Step Forty Five: Afro Samurai Resurrection OST.

Artist:  Various
Album:  Afro Samurai Resurrection: The Soundtrack
Producer:  RZA
Release Date:  January 27, 2009

Review:  When is the sequel better than the original?  When the sequel is the soundtrack for the second season of Afro Samurai, subtitled Resurrection.  I don't know that there's a better title for this RZA-produced effort, considering that Digi Snacks and Birth of a Prince just didn't click for me.  This is not to mention some critics - along with some Wu generals - have publicly dissed 8 Diagrams, released less than two years prior.  So it's a damn good thing for everyone involved, I think, that RZA's soundtrack for Afro Samurai Resurrection is so great.  There are maybe three tracks out of 17 that don't stand out as much as their 14 brethren, but that's really a minor grievance that's overshadowed almost entirely by the high-quality tracks here.

Things start with a bang on "Combat," the opening song for this season of Afro.  RZA raps and P. Dot performs the hook.  The music is perfect.  Slow, chunky drums and hints of keys and piano sneak around the back while RZA delivers verses about the show.  "Sword in my hand I want the Number One Headband."  "You Already Know" keeps things going with clap tracks and staccato piano and a one-note bassline that sound deadly and dangerous.  Some kind of stringed instrument akin to a mandolin or koto plucks a catchy and simple line behind solid verses by Kool G Rap and Inspectah Deck (with Suga Bang Bang on chorus duty, keeping his killing streak that started on Ghost Dog).

The classic "Family Affair" gets the hip-hop treatment by Reverend William Burke, Sly Stone and Stone Mecca on "Blood Thicker than Mud (Family Affair)."  There are some good references here too, as Burke says lines like "I keep blades sharper than Hattori Hanzo / Be the last man standing after the last blow."  "Whar" is centered on a slowed, slightly-lowered sample of "Clan in da Front" from Enter the Wu-Tang 16 years before it, so it's pretty logical that Ghostface and RZA each provide a verse here, but the real star is singer Tash Mahogany.  I've always found Wu-related sung hooks to be very hit or miss for my own personal taste, and they probably deserve a bit more credit than I've given them in the past, but this is a happy exception to my usual hesitation.  Her confident voice is a great fit for the hook on "Whar" and it sets the stage for several more original sung hooks and songs that all won me over.

In fact the next track, "Girl Samurai Lullaby," features vocals by Stone Mecca's Dionna Nichelle, as did "Blood Thicker than Mud."  Here, RZA's full drums (with the sound of drumsticks striking the edge of a snare drum) and bass are surrounded by ponderous flute and high-pitched, descending keys.  It's like Massive Attack's "Weather Storm" covered by Stone Mecca and Rah Digga (who raps the verses).  Dionna Nichelle's lyrics are spot on and enjoyable as you could hope for.

Making it a hat trick for sung tracks, Thea Van Seijen performs "Fight For You" in her classic voice that evokes classic '40s jazz vocalists.  Van Seijen has appeared on several Wu-related projects, including the first Afro Samurai soundtrack, Digi Snacks and Raekwon's Cuban Linx Pt. 2.  Unfortunately, in 2012 she sued RZA for royalties on 14 tracks she's said to have co-written with him.  Here though (and on her other tracks, "Bloody Days Bloody Nights" and "Bloody Samurai"), she amazes.  "Bitch Gonna Get Ya" has one of the phattest beats on the album (alongside "Combat" and "You Already Know" so far) and "Kill Kill Kill" is a quality track by Rugged Monk.

The only let-downs on the whole album kick in with "Nappy Afro" by Boy Jones.  The beat is fine, but Jones's voice and lyrics are weird enough that they pull me out of the experience ("Check my swag, my afro still nappy" and "My sword will slice the nipples off your breast, something something something / Chest inflation, then I put his lungs up for donation / My eyes closed but my third eye's swollen / I'm thinking too hard about Jedi mind controlling").

Fortunately, "Bloody Samurai" is so good it practically erases "Nappy Afro" from existence.  Black Knights and Dexter Wiggles rap fast verses about drug dealing, gentrification and spreading knowledge through hip-hop between hooks by Thea Van Seijen, all over an urgent beat by RZA with strings and plucked electric guitar.  I was bummed that "Dead Birds" shares nothing with its predecessor "Dead Birds" on RZA's Ghost Dog score, and Killah Priest's verse isn't his strongest, but Prodigal Sunn gets past the loud raucousness of the track and almost saves it.

