I gave it a 7/10
Classic
Superior
Banger
Good
Average
Mediocre
Wack
The spirit in the lyrics is mad vivid.
Convincing, like it's cooked from a mind of a vet, experienced.
It sounds like Rae took his time to take this album to a new level of cinematography and when it came out, it came out splazzing.
This Wu-sound is incredibly high-powered and I hope there's more of it to come out.
OK, gotta admit... i was wrong about rae on this album. i was initially disappointed & thought his rhyme scheme was pretty weak. i've recently listened to the album a bunch of times thru headphones, and u can really decipher rae's rhymes that way. he really did come NICE on CL2.
however, i still hate the fact that... there's too little rae. i think for your own solo album, u should dominate songs. rae did NOT! other MC's had longer verses far too often, & he got out-rhymed far too often. that shouldnt happen, especially on an album of this caliber.
the same thing happened on CL1 (GFK)... and a lot of people know it. dont front!!
anyone ever overtake a GFK solo?
1)Return of the Northstar: Papa wu going on, talking about Rae coming up and shit. Trying to hit up Rae for some cash. Good intro to OB4CL 2
8/10
2) House Of Flying Daggers Featuring Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah & Method Man
This track is bananas. J-dilla, proves why he was one of the best, And this is one the best of his career. Putting Deck up first is always the cue that the track is gonna be nuts.
10/10
3) Sonny's Missing: Nice throwback sample from The Killer, reminicent of the original. The beat is perfect for Rae's flow. Pete rock, a beat that has been used before, but not as good as this, Rae ripped it.
9/10
4)Pyrex Vision: This slow, and brooding beat went well with Raekwons tired and exhausted flow, it sounds like he's been cooking for hours, I just wish it was longer.
9/10
5) Cold outside: The sample in the begining was great. The hook rang alittle too long, but the verses made up for it. The beat went well for this type of song.
7/10
6) "Black Mozart": This song, has been loved or hated by alot of you. I personally love it, Its not Rza's best, but to hear Rae over a Rza beat is enough for me. Deck went off on this joint.
8/10
7) Gihad: Necros is VERY underrated in the beat game. Raekwon and Necro are a great fit. I wish that Meth was on this joint
9/10
8) New Wu: This shit should of been on 8 diagrams. Damn I love this shit. Another Rza classic. Nothing was wrong with this song
10/10
9) "Penitentiary": Probrably the first track that really felt like OB4CL 1, besides Pyrex vision. Probrably my 2nd favorite track behind New wu.
10/10
10) Baggin crack: An erick sermon beat, and you can tell. You almost expect redman to rip it. Probrably the first track I didnt feel all that much. But its not terrible.
6/10
11) Surgical Gloves: Alchemist is becoming one of my favorite producers I swear. The loop usage in the background was phenominal. Lyrically Rae is at home on this.
9/10
12) Broken Safety: Another kung fu sample, and I always appreciate them. jadakiss and Styles are just as good together as Ghost/Rae. The beat itself sounds like a great freestyle beat, I dont know Scram jones, but I look forward to hearing more from him on the production tip
8/10
13) Canal Street: A sample that was used previously by Just, But I think Rae sounds better on it than Jada did. Perfect flow on this.
8/10
14) Ason Jones: The dirty tribute, its like he wasnt satisfied with the tribute on 8d, This one was cool, and I cant judge it since it wasnt for us
15) Have mercy: Beans is missed in the game in my opinion. The kung fu sample is perfect, and to hear Blue rasberry after all this time, AMAZING, Thats what Wu has been missing.
9/10
16) 10 bricks: J-dilla did an AMAZING job channeling a Rza like sound over this Wu crew cut. Cappa did decent, I expected better, but Ghost went off. ''I got a team of niggas movin my furs''
9/10
17) Fat lady sings: I think this joint went too long before it started which took away from it. The beat is okay, not perfect though.
6/10
18) Catalina: The sample from The Killer was great. The beat was real dry from Dre, Rae is not meant for his beats.
6/10
19) Mean streets: i dont like the hook, but the song in itself is good.
7/10
20) We will rob you: Rick sounds dumb on this track, The beat itself saves the song.
7/10
21) About me: Another dre beat, it sounds bad for Rae,again. This beat is for someone like Game or something.
6/10
22) Kiss the ring: One of the BEST end songs Ive heard on a wu album. I swear this shit is practically perfect.
10/10
Bonus tracks:
Walk wit me: This should have been on the album. Replaced one of the weaker tracks.
8/10
Badlands: This beat is fucking bonkers, Ghost hasnt went off like this in a while. I fucking love this shit.
