beautifulrock's review of Shaolin vs Wu-Tang
Shaolin vs Wu-Tang: Everybody's a winner
It doesn't take long for Raekwon's big secret about Shaolin vs Wu-Tang to be exposed. On the very first track during a Kung-Fu skit, it is revealed that Shaolin and Wu-Tang are the same thing. Two sides of the same coin, if you will. With this revelation, Raekwon is letting us know that there is a street side to his music, as well as a Wu-Tang side, so entangled within his psyche, that the result of the two different mediums remains the same. At least that's what he wants us to believe.
In order to tell the story of Shaolin vs Wu-Tang properly, you need to venture back to 2007, nearing the release of the Clan's long awaited 8 Diagrams album. While wonderfully produced, and lyrically proficient, 8 Diagrams sparked a large amount of friction due to the "sound direction" RZA was going in. I originally assumed this meant that Rae didn't like Kill Bill Spaghetti Western influence that was loaded onto the album, but after listening to Shaolin vs Wu-Tang, it's obvious that isn't the case. So maybe Rae was mad at the fact that RZA tried to branch out and reach new audiences with Tracks like Unpredictable and The Heart Gently Weeps, but Rae tried to do the same thing with Rock N Roll. Or maybe Rae just didn't like the kind of audience RZA was trying to reach.
Whatever the case, shots were fired, the Abbot was exiled, and Rae declared that the production on the next Wu-Tang group album would fall in the hands of anyone but, RZA. (But he still could spit) It never happened. The album morphed into Raekwon's fifth solo attempt, with a spattering of Wu-Tang generals, incredible guest vocalists, and like he promised, no RZA in sight.
The album plays like a story, er two stories intertwined. The first is the Kung-Fu classic Shaolin vs Wu-Tang, in which rivals from two schools of Kung Fu become entwined in a vicious cycle of violence. In the opening of the album, this theme plays very heavily. The second story is Sergio Leone's conclusion to the man with no name trilogy, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly which closes out the second act of the album. Perhaps this is the subconscious shot that Rae wishes to fire at RZA (don't call me Robby), with the theme of the movie being a cutthroat quest for gold.
Raekwon's whole career is profiled musically within Shaolin vs Wu-Tang . There are two tracks reminiscent of the Wu-Tang classic era, three mafioso infused Cuban linx clones, four spaghetti western joints, a soul track, a commercial cut, and a host of Kung-Fu samplers, bathed in the modern Wu-Tang sound. Despite all this, the album draws strange parallels to the very album that Rae rejected, 8 Diagrams.
If you want to nitpick, there are a few small problems with the album and one big one. "No biggie" problems include mastering on Wu-Chant which is too loud and distorted, Raekwon making up words when the rhyme doesn't fit and playing it off as slang, and Ghostface and Nas repeating a "yellow" theme on back to back tracks.
But the biggest problem of all is Rock N Roll. It simply doesn't belong on the album. Besides being a source of tremendous hypocrisy for "anti-autotune" Rae, it transitions terribly with both songs it is sandwiched by and brings a well-paced album to a grinding halt. Crane Style is the softest song on the album, featuring an ambient backdrop. It comes off Snake Pond flawlessly melding the two songs so the listener barely notices the transition. Rock N Roll, on the other hand, is incredibly loud. It's also way too long on an album with the greatest number of swift darts I've ever witnessed on a Wu-Tang release and it caters to the kind of audience the Wu despises.
Despite these problems, Raekwon delivers something artistically that RZA could be proud of. With a strong theme that he, for the most part, sticks to, Raekwon takes you through the streets of Shaolin with rugged street tales and braggadocious posturing all with the Wu-Tang flag firmly planted in his harmonies. If a lesson could be learned from this, it's that no matter how far you travel, you're never that far away from family and home. His home being Shaolin, and his family Wu-Tang.
Shaolin vs Wu-Tang
First blood is drawn.
The album opens with an assault by one Kung-Fu school against another. Over a 3/4 time beat Raekwon spits a rhyme flow, jagged but smooth, in which he details his gear and jabs RZA at the end of his first verse "You hid the Wu manual, we found it". Scram Jones delivers again with another modern Wu-banger which is reminiscent of the opener of The Chef's last album, 'House of Flying Daggers'. The sample after Rae's verse is a huge moment of the album, with the samples doing the work of expressing Rae's thoughts...