The third track that doesn't quite stand up to the rest is "Arch Nemesis" by Ace and Moe Roc.  It's not shitty by any means, but it just doesn't have the oomph or energy that the rest of the album bursts with.  Again, fortunately it's followed by the excellent "Brother's Keeper" by Rev. William Burke and RZA.  RZA gets in his best-balanced verse of the album, about brothers and the spiritual flow of hip-hop over what can only be described as industrial drums.

"Blessed be the meek, if we strivin' to be meeker
Plus we flow together like the mic through the speaker
Through good times and bad times, happy and sad times
Any time, all the time, until we reach a flatline
Link like medallions to cables, mixers to turntables
Never turn on each other like Cain did to Abel."

Ace and Moe Roc fare much better on "Yellow Jackets" backed by quiet jazz/rap drums and subtly strummed guitar, before "Take the Sword Pt. III" (which follows the first two parts on Afro Samurai's first season).  The crazy thing about "Sword" is that it's a full 10 minutes, featuring full verses from 60 Second Assassin, Leggezin, Tre Erie, Crisis, Christ Bearer, RZA, Rugged Monk, Beretta 9 and Reverend William Burke.  The breakdown there is that 60 Second Assassin dates back to the first Cuban Linx, Christ Bearer's legacy will now be that he cut off his dick with a steak knife, Beretta 9 has guested several times in the past on other Wu projects (including RZA's most listenable solo record, Digital Bullet).  It's also the longest rap track I've personally heard, and it never really gets old.  I'm a sucker for long/"epic" music so this is pretty exciting to hear.  I've always wondered why songs with so many verses get cut so short and I'd be interested in having a long track that breathes like "Take the Sword Pt. III" at least once every few rap albums.

Resurrection closes with "Number One Samurai," RZA's track for the end credits of each episode.  He shares verse and hook duty with Killarmy's 9th Prince (previously heard on "Fuck What You Think" from Bobby Digital in Stereo).  It's got chunky drums, sampled suspense violin and piqued vocals, one of the most Wu-sounding tracks on the record.  It's an awesome close to an awesome album that barely stumbles during its one-hour run.

Legacy:  Afro Samurai Resurrection is at least RZA's third full soundtrack (fourth if you count his score for Unleashed) following Ghost Dog and the first Afro.  It was astonishingly poorly received, earning a 4.2 out of 10 from Pitchfork, who spend plenty of time complaining that the dialogue snippets don't explain enough of the show's plot and making digs about RZA involving Russell Crowe in his upcoming The Man with the Iron Fists, both of which apparently affect the music here somehow?  This type of comment is pretty typical of Pitchfork, though; as they once hated a latter-day Weezer album so much they pondered if it retroactively made Pinkerton a weaker album like some kind of time-traveling killjoy.  In terms of the Map of Shaolin, Resurrection (which I think is pretty damn listenable) has some stiff competition for the year of 2009:  U-God bounced back from Mr. Xcitement with the much more palatable (if not perfect) Dopium, Raekwon was on the verge of finishing Cuban Linx Pt. 2 and Wu also released their first compilation with The Revelations, Wu-Tang: Chamber Music.

Recommended Tracks:  You Already Know, Whar, Bloody Samurai, Number One Samurai.

Step Forty Four: GZA: Pro Tools.

Artist:  GZA/Genius
Album:  Pro Tools
Release Date:  August 19, 2008
Producers:  Bronze Nazareth, Arabian Knight, RZA, et al.

Review:  At this point I'd be a lot more surprised if GZA's lyrics weren't above and beyond rather than being as compelling and diverse as they always are.  He's set a high bar for himself that he nearly always meets and seldom barely misses, and it's the same result here as we've come to expect.  I definitely have my favorite verses compared to others (which I'll get into in a bit), but worried fans can rest assured that as of this album - GZA's latest solo effort, released in 2008 - The Genius still hasn't fallen off.

