The 12 Hours of Wu-Tang: #3 - My Gut Reaction: Czarface - A Fistful of Peril (October 25, 2016)

Czarface may be the only team-up in our chosen genre that mirrors the seemingly random nature of comic book heroes and villains banding together to battle a common foe. I realize that’s the entire point of the collaboration between the Wu-Tang Clan’s Inspectah Deck and the underground producer-slash-emcee duo 7L and Esoteric: the comic book artwork that adorns every project they’ve released since their debut, simply titled Czarface, dropped back in 2013 is proof that these guys are proud of the association. But I suppose what I hadn’t been expecting was the level of consistency each successive album has reached – one would have assumed that the pop culture references and purposefully-limited worldview of the artists involved (they like staying in character, so what) came with a built-in expiration date.

Despite the odds, Czarface has stuck around through multiple waves of new trends in hip hop, sticking to their guns and evolving at their own pace – hell, they have a new album scheduled for release next February that is a full-length collaboration with fellow comic enthusiast Ghostface Killah. So obviously this act is working for them.

A Fistful of Peril is the third album from the collective, following their terrific 2015 sophomore effort Every Hero Needs A Villain. On that project, as well as on their debut, Deck, Eso, and 7L are all represented by a singular being, known as Czarface, a superhero who… does superhero shit, I’m guessing, since it isn’t as though Deck and Esoteric are creating concept albums with fully-written storylines. The Czarface projects are just an excuse for our hosts to talk their shit outside of their day-to-day as a part of different groups, an outlet that more rappers should seek out: creating a separate entity allows Jason “Inspectah Deck” Hunter and Seamus “Esoteric” Ryan the freedom to perform without having to worry about meeting the expectations of their respective fans. Well, now they have to contend with Czarface fans specifically, but you know what I’m trying to say.

Czarface is a collaboration whose origin stretches all the way back into the last millennium. For their first EP, 1999’s Speaking Real Words, 7L and Eso were lucky enough to snag a guest verse from Deck for the title track, a song that was received well in the hip hop underground. This benefited both parties – the Boston duo received a promotional boost due to the presence of a member of the Wu-Tang Clan, and Deck gained a following outside of his group affiliations, which would help him build his solo career. They spoke off and on for more than a decade, which led to “12th Chamber”, a song from the duo’s 2010 project 1212, and then these guys never stopped working together, apparently.

A Fistful of Peril follows the exact same blueprint as the group’s first two albums: all of the beats are handled by 7L and Spada4 (Czarface featured a DJ Premier beat for some reason, but by now these guys are confident enough to not have to outsource their production work), with microphone duties split between Deck and Esoteric, with a handful of guests invited to join in on the fun. Each successive project has featured less cameo appearances, the result of Deck and Eso growing more comfortable with the concept of their group and their self-imposed mythology becoming too intimidating for newbies to connect with from a writing perspective.

I have to stop making these introductions so lengthy, I have nine more of these fuckers to get through today.

1. ELECTRIC LEVEL 1

An instrumental intro. Okay then.

2. TWO IN THE CHEST

Fucking bangs. Deck, Eso, 7L, and Spada4 are so comfortable in their roles now that the music itself feels much more confident, and the production trusts that the audience will follow their whims wherever they may lead, which is still boom bap adjacent, and as a result the music is pretty goddamn good. No hook necessary here, Esoteric and the Rebel INS each deliver a single verse filled to the brim with the shit-talking that marked their first two Czarface projects, and it sounds as though neither man has lost a step: Eso spits as though all he needed to give his rap career a jolt was a strong collaborator, while Deck sounds so energized that we could likely forget that the man ever had a solo career in the first place. Just erase his entire solo catalog from your mind. Yes, even Uncontrolled Substance. All of it. Dude just needs people to bounce his ideas off of, whether it’s the other ninety-three people in the Wu collective or the cocksure, arrogant Esoteric. This was great, even with Eso’s corny Benedict Cumberbatch pun.