"You two traitors!
You've mixed the Shaolin and Wu-Tang
No, we have not, it's just that they're the same
That's right, my Lord
You misunderstand how kung-fu works
It doesn't belong to anybody, IT EVOLVES!"
...clearly telling RZA, you don't own the Wu-Tang sound, anybody can do it.
Perfection in many ways, including the expansion of the Wu-Tang chronicle through Kung-Fu sample similar to Duel of the Iron Mic.
Every Soldier in the Hood
After the attack, comes the call to arms...
This is a digital beat. Erick Sermon funkdafies it, but with buzzing synthesizers and haunting echoes it just feels like a circa 2001 Bobby Digital beat. The only thing that gives it a modern feel, is that text message ringtone that pops up sporadically throughout the track.
The first slang alert of the night can be heard in the hook, in which Raekwon declares "keep your guns on swollen" which I imagine means "safety off".
Raekwon drops, "No fib and no bullshitting, the shines is forbidden
We like Crouching Tiger, you just a fucking kitten", while guest Method Man is on some "Plead your case, you ain't nice as son, I got the drive to win, so where you niggas get your license from? Bite an ear, Mike Tyson, uh, that means dough and my nose itch and coke fiends is blowing they noses. My team got C.R.E.A.M. and you know this, So nigga get yours, before the door to opportunity closes"
Silver Rings
The quest for gold...
Funk guitars and violins are layered on top of each other and form a two note repetitive loop that honestly can be a bit monotonous. (Sorry Cilvaringz) While one of the weaker offerings harmony wise, Rae and tag team partner Ghostface keep the listener interested by delivering on the mic.
In one of his more honest moments as an artist, Raekwon mentions an upcoming project with sincerity, "Cuban Linx III coming, don't know when, but the time is running" Not to be out-shined ever, Ghostface drops some serious jewels.
"Jumping out of planes for dough, Gucci parachutes
Abdul Raheem written across is the attribute"
"Stampede on 'em, Rap Playoffs got a three-nothing lead on 'em
Sparking emcees like we quoting our degrees on 'em"
Chop Chop Ninja
The assassination attempt...
Reviews for this track have been incredibly sporadic, from the worst track on the album to one of the best. I personally love it. Rae's vivid storytelling is some of his finest on the entire album, as he details an assassination attempt on himself in Park hills. The song transitions very well from Silver Rings and to Butter Knives, and Estelle's hook is utterly repeatable. I find myself singing "This is Shaolin, This is Shaolin, This is Shaolin, Shaolin, Shaolin" everywhere. Inspectah Deck's verse is more than adequate, but perhaps mastered in too low on the volume.
Butter Knives
Retaliation...
Late in 2010, Raekwon sent his fans into a ravenous frenzy when he dropped his street single "Butter Knives" on their unsuspecting asses. Bronze Nazareth creates a beat in the vein of the classic Wu-Tang sound with a simple minimalist harmony, Kung-Fu sound effect splices, and an absolutely head knocking drum kit. This is an instant classic.
Snake Pond
Intimidation...
Ghanaian producer Selasi was recruited by Raekwon to produce a track on his new album. Good look Rae. Oriental strings and throbbing bass are mixed perfectly in unison creating the optimal atmosphere for Raekwon to assert his dominance. He details a complex story which includes chasing someone frontin' up a tree, getting info through sexual favors, and chasing down a Brooklyn kid who commits suicide before Rae and his boys can get revenge.
The modern Wu-Tang sound has peaked it's head and the result is the consensus favorite song on Shaolin vs Wu-Tang.
Crane Style
Recuperation...
Ambient sounds dominate the backdrop, a belly dancer beat drives it along and Raekwon and Busta Rhymes take the opposite tone as the harmony by dropping brash amped up lyrics. This song makes a connection with another ambient Wu-Tang track, the 8 Diagrams, "Gun Will Go", also a soft track with dangerous lyrics.
I can't stress enough how well Butter Knives, Snake Pond, and Crane Style work together. They form a nice first act climax, which regrettably is brought to a screeching halt...