Overall, there are a lot of questions to answer.  Does RZA produce at all?  Yes, two tracks:  "Paper Plate" and "Life is a Movie."  Any guest spots by Wu affiliates?  Indeed.  Masta Killa and RZA guest star on the first proper song ("Pencil") while True Master guests on the mic on "Colombian Ties" and RZA returns for "Life is a Movie" - GZA's son Justice Kareem also appears on "Cinema" and "Groundbreaking."  Is there the staple category/list track?  Hell yes there is.  Five for five, GZA uses car names to tell a street story on "0% Finance" on Pro Tools.  This gimmick started with naming record labels on "Labels" from Liquid Swords, magazines on "Publicity" from Beneath the Surface, celebs on Legend of the Liquid Swords' "Fame" and, most recently before Pro Tools, "Queen's Gambit" on Grandmasters ran through a gamut of NFL team names.  Are there any major red flags on the album like Beneath the Surface's lukewarm experience or Legend of the Liquid Sword's self-censored profanity?  No; it's a really solid release besides one caveat with some of the music.

See, the music is solidly produced in plenty of places (see highlights below), but - likely owing to Pro Tools, the software after which the album is named - it just barely has a "too cleanly separated" or sterilized feel that persists through much of the record.  It's not as grimy or chunky in most places as you'd hope, especially since that dirtiness has largely stuck with the Wu in one form or another over the years (as closely as Fishscale and More Fish before it and Dopium afterwards).

Wu-producer Mathematics sets up the three Wu emcees who appear on the album with "Pencil," a lively beat with pitch-raised vocal samples and fast and smooth delivery by GZA, Masta Killa and RZA.  Definitely a solid latter-day Wu sound, the only hiccup "Pencil" has is its strange balance of verses:  GZA raps for about 45 seconds, Masta Killa another 30 then RZA for a full two minutes.  They all kill it, but I'd have loved to have heard a solid 60-second or minute and 15 verse from each of the Wu generals.

"Alphabets" (produced by fellow Wu-affiliate True Master) is the most immediately recognizable beat on the album as being a Wu-Tang-related track.  It's piqued drum loop and soulful guitar could've come from the Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style and Ghost Dog era 10 years before it.  GZA's hook is mighty clever as well, successfully implementing in order all 26 words assigned to the alphabet in Islam's "Supreme Alphabet."  In the Supreme Alphabet, the culture of the Nation of Islam assigns one or two words to represent each letter.  D is for Divine, Z is for Zig-Zag-Zig (the journey from knowledge to wisdom to understanding), etc.  Here's what I mean (check the capital letters for the alphabet, and the Supreme Alphabet's wiki page for its representations and differences between cultural Islam and religious Islam):

"Allah Be or Born, Cee Divine Equality
Father, then after that comes the G-o-d
He or her, I islam, then Justice
King of kingdom, Love hell or right, we still exist
Master, Now in cipher*, Power's the Queen
Rule or rulers, Self or savior, the Truth or the square, the same
Universe, Victory, unknown*, [Why/Y]
Zig-Zag-Zig and now we're back home."

*  In the Supreme Alphabet, O stands for "cipher" or a complete circle and X stands for the unknown, so although GZA doesn't offer words that start with those letters, he still represents them properly in "Alphabets."

Looking at the Supreme Alphabet, you also learn that R stands for Ruler, Z for Zig-Zag-Zig and A for Allah, hence why RZA uses one, two or all three words to refer to himself in the third person ("Ruler Zig-Zag-Zig Allah").  Also, C stands for its phonetic "see" (or to have vision) but its word is spelled Cee; L is "Love Hell or Right" which is similar to saying "Love, come Hell or high water."  I personally am not religious (nor an Asiatic black man as the Wu-Tang say their Five Percent Nation of Islam represents), but I still find the assignment and re-appropriation of symbols to the alphabet interesting.  If nothing else, it took three paragraphs of cultural/philosophical/religious discussion to unravel just one chorus on one of this album's 16 songs, so kudos to GZA for getting us talking.

"Groundbreaking" includes a guest spot by GZA's son, Justice Kareem (aka Young Justice) and is the first in some time to be produced by Bronze Nazareth, not to mention a hook that references the classic Raekwon track "Wu-Gambinos" ("I call my brother [Son/sun] 'cuz he shine like one").

