927 The Wu-Tang Clan - The W (2000) 

Studio album - Hip Hop

About the Act:

The Wu-Tang Clan, sometimes known as The Wu, are a hip-hop group, who could also be called a collective, of rappers. They have 9 members and one ex-member (deceased): RZA, GZA, Inspectah Dack, U-God, Gostface Killah, Method Man, Raekwon, Masta Killa, Cappadonna, and the late Ol' Dirty B*stard. They are an important East Coast rap band (they are from NY), and have been the launching pad for quite a few members as solo artists. They have been hugely influential and successful, having been hailed by Kris Ex of Rolling Stone as the best rap group ever. Or maybe that should be "eva".  They are named after a cheesy martial arts film, and deliberately bring martial arts mythology into their music.

They have created 8 studio albums. 

About the Album:

This was the third studio album by the group. There are enough of them, you would think, but the album also has guest appearances by Isaac Hayes, Redman, Nas, Busta Rhymes, Sneep Dogg and Junior Reid. There are also some sung female vocals, which I think must be Paulissa Moorman.

My History with this Album:

None

Review:

I'm finding these rap albums a challenge. Maybe its because I've heard a few now, maybe I'm starting to learn how to listen to them, but I didn't hate this album, in fact I liked bits of it.  I don't have the knowledge, or vocabulary to describe the rapping, it sounds like modern (as opposed to the slower 80s rap) to me. I can hear some of the words, and understand some of the ones I hear. It helps that there are effectively choruses, of repeated bit, sometimes even with hook lines. Lyrically, it's less "on the nose" than some gangsta rap, more varied in subject matter and outlook. Don't get me wrong, there is stuff about guns, shooting and killing, and about drugs, and about sexual stuff, and some macho bravado, but it's milder. I might even suggest there are fewer swear words than some rap albums. I particularly liked "Click Click", "Gravel Pit", and "Do You Really", and there are other tracks I would recognise if I heard them again.  

Musically, it's mostly backed by samples and drum beats, often samples from films (which sound like B-movies) and there is a looseness to this that I have come to expect. The tracks all run into each other with sometimes little vignettes between, and sometimes introductions that are different to the track itself, and the whole thing runs together. This is something I have come to expect as every rap album I have reviewed does the same. Sometimes it is musically irritating, especially when there is very boomy bass, and the overall flow of the album is quite jerky, switching speeds and tracks and feels quite abruptly and often.

So, I found it more varied, and less distasteful than some rap.

6/10

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/2WU4hhnp2kjPckmjqdL1RT

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJaQqb1_vqORfaRj1wvZ0CR3hsfDMsSwO

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_W