Masta Killa - Made In Brooklyn (August 8, 2006)

The Wu-Tang Clan released their first album, Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), way back in 1993, and the first wave of solo releases started the following year. Masta Killa, the quietest member of the crew (but the most outspoken when it comes to not eating meat), released his solo debut, No Said Date, ten fucking years later, in 2004. That's an awfully long time for one rapper to stockpile verses. As a result, No Said Date was generally seen as the second coming of the Wu, and the fact that the entire Clan appeared on the disc certainly added to the mystique.

In contrast, Masta Killa's second album, Made In Brooklyn, followed its predecessor to the shelves just over two years later. While this isn't exactly the quickest turnaround in hip hop history (Masta Killa has a long way to go before he's in the same league as the "artists" that drop seventeen mixtapes per year), that span of time says a lot about how badly Elgin Turner wanted to be seen as a solo artist.

Made In Brooklyn is completely devoid of Rza production, automatically making it similar to most Wu-Tang solo albums of the day. However, The Rza, along with his fellow crew members, all make an appearance on the disc, just like they did with No Said Date, so at least the rest of the Clan members actively liked the guy. He was even able to wrangle high-profile guest producers such as MF Doom and Pete Rock, although Wu-Tang affiliate Bronze Nazareth provides the most tracks (three) to a thirteen-chapter young adult fiction novel that oftentimes sounds as if it came from the pens of thirteen different authors.

Which isn't always a bad thing.

1. THEN AND NOW (FEAT KARIM JUSTICE, SHAMEL IRIEF, & YOUNG PRINCE)
If you recall the write-up for No Said Date, I had taken issue with the Wu-Tang Clan's children spitting Wu-esque rhymes, as it comes off like paint-by-numbers Clan , diluting the source material, not unlike trying to mix Kool-Aid in a fucking lake. I still feel that way, but this track is a slight upgrade from the skit that appeared on Masta Killa's first solo album.

2. E.N.Y. HOUSE
This track is alright, but the two beats presented to us so far (this one being from MF Doom's herbal supplement cabinet) prove, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that we're as far removed from No Said Date as Tical is from Thriller. This isn't always a bad thing, though, so let's continue.

3. BROOKLYN KING
Wu-Tang Clan member + breakbeat = greatness, usually, or at the very least, the final product is highly entertaining. However, I'm saddened to report that I found this song to be pretty fucking boring. Well, at least it's short.

4. IT'S WHAT IT IS (FEAT RAEKWON & GHOSTFACE KILLAH)
P.F. Cuttin' (from Blahzay Blahzay) creates an oddly majestic instrumental, and Rae and Ghost (the Wu dream team) sound as good as ever. In fact, the song as a whole is pretty damn good (the presence of a kung-fu film sample helps): if there is to be a weak link, it would have to be the track's own host, although, to be fair, Elgin does not sound terrible on this song.

5. NEHANDA & CREAM
After a really weird-sounding skit that sounds completely out of place on what your idea of a Masta Killa album should sound like, Bronze Nazareth's beat kicks in, and even though Elgin's rhymes are all incredibly superficial, they sound good over the music, and as a whole, this song kind of works.

6. IRON GOD CHAMBER (FEAT U-GOD, THE RZA, & METHOD MAN)
Features U-God's second-best verse of his entire fucking career: he sounds so good on here that I don't even mind the fact that he's the lead-off artist on this Wu-Tang posse cut. Meth and Elgin himself also turn in some good performances, but Prince Rakeem steals the entire song, as if he broke into Masta Killa's house and swiped all of the Boca burgers from his freezer. This shit is fucking good.

7. PASS THE BONE (REMIX)
The first of two songs on Made In Brooklyn which feature Masta Killa either reimagining or remaking tracks that he didn't have anything to do with originally. Here, he reinterprets "Pass The Bone", originally by The Genius (not Gza/Genius: that's how old the original song is). It's not bad, but The Genius and Prince Rakeem sounded much better on the first version. Also, there's been a chorus added on that does more harm than good.

8. OLDER GODS PART 2 (FEAT ALLAH B., ALLAH SHA SHA, FREEDOM ALLAH, & QUADEER U ALLAH )
Masta Killa and a barrelful of Allahs re-do "Older Gods" from Wu-Tang Forever, which originally featured Rae, Ghost, and The Gza, none of whom appear on the sequel. While there is some knowledge kicked around on this track (I can't believe I actually wrote that sentence: it sounds so typical of Wu-Tang stans), and Pete Rock (of all fucking people) is behind the boards, this song cannot be considered a true sequel, since it's truly more of a skit than a rap song, although, to be fair, Elgin does eventually rhyme.

9. LET'S GET INTO SOMETHING (FEAT STARTEL)
You have to listen to over two minutes of awful singing before you can even hear Masta Killa kick an extremely short verse? What the fuck is that about?

10. STREET CORNER (FEAT INSPECTAH DECK & GZA/GENIUS)
With this song, Made In Brooklyn officially features all of the surviving members of the Wu-Tang Clan. (Russell Jones, rest in peace.) The Gza's closing verse is the best of the three, but overall the song is very dull to listen to. Bronze Nazareth's Wu-Tang-lite instrumental is too slow for its own good.

11. RINGING BELLS
Okay, now that's more like it. Killa shines over yet another Bronze medal, which happens to be the only instrumental that actually sounds like a Wu song on this entire album. If only more of the album sounded this good.

12. EASY M.C.'S (FEAT FREEMURDER, K BORN, KILLA SIN, & VICTORIOUS)
Masta Killa shares mic time with a bunch of low-level Wu B-teamers, who all seem to be better suited for carrying Ziploc baggies of pot, rather than actually holding the mic. (And yes, Killarmy fans, I realize that Killa Sin is in the lineup, but I stand by my statement.) The beat isn't doing anybody any favors.

13. LOVELY LADY (FEAT GOVERNOR TOOLS & SKI)
I was halfway hoping Elgin would suddenly cover Kool Keith's "Lovely Lady" (from Sex Style), but no such luck. Instead, we are presented with some complete and utter bullshit. My Lord, this is a misfire. What the hell was Elgin thinking?

FINAL THOUGHTS: Made In Brooklyn is a highly disappointing sophomore album, but to be fair, I was probably expecting too much, after No Said Date. However, these higher expectations are not at all my fault, and I refuse to take responsibility. It sounds as if Masta Killa used up all of his good, stored-up-for-ten-long-years ideas for No Said Date, and wrote this disc in the span of four fucking days. The Wu-Tang posse cuts are mostly entertaining, some more than others, and anytime a good performance can be culled from U-God is a fucking miracle, but as a complete package, Made In Brooklyn sounds like it was recorded by a Wu-Tang affiliate, which is never a good look for the original nine. A damn shame, this is.

BUY OR BURN? There are a few tracks that are worth a burn, but I wouldn't bother with the entire album if you can help it. Life is just too short, you know?

BEST TRACKS: "Iron God Chamber"; "It's What It Is"; "Ringing Bells"

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
More Wu-Tang write-ups? Here you go.