On to the extended metaphor track, "0% Finance" talks about people from around the way, using car names to tell the tale.  Check the bold words.  "Had a strong accent, but a beard like Lincoln / He hated the golf course but he loved drinkin' [...]  He wore blazers where he used to hide the Ruger / For encounters with the Jaguars and the cougars."

RZA produces "Paper Plate," but don't jump the gun - this isn't "4th Chamber."  What it is is an effective blend of one-chord keyboards and straightforward staccato percussion that, together, remind me of "Flying Birds" and "Dead Birds" from RZA's Ghost Dog score.  It's a bit hindered by the clean/separated sound I mentioned earlier, but still a beat you enjoy.  The other side of this track is GZA's rap, which is a diss against 50 Cent and G-Unit.  If this sounds familiar, it's because the Wu-Tang vs. G-Unit feud dates back to Ghostface's Supreme Clientele eight years earlier when a voice-disguised Raekwon called out 50 on the skit "Clyde Smith."  GZA opens with a nod to 50 Cent's friendship with Floyd Mayweather Jr., then takes advantage of Floyd's boxing career to set up a pugilistic insult, saying that 50 "got a few hooks but no jabs."  In boxing a hook is a type of punch and a jab is another - the jab being the foundation of boxing itself - and in rap a hook is a chorus.  So 50 has a few catchy choruses but no effective or damaging verses.  That's a damn good metaphor using the same word used by both industries.

GZA goes on to talk a lot of well-informed shit about 50 Cent and G-Unit.  First, he says "Never try to play the hottest one out your camp / He might step off and take half the juice from your amp," which is a reference to 50 Cent having a falling out with one of G-Unit's rappers, The Game.  After their friendship ended, G-Unit noticeably dipped in quality (thanks to Rap Genius for the info).  Later he spits "I step on your 'gators and lizards / Raise the lynx that was killed for your minks, you be rockin' them blizzards."  This first line means GZA steps on (or disrespects) 50's alligator- and lizard-skinned, overpriced shoes.  50 is notorious for his fashion and material obsessions.  GZA follows it with the line about the lynx, which is a wild cat whose hide is used for fur coats, saying he'll "raise" it - whether in intelligence, away from being a slaughtered beast; or raise it literally, saying that the clothes 50 wears are a result of GZA's hard work (50 is stealing the NYC mobster image from early '90s Wu-Tang albums like Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... and using it to buy himself nice stuff).  So it's a warning from GZA that 50 will be left out in the cold, literally or metaphorically, for being shallow and commercial and not recognizing the predecessors to whom he owes much of his fame.

The rest of the album holds its own, but it's hard to get over such a crazy track as "Paper Plate."  GZA steps back and lets Ka do three verses on "Firehouse," but he returns on "Path of Destruction" to rock rhymes like "Heavy as the hammer of Thor / You know he suffer from the consequences of broken vows and law."  RZA produces the proper closer "Life is a Movie" and lends his voice to do plenty of rhyming along with GZA.  The music is very unlike RZA's usual forte past or present, but it works wonders.  Charging, energetic, action-film drums give the track some drive but the fuzzy electric bass and keyboard strings really rile things up.  It's hard to explain but easy to listen to.  The final song on the album is a live track, "Elastic Audio."  It has a beat similar to "Pencil" but with more staccato strings, and GZA raps over it for about a minute and a half before the music cuts out and he rhymes from Grandmasters' "General Principles" a capella for several more minutes.

Legacy:  Pro Tools was generally well-received, although some criticized its lack of cohesion musically.  I can understand their opinions, since it doesn't have the airtight consistency of Liquid Swords or even Grandmasters, but I still think it sounds at least relatively cohesive.  Some of the music may be lacking in energy or soul or anger here or there, but Pro Tools is a good reminder of the quality of rhymes and music that the Wu-generals could still dig up from within at the time - which is a welcome thing indeed, as it was released between Digi Snacks and Blackout! 2, both of which were considerably more troubled than this record.

As of March 2015, GZA has yet to release his next solo album, although he's been said to have been working on his science-based album Dark Matter for the past several years.  A student at the University of Toronto captured the end of GZA's lecture on consciousness and the universe's origins on a cell phone, in which he read lyrics from a song intended for Dark Matter about the Big Bang.  Check this link but be wary of the accompanying in-video lyrics whose accuracy is questionable.