Rock N Roll
Work...
This is a case of Raekwon not sticking to his guns. Jim Jones is once again on the worst track of a Wu-Tang album, although his verse isn't nearly as bad as that on "Handcuffin' Them Hoes". Here he mixes in Classic Rock bands as metaphors a la GZA on Labels and many others. Unfortunately it's not enough to save this track complete with an autotune hook, something which Raekwon had admonished on Cuban Linx 2's "About Me", just a year and a half ago.
Rich and Black
Show of power...
And yellow apparently. This is in no way a knock against Nas, as he had no idea Rae would order his album so Ghost would spit the same motif just a song earlier. It's strange, but in no way an indictment of this song individually, but once again a reminder of why Rock N Roll is simply out of place.
Raekwon calls on Sean C & LV to once again provide him with a mafioso beat like the ones they shelled out for Cuban Linx 2. High violins and splashing cymbals give the song an epic feel, as act II opens on an incredibly high note. Easily would have fit right in on Cuban Linx 2.
"Rare nigga, I'm a wonder, your best success is my worst blunder
"You fire, I'm butane, gave the Timbs ostrich belts, these are the times that I surprise myself"
"I'm rich, black, umbrella calico captain, Wes Craven with a blade and a black/ From hood ornaments, junkies win awards in my tournaments"
I would be remissed if I didn't mention the dark transitional sample that concludes the end of the song. Sinister strings run while yet another Kung Fu sample plays over it. The theme once again dives into the secret of Wu-Tang, and the fact that the entire Clan protects it even when faced with the threat of death. Beat makes you wish it was an entire song.
From the Hills
Recreation...
This is where the album really begins to mimic the second half of 8 Diagrams. From the Hills follows a formula awfully similar to Stick Me For My Riches, with R+B crooner Raheem DeVaughn parodying the hook on Outkast's "Player's Ball". This combined with jazzy brash trumpets and sticks on the percussion makes for a smooth down south party jam. Meth is a monster on his guest appearances for this album:
"Reunited, another LP, we're all excited
That reckless eyeballing will get your girl indicted"
"Hands down, I can handle you, you half man, half animals
If you are what you eat, and eat pussy, you's a cannibal
And stopping me, is what you cannot do
Either get in the game, get out the way, or get ran right through
I ain't different Method Man like you"
Last Trip to Scotland
The movement...
As you are greeted by the swanky bass, mysterious brass and clanging percussion of this wonderfully original dynamic track, you can't help but feel like you are traveling on The Orient Express with shit about to go down. Raekwon and G-Unit's most talented emcee, Lloyd Banks come through with some impressive storytelling skills. It may be Rae's finest moment of the album, lyrically, and say what you want about G-Unit, but Banks separates himself from his crew by bringing actual talent and skill to the mic. He is fantastic here. Scram Jones provides the backdrop, with his third and final beat on the album. Slamming low notes from a Honky-Tonk piano form the bass line and give this song a Western feel.
"Son think he better than niggaz
I think his rebels is resentful
Tried to kill him in his rental"
"Metal exchanges, the hoods a gun range
Everybody's a target, depending on how you aim
Dice games and ice chains, pennants spellin' your name
OG's settin' the wrong example, tellin' the same
Look at Shorty Shit Stain, grew up to be a fuckin' mess before his clique came
He banged and never tucked his chest
Project full of them thangs he caught the gun connect
Ridin' round with A and Lou, Nino when they want respect
Son cold, Nino want to show
Everybody know they straight shippin' hood bitches to the bungalo
Pillow talking led to birds talking
Chattin' bout what happened and when and where they comin' back in
Champagne slackin' traffickin' while they travel
Word got back at old time friends and snakes rattled
Two different 'burbans but the one that dropped the birds got tailed
Information for the ones who light the steel got mill.
Pussy power made the plans sour
Apartment full of party powder outside a stakeout for hours
Click clacks from big gats and rags
soon as the door squeaks they runnin' up on the grass
BANG FLASH shots right on path, broken glass
Comedy of laughs while they haul ass with the bags
Legends in my hood play back
Twin Benz's whippin' in black
and that was like the old Maybach"
Ferry Boat Killaz
Scouting...
