Raekwon "Shaolin v.s. Wu-Tang" Review

[Jin10304]

"that wasnt really autotune"

Of course it was & wat sample from RZA did Ringz use for his track? That Molasses joint was just another slap to the face to RZA utilizing his past samples

[muscularghandi]

Shaolin VS Wu-Tang- 8/10
Every Soldier In The Hood- 8/10
Silver Rings- 10/10
Chop Chop Ninja- 10/10
Butter Knives- 9/10
Snake Pond- 8/10
Crane Style- 9/10
Rock N Roll- 6/10
Rich And Black- 10/10 (beat at the end MUST be used for a real song)
From The Hills- 8/10
Last Trip To Scotland 10/10
Ferry Boat Killaz- 9/10
Dart School- 9/10
Molasses- 10/10
The Scroll- 10/10
Masters Of Our Fate- 8/10
Wu Chant- 10/10 (HYPED)

Wu-Crime- 9/10
You World, My World- 8/10

Total- 8.8 = Superior.

[pmack215]

"that wasnt really autotune"

Of course it was & wat sample from RZA did Ringz use for his track? That Molasses joint was just another slap to the face to RZA utilizing his past samples

if it was autotune, then it was really subtle. i still think it was something else other than autotune.

ringz or rae threw a snippet of "as high as wutang get" in the middle of "silver rings".

and yes....i think "molasses" was, in part, a NOD to rza.

....and i'm not at all a rick ross fan, but i did really dig him kickin a "suuu wu-tang" before his verse.

[famenchuan]

Shaolin VS Wu-Tang- 8/10
Every Soldier In The Hood- 9/10
Silver Rings- 8.5/10
Chop Chop Ninja- 9/10
Butter Knives- 10/10
Snake Pond- 9.5/10
Crane Style- 9/10
Rock N Roll- 2/10
Rich And Black- 9/10
From The Hills- 9/10
Last Trip To Scotland 10/10
Ferry Boat Killaz- 8.5/10
Dart School- 9.5/10
Molasses- 10/10
The Scroll- 9/10
Masters Of Our Fate- 10/10
Wu Chant- 10/10


by the way ross was dope on molasses and i not even a fan of him
also i like the singing on chop chop ninja. I like the vibe it brings.

[TAURO]

Shaolin VS Wu-Tang- 8/10 (Didn't like HOFD so I thought I wouldn't like this either...I was wrong, it grew on me a lot.)

Every Soldier In The Hood- 4/10 (enjoy the lyrics quite a bit but I really don't like the beat at all)

Silver Rings- 8.5/10 (This actually sounds a lot like a modern Rza beat to me which is kind of ironic, but Cilva made those drums go hard. It's short and straight to the point but I wished it was a bit longer, would have been a nice back and forth for Ghost and Rae.)

Chop Chop Ninja- 7.5/10 (I love, love the beat on this, dark and sinister with a nice kung fu fighting loop, can't get more wu than that in this day and age, BUT it's hindered by a corny chorus but not by Estelle's performance. Too corny for the whip, good for the player.)

Butter Knives- 8.5/10 (And they said Bronze couldn't do hard beats. Like Concrete Jungle, Bronze proves he's got a lot more to offer in his production ability. Rae merks it too.

Snake Pond- 8/10 (Another track that sounds like a modern Rza beat, like something from Masta Killa's No Said Date. A nice slow paced but hard track with Rae just going in.)

Crane Style- 8.5/10 (Another short track but one in which Busta delivered, and this is coming from someone that hasn't liked Busta's work since Genesis. A nice smooth beat and Rae did his thing too.)

Rock N Roll- 6.5/10 (People really need to get off their high horse about this song, it's really not that bad, yeah you could nit pick it to death but for what it is it's solid. An above average wu joint but an excellent club joint.)

Rich And Black- 7.5/10 (Great back and forth between Rae and Nas, this is one of those joints where the artists made the most of an otherwise so so beat.)