Recommended Tracks:  Alphabets, Paper Plate, Path of Destruction, Life is a Movie.

Step Forty Three: RZA as Bobby Digital: Digi Snacks.

Artist:  RZA as Bobby Digital
Album:  Digi Snacks
Release Date:  June 24, 2008
Producers:  RZA, David Banner, Che Vicious, King Tech, et al.

Review:  It's no secret that I'm not too excited by RZA's alter-ego Bobby Digital.  RZA is one of the best music producers on the planet and his lyrics (while rapping as RZA) are fascinating and brilliant trips through biology, metaphysics, religion, philosophy and New York life on the streets.  When he puts out an album as Bobby Digital, he spends time sleeping with as many women as possible and doing as many drugs as he can to put himself in the hedonistic perspective that Bobby lives.  The beats often lose their luster and RZA rhymes as dirty as Ghostface or Ol' Dirty Bastard do in their own most sex-obsessed songs.  I always feel like he isn't living to the full potential that The Abbott of the Wu-Tang Clan has to offer.  But let's go through it as thoroughly as possible.

"Digi Snacks Intro" has some thick, murky Wu-style drum loops and "Long Time Coming" has a cleaner and more electronic-focused sound but is an enjoyable track overall.  RZA saves Bobby's usual obsessions with blunts and honeys for elsewhere on the album, focusing here on the devil's tricks and other contemplations on how to live, spoken over a dark piano loop to lend emotional weight to the song.  "You Can't Stop Me Now" follows, with quiet blaxploitation funk (curious electric bass and wah-wah guitar) and an appearance by Inspectah Deck.  All in all, the first three tracks are a great start to the album.  The lyrics are nothing to scoff at either; RZA talks about the how and why of starting Wu-Tang in 1993 on "You Can't Stop Me Now" after busting solid lyrics on "Long Time Coming" like "The great mind surpass space and time / Seven planes of energy interlace, combine / Five conscious stages, stand up courageous / Change your polarity and seek mental clarity."

Which makes it so frustrating when the senseless tune "Straight Up the Block" comes after "You Can't Stop Me Now."  David Banner's spastic hi-hat over slow crunk beat belongs on some third-tier flavor of the week rap, not even in the same state as the Wu.  RZA's lyrics don't save it here either:  "Who got the biggest dick? / Who got the fattest whip? / Who got the baddest bitch? / Who got the fullest clip?"

Next, Dexter Wiggles does the hook for "Booby Trap," faring better than he did on 8 Diagrams' "Unpredictable."  RZA is also on his game here, recovering from the previous track with a murky beat and sci-fi reference lines like "I lounge like a hungry jaguar into agua / Trying to catch a fish that multiplies like the Mogwai / Pocket fat be Jabba the Hutt, Clan gallops up / Feel The Force of my steel but you can't count the caliber."

Unfortunately, several more weak tracks follow.  The Che Vicious-produced "Try Ya Ya Ya" doesn't do anything for the album, and "Good Night" is a forgettable song with some shitty lyrics about getting laid - RZA promises "In your Atlantic abyss, I'm gonna sink my Titanic" and guest Crisis talks about a girl's ass "that make you cum fast like Porches."  Really?

There's a small bounce-back on "Money Don't Own Me" with a modest and resonating sung hook by Tru James and passable lyrics from RZA, Monk and Christ Bearer (recently made infamous for cutting off his own penis before trying to commit suicide).  It offers a mysterious beat that never wears out its welcome, with strummed guitar and a curious bassline.  Not the best track on the whole record, but definitely enjoyable.

I hate to say there's little good to say about the second half of the album.  The brightest point is that Thea Van Seijen appears throughout the album to varying degrees of success.  She showcases her voice brilliantly on "Drama," over minimal drums and a descending progression of piano chords.  RZA and Monk rap about poverty and the ghetto, but Thea is the real star here.

