Album: The Resident Patient
Release Date: June 25, 2006
Producers: Mondee, Liveson, Inspectah Deck, etc.
Review: Inspectah Deck's third solo album, 2006's The Resident Patient, starts with a bang. "Sound of the Slums" may very well be the best opening track in Wu-Tang's entire catalog, with the exception of "Bring Da Ruckus." It's short but sweet at just two minutes and five seconds, and Concrete Beats produces, bringing us one of the phattest beats in years. It's the track that got me hooked on Masta Killa (who brings the second/final verse) and The Resident Patient in general. Surprising no one, INS opens his verse with some real thunder: "It's the sound of the slums, drama with drums / You pop shots with the corks cause problems for some / Got the whole city up, float with the semi tuck / Roamin' outta zone and I'm known in the gritty cuts."
After the incredibly cinematic opener, The Resident Patient settles into a darker street sound a la its predecessor, The Movement. "C.R.E.E.P.S." features some genuine vocal growling on the hook ("Don't go to sleep, there go the C.R.E.E.P.S.") before "Get Ya Weight Up" bounces and pops with the energy we'd expect from a Deck-produced, Deck-performed track.
By the time "It's Not a Game" appears, Deck has already name-checked his group Housegang at least twice and they finally get their voices heard on this track. Housegang has had several rotating members (only releasing one album in 2004), but here they include Carlton Fisk, La Banga, Donny Cash and Paulie Caskets. La Banga died in 2008, but Donny Cash is the standout emcee on this track. He sticks with one rhyme his entire verse, utilizing two soft A's followed by two soft I's approximately 15 times in lines like "They never catch Cash flippin' or catch Cash diggin' / In his stash for his last while these fag hags listen [...] It's no mag when I let the mack blast hit 'em / Then I'mma make a black bag fit 'em / And casket every cat I catch with it like I bag fast with 'em."
Deck also produces "My Style," which is just an all-around great track. Full music, tight rhymes. But historically, one of the most interesting points on Resident Patient is "A Lil' Story," which was thought to be a RZA-produced track. RZA is even credited in the liner notes with the production, but Deck has since confirmed that Cilvaringz produces. Cilvaringz is a disciple/student of RZA's, and his sound is fantastic - enough so that it fooled plenty of listeners on "Lil' Story"'s release. Cilvaringz will likely go down in history as the producer behind Wu-Tang's mysterious upcoming double-album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, of which only one copy is being made and toured in art museums around the world.
By the way, if Once Upon a Time in Shaolin makes it to the Smithsonian in D.C., I promise a review on the Map of Shaolin.
As far as the album's second half goes, more solid tracks follow the exceptional "A Lil' Story," including "Get Down wit Me," the freestyle "Grits" and "Handle That" (which features U-God). "I.O.U." and "Do My Thang" are fine, but don't quite get the blood pumping like some of the others. Fortunately, the final three tracks (including "Handle That" and the bonus tracks "Animal Rights" and "H.G. is my Life") end the record on a pretty high note, all things considered. It's not a bad second half by any means, but I think the most standout tracks on the record end after "Get Down wit Me."
Legacy: For my money, The Resident Patient is a great third effort by Inspectah Deck. Like The Movement, it aims for credibility and a street sound instead of cashing in for mainstream appeal, even keeping the Wu-Tang guest spots to a minimum once again (two verses here, zero on The Movement). Since the second half is a bit bogged down by some so-so tracks, it doesn't result in as tight a record as Deck's previous work, but this is still an underrated album. I don't grade my reviews, but I feel like The Resident Patient would earn about an 8.5 next to The Movement's 9.5. In the larger scheme of things, it also comes chronologically right before Masta Killa's sophomore release Made in Brooklyn and Method Man's 4:21: The Day After. Interesting times for the Wu, with a lot of albums straddling the line between good and great while leaving virtually all their duds behind.
Recommended Tracks: Sound of the Slums, Get Ya Weight Up, My Style, A Lil' Story.
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