From The Hills- 9/10 (A very nice uplifting joint, I get a nice nostalgic feel from this.)

Last Trip To Scotland 8/10 (Lloyd Banks delivered, joint went hard, that's all I have to say about it.)

Ferry Boat Killaz- 7.5/10 (I've heard much better from Alchemist, Rae did his thing on it. A solid joint.)

Dart School- 7/10 (I don't really get why people are hyping up this joint here, it's good though, can't front on it either.)

Molasses- 9.5/10 (Now this is what im talking about, this joint is ill and I can't believe im going to type this but...RICK ROSS DELIVERED!. Ghost and Rae smashed it too. THIS IS WHAT I WOULD BANG IN THE WHIP.

The Scroll- 9.5/10 (Wow, I really wasn't expecting this to hit like it did. A sleeper hit, you know it is, one of those joints that very few are going to talk about but most are going to love.)

Masters Of Our Fate- 9/10 (An epic final track, Rae is on reflection mode and Black Thought just steals the show. Epic, absolutely epic.)

Wu Chant- 10/10 (Yeah yeah I know what you're thinking, how can I give the outro a 10/10?...let me tell you, it was because after listening to this album I had my hands in the air with a W doing the EXACT SAME THING. Captured my feelings exactly.



FINAL THOUGHTS
Cuban Linx 1 was such an incredible piece of work, not only for it's time but for the genre as a whole, that as a result it has seemily left Rae at a constant disadvantage as he's always being measured up to it with each subsequent release. Some might say that Immobilarity was doomed from the outset and that it was unfairly criticized just because it followed on from CL. Well that might have been the case but my memory of the album tells me differently, and the less said about Lex Diamonds the better. Rae of course had to go away and do some soul searching, wake up to the fact that the fans were just not responding, he knew it at the back of his mind and to a certain extent I applaud Rae from trying to be a bit more independent from his wu roots but lets be real here..CUBAN LINX WAS A DEFINING PIECE FOR A REASON, RAE HAD TO GO BACK, and he did to great acclaim with Cuban Linx 2. CL2 lit a match under the game and suddently everyone took notice, Rae was back in the game and the wu-tang name was being talked about again.

Shaolin Vs Wu-Tang is the result of the fixing and fine tuning Rae has had to go through in order to bring that wu hype back, time will tell if it has any lasting appeal but for now I will just say this...Rae has restored my faith in the Wu for 2011 and beyond. Rae swallowed his pride and listened to the fans.

Thank You Chef.

[THE W]

shoalin vs. wu-tang 6.5/10
every soldier in the hood 6.5/10
silver rings 9/10
chop chop ninja 6.5/10
butter knives 10/10
snake pond 6.5/10
crane style 5.5/10
rock and roll GARBAGE/10
rich and black 7/10
from the hills 8/10
last trip to scotland 8/10
ferry boat killaz 9/10
dart school 8/10
molasses 8/10
the scroll 6.5/10
master of our fate 9.5/10

half of this album sounds like a parody of the wu sound. some "national lampoon's wu-tang album" shit. lyrics are excellent throughout. raekwon definitely holds up his end of the bargain and most of the guests contribute excellently.

far from a bad album but not one i would recommend.

[RynMur]

my track by track review

http://www.nappyafro.com/2011/03/11/...u-tang-review/

[KLAP]

Album is fire!!! Raekwon did his thing once again and gave HipHop a great album in 2011!

[Chris Stylez]

i voted superior. anyone who is giving "from the hills" a higher grade than "every soldier in the hood" is on drugs. or are emo lmao. in my opinion that is. that song is worse than anything on 8 diagrams or wizard of poetry. that shit is so sappy it doesnt fit the album AT ALL. the rest of the album is FLAMES except if the hook of rock n roll only played once instead of twice that song would be cool but i tend to skip after ghost's verse cause i dont wanna sit through the hook again just to hear jim jones.

and dude who said the sequencing was off. wow. the sequencing is magnificent. one of the best sequenced albums i've heard in the 2000s. shit flows so smooth it makes it so easy to just press play and listen from beginning to end.

