Album: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. 2
Producers: RZA, Icewater Productions, J-Dilla, etc.
Release Date: September 8, 2009
Review: If you slept on Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. 2, go cop it right now, come back and read this review. I'll wait.
Ok, now that your Wu catalog is one album richer, let's talk about this return to form, which is one of the greatest recent Wu-family releases. Cuban Linx 2 was a long time in the making - when I saw Wu-Tang at the Hard Rock Live club in Orlando in 2005, Rae sported a t-shirt saying "CUBAN LINX 2 - COMING 2006," although the album was released in fall 2009. Reasons for this included producers and performers coming in and dropping out, leaked tracks, sample clearance, other projects and the rest of the usual gamut of delays that plague hip-hop. In the end, though, is it worth the wait?
Good God yes.
Cuban Linx 2 starts with "House of Flying Daggers." Inspectah Deck rocks the first verse, opening with "I pop off like a mobster boss / Angel hair with the lobster sauce." Deck actually sticks with the same final three syllables in rhyme his entire verse, which is pretty amazing. He rhymes mobster boss, lobster sauce, top the scorch, dropped the Porsche, watch the force, lock my source etc. Raekwon, Ghostface Killah and Method Man all follow with hot verses - Meth especially kills it with lines like "Don't get it twisted, we twist it up and even mixed with dust / See these fans can't resist the rush / They Wu-Tang for life / Scarred for life they can't forget the cuts." All this is done over a phat beat from J-Dilla, who gave all his beats for the album to Raekwon before his unfortunate death in 2006 of a rare blood disease.
After such a killer four minutes, we get a breather with the under-two-minute "Sonny's Missing" (with a mafioso beat by Pete Rock) and the 54-second "Pyrex Vision," produced by the legendary Marley Marl. Both tracks lean more towards a modern gangster feel than the kung-fu-sampling "House of Flying Daggers," which evokes classic Wu, but it's an effective time jump from martial arts to street warfare. Rae takes his time getting back into "Cold Outside," with a lovely and soulful hook by Suga Bang (whose name you may recognize from the soundtracks for Ghost Dog and Afro Samurai). Ghost raps a lament about a girl from around the way who's hooked on drugs, backed by a dramatic beat by Icewater Productions.
RZA turns in his first beat on "Black Mozart," which also features a guest verse by Inspectah Deck. Deck is nearly as impressive here as he was on "House of Flying Daggers" - where that was a high-energy track, "Black Mozart" is slightly more laid-back with a mid-tempo beat and complex lead riff. Copying down some of the lyrics from Deck's verse, it may not sound as legendary as it sounds: "Borough-hopping, copping bricks, bags, burners and kicks / City slickers circling the strip working them tricks / Like Friday night cruise in the Coupe, new valor suit / Fruit-flavored kicks takin' flicks out in 40 Deuce / Farmer jeans hammer swing tucked in the loot." However, the way his flow bounces off the beat is some of the most fun to be had on this album - and that's saying a lot.
Next up is "Gihad," with a gorgeous beat by Necro. Rae gives us a verse about dealing; Ghost responds with a story about getting head from his son's girlfriend then getting caught. Ghost's verse is full of his trademark dirty-as-hell imagery ("Pyrex in one hand, large amount of grams in it rocked up / And she pregnant, my little man got her knocked up") but it's really funny for some reason.
The sheer enjoyment of the record definitely does not let up on RZA's "New Wu," with guest verses by Ghost and Meth. Meth also provides the hook, which could be the best hook on the record. Check it out.
"Tell a friend, it's that symbol again, the W
Comin' through, bust a shot on your block, give me a Soo
Get it right, all my chicks hold your tits, let's get it in
All my niggas take a toke off this weed, let it begin
(Here we go!) Yo, y'all already know what it do
Brand-new nigga back from the slums, it be the Wu
Throw ya W's up, back from the slums, it be the Wu."
Ghost references Qi-Gong meditation and middle linebacker Brian Urlacher for good measure, whereas Meth's verse isn't quite as solid as "House of Flying Daggers" but still damn good. Next up is "Penitentiary," with Rae and Ghost sharing a verse with the same camaraderie they've had since the first Cuban Linx. Much like "Sonny's Missing" and "Pyrex Vision," there's a one-two punch of short and sweet tracks with "Penitentiary" and "Baggin' Crack" (each under two minutes if you cut the short skit at the beginning of "Penitentiary"). Rae's lyrics are tight for both, but especially in "Baggin' Crack." "Choppin' like a lumberjack, up in the gate / One plate, a rock on the table, movin' that flake."
