My Gut Reaction: U-God - Dopium (June 23, 2009)

U-God's last solo album, Mr. Xcitement, was fucking awful.

That's all I feel that needs to be said about it.

However, this post is about Lamont Hawkins and his third attempt to earn some respect in the hip hop game, in the form of Dopium. When the project was announced, U-God promised collaborations with fellow members of the Wu-Tang Clan (on the mic only, not behind the boards - methinks Babygrande, his new label, didn't front enough of an advance for the man to afford a Tru Master, 4th Disciple, or Bronze Nazareth beat, let alone one from Prince Rakeem) and with other big names in hip hop. I'm not sure that Jim Jones is technically a "big name", but the man has sold more records than U-God himself, so I guess he met that particular qualification.

When this project leaked last week, I received more than a few notes from readers recommending that I check Dopium out, because it actually wasn't that bad. Cool cover art notwithstanding, I'm not convinced that Dopium will be that good. However, I'm the guy who still loves 8 Diagrams today, so I may be wrong.

And yes, 8 Diagrams is a good album. You two just need to listen to it again with an open mind.

1. TRAIN TRUSSLE (FEAT GHOSTFACE KILLAH & SCOTTY WOTTY)
Kind of weird that the first voice you hear on a U-God album is that of Ghostface Killah, isn't it? My guess is that Golden Arms wanted to immediately cleanse the listener's mind of the Mr. Xcitement residue, so he elected to pass the baton in an effort to show that his hatchet with the Clan was buried. (Well, with most of the crew, anyway: The Rza still doesn't make an appearance.) The beat (by Teddy Ted and J. Serbe, names which just don't roll off of the tongue) sounds decent, if a bit repetitive, and Ghost sounds as good as he usually does. U-God even makes an appearance, as well. The most interesting component of this track is Scotty Wotty's verse, as the man manages to somehow sound both talented and annoying as shit, oftentimes within the span of three words in a sentence. This isn't bad otherwise, and it is definitely a better intro than anybody could have expected.

2. GOD IS LOVE (FEAT CAPPADONNA & KILLAH PRIEST)
Cappadonna says the word "atonement" before kicking his opening verse, validating my theory that the gypsy cab driver is still on his The Yin & The Yang Apology Tour. This is not how Wu-Tang music should sound, though: I've always preferred the aggressive, violent drums over the more soulful tracks the group's put out. Cappa's hook is fucking awful, but his verse isn't bad, and U-God doesn't fuck anything up (that's thinly veiled praise right there). Killah Priest sounds out of his element, but I'm more surprised that he's appearing on a Wu member's solo album in the first place, as this barely ever happens, so that counts for something.

3. STOMP DA ROACH (FEAT GZA/GENIUS & SCOTTY WOTTY)
Scotty Wotty's presence is most definitely not required on here. What is U-God doing with his cereal that he has to constantly clear roaches out of his Fruit Loops box? Maybe he needs one of those containers Kristen Bell gave to Jason Segal in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. As far as I'm concerned, The Gza steals this song outright, but (and it's very hard for me to write this, mind you) U-God's verse is actually really good. Not "Supa Ninjaz" good, but nevertheless.

4. LIPTON (FEAT MIKE LADD)
Credit where credit is due: the production on Dopium is light years ahead of Mr. Xcitement. The fuck is this shit, though? Baby Uey sounded alright, but once the hook kicked in, my eyes glazed over and my mind started pulling memories of much better rap songs from its hard drive. (Did I just imply that I was a robot?) Also, I'm not the biggest fan of Lipton tea. Next!

5. COKE (FEAT RAEKWON & SLAINE FROM LA COKA NOSTRA)
Rae's narcoleptic flow is making me not look forward to Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2. Sure, I'm going to buy it anyway (damn my collector's gene!), but the man clearly is in need of one of those Mountain Dews specially formulated for online gamers and/or nerds to stay awake for months at a time. When U-God outshines you on a song, you've fucked up. That doesn't actually happen on here, but Uey sounds alright. Slaine knocks this shit completely out of the park, although considering he's from a crew called La Coka Nostra, that shouldn't be altogether surprising.