9/10
188/240
This album is indeed one of Wu's best in a while
damn are they gonna release the gold edition yet, or do I have to cop this version? sucks not having The Badlands on there tho
^ the version with "Badlands" and "Walk With Me" was released at the same time as the regular US album. just order it from some international site and you'll get that version. i wouldn't hold my breath for a deluxe edition, doubt it will ever happen
daily updates: news, articles, reviews, the best compilations on the net. that true skool street hop!
r.i.p. Johan D, Kaddu, Ricke a.k.a. "Slick Rick" and the rest of the fallen soldiers - you'll never be forgotten!
Now that Gold is out, we need some reviews for the bonus cuts like "Rockstars & Smoking Barrels", "Never Used To Matter" & the original About Me
i'ma write a review for "Rockstars & Smoking Barrells" later but it's a great thing we finally got these two tracks, it really made me go back and listen to the album on a regular basis again. it still holds up as well as when i first heard it, probably even better now since every time i bump it on the iPod my tracklisting has "State Of Grace" and "Rockstars..." replacing "Penitentiary" and "Canal Street". i would say if the album had kept those 2 RZA productions instead of the other 2 tracks i mentioned it plays like a true classic masterpiece from "Return Of The North Star" and "House Of Flying Daggers" to "Kiss The Ring".
"Walk With Me" is a great track as well, but 22 minutes at 70-73 minutes is enough music for an album imo. with these minor changes i'm confident saying 'Ob4cl2' is a 5/5 album, without the changes i'd say 4.5/5.
daily updates: news, articles, reviews, the best compilations on the net. that true skool street hop!
r.i.p. Johan D, Kaddu, Ricke a.k.a. "Slick Rick" and the rest of the fallen soldiers - you'll never be forgotten!
^^^replacing Penitentiary and Canal Street?
What a faggot.
This album was 4**** started off well. The Dre beats were average so was Baggin Crack and Kiss The Ring. Rockstars should have been included.
A great effort from Rae.
So far I've replaced About Me with the original with Game on there. After Kiss The Ring mine looks like...
23. Walk Wit Me
24. The Badlands
25. Never Used To Matter
26. State Of Grace
27. Rockstars & Smoking Barrels
looking forward to get one....
A year later, and I'm still bumping this album. With the release of the Gold edition, and my iPhone, I reinserted the cut tracks (and switch the track order slightly). Unlike some others, I didn't think it was a good idea to remove any tracks (as all the track included in the original version were quality). Here is how OB4CLII look on my iPhone
1. Return of the Northstar
2. Crimonlogy 2
3. House of Flying Daggers
4. Sonny's Missing
5. Pyrex Vision
6. Cold Outside
7. Black Mozart
8. Gihad
9. New Wu
10. Penitentiary
11. Baggin Crack
12. Baggage Handlers
13. Surgical Gloves
14. Broken Safety
15. State of Grace
16. Canal Street
17. Ason Jones
18. Have Mercy
19. Never Matter To You
20. Rockstars
21. 10 Bricks
22. Fat Lady Sings
23. Catalina
24. We Will Rob You
25. Travel Places
26. The Badlands
27. About Me
28. Mean Streets
29. Kiss The Ring
30. Walk Wit Me
"The day Buddha was born it rained tea instead of water" - Warcloud
AYO I was blasting this shit earlier tonight, I'm bout to go pick up these females (its like 2:39 am lol) but yeah this album is #2 after Supreme Clientele in the category of Best post 1997 solo albums. This shit Fire. "The Last time i hit you kid, you made the top 30" lol Ghost is a nut!!! This album is fire, niggaz hatin for no reason. Critically acclaimed everywhere but HERE lol. SMH
Only a few years ago Hip Hop purists may have felt superior listening to hard core while their less enlightened companions snacked on commercial rap. As Shaolin research began to point out the overwhelming benefits of raw production, true hip hop enthusiasts started turning back to traditional styles. Wu-Tang in particular, has been shown to myriad beneficial effects, from warding off ignorance and poverty to reducing the risk of incarceration and death.
house of flying daggers 10/10
sonny's missing 10/10
pyrex vision 9/10
cold outside 7/10
black mozart 7/10
gihad 4/10
back from the slums(new wu) 10/10
penitentiary 7/10
baggin crack 6.5/10
surgical gloves 9.5/10
broken safety 8.5/10
canal street 6.5/10
ason jones 9/10
have mercy 7/10
10 brick 7.5/10
fat lady sings 5.5/10
catalina 4/10
we will rob you 9/10
about me 5/10
mean streets 8.5/10
kiss the ring 10/10
**walk with me 9.5/10
**state of grace 10/10
**rockstars 8.5/10
**never mattered to you 8.5/10
Last edited by THE W; 03-13-2011 at 10:05 PM.
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