoping for, but at the same time, there are a handful of tracks that are pretty fucking awesome, and you are still left wondering what the results would be if Muggs were to produce entire solo albums for the other members of the Wu-Tang Clan.

BUY OR BURN? This deserves your money, but just barely. When the emcee and the producer click, it's damn near magical, but when Muggs goes off on his own tangents, leaving Gza to wonder why he's stuck with the bill, the tide turns questionable. Perhaps what the Gza should do next is explore a full album collaboration with production from, I don't know, The Rza? I know, that's asking too much, but still.

BEST TRACKS: "Smothered Mate"; "Illusory Protection"; "General Principles"; "Exploitation of Mistakes"

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
Wu-Tang Clan posts can be found here, while all of the DJ Muggs write-ups are here.