[Jin10304]

It DOES fit the album way more then Rock N Roll, its talking Raekwon growing up in Shaolin (Staten Island) so it goes along with the theme.

[Chris Stylez]

but it hurts my ears. case closed.

[eatmaxeat]

1. Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang 9/10 (Amazing way to start the album off)
2. Every Soldier In The Hood 7.5/10 (Liked the Lyrics but not the beat)
3. Silver Rings 8.5/10 (Liked this, wish it was longer)
4. Chop Chop Ninja 8/10 (I have the version without the cheesy singing)
5. Butter Knives 10/10 (Raekwon does well on this violent beat)
6. Snake Pond 10/10 (Loved the beat, Raekwons soft flow worked well with it)
7. Crane Style 10/10 (Busta Rhymes was amazing on this song)
8. Rock N' Roll 3/10 (I can barely listen to this.)
9. Rich And Black 9.5/10 (Saves the album from Rock N' Roll)
10. From The Hills 7/10 (Didn't like the hook much)
11. Last Trip To Scotland 8.5/10 (A good song, Lloyd banks blends in well)
12. Ferryboat Killaz 8/10 (The beat gets a little annoying)
13. Dart School 10/10 (Loved the beat, Loved the hook, Loved the lyrics)
14. Molasses 8/10 (Rick Ross blends in well as well, Shadowboxin beat in the background)
15. The Scroll 10/10 (One of my Favorites, Raekwon has a realization)
16. Masters Of Our Fate 10/10 (Another Favorite, Black Thought is amazing!)
17. Wu Chant 10/10 (Wu tang chant over The Good, The Bad, and the ugly theme song.)
18. Wu Crime 8/10 (I liked Gza and Killah Priest, the beat didn't fit it though)
19. Your World And My World 9.5/10 (Havoc was amazing on this track, loved the beat)

Total: 164.5/190
Averaged: 8.6 = Banger
Loved this album, Has a good amount of replay value and I just wish there was more Ghostface Killah, Gza, Inspectah Deck and Mehtod Man. Oh and I wish there was a Masta Killa track (Love his calm flow), a Cappadonna Track, a U-God track (I think he would have done well with a short part on The Scroll or Masters Of Our Fate), a Eminem track (Early 2010 Raekwon said he would be on the album), And No Kobe or Jim Jones

[SL33]

Shaolin VS Wu-Tang- 8/10
Every Soldier In The Hood- 9/10
Silver Rings- 10/10
Chop Chop Ninja- 7/10
Butter Knives- 9/10
Snake Pond- 10/10
Crane Style- 7/10
Rock N Roll- 5/10
Rich And Black- 7/10
From The Hills- 8/10
Last Trip To Scotland 7/10
Ferry Boat Killaz- 7/10
Dart School- 6/10
Molasses- 8/10
The Scroll- 7/10
Masters Of Our Fate- 10/10
Wu Chant- 10/10



great album, no doubt

[OB4CL]

Shaolin VS Wu-Tang- 8.5/10
Every Soldier In The Hood- 8.5/10
Silver Rings- 10/10
Chop Chop Ninja- 8/10
Butter Knives- 9.5/10
Snake Pond- 10/10
Crane Style- 7/10
Rock N Roll- 7/10
Rich And Black- 10/10
From The Hills- 8.5/10
Last Trip To Scotland 10/10
Ferry Boat Killaz- 7/10
Dart School- 8/10
Molasses- 10/10
The Scroll- 9/10
Masters Of Our Fate- 10/10
Wu Chant- 10/10

overall I give the album a 7.5/10 Banger

[Jin10304]

"(Early 2010 Raekwon said he would be on the album)"

He never said this, that was only a rumor