My play-by-play of the album breaks its streak with "Surgical Gloves" and "Broken Safety." Both are good tracks and give us another breather, this time for the middle of the album, but I don't have much to say about them. "Canal Street" has one of the most dramatic beats on the record, with nearly-monotone horns and a steady tempo, and some of Rae's lyrics are as visual as they are visceral: "YSL frames in the rain, Marvin Gaye on / Goose bubbles on, stuck in the huddle tryin' to transform / Every gram action into a sandstorm." In other words, wearing Yves Saint-Laurent glasses and listening to Marvin Gaye while hanging out in goose bubble jackets, talking with his boys trying to turn tiny amounts of drug-selling into an empire (trying to transform every gram action into a sandstorm).
On the other hand, "Ason Jones" is a sweet tribute to the late Ol' Dirty Bastard, who had died five years before the release of Cuban Linx 2. Rae blesses ODB with lines like "He had a heart of gold, intelligent soul from day one" and "Knowledge of self, good health / Fortunes that came with the game had my brother insane / It's like wealth ain't enough to live for / But if you got love in your heart, just believe in yourself." It's sincere, heartfelt and a great start to the final third of the album.
Blue Raspberry, who guested extensively on Cuban Linx 1, returns for "Have Mercy." It has a cool, subdued beat with verses by Beanie Siegel and Raekwon, followed by "10 Bricks" - another J-Dilla beat with Ghost and Cappadonna. It's the type of music that would be comfortable on Masta Killa's No Said Date, with two-tone twangy guitar and horns. Good stuff, but not my favorite on the record.
"Fat Lady Sings" is the fifth short-but-sweet song on the record, which takes as much time to get started (over a full minute) as it does to run its course (another single minute). RZA produces, but it's an understated and sneaky sound creeping under Rae's verse. "Catalina" follows, with a great California beat by Dr. Dre that sounds as Hispanic-influenced as RZA's "La Rhumba" from Digital Bullet. The sound is all sunset with shades and a good buzz on, driving near the beach with the top down.
Next up is "We Will Rob You," based on - no surprises here - "We Will Rock You" (although it also heavily samples Bobby Womack's "Across 110th Street"). Slick Rick guest stars, but only for the intro and hook. GZA and Masta Killa provide guest verses over this sick beat by Allah Justice. Masta Killa opens his verse quoting from "Incarcerated Scarfaces" ("My clan run from Japan to Atlanta with stamina"), but the real hero is that beat. The same could be said for "About Me," Rae's collaboration with Busta Rhymes produced by Dr. Dre. It's a simple but solid kick, snare, kick-kick-snare drum loop with two-chord piano and swelling last couple of beats, and both emcees hold their own. Rae offers tongue-twisters like "Politics, pop collars and drive violent whips / Stay fly, hungry and wise, you know the code - honor it." Busta gets in some good rhymes too, like "Here comes the lethal presentation / Taking you places you never been / Deadlier than the combination / Of coke and heroin."
Suga Bang kills his final guest spot, singing on "Mean Streets" and lending a real sense of urgency to this whistle-and-string-laden Allah Mathematics beat. Rae ducks and weaves around the beat like a boxer with his rhymes, and Deck and Ghost return to slay the listener yet again, in case there were any doubts about their abilities on this record.
The album ends properly with "Kiss the Ring," which brilliantly makes use of the chorus from Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and the intro to "New Wu" earlier on this record. Much like the first Cuban Linx, the album ends with a confident and relaxed "end credits" type song, with Masta Killa summarizing the album (and faring much, much better than he did on "We Will Rob You"). It's a hell of a way to end a hell of an album, and by the end you'll get the feeling like you've been on such a large-scale adventure you'll want to start it back up immediately and go through it one more time.
Do yourself a favor and do just that.
Legacy: Even the bitterest naysayers of post-Forever Wu-Tang always concede that Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. 2 is just about as good as any mid-1990s Wu gems. Most critics agreed, with the album scoring seriously high marks. Raekwon took his time to construct an incredible trip across 22 tracks of relentless New York hip-hop, sounding more polished and less grimy than its namesake but still damn near as outstanding. It's got a AAA-roster of guests, including virtually every Wu general (except U-God) and legends like Marley Marl, Slick Rick, Busta Rhymes, Dr. Dre and J-Dilla. It's a shame his collaboration with Nas didn't make the final cut, but with an album this good, any shortcomings or omissions are easy to overlook. Rae's next effort would be Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang, which is yet another great Raekwon record - although it's no Cuban Linx 1 or 2. 2009 was also a busy year for the Wu, with U-God's strong Dopium and the hit-or-miss Blackout! 2, but anybody who overlooked Cuban Linx 2 in the midst of these other releases is making a serious mistake. At the end of the day, it's one of the best arguments that Wu-Tang is forever - 14 years after the first Cuban Linx and Rae hasn't missed a beat.
Recommended Tracks: House of Flying Daggers, New Wu, Catalina, About Me, Kiss the Ring.
No comments:
Post a Comment