But after that (track 11 out of 16), it's mostly downhill.  "Up Again" sounds like it would've (or should've) ended up on the cutting room floor; "Put Your Guns Down" is produced by The Bad Parts and they earn their name and then some with piqued lyrics, an awkward hook, muffled music and a forgettable beat.  "Love is Digi Pt. II" lacks energy and the vocals show it.  RZA's despondent, slow piano is kinda cool but overall the track needs some oomph somewhere and never finds it, especially with lackluster rhymes like "Park the whip, then dismount it / 40 ounce?  Yeah, I down 'em / Shorties drowns in pools of love / With these ounces I be loungin'" and "Purple kush buy the bush / Dick is curved like Nike Swoosh / Push push in this bush / Guaranteed to make her shush."  It was actually hard for me to keep going through "O Day" and the hidden track "Don't Be Afraid," but I did solely for the sake of completing the album for review.  And no, they don't fix the wanting second half of Digi Snacks.

On the whole, it's sub-par at best.  There are some standout tracks on the first half, but the second half crashes and burns in what sound like demos, leftovers and silliness.  I opened this review talking about other Bobby Digital albums and I'm sorry to say there are only about as many decent songs as on Bobby Digital in Stereo.  Maybe if you took the best tracks from that album and the best ones from here, it would be a pretty good ten-song 40-minute record and you could forget the remaining 25 or so tracks that span the rest of them.

Legacy:  It's been nearly seven years since Digi Snacks and RZA hasn't put out another solo album.  He still produces great records and comes up with very solid lyrics for Wu-Tang albums, but where the Hell is that solo record that fulfills the promise made by tracks like "Samurai Showdown" from Ghost Dog and "Sunlight" from 8 Diagrams?  It's a shame to say Digi Snacks couldn't come at a worse time - 8 Diagrams received mixed reviews as did the next several steps on the Map of Shaolin.  In terms of what's coming up, I've heard plenty of shade thrown at GZA's Pro Tools (although I'll share my thoughts on it next week), and Method and Red's Blackout 2 is a very hit-or-miss record.  The Wu compilation Wu-Tang Chamber Music that released just a month after Blackout 2 also caught some flak for, some argue, marketing itself as a Wu-Tang record when it's more a showcase of The Revelations and Wu-related artists.  All said and done, Digi Snacks comes six releases (and a full 15 months) before the next inarguable smash hit in the Wu oeuvre, Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt. 2.

Recommended Tracks:  Long Time Coming, You Can't Stop Me Now, Booby Trap, Money Don't Own Me.

Step Forty Two: Wu-Tang Clan: 8 Diagrams.

Limited Edition Pictured.

Artist:  Wu-Tang Clan
Album:  8 Diagrams
Release Date:  December 11, 2007
Producers:  RZA, George Drakoulias, Easy Mo Bee, Mathematics.

Review:  8 Diagrams is a really divisive album.  Aside from being the first Wu album since Iron Flag five years before (and the first album since ODB's passing), a lot of fans didn't feel it.  RZA's shift towards using live instruments more often than in the past was a gamble and a change from what fans had come to expect and love about Wu-Tang.  On the other hand, there are some really awesome songs on it.  Like most of the other full-band releases, we'll be looking at 8 Diagrams on a nearly track-by-track basis

"Campfire" has a chunky fat beat that really rocks and intros the album right with verses by Method Man, Ghostface and Cappadonna.  After that, Raekwon, Inspectah Deck and U-God bring their first verses of the album on "Take It Back."  Maybe the first speedbump on the album is the sleepy "Get Them Out Ya Way Pa," which relies on a basic drum loop and a slow bassline to get it through its four minutes - which is not to detract from any of the lyrics, which are as pop culture and street-oriented as ever.  Says U-God, "Producers know him as The Kid with the Iron Palm / Righteous hammer, examine the firearm / Approach or get fired on, permanent chest scar / Empire Strikes Back, check out the Death Star."

The album bounces back with "Rushing Elephants," using live strings to highlight a fierce backing track for Raekwon, GZA, RZA and Masta Killa.  GZA's lyrics are as brilliant as ever, utilizing nods to science and medicine throughout his verse.  "We criticize producers 'til they joints are right / Then acupuncture tracks with pinpoints of light."