3. CZAR WARS

A percussion-heavy sleeper hit with a hook of sorts, if one wants to count Jadakiss sound bites as a “chorus”. 7L and Spada4 deliver some of the most appealing jazzy boom bap I’ve heard in quite some time, engaging without throwing obstacles at the listener, and Deck and Eso do the same with their own verses, trading off bars fluidly. Inspectah Deck sticks with braggadocio mixed with violent, visceral imagery, while Esoteric brings with him all of the laugh lines, with references to Pixar and Ben Affleck’s version of Batman sharing space with the usual shit-talking and multiple uses of the word “czar” as a prefix. I kind of dug his one.

4. DUST (FEAT. PSYCHO LES)

Eso mentioned The Beatnuts during “Czar Wars”, so the appearance of Psycho Lester on “Dust” was telegraphed fairly well. Unfortunately, “Dust” is a dud. The beat sounds weak and lazy, but even though it provides an ample amount of energy, Lester and Esoteric barely manage to move the needle with their boring bars and lethargic performances. Ah well, not every song can be a good one. Deck fares just a tiny bit better, losing points for his bizarre, but relevant, reference to the M. Night Shyamalan television show Wayward Pines, which was just a weird thing for any rapper to mention, let alone a dude whose prophecies cannot be defined by the philosophy and hypotheses of Socrates.

5. REVENGE ON LIZARD CITY

Seems to exist merely as an excuse to use that song title, which is admittedly badass, but has nothing to do with anything here. 7L and Spada4’s beat is, once again, engaging and slightly experimental boom bap, crafted to entice artists to talk their shit over it, and Deck and Esoteric comply. INS kicks things off by quoting a well-known Method Man line before diving into his feelings of rap dominance, while Eso’s braggadocio is full of allusions to film and professional wrestling (as always). Even though he sneaks a dis toward director Zach Snyder in there (which I thought was kind of funny), Esoteric’s stanza is just a long-winded setup for a punchline that plays at the end of the audio track, which, honestly, wasn’t worth it. The rest of the song is entertaining as hell, though.

6. MACHINE, MAN, & MONSTER (FEAT. CONWAY)

Based on the order in which the artists appear on “Machine, Man, & Monster”, are we to assume Inspectah Deck is the monster? I suppose so. Anywho, guest star Conway the Machine sounds out of his depth, his gruff street bars no match for 7L and Spada4’s boom bap, although his violent imagery would likely sound perfect over a Daringer  or Alchemist concoction. Esoteric’s middle verse is weird because he sounds rather calm, and calm Seamus sounds almost exactly like a younger Jay-Z, which left me hoping for a collaboration that will obviously never fucking happen. Deck’s rhymes were so generic I couldn’t recall anything for the sake of this paragraph, so I’ll just wrap up by saying this was a disappointment.

7. DARE IZ A DARKSEID

There’s nearly a minute tacked on to the end of “Dare Iz A Darkseid” (a song title that simultaneously pays tribute to both Redman and the DC supervillain, I’m guessing) dedicated to an interlude that really wasn’t necessary, but the song itself was pretty good. Eso’s Hova-esque flow is at it again, as he tosses around insults and threats in a relaxed demeanor toward nobody in particular, while Inspectah Deck’s performance ramps up significantly after a downright terrible opening line, using the titles of other Wu-Tang Clan classic posse cuts to exert Czarface’s control over our chosen genre, or at least the portion that resides underground with backpacks that hold comic books which are read by moonlight. This shit was nice.

8. TARANTULAS (FEAT. BLACASTAN)

We get it, guys: you like the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That’s cool, but so does everyone else, so you’re bragging into a void here. Deck, who takes the opening verse on “Tarantulas”, doesn’t bother with any of those references this time around, but Esoteric and guest rapper Blacastan (Eso’s bandmate in the Demigodz collective) sure as shit do, and while it isn’t exactly distracting (as this is what our host normally do anyway), it still took me out of the song a little bit. I place the blame for that squarely on the shoulders of 7L and Spada4, though, as the “Tarantulas” instrumental didn’t really grab me as much as it should have. The track itself is fine, but I wouldn’t feel the need to ever revisit it for fun.

