The creation of this album is an interesting story. Maybe not so much for folks that don't follow or give a rat's ass about the Wu-Tang Clan, but it is for me. After the (relative) success of Theodore Unit's collective debut 718, Ghostface Killah thought that it would be a good idea to show the world what his primary color Trife Da God was made of, solo album-wise.
Trife responded by recording his solo debut, 718: Stapleton to Somalia, reportedly for the grim reapers over at the Koch graveyard. Interviews were conducted (some of which can be found on the Interweb), and all seemed to be going well. Late in the process, however, somebody had the bright idea of putting Ghostface's name on the album cover (and including a smattering of Ghost songs that didn't even feature Trife), showing off what little faith they had in their own artist. Promotional copies were released for review purposes, and I was even able to somehow get a hold of one, although there's an annoying voice that repeats on a constant loop that the copy of 718: Stapleton to Somalia I was listening to was "for promotional use only", completely cutting in to any enjoyment I might have received by, say, listening to the songs. (You can find the promo-only album online if you look hard enough.)
At some point, this Trife Da God solo album because a Ghostface & Trife joint collaboration, and the project was taken from Koch over to Ghost's own label, Starks Enterprises. The release date was pushed back one month so that the disc could be reconfigured. Songs were either retitled or dropped altogether, the sequencing was shifted a bit, some bonus tracks that were Ghostface Killah leftovers were added (to move units, ostensibly), a live DVD that featured Ghostface Killah live in concert alongside some of his Wu brethren were added on, and the new title Put It On The Line was slapped on. The Trife solo album had become a glorified Theodore Unit sophomore disc, although to be fair, the rest of Theodore pop up only sporadically (including ex-member Solomon Childs, although, curiously, Cappadonna does not make an appearance). You can tell that Put It On The Line was a rush job as there are no song credits at all in the liner notes: it's essentially a complete mystery as to who actually produced the goddamn songs.
Put It On The Line allegedly sold more than one hundred thousand copies, an amazing feat for an album that received almost zero marketing (Starks Enterprises apparently had no advertising budget). Only one single was pressed and released, and to my knowledge, no videos were ever shot. There was once talk of Theodore Unit action figures to be featured in Burger King kids meals, but those plans never came to fruition. Ghost was forced to move on immediately to promoting his next official (read: major label) solo disc, so this Trife solo debut-turned-group effort was abandoned with a quickness not seen since those early Road Runner cartoons.
But I liked 718, you may say. If this is just another Theodore Unit album (albeit with more of a focus on Trife than anybody else), won't I like this disc as well?
Probably not.
1. COCAINE TRAFFICKING (GHOSTFACE KILLAH & TRIFE DA GOD)
From the very first track, it becomes abundantly clear that this won't be another 718. The beat is overproduced, and lyrically both Ghost and Trife sound like store-brand rappers discussing drugs in a most generic, white-box-with-black-letters way. This isn't a good sign.
2. PUT IT ON THE LINE (TRIFE DA GOD)
Although this sounds absolutely nothing like a Wu-Tang song, it's still pretty good. (And before someone mentions it, yes, I am aware that it probably shouldn't sound like a Wu-Tang song, given the fact that Trife isn't an actual member of the Clan.) Trife surpasses expectations on this solo outing, proving that, if anybody was going to overthrow Ghostface and stab him in his back, it would be Trife.
3. STRUGGLE (GHOSTFACE KILLAH)
Okay, seriously, this song is awful. I choose to believe that Ghost's head was incredibly congested and that he couldn't actually hear the beat the day he elected to spit to it.
4. HUSTLE HARD (TRIFE DA GOD)
Whatever the fuck this was, it wasn't memorable enough for me to write about. That much I can say.
5. EVENT (TRIFE DA GOD)
Trife comes off alright on this track, but I was more curious about the fact that a homophobic reference was actually censored. In a rap song! I know, I'm just as scared as you are.
6. GANGSTA SHIT (TRIFE DA GOD & TOMMY WHISPERS)
I was nonplussed with this song. Put It On The Line is starting to leave a bad taste in my mouth.
