Masta Killa- No Said Date
Thought i'd add my own 2 pennies about this album since i just re-listened to it a few days back:
1.Born Chamber
A standard Wu Tang album introduction. Taken from some old school kung fu movie most of us have probably ever heard of. It gets the message across of this album being a journey and sets us up nicely for the first musical track.
2.Grab the Microphone
Produced by Brock
Brock gives us a nice laid back beat with a heavy baseline which matches Masta Killa’s tempo. The lyrics are a little simplistic in places but the whole track comes off as a warm-up anyway. The imagery is excellent, the hook is crazy as well.
3.5/5
3.No Said Date
Produced by Rza
Probably the best song of the album, God knows what Rza was on when he made this beat but it sounds incredible, a high tempo oriental sounding track with windpipes and violin-like sounds. Masta picks his flow up about a dozen notches “this military arm marine sub machine gun”, multis, vocab, imagery and a catchy yet simple hook blows your eardrums out. My only complaint is this track is too damn short.
5/5
4.Last Drink
Produced by Mathematics
“after this drink, we shall become sworn enemies!” another kung fu movie sample kicks off this marching type beat. The hook is plain lazy however, Masta Killa comes off as a little lazy on this track. His vocab is strong but that’s about all you can say here. He’s still talking about rocking crowds but even so comes with the occasional good line “come with a beat as rare as leap year.”. one of the weaker tracks on the album.
2.5/5
5.Love Spell
Produced by Dave West
A summery sounding beat which sounds oddly out of place on this album, some unknown singing the hook. Its still a definite head-nodder, Masta Killa comes with some geniune sounding romantic lines and a smooth flow. He rides the beat without breaking a sweat. Definitely a track to play for your girl.
3.5/5
6.The Future (skit) performed by Shamel, Kareem and Jamel
Produced by Hakim Shabazz
This is crazy shit, a bunch of kids with some serious attitude spitting wu tang lyrics over a typical wu-sounding beat. They’re actually pretty good. Check for these guys in about 10 years or so. Ha ha.
7.D.T.D. featuring Raekwon and Ghostface
Produced by Mathematics
One of the worst sounding tracks on the album. Raekwon’s verse sounds like something Nas would do which is probably a good thing. Masta follows up with a verse filled with the same stuff he’s already been talking about. Ghostface finishes this effort off with a fire-packed verse perfectly on beat. The hook is fucking terrible. The lyrics don’t save this, Mathematics really did a bad job on this one.
2.5/5
8.Whatever featuring Streetlife and Prodigal Sunn
Produced by Mathematics
Mathematics redeems himself with this stunning beat, every rappers energy is through the roof on this number, packed with multis and killer one-liners. The hook is catchy as hell. Masta Killa in particular tears the track to pieces.
4/5
9.Secret Rivals featuring Killah Priest and Method Man
Produced by True Master
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. True manages to fuck this track up with one of the worst beats I’ve ever heard. Which is a shame beacuase this track probably has the best lyrics of the entire album. Killah Priest comes with this killer couplet “I transform into a sandstorm and leave one third of the land-torn” in a verse which starts off shaky but finishes like fire. Method Man too, more than fulfils his potential on this one with an old school sounding verse “like Tyson, when all else fails start biting”, some hilarious shit. Masta winds up slightly out classed here. f the beat was better this could be a 4, even 5 mic song.
3/5
10.Skit
Another kung fu sample explaining the difference between martial art disciplines.
11.Digi Warfare
Produced by Choco
The beat is trippy as hell. Masta switches his style to an 80’s flow which matches the mood perfectly. If you’re looking for a track to break-dance to. This is the one. An old school club track all the way. Some really gutsy stuff.
4/5
12.Old Man featuring Old Dirty Bastard and Rza
Produced by Rza
Ol’ DB will crack you up on this one, his vocals fit the beat seamlessly. Rza brings us some 60’s sounding, riding in your car type beat which unfortunately begins with Masta rapping “I rock the mic and make the crowd say ho”, update your style mate. Rza and Masta do get a great back and forth style going between them though. Some great stuff on here.
4/5
13.Queen
Produced by True Master
True Master pulls out a better beat for this one. Masta gets on a romantic line with his lyrics again. It’s like a more laid back version of “Love Spell”. Some great imagery and vocab on here which a listener would be used to by now. A nice little track to set the mood.
3.5/5
14.School featuring Rza
Produced by Rza
Rza comes back for a victory lap with a beat which start off with a very stripped down sound, but quickly switches to a fast pace beat as Masta hands the flow over to Rza. They paint vivid images of their school days with strong vocabulary and the occasional well-placed multis. Global issues get discussed here. Masta also successfully switches tempo between verses here but again remains stuck on rapping about rapping. Still a good track.
4/5
15.Silverbacks featuring Inspectah Deck and Gza
Produced by True Master
A surprising tupac interview sample kicks this rugged sounding beat off. This is easily the best effort from True Master on this album. Rebel INS takes the first verse and kicks thing off by singing, a really bad idea, but he quickly redeems himself by dropping a blistering verse about the struggle which is life, an excellent verse in all aspects. Masta follows with one of his best verses on this album and follows on with Rebel’s subject matter. Gza finishes this off with his usual incredible imagery and vocab. One of the best tracks on the album.
4.5/5
16.Masta Killa
Produced by Baby Dooks
Where was this producer earlier in this album? An incredible kung fu sounding beat which Masta rides easily with some excellent lyrics and flow. Instead of a hook the break between verses and laced with bruce lee interview samples explaining the idea behind jeet kun do. “be water my friend”. It’s a head nodder and a philosophy rolled up in one.
4.5/5
Overall
Rza really deserves credit for his production work on this album. Some of the best we’ve seen from him in a long time. Masta’s flow is a little dated but he still has an impeccable flow and an incredible grasp of creating images in a listeners head make for an album which sounds like it was released during the wu tang golden age.
3.7/5