9. SABERS (FEAT. JESUS CHRYSLER)

Kind of in the same vein as “Dare Iz A Darkseid”, in that the final minute is dedicated to the music and not the rhymes, but 7L and Spada4 scratch in dialogue samples that fit perfectly with the slow burn they’ve crafted for Deck and Eso. Both men sound fucking great on “Sabers”, even with that goofy hook that may cause listeners to skip ahead to the next track without ever giving this one a fair shot. Said hook ultimately fits with the rest of the proceedings, though. Deck’s line about “spitting this on a Wu Wednesday” made me chuckle, but it also caused me to wonder just how good a proper Wu-Tang Clan project could sound today if only everyone were on the same page (looking in your direction, RZA). And you get not one, but two references to Deadpool on here? Where do I sign?

10. STERANKO (FEAT. MEYHEM LAUREN & RAST RFC)

Never would have thought a rap song named after famed comic book artist and writer Jim Steranko would ever be the centerpiece of any album, but that’s exactly what this posse cut is. 7L and Spada4 provide each participant with a different instrumental to burn through, and everyone that isn’t named Meyhem Lauren fucking destroys. Sorry Lauren fanatics, but that verse was ineffective and unconvincing in light of his cold-ass recent collaborations with DJ Muggs, which sucks, as he’s the first-ever returning guest to a Czarface project. Deck and Eso sound fantastic, but the winner of the evening is New York emcee Rast RFC, whose contribution is bleak and dope as fuck. I strongly recommend you two listen to this one – Meyhem wasn’t so terrible that the song suffers for it or anything.

11. TALK THAT TALK

Most songs would pale in comparison to “Steranko”, and Czarface aren’t immune to this issue, as “Talk That Talk” directly suffers from its placement on A Fistful of Peril. Perhaps it would have worked better if it had played closer to the beginning of the project, especially as Eso feels the need to explain to the audience who exactly makes up the group in the first place, a fact our hosts had simply assumed we knew until now. But “Talk That Talk” is merely okay. Deck and Seamus both sound fine, but if you’re listening to this album along with me (and why aren’t you?), you’re likely not paying all that much attention to this track because you’re still thinking about just how good the previous one was. And who could blame you?

12. ALL IN TOGETHER NOW

If nothing else, Czarface acts as a vehicle for Esoteric and Inspectah Deck to honor the media they grew up with and love, from comic books and movies to hip hop itself, as “All In Together Now” takes its title from the first group The RZA formed with his cousins, the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard and the GZA. 7L and Spada4’s instrumental is compelling, hypnotic, and very good, allowing Deck and Eso room to breathe, which gives their verses life. “All In Together Now” was originally released as a part of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ video series promoting his Black Panther series for Marvel Comics, and it’s an excellent showcase for our hosts, whose boasts-n-bullshit are in top form, even if affixing themselves directly to a comic book property is a bit on the nose. Hopefully it at least gained them some new fans.

13. LEVEL ELECTRIC 1

Hey, how about that, we’re done now.

THE LAST WORD: I happen to feel that Every Hero Needs a Villain is Czarface’s best work so far: everything about that earlier effort, from 7L and Spada4’s nerdy boom bap to Inspectah Deck and Esoteric’s boasts-n-bullshit, rang true for me. It was the album I needed to hear in that exact moment. So A Fistful of Peril was never going to reach those heights for me, ever. But it’s too Czarface’s credit that they come pretty goddamn close: there are a bunch of tracks on here that rival those of its two predecessors, and Deck and Eso still sound as excited as ever for this team-up to be a thing that actually exists. There are missteps, as A Fistful of Peril isn’t perfect – a couple of the beats sound pretty anemic, and a handful of verses are delivered in a robotic fashion. But I enjoyed A Fistful of Peril a great deal for the majority of its short run time. Czarface is a hip hop group that was seemingly formed out of sheer fan service, and these guys know it, playing directly to them as often as possible, which may take actual songwriting off of the table in favor of recorded freestyle sessions and shit-talking, but when it’s performed as well as Deck and Esoteric do it, who the fuck cares? A Fistful of Peril was just fun, and sometimes that’s all you need. I''d recommend these guys to your friends who don’t really listen to hip hop but love comic books and wrestling – this can be their gateway drug.

-Max

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