7. FIRE (GHOSTFACE KILLAH & TRIFE DA GOD)
My fears may be short lived, as this song is, literally, fire. Seriously. Flames shoot out of my iPod every time this track appears on shuffle (although I've been told that may be a sign that I should simply replace my iPod). It's just fucking great. Trife also outraps Ghost for the first (and only?) time on wax. This shit deserves to become a permanent fixture in the Wu-Tang canon. Why, the only thing that might make this a better song is a remix featruing actual members of the Wu-Tang Clan: I can picture Raekwon fitting in nicely over this instrumental.
8. PROJECT SOAP OPERAS (TRIFE DA GOD, KRYME LIFE, & TOMMY WHISPERS)
This shit is pretty good as well. The beat essentially makes this song, as the lyrics would sound corny as fuck without an instrumental that wasn't up to the task. Thankfully, the entire package works out perfectly.
9. WAR (TRIFE DA GOD)
The vocal sample used throughout the chorus is much more memorable than the song itself.
10. OUT DA WAY (GHOSTFACE KILLAH & WIGZ)
At least whoever the hell produced the song was smart enough to reference the source material of the sample, so that it doesn't seem like Ghost and Wigz are simply jacking the beat from The D.O.C.'s "It's Funky Enough". This isn't that bad of a track, but it's not that great, either.
11. DRUGZ (TRIFE DA GOD)
Meh.
12. MILK 'EM (GHOSTFACE KILLAH & TRIFE DA GOD)
Apparently, this was the only single to be released from Put It On The Line, and the vinyl single itself is notable for including five different versions of this song, provided by five different producers. This song (at least, the album version) is actually pretty good, and although the beat has a bit too much going on, at least it's short.
13. LATE NIGHT ARRIVAL (GHOSTFACE KILLAH, TRIFE DA GOD, WIGZ, & SOLOMON CHILDS)
Solomon Childs, who at this point was no longer a part of the Theodore Unit, doesn't receive any credit on the album for appearing on this song, which is interesting, considering how instrumental Ghostface himself was in aiding his career. Anyway, everybody involved sounds awkward over the beat, but, once again, I have to applaud Theodore Unit's efficiency, producing yet another posse cut that's less than three minutes long. How come they can do this, but everybody else takes their sweet time?
14. MAN UP (GHOSTFACE KILLAH, TRIFE DA GOD, SUN GOD, & SOLOMON CHILDS)
Solomon Childs doesn't receive a credit for this track, either. Sorry, but that's all I got.
15. GAME TIME (TRIFE DA GOD & TOMMY WHISPERS)
This isn't that bad, but after an overall lackluster effort, this track is too little, too late, and the generic rap song title certainly doesn't help matters any.
The following are listed as bonus tracks.
16. THE WATCH (GHOSTFACE KILLAH FEAT RAEKWON)
Although for the life of me I can't recall which Ghostface Killah solo album "The Watch" was supposed to appear on, it's easy to hear why it was cut, thanks to the prominent Barry White sample that's more like a co-star than a supporting player. Ever since it leaked to the Interweb many years ago, I've liked this track, and although Raekwon's cameo is of no consequence, Ghost's boasts are oftentimes hilarious.
17. GHOST & GIANCANA (GHOSTFACE KILLAH & KOOL G RAP)
This boring-as-shit song marke the second time that Kool G Rap has collaborated with a member of the Wu-Tang Clan (the first time being "Cakes" with The Rza, from the Ghost Dog soundtrack). Curiously, this seems to be the same song as "Da Connection", a track that Ghost, G Rap, and Cappadonna contributed to Da Beatminerz's Brace 4 Impak (but was left off of the final pressing), except with fellow Theodore Unit member Cappadonna's verse chopped off. Interesting.
