Album: The Movement
Release Date: June 10, 2003
Producers: Phantom of the Beats, Ayatollah, Arabian Knight
Review: The cover for Inspectah Deck's sophomore release The Movement perfectly depicts what the album is: no frills, no bullshit, just straight New York hip-hop. From the upbeat opener "City High" to the despondent "Cradle to the Grave," Deck offers an hour of airtight rap with no skits, no protracted intro (just a 49-second clip declaring the death of commercial hip-hop), no out-of-place guest spots (just a verse each by Killa Sin, Kool G Rap and Streetlife) and most importantly, no weak tracks.
Where to begin? The horn-and-vocals funk beat for "City High" sets the stage lovely for Deck to hit the ground running - "We dance with the wolves, wrestle with the pitbulls / For fistfuls of dollars and cents we empty pistols." "That Shit" is a fun-loving track of self-promotional lyrics on top of palm-muted guitar and swaggering brass; "Get Right" offers some solid call-and-response lyrics and descending keyboards. The title track follows, a wake-up call that references comics ("So far from the norm my code name's Doc Strange" and "Make 'em wig out, Spider-Man still on the web") and hip-hop culture itself ("My groups cross seas, they call us junglin' thugs / And it's sure to move ya feet like a gun in the club"), which makes sense since it utilizes basic skratching and old-school hi-hats on the drum machine.
"Shorty Right There" is another fun track, with INS and Streetlife mind-boggled at how hot some ladies look. For example, at the end they go back and forth admiring women: "Yo look at shorty right there with the six-pack / Lookin' like a fruit snack with the shoe strapped to her kneecaps." "Nah, shorty right there, the amazon / Six foot three with the glasses on, built for a marathon."
On the second half, "Framed" stands out with a reggae-sung hook between verses by Deck, Kool G Rap and Killa Sin about the police framing them for crimes. "Vendetta" offers engaging music and an infectious hook as Deck rhymes "You hear the rockets red glare? The bombs burstin' in air? / Gave proof through the night that I stood through the fight / Yeah the rebel's still here, what?" "The Stereotype" is an upbeat, uptempo funk piece with a sung hook promoting what sounds like a blaxploitation hero called The Stereotype, and "Big City" makes the journey go out with a bang before settling into the somber "Cradle to the Grave."
The biggest problem with The Movement is that it's so consistent and cohesive from beginning to end - without ever getting repetitive, boring or monotonous - that it's difficult to talk about. And that's a Hell of a problem to have. Every single track has live rhymes and great music; almost every song has funk-inspired horns blaring. Up to this point (June 2003) it could very well be the best solo album released by a Wu-general since Liquid Swords. For its entire hour runtime, it never missteps or falters, never loses focus - it sounds like Deck on a mission. When I saw him live this past spring, I was almost as encouraged to get The Movement signed by him as I was to see him perform at all, and he didn't disappoint on either front.
If you buy one Deck album, buy this one. It's in my top five post-Forever solo releases. It's actually so good that I've played tracks from it for no fewer than a half-dozen friends who don't like rap and they unanimously told me they loved it. The Movement is the reason I started the Map of Shaolin - to help promote some of the most underrated Wu releases while looking back at the band's history and catalog, which also meant I got to blast this CD out of my car for a week straight.
Legacy: Inspectah Deck made lightning strike twice, following his smash debut Uncontrolled Substance. He would later release The Resident Patient, Manifesto and Czarface, and though some fans find Manifesto to be a bit lacking, overall Deck proves himself time and again to be one of the most reliably top-notch solo artists in Wu-Tang. The Movement is a straightforward but flawless rap album about New York, the streets, the hip-hop movement and more in a package that's so listenable it's hard to turn off.
Recommended Tracks: Every single song on this album is utterly brilliant. YouTube the entire tracklist and tell me I'm wrong: City High / That Shit / Get Right / The Movement / Who Got It / It's Like That / Shorty Right There / You Wanna Be / Framed / Bumpin' and Grindin' / Vendetta / The Stereotype / That Nigga / Big City / Cradle to the Grave. I highly recommend every single track.
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