6. MAGNUM FORCE (FEAT SHEEK LOUCH & JIM JONES)
I've always felt that Sheek (from The Lox) sounded good because, after constantly being overshadowed by teammates Jadakiss and Styles P. lyrically, he's had to work that much harder. That line of thinking ends here. Sheek sounds pretty bad, Jim Jones (why the fuck is he on here?) is an awful as always, and U-God is dragged into hell alongside them. You read that right: Lucky Hands is the best thing about this song.

7. HIPS
I knew it couldn't last. This song is really fucking stupid, so much so that it may encourage girls with fat asses (and who doesn't love girls with fat asses?) to work out and diet more just so they won't be lusted over by U-God the sexual predator. I'll be honest: this type of song was exactly what I was expecting when Dopium was announced.

8. WU-TANG (FEAT METHOD MAN)
I appreciate that the title is as unambiguous as possible. More proof that U-God has embraced his past as a member of the hip hop Beatles. The hook is asinine, going for a Southern-style dialect when the beat is clearly aiming for vintage Wu-Tang b-team supply. This probably should have included more members of the Clan, but even though (or especially because) Meth has the upper hand here, this sounds really fucking good.

9. DOPIUM
With that title, I was expecting a more upbeat track (unless producers Teddy Ted and J. Serbe were deliberately shooting for music one would hear in a dopium den during the reign of Jack the Rapper). Instead, what you get is U-God justifying your purchase of his album and thanking his followers in an indirect manner. While he probably could have listed his fan individually, the sentiment is still there, and the man isn't bad lyrically.

10. RIMS POKIN' OUT (FEAT LEATHAFASE)
I was hoping for an actual verse from Leathafase (who apparently changed his name from Leathaface, unless the label was too cheap to hire a proofreader), who is by far the only one of Uey's weed carriers that can hold his own on the mic, but instead we get a hook that could have been performed by any random ninth grader plucked from English Lit class. Pass.

11. NEW CLASSIC (FEAT LARGE PROFESSOR)
Featuring Large Professor? Can it be true? Fuck no it can't: his voice shouts the word "Classic!" a bunch of times over his beat, but I highly doubt he was anywhere near the studio while this was recorded. (It reminds me of that track on Extra P's 1st Class where he shouts the phrases "No question!" and "Word!" a bunch of times as part of the instrumental.) U-God finally gets some name-brand production, and he manages to not fuck it up royally. Color me impressed. The beat is much better than the rhymes, though.

The final three tracks on Dopium are bonus tracks which are fucking European dance remixes of "Stomp Da Roach", "Dopium", and "Hips". No, seriously, that's what they are. All three of them sound awful. I'm not sure what audience the record label was shooting for: nobody dances to the Wu at the club. As far as I'm concerned, "New Classic" is the final track on Dopium, and I guarantee that you'll feel the same way. The mixes are so bad that I won't even bother naming the remixers responsible for these individual travesties.

THE LAST WORD: The good thing about hip hop (and most entertainment mediums, now that I think about it) is that all it takes is a new project to change public perception. Dopium is easily U-God's best solo album ever. That said, Lamont is still the worst rapper in a nine-member group where one of the guys is dead and is still a better artist than he'll ever be; he's just gotten smarter about surrounding himself with talent, both on the mic and behind the boards. A lot of the songs on Dopium aren't very good; in fact, the ecstasy-fueld road trip into raveland at the end of the album is poor enough to warrant that nobody actually purchase this album ever. (I choose to believe that even U-God is puzzled as to why three of his songs were remixed.) But I would be lying if I said that this wasn't very entertaining in spots. So congratulations, U-God, you proved me wrong: maybe there is a valid reason that you're a part of the Wu-Tang Clan, and not just because The Rza lost a bet. But you're only as good as your next album, so it's time to get to work, motherfucker.

-Max

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