18. THE SUN (GHOSTFACE KILLAH FEAT THE RZA, RAEKWON, & SLICK RICK)
This would be the infamous track that was excised from Bulletproof Wallets, even though it appears in the liner notes, and the sticker on the outside of the shrink-wrap prominently advertised it. I realize that I'm going against most Wu heads by saying this, but I never cared for this song, and I still don't. I will admit that Ghost's verse is amusing, especially his use of imagery, but Rae, Rza (who also produced: this tidbit I garnered from the Bulletproof Wallets liner notes), and, surprisingly, Slick Rick all fail to impress.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Put It On The Line is kind of a mess. Although I've always felt that Trife was one of the better Wu-Tang weed carriers, it may have been too soon to give him his own "solo" album, although that certainly hasn't stopped most other major rappers from giving their friends album deals. When he gets it right, the results are fan-fucking-tastic, but when something is a bit off, it shows. The late addition of the Ghostface Killah bonus tracks are also apropos to nothing, serving as padding, although the true reason they appear on here is to entice older Wu-Tang fans that had been salivating at the thought of "The Sun" and "The Watch" finally appearing on a proper CD. The lack of cohesion isn't an issue here, but this project showed a lot of potential and could have been so much more. Oh well.
BUY OR BURN? Chances are, my two readers who are diehard Wu-Tang freaks like myself already have the Ghostface bonus tracks on their hard drive anyway, so you should just pick up the additional songs listed below and be on your merry way. There's no reason to run out and grab a physical copy of this, no matter how awesome "Fire" is.
BEST TRACKS: "Fire"; "Project Soap Operas"; "Put It On The Line", "The Watch"
-Max
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Read up on other Wu-Tang projects by clicking here.
After the release of The Pretty Toney Album, Dennis Coles was sweeping up the studio (he likes a clean workspace, after all), and was startled to find a package of leftover songs, which he had recorded with every intention of them appearing on his Def Jam debut release, but never made the final cut. As he was in the middle of putting together an album for his band of weed carriers, which called themselves the Theodore Unit, he decided that the songs shouldn't go to waste, and found alternative distribution in the form of Sure Shot Recordings, an extremely independent label which I hadn't even heard of until this writing.
The tracks I speak of were deleted and discarded from the original version of The Pretty Toney Album due to sample clearance issues: anybody that's listened to any Ghostface Killah album up until this point understands that Ghost likes to draw upon a wide variety of influences whenever he records a song, and oftentimes records a song without any thought given to a sample ever being cleared. There are literally millions of unreleased Ghostface Killah songs that have yet to officially see the light of day because of this work ethic (although a lot of them are easy to find on the Interweb). In a way, I find it commendable that Ghostface thought so highly of his work that he decided to put it out there, in any way possible, just so it can find its intended audience. Legally, though, I still haven't figured out how the fuck he pulled this off: if Def Jam wasn't able (or refused) to clear a track, even with their deep pockets, there is no fucking way an indie ran out of the back of someone's Mazda such as Sure Shot Recordings should be able to release the exact same songs without any pressing legal concerns, right?
Regardless, the Theodore Unit saw their debut "album", 718, released in 2004. I put "album" in quotation marks because this disc is really just a compilation of songs: some would even be inclined to call it a mixtape, except for the fact that the songs aren't blended together. At the time, the Unit was made up of Ghost himself and his flunkies: his main sidekick Trife Da God, whom I've praised highly on this very blog in the past; Solomon Childs, late of Ghostface's annoying-but-still-good "Stroke Of Death" from Supreme Clientele; and also Shawn Wigz, Du-Lilz (from Wu-Tang affiliate group Othorized Fam), Twiz, Kryme Life, and motherfucking Cappadonna, late of his second career of driving a gypsy cab through the streets of New York while getting fucked over for Wu-Tang royalties by Prince Rakeem. Since the release of 718, more than a few of the above named rappers have left to pursue other opportunities (read: they were let go), only to be replaced with the likes of Sun God, Ghostface's son (the Wu seems to have a thing for getting their own children on the mic, don't they?).