The Alchemist returns with another banger for Rae which combines a Harpsichord and Trumpets to form another mafioso-esque Cuban Linx joint. Raekwon is in his lyrical zone here, spitting his patented slang rap while describing his ghetto confrontations.
"One bling, two bling no, only Boeings
And trips to Australia, yo, my niggas is smoke fiends
Fucking every part of the planet, slam a forty with a salmon"
Dart School
Mentoring...
With a mash of the Spaghetti Western snake rattle, and 80's flossing sounds, (Think Dynasty) Dart School is another banger which refuses to stay within one genre. Rae is serious about expanding the Wu-sound, and the evolution of this track is a prime example of that.
Raekwon is back on that bling shit, mentoring a student on the gangster arts.
Molasses
Moving weight...
Perhaps the easiest way to recreate the classic Wu-Tang sound is to combine two classic Wu-Tang tracks. That's what producer Xtreme does here, combining samples from the cult hits "Shadowboxin'" and "Throw Your Flag Up". While it does seem a bit too familiar, all three vocalists bring their A-game weaving a vivid drug tale with a very repeatable hook.
I don't know what everybody's problem with Rick Ross is, as I don't really pay attention to blog rumors, but rather judge lyricists on lyrical merit. On his appearances on Kanye West's "Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" and on his verse here, he easily downs the haterade, quenching the blood thirst of his detractors and hip-hop fans alike.
"Still gritty, leave the pretty to the females
The watch mother pearl weather seashells
Pick of the litter, have this nigga picking paper up
Twitter thug, I'm the town-line strangler
Get 'em up, banging dangerous as angel dust
Cuban Linx smoking stink in the Brink's trunk
I run with killas who snort powder, extort cowards
Ankle monitors under garments, so fuck showers
I give a fuck what you talking 'bout
Mob meetings, we them only niggas walking out
Sparking purple once a nigga done spaghetti slurping
Fly away in my new, Scabetti, surfing"
The Scroll
The final battle...
When listening to this song, it's hard not to draw comparisons to 8 Diagrams' "Wolves". A Western whistle and a dark horrorcore beat dominate the mood. The Wolves are replaced by "Nighttime Vultures", a reference to the track he did with Mobb Deep, and after a final confrontation with the Wolves, or Wolf, such as the case may be, he comes to the conclusion that he's still loyal as ever to The Wu-Tang Clan. This is perhaps a reconciliatory concession on Raekwon's part toward RZA, or maybe a simple reminder that he's Wu-Tang no matter the circumstances.
Masters of Our Fate
Basking in Victory...
Epic. This song is the definition of the word. A Winston Churchill sample greets the listener on the intro, and you just get the feeling that great things are to come. They are. Black Thought once again provides the greatest guest verse for his second consecutive appearance on a Wu-Tang solo album. His line "When I was pushed out of the womb the Earth spun, the only way to describe this is inertia" makes today's typical braggadocious rapper's lines seem shitty and meaningless by comparison. The perfect ending to any hip-hop album.
The album officially closes with the Wu-Chant, quite simply a chant of "Wu-Tang Wu-Tang" over the theme to The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
You can interpret this any way you want, but the obvious way to see it is that Raekwon is declaring Wu-Tang winner of the battle. However, in this climate of "winning", with Charlie Sheen's rants getting major play, it's obvious that nobody lost. Raekwon wins by dropping another near-classic, and RZA wins because Raekwon ultimately comes off looking like a hypocrite in doing so, and he gets paid regardless for using the Wu-Tang name.
Despite the fact that Raekwon wants to claim RZA is straying too far from the Wu-Tang sound, I can't help but think when listening to 8 Diagrams, that this is exactly where the modern Wu-Tang sound was heading anyway. Although the classic Wu-Tang sound pops up here and there on SvWT, it is ultimately trumped by the modern expansions on said sound, which are far more prevalent.
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly ends with a Mexican standoff, and that is where Wu-Tang is right now. Stuck in limbo, waiting for one side or the other to make the next move. It's a die-hard quest for gold. And the gold is that precious Wu-Tang sound.
70/16= 4.375 out of 5
