Originally Posted by
ta12113
I've been checking out some albums that I've overlooked through the years. I used to listen to everything, but that stopped around 07 or so. Anyway, much to my surprise, some of the albums that I've overlooked, and that seem to get hated on or overlooked by others, I've found to be pretty good, sometimes even very good. Now granted these aren't necessarily "new" albums, but in my view they are fairly "recent".
U-God - Venom - 2018 - I think overall this is his best album. The beats suit him, he spits with a hunger, and he has a few good guests. Very good album overall.
Raewon - F.I.L.A. - 2015 - I guess I couldn't get over the cover, but I finally gave it a shot, and I appreciate the approach behind this album. Rae took a pop style approach, but I respect that he did it in his own way. Yes the beats are big and flashy, for the most part. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. In fact some of the beats I really dig (such as F.I.L.A. World). And there are still a few raw tracks on there to give it an edge. And the features are different for a Rae album, but in the context of this album I think they mostly worked. Rae simplified things a little, but still spit with his own style. Overall a different, but very respectable album.
Inspectah Deck - Manifesto - 2010 (Ok, this on is getting a little old) - I remember all the hate that I read when this album dropped. Sad to say that I never listed to it. Well overall I think this is probably his best solo album. The beats might not necessarily all sound like "Wu-Tang" beats, but they suit Deck just fine. And of course Deck spits it like he usually does. Highly underrated album.
Banks & Steelz - Anything But Words - 2016 - Is it different? Yes. Is it the best ever? No. But is it a creative, fun album? Why yes it is. This album feels like Rza and Banks were just messing around, having fun, putting together different beats and sounds, and making music. It's not going to change the game, but there are some really nice ideas in this album. Definitely a one-off type of project, but I gotta give Rza for going all-in on this project. If I want to listen to the old Rza I'll throw in Birth Of A Prince (best of his solo albums for the whip, the other Digital albums just don't hit as well). If I want to rock out, but with a strange hip-hop/electro vibe, then this ain't that bad of a choice.
My point is that the Wu still seem capable of making quality music. And I overlooked a lot of it because I was always wanting them to make music just like their original classics. But now that I've given some of their more recent work a chance (stuff from the last 10 years or so), I've found myself pleasantly surprised.