Artist: Raekwon
Album: The Tonight Show
Producer: DJ Fresh
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Review: Almost two years to the day after releasing Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang, Raekwon the Chef comes back with The Tonight Show, a short collaboration album with DJ Fresh. Clocking in at just 27 minutes (four of which are skits), it's a bit surprising that Rae enlisted so much help from guests here - Mean Doe Green appears on three of the songs; Sunny Valentine and Fashawn also each appear once. This leaves just three songs where The Chef appears totally dolo, but as long as it's banging, there's no real problem, right?
And the opener, "Culinary School," is really badass. It's as driven and engaging and mysterious as anything from Cuban Linx 2, specifically reminding me of tracks like "Sonny's Missing" or "New Wu." A melodic piano line (played identically on a backup bass) dances over a basic kick-kick-snare drum, but as keyboards come in to play along the same piano part and Rae busts F-bombs like shots, something about the song just picks you up and takes you for a ride. Mean Doe Green growls like U-God and brings it home, ending a near-perfect three minutes. The flow continues on "Mic Flips," with an equally energetic and engaging beat, while Raekwon takes his time getting to his verse but rapid-fires it once he gets there. "The resume's the rifle, my uniform's a trifle / Ha ha, I pull my burner out I'm goin' up on Michael / Whiz kid, high profile the model / Rep like the VS the Chef's got his hatchet on every bottle."
"Yin & Yang" slows it down for the first minute before interrupting itself and dropping an old '90s gangster beat. It and "So Much on Your Body" (definitely a sexy/club track) go by without hooking me as much as the first couple songs. "So Much" actually sounds like it belongs more on Immobilarity or The Lex Diamond Story than anything else. They're not shitty tracks, but they don't do much for me personally - no offense Rae!
"Double Dragon" brings it back with an infectious keyboard-and-guitar blues bit and a vocal sample behind Raekwon and Mean Doe Green, who go back and forth with solid verses. I like Raekwon's "Major unbalanced flavor / Neighbor, promotional navigator, throw tapes you're throwin' vapor." It's one of his quick rhymes that has that classic Rae style.
"Real Niggaz" is an all-around tight song. It's hard to pinpoint what sticks out about it but it's just a good listen. The last proper song is "Holes of Hell," and the beat and rhymes are also really good but it throws me off because - I don't know if it's my CD or the recording - it sounds so piqued it's hard to get past. I tried it on my surround sound (a Denon 5.1 setup) and on my headphones (Beats Solo HD's) and it's not one or the other. Damn.
Legacy: This came out and flew under the radar almost entirely - it's the first album on Map of Shaolin to not even have its own Wikipedia entry. Not that Wikipedia is a great source for trustworthy info, but since almost everything has a presence on it, it's just bizarre to see something without its own space. I didn't see any major reviews on it, and to date there are only six customer reviews on Amazon. All in all, a pretty quiet entry into Rae's discography.
So at the end of the day, The Tonight Show is pretty listenable for the most part but doesn't quite stand up to Rae's legendary albums like the Cuban Linx series or Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang. Short as it is, I enjoy it more than Immobilarity, but at such a brief runtime it's hard to look at it in the same light as those top-tier records or even his latest, Fly International Luxurious Art. However, if you're hungry for more Raekwon (as most of us are), this is a good place to get your fix. The really high-quality tracks just about even out with the less impressive ones, and we end with a good short record that really soars at its greatest heights and just coasts at sea level at its lowest. Give it a shot, but don't overpay.
Recommended Tracks: Culinary School, Mic Flips, Double Dragon.
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