The 12 Days of Wu-Mas #3: Sunz of Man Presents 60 Second Assassin - Remarkable Timing (June 22, 2010)

Way, way back in the early 1990’s, the rap crew Sunz of Man, the most popular iteration of which included the artists Killah Priest, Hell Razah, Prodigal Sunn, and the late-game addition 60 Second Assassin, became the first Wu-Tang Clan-affiliated crew to sign a deal with a record label. At the time, their rankings also included Shabazz the Disciple (who left the group but then returned), 7th Ambassador (who has since vanished from the rap game as far as I can tell), and producer Su-Preme, but when the time came for the Sunz to finally release their 1998 debut, The Last Shall Be First (after an aborted first attempt entitled Nothing New Under the Sun), the collective were trimmed down to the above-named quartet.

As is what tends to happen in the rap world, especially with groups affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan, the various Sunz of Man members eventually longed for solo careers. The singer-slash-rapper 60 Second Assassin was the last of the four to manage this feat, releasing what is to date his lone solo effort, Remarkable Timing, under the Sunz of Man banner in 2010.

Which is weird, because I don’t remember clamoring for this to happen. Did you?

Sunz Of Man - Saviorz Day (September 3, 2002)

Today's post is yet another in a lengthy series that shows no signs of ending anytime soon.  Yes, it's another Wu-Tang Clan-related review.  If this appalls you greatly, there are literally hundreds of other posts you can bitch about in the sidebar, or you can just wait a few days and see what else Max has up his sleeve.  But I don't want to hear any complaints: longtime readers all knew this was going to eventually pop up.

Sunz Of Man - The Last Shall Be First (July 21, 1998)

Remember earlier, when I said that my love of all things Wu has led to my spending a ridiculous amount of money on half-assed albums by Wu-Tang affiliates who aren't worthy enough to serve me my fries at Burger King?

I didn't write that earlier?

Huh.

Anyway, Sunz of Man have the distinction of being the first real Wu-affiliate group out of the gates after the original nine members became famous. (A lot of people forget that the Gravediggaz project didn't start life as a Wu-relation, but became one organically after Prince Paul left that group.) Sunz of Man was made up of an ever-changing group of four otherwise-solo emcees: Killah Priest (the "star"), Hell Razah, 60 Second Assassin, and Prodigal Sunn, none of whom could carry an album by themselves (well, except maybe Priest), but work well in a team environment.

The Last Shall Be First is the official debut album, but it doesn't contain any of their teaser singles, songs recorded for Wu-Tang Records with members of the other main Wu-related crew, Killarmy. This is because their first real album, rumored to be called Nothing New Under The Sun, was shelved after the heads of Wu-Tang Records realized that it may not be a good idea to release an album by a group whose de facto leader had a problem with the leader of the Wu-Tang movement (otherwise known as the Rza). The crew regrouped and released The Last Shall be First, an album with a surprisingly dark sound, surprising in that the first single was a Wyclef Jean-produced, Earth, Wind & Fire-sampling, Ol' Dirty Bastard-featuring radio friendly semi-hit.

The rest of the album sounds as close to vintage Wu as an affiliate would get, with production duties handled by 4th Disciple, True Master, their in-house producer Supreme, and the Abbott himself (Rza again). Shortly after the release of this album, Killah Priest became high and mighty and decided he didn't need the Wu to be successful; more recently, he's recanted that statement and rejoined the group, although who knows when they'll release material together again.

1. INTRO
Yeah, another fucking rap album intro. Could have done without this one.

2. COLD
Not bad, not great.

3. NATURAL HIGH (FEAT TREBAG)
Who the fuck is Trebag? Who knows? But this song is fucking good.

4. FLAMING SWORDS
The first track here that features all four group members. Notice how that description doesn't tell you anything.

5. ILLUSIONS
A little bit too slow for my liking.

6. SHINING STAR (FEAT EARTH, WIND & FIRE & OL' DIRTY BASTARD)
The first (and only charting) single. This song actually sounds good, but that's only because ODB is such a fucking jackass, you can't help but like him. (Check out the video here.)

7. ISRAELI NEWS (FEAT TREBAG)
Who the fuck is Trebag? Who knows? What do you mean I already asked that question?

8. TRIBULATIONS
Vintage Wu, but without the dusty drums.

9. THE INTERVIEW
Skit where Sunz of Man pretends they were bigger stars than they really were.

10. THE PLAN
Unless I'm mistaken, this was the second single. I have the CD single somewhere in one of my books. This song doesn't really work as single material.

11. COLLABORATION '98 (FEAT METHOD MAN & TRUE MASTER)
Because you can't really have a Wu-related album without at least one member of the core nine. True Master (better known for producing) sounds a lot like the Gza to me; am I alone in thinking this?

12. INMATES TO THE FIRE
Produced by The Rza. The beat is great, the lyrics are meh. Rza must have read my mind; he would later jack his own instrumental and implement it into the score for Jim Jarmusch's Ghost Dog.

13. NOT PROMISED TOMORROW
Eh, not great.

14. FOR THE LUST OF MONEY/THE GRANDZ
At this point, I find myself admiring the packaging of the CD, especially the CD booklet. This shit is truly professional; it looks better than the actual Wu-Tang Clan albums. This is a direct contrast to almost every other affiliate album cover, which look as if they were all designed with dime-store Photoshop and copied multiple times at Kinko's (which I'm sure was the case for a lot of them).

15. CAN I SEE YOU? (FEAT BERETTA 9)
Rza produces this weak-ass song. Rza's not a miracle worker, people.

16. THE BATTLE
Crew members freestyle while "Inmates To The Fire" plays in the background, lyrics and all.

17. NEXT UP (FEAT METHOD MAN)
Meth must have been too stoned to leave the studio that day.

18. INTELLECTUALS (FEAT RAEKWON AND U-GOD)
I always considered U-God to be the worst member of the group. Thankfully his appearances here are brief.

19. FIVE ARCH ANGELS
Now this pisses me off. When the Sunz of Man first released a single, they had a full song called "Five Arch Angels" that sounded good (but not as good as the A-side, "Soldiers of Darkness"). So of course this song is really just an outro to the album, not the fucking song. Why artists do this to their fans, I'll never know.

FINAL THOUGHTS: The Last Shall Be First is what you would expect from a Wu affiliate: some good beats laced with a lot of rap boasts and religious thoughts, provided by rappers who, for the most part, wouldn't have gotten a deal otherwise. You have to admit, the Wu treated their weed carriers well.

BUY OR BURN? I would just burn it, since the album is out of print and damn near impossible to find for less than twenty dollars. If you burn it, though, you're missing out on the wonder that is the album booklet (I wasn't joking when I said the presentation was pretty good).

BEST TRACKS: "Inmates To The Fire"; "Shining Star"; "Natural High"

-Max

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