"Unpredictable" suffers from an awkward hook sung by Dexter Wiggles.  With a pitch-dropped vocal track running simultaneously and its unfiltered counterpart over the otherwise high-energy blaxploitation funk, it's an odd fit.  Luckily it's soon brushed aside by "The Heart Gently Weeps," an interpolation of The Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," that features an impressive roster of guests.  Erykah Badu sings the hook (and, of course, she slays it), John Frusciante of Red Hot Chili Peppers plays lead guitar and George Harrison's son Dhani plays rhythm guitar.  It's an experiment that pays off well, with smooth verses by Raekwon, Ghostface and Method Man.  Strangely, this is the last track on which Ghostface appears for the whole record.  The next eight songs proceed without him.

Like "Unpredictable," "Wolves" has some uptempo music with a strange hook.  Handclaps, acoustic guitar and whistling get the track pumping, but the hook (sung by the legendary George Clinton) just feels a bit odd.  "The fox he's kinda foxy / Mr. Wolf he's the guy who chased Red through the woods and ate Grandma / But a dog is a dog is a dog is a dog, unlike the wolf, who made a widower of Grandpa."  Masta Killa brings some fascinating rhymes to the table here:  "I write when the energy's right, to spark friction / DJ cuttin' it, spinning it back, mixin' / Great pop knock tickin', poetry description."  But unlike "Unpredictable," whose hook tends to overpower the verses for me, "Wolves" is an easy track to get past the bizarre chorus and enjoy some sweet lyrics.

I'm also a big fan of "Gun Will Go," with its Nancy Sinatra-esque electric guitar and relaxed verses.  As far as sung hooks go, it's also a big hit, Sunny Valentine seeming to take his role quite seriously.  Again, Masta Killa brings some confident and ponderous words to the party:  "You mean like Ewing at the front of the rim, finger roll a Dutch / Million dollar stages touched, techs, gauges bust / Trust no one, lone shogun, rugged Timb' boot stomper / Damaging lyrical mass destruction launcher."

"Sunlight" sees RZA at his most despondent, going off on a nearly stream-of-consciousness tangent about nature, poverty and Islam over a sad and down-tempo track.  "The answer to all questions, the spark of all suggestions / Of righteousness, the pathway to the road of perfection."  It's heady stuff, but something about it adds up together for an enjoyable listen.  Gerald Alston provides an excellent hook on "Stick Me for My Riches," shouting with soul and bravado between Wu verses.

Sunny Valentine returns on "Starter," on which a simple horn loop and deep, bassy drum machine set the stage for Streetlife, GZA, Inspectah Deck and U-God to rap about their favorite girlfriends.  The music sounds like it came from RZA's Afro Samurai sessions, aside from the bass which is performed by Shavo from System of a Down.

Just when it seems that RZA doesn't have any more tricks up his sleeve, "Windmill" brings a sample from Nancy Sinatra's "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" and live guitars by John Frusciante.  GZA returns again (only his third track out of 12 so far) and brings his dynamic viewpoint back with him:  "Math shed light on divine secrets, then science leaked it / For the lower level creatures that can't peep it / I observe emcees regardless / From a neighboring world that's 10 times the sharpness."  Masta Killa, seeming more and more like a good partner for GZA with each track, responds:  "Infinity, back to the source of which it came / Energy, see it change forms, atoms being born, never ending."

"Weak Spot" is a good foreshadowing for some of the A Better Tomorrow tracks, especially "Necklace," using a kung-fu sample for its hook along with serious-sounding music (here a two-chord string and horn combo), but it's not my favorite track on the album.  After such a rollercoaster of tempos and moods and styles, "Weak Spot" is almost too much.

The album closes with a seven-minute tribute to Ol' Dirty Bastard, "Life Changes."  Every emcee in the group (aside from a curiously missing Ghostface Killah) offers verses about Dirt's passing and their emotions surrounding his death.  It's a somber track with descending piano chords and a hook that samples Freda Payne.

Legacy:  Both Ghostface and Raekwon expressed their dissatisfaction with 8 Diagrams, leading to a serious rift between them and RZA that would last until Wu-Tang's next album, A Better Tomorrow, was mostly finished without Raekwon.  In the summer of 2014, they made amends and managed to fit Raekwon on several tracks, but it's clear that many of his performances were shoehorned in at the last minute.  It all stemmed from this album.  Personally I think it's a musically diverse and lyrically excellent album, with only a few hiccups ("Unpredictable" and "Weak Spot" not sticking out nearly as much as other album highlights).  Despite being all over the place, it still sounds more focused in the big picture and more listenable than Iron Flag.  As the group's first outing since ODB passed, it also sounds more mature and somber than most of their work.  Here's a look at who showed up and how often.

