What's up Wu family? It's jonny here with a quick update for Map of Shaolin; we've had a couple hiccups in the last week or two I wanted to straighten out.
Step 31 on the Map - U-God's 2005 release Mr. Xcitement - was originally planned for last week's entry. It's another fascinating point in the Wu catalog, in which U-God actually quit Wu-Tang for awhile, but last week (as you may have read) was a point in the blog and very close to the 10th anniversary of the death of Ol' Dirty Bastard, one of the original nine Wu generals. I imagined I'd make a quick note of it (as I did last week) and reschedule Mr. Xcitement for this week.
Well, I'm taking just one more week and I'll tell you why. On a personal level, a loved one passed and I haven't had the opportunity to work on Mr. Xcitement for this week - thanks for understanding.
On the other hand, this is a huge month for Wu-Tang. Today they released A Better Tomorrow, their first full-length studio album in seven years (since 2007's 8 Diagrams). It's been in the works for two years and nearly didn't include Raekwon the Chef, but it ended up with all nine generals (including some posthumous hype lines and samples from ODB) plus Cappadonna and Streetlife. 15 tracks ranging in tone from the grimy The W to the live instruments on 8 Diagrams and the funk and soul samples that have helped shape RZA's production career over 20 years. Love it or hate it, it dropped this week and makes the first added entry to the (chronological) end of the planned Map of Shaolin. I expect to review it in the next week or so, and do a proper entry for it next year when I make my way to it.
A new Wu-Tang miscellaneous compilation called Wu Trax also came out today, but I haven't had the chance to listen to it. It has an Ol' Dirty Bastard track ("Pop Shots") from his mixtape Osirus, a Gravediggaz song and several rarities. Little is known about it as of yet, but it's available for purchase from online retailers like Amazon and Best Buy.
Finally, the new Ghostface Killah record 36 Seasons is due out next week, on December 9. A concept album and spiritual sequel to last year's 12 Reasons to Die, this record's story finds Ghostface returning to New York after nine years to find his woman has moved on and his neighborhood has taken a serious turn for the worse. It's available for streaming on NPR by clicking here as part of their "First Listen" program as the whole album or individual tracks. It's a really solid release, with Consequence of Sound even saying it easily surpasses A Better Tomorrow. Time will tell when reviews start rolling in closer to release day next Tuesday. 36 Seasons will also be added on to its proper place at the end of the Map, just after A Better Tomorrow - I'll also try to review it as a bonus entry in the next two weeks or so.
Thanks for your patience and understanding; I'll keep the next few Map entries on schedule and add in quick reviews for A Better Tomorrow and 36 Seasons between them on weekends. See you then; hang in there!
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