718 is supposed to be a Theodore Unit sampler, with no real sense of cohesion between tracks, but it ultimately comes off as a showcase for Trife, Solomon Childs, and Pretty Toney himself, who appears on ten out of sixteen tracks. Ghostface's multiple appearances make sense, as approximately half of the disc's songs were removed from The Pretty Toney Album at the last minute, but the other members of the crew barely get a chance to peek, let alone rap: Du-Lilz and Kryme Life only appear on one song each, and Cappadonna only gets two short verses, although at this point, we've already heard quite enough out of Cappa's mouth, thank you.
718 was one of those albums that hit the stores, but was destined to not really sell any copies, ostensibly due to lack of promotion, but ultimately, because a lot of the Ghostface songs had already leaked to the Interweb: essentially, everyone already had all of these songs, and you would only need to pick up 718 if you were interested in a nice shiny plastic package to house the songs you already owned. Let's see if you should go out of your way.
1. GUERILLA HOOD (GHOSTFACE KILLAH)
I'm still not one hundred percent on why this Clivaringz-produced track didn't make the final cut of The Pretty Toney Album, since it sounds so much better than a lot of the crap from the final release. The original version included Solomon Childs on a hook, but this one is much better, as not all rap songs actually require a break between verses.
2. PUNCH IN PUNCH OUT (TRIFE DA GOD)
Over a beat that sounds as if it could double as the opening theme music from a 1970's cop show, Trife impresses the hell out of me with his solo offering. Trife has always been one of the better Wu-Tang weed carriers in my eyes, and he spits over this awesome beat as if he had been waiting for the opportunity his entire life.
3. '88 FREESTYLE (GHOSTFACE KILLAH & TRIFE DA GOD)
Ghost and Trife sound off over the beat to Big Daddy Kane's "Set It Off", and while they both sound alright (if Raekwon ever decides to hang up the microphone for a career in the culinary arts, Trife could easily step in and Ghost wouldn't lose a step, although please note that I'm not saying Trife is as good as Raekwon can be on his best days), the song ultimately feels very empty.
4. THE DRUMMER (GHOSTFACE KILLAH & TRIFE DA GOD FEAT METHOD MAN & STREETLIFE)
The beat sounds like some original Tical shit (if it were interpreted by someone who wasn't The Rza), so it makes complete sense that Meth and Street appear on here. Upon its release, this was the darkest, grimiest, and dustiest Wu-Tang song to appear in a long while, and it was worth the wait: this song fucking rocks.
5. GATZ (SHAWN WIGZ, GHOSTFACE KILLAH, & SOLOMON CHILDS)
A decent introduction for two more members of the Theodore Unit, although followers of the Wu from day one will already know exactly what Solomon Childs sounds like, as he has appeared on other Wu-Tang songs before. This isn't bad, but there isn't anything especially great about it.
6. WHO ARE WE? (GHOSTFACE KILLAH & TRIFE DA GOD FEAT BONE CRUSHER)
Okay, this song's presence is actually easy to explain: Def Jam simply didn't want to pony up the clearance fee for sampling the theme song from Scooby-Doo, so as a result, the track hits the cutting room floor, regardless of how good it actually sounds. And that's the thing: this shit does actually sound good, and having your hook shouted out by Bone Crusher is actually effective.
7. SMITH BROTHERS (GHOSTFACE KILLAH & TRIFE DA GOD)
Uses the same beat as Raekwon's "Smith Bros." from The Lex Diamond Story. Ghost doesn't really sound that great over the beat either, but Trife does alright. Can somebody please explain why the two tracks weren't simply combined and included on either Rae or Ghost's respective albums? Because all of us Wu-Tang stans would have loved to hear those two on the same song again.
8. MAMA CAN YOU HEAR ME (SOLOMON CHILDS)
This Solomon Childs solo cut is decent, but it becomes obvious rather quickly why he would never be able to secure a record deal without some assistance from the Wu. As a writer/director, I also found myself appreciating Solomon's reference to "[Al] Pacino in the original script for Chinese Coffee", which is something you just don't really hear in hip hop. Solomon's reference to Sylvester Stallone's Driven, heard earlier in the track, is business as usual, though.