Method Man:  Eight verses, one hook
Raekwon:  Seven verses, one hook
GZA:  Six verses
Masta Killah:  Six verses
RZA:  Five verses, one hook
U-God:  Five verses, one hook
Inspectah Deck:  Five verses
Ghostface Killah:  Three verses, one hook

Recommended Tracks:  The Heart Gently Weeps, Windmill, Gun Will Go.

Quick Review: Ghostface Killah & BADBADNOTGOOD: Sour Soul.

Artists:  Ghostface Killah and BADBADNOTGOOD
Album:  Sour Soul
Producer:  Frank Dukes
Release Date:  February 24, 2015

Quick Review:  Since starting the Map of Shaolin, I decided to add quick placeholder reviews or blog entries in whenever a new album by Wu-Tang (or one of the Wu generals) releases so as not to ignore new albums until I get to them on the Map (eg this summer/fall when I get to them properly).  So, after Wu-Tang's A Better Tomorrow and Ghostface's 36 Seasons, Sour Soul is the third such album to step in.

And what an album it is.  I'll admit, my only previous exposure to BADBADNOTGOOD (the live jazz/hip-hop act from Canada who supply the music on this record) is their killer remix of "Guv'nor" on JJ DOOM's Key to the Kuffs (Butter Edition), which sounds nothing like their music on Sour Soul.  Here they use live instruments to emulate '60s and '70s music that would find a fitting home in Tarantino's Jackie Brown.  The retro and often spooky music (eg "Six Degrees") provides a compelling and ear-catching backdrop that, unlike some of hip-hop's more "loops and drum machines" reliant tunes, never gets repetitive.  Sometimes, as the guitar approaches a subdued surf-rock tone, it even approaches sounding like a David Lynch / Angelo Badalamenti composition ("Gunshowers" or "Tone's Rap").  But it all serves as a solid counterpart to Ghostface and guests' emceeing.

And, surprising no one, the rapping is all on point.  Ghostface opens up "Gunshowers" (one of the album highlights) with "Simple minds get blown, shattered into pieces / My thesis is thick like the Book of Eli / We live, we die, we put 'em in the sky / Free your mind that's a slave like the Fourth of July."  On that same track, guest Elzhi stands confident and says "'Cuz every meek head that speak street cred ain't banging heat lead / And probably cut like sweet bread wetting they sheet beds."  Other album highlights include "Street Knowledge" featuring Tree and "Ray Gun" featuring DOOM (which also has an amazing video you can see here).

By now it's no surprise that GFK's hip-hop goes so well with live (or at least live-sounding) instruments; this is his third album in as many years relying on a full band sound.  Although there were early hints of Ghost leaning towards using more musicians as early as The Big Doe Rehab ("Rec-Room Therapy" especially), it wasn't until 2013's Twelve Reasons to Die that Ghost paired with producer and Black Dynamite composer Adrian Younge for a much cleaner and more straightforward musical approach.  Then, last year, Ghost released 36 Seasons, the music for which was performed and produced by The Revelations (a live Brooklyn band RZA discovered to perform on the Wu compilations Chamber Music and Legendary Weapons).  Sour Soul, then, feels like a good third act to a trilogy of enjoyable "rap and live music" albums that remind one of The Roots.

If there's a problem with Sour Soul, it's that it's just too short.  There are 12 tracks, but three of them are brief instrumentals, leaving just nine songs for Ghostface and Co. to rap over.  Even padded out with these instrumentals, the entire album only clocks in at 32 minutes.  It's by no means a waste of money - because it just sounds so damn good - but for your $11 plus S&H, it would be nice to have three or four more songs on board.

Expect more on Sour Soul this fall on the Map of Shaolin, and look forward to our retrospective on Wu-Tang's 8 Diagrams - a really divisive record for fans and the Wu themselves - in just 48 hours!