9. PAYCHECKS (GHOSTFACE KILLAH & TRIFE DA GOD)
Not bad at all, even if the vocal sample woven into the instrumental is a bit off-putting and threatens to overwhelm the rapping that's taking place over it.
10. WICKED WITH LEAD (GHOSTFACE KILLAH & TRIFE DA GOD)
Although I find myself wishing that these songs sounded more like Wu-Tang compositions (only "The Drummer" and maybe "Guerilla Hood" fit that description), it's easy to appreciate these songs for what they are: pure, unadulterated hip hop.
11. DAILY ROUTINE (SHAWN WIGZ)
Shawn Wigz, the token white boy in the crew, has a short solo song, and he sounds pretty good. At the very least, he sounds like he can hold his own with Ghost and Trife, which is all that matters when it comes to The Theodore Unit, I suppose.
12. RIGHT BACK (TRIFE DA GOD & KRYME LIFE)
Trife proves that, should Ghostface ever find himself stuck in Dubai while conversing with Tony Stark, he can serve as the de facto leader of the Unit with no problems. Kryme Life, Trife's former bandmate in a past life, only sounds okay, though, which is sad, since you would think that those two would have more chemistry together given their past work.
13. PASS THE MIC (DU-LILZ, SHAWN WIGZ, TRIFE DA GOD, SOLOMON CHILDS, GHOSTFACE KILLAH, & CAPPADONNA)
How the fuck can a rap crew fit a posse cut into less than three minutes? I still can't figure it out, even though the proof is right here in front of us. Unsurprisingly, Cappadonna sounds the weakest on here, but he actually seems to have left his ridiculous non-rhyming Sadat X/Kool Keith Lite rhyme style in the back of his gypsy cab, taking on a much more conventional flow that fits better. But at least Cappa made the fucking song: Twiz (remember him? I mentioned him above briefly) didn't even make the goddamn album.
14. WORK (SOLOMON CHILDS)
Someone may have been capable of rocking this bizarrely melodic instrumental, but the artist formerly known as Killa Bamz is not the one.
15. IT'S THE UNIT (SHAWN WIGZ, CAPPADONNA, & GHOSTFACE KILLAH)
The hook is awful, but otherwise the song is decent. Cappa manages to redeem himself, though: he almost sounds like the same guy that attracted many fans based off of his two appearances on Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...
16. BE MY GIRL (SOLOMON CHILDS)
This isn't bad for a Solomon Childs solo track. If 718 were actually a legitimate "album" as opposed to being a collection of tracks, I would complain that it doesn't quite fit the flow, but since it's not, I won't.
FINAL THOUGHTS: 718 is a surprisingly good listen. It actually seems like Ghostface only selected rappers to be in his group if they could actually rap (with the exception of Cappadonna: Ghost once saved Cappa's life and, per Chinese tradition, is now responsible for him). This disc was met with little fanfare, mainly because Sure Shot Recordings was trying its best not to attract attention for releasing Ghostface Killah's unreleased tracks, especially attention of the legal kind. 718 is easily better than The Pretty Toney Album in terms of consistency. The Wu-Tang Clan has always kept songs in their vaults that are better than their actual releases: here's some of the proof.
BUY OR BURN? By all means, if you luck into finding this in stores, pick it up. Wu-Tang fans may be a bit miffed at the lack of kung-fu samples, but hip hop heads will find plenty to enjoy.
BEST TRACKS: "The Drummer"; "Guerilla Hood"; "Punch In Punch Out"; "Who Are We?"; "Wicked WIth Lead"; "Pass The Mic"; "Daily Routine"
-Max
RELATED POSTS:
Read up on everything Wu-Tang related by clicking here.
The creation of this album is an interesting story. Maybe not so much for folks that don't follow or give a rat's ass about the Wu-Tang Clan, but it is for me. After the (relative) success of Theodore Unit's collective debut 718, Ghostface Killah thought that it would be a good idea to show the world what his primary color Trife Da God was made of, solo album-wise.
