Wodi Mike

Fourteen odd years ago, 9 underground emcees assembled to form the greatest collective of rappers ever. What made the Wu Tang Clan such a special entity was that any one of the emcees could easily have had success as a solo artist—and many would go on to do just that—but instead, “they formed like Voltron” to create something, ultimately, greater. The product of their mobilization was Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers), an indisputable Hip Hop classic that trumps the best of their solo efforts (OB4CL, Supreme Clientele and Liquid Swords included). The Clan returns years later, with one less member (R.I.P. Ol’ Dirty Bastard), at a time similar to their initial emergence. Hip Hop is more Hollywood; more R&B; more pop than ever. What better time than now to bring it back to that raw style of Hip Hop that they’re renowned for on their fifth studio release, 8 Diagrams?

The difference between now and 93’ is that the Wu no longer presents a unified front and the friction amongst the ranks is evident on 8 Diagrams. “Campfire” earnestly opens the album up with an inspired verse from Method Man who shines throughout the album. But, a more appropriate reintroduction to the Wu would have been the Easy Mo Bee/RZA produced “Take It Back.” The track is stripped down to an aggressive percussion section intermingled with a recurring scratched up voice sample and not much else. This lends Raekwon, Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah and U-God plenty of space to roam with all participating emcees equally bodying the track in their unique styles; classic Wu ish. Cohesion is interrupted by the bizarre “Unpredictable” featuring Dexter Wiggle. Musically, the track is too busy; RZA layered the track so heavily that it distracts the listeners away from his and Inspectah Deck’s verse. The result is a track that’s likely to be skipped over early and often. And, although the Wu’s cover of the Beatle’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” is ambitious, Raekwon, Ghostface and Method Man’s storytelling seem out of place when matched up with the downtempo instrumentation. The Clan finds redemption on the “Gun Will Go” where instead of loading the track up with myriad instrumentation; RZA provides a steady drum line and a repetitious guitar riff. Method Man, in turn, kicks another solid verse rhyming “y’all make it harder to get dough/the harder the kid go/the harder the piff blow/harder when it snow/the pinky and the wrist glow/this here is what we live for/get guap and get low/but first off/you got to get the work off/the gift and the curse boss.” Although the disarray is a constant through 8 Diagrams, the album concludes on a unified note with a stirring tribute to the O.D.B. on “Life Changes.”

On 8 Diagrams, RZA and the rest of the Wu Tang Clan’s vision on what this album was supposed to be differed and it’s evident. Musically, RZA expanded his palate accessing more instrumentation than ever as opposed to his previous sample heavy production, but his beats on 8 Diagrams don’t cater to the Clan’s strengths. If he would’ve just laced them with some simplified boom bap, this would have been a much better album. Regardless, Method Man, U-God and the Chef still cook up some marvelous verses; those verses just come at different points during the album. There are few times when the Clan puts together a strong collective performance. Don’t get me wrong this isn’t a bad album but it could have been much better. I’d rank this album right in the middle of Wu’s catalogue above The W and Iron Flag but below Enter the Wu (36 Chambers) and Forever.

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x-ceptional

not even close

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teelyttle

thanks

snowgoon

4/5

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Brooklyn Baby

Celestial Clockwork®

put it this way ive been a wu fan since i was like 8 years old no shit and ive listened to 36 chambers, wu-forever, ob4cl, liquid swords, tical, return to the 36 chambers, etc. etc. over and over again since they dropped.

i listened to 8 diagrams about 4 times the week it dropped and havent felt like playing it again since

2/5

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zaha

i think it is a great album....respect to WU...

Boston Legend

Amazing album. No 36 Chambers or Forever, but this was on some different shit. Meth, Ghost, and Uey all killed it. Rza was on another level. If you don't like it, give it another spin cause you weren't listening.

Yo Momma

Method Man shines on the album because he's the one Wu member that strangely somehow didn't water down at all. It is evident in his newest release 4:21 The Day After. He has always been overlooked, as many believe his work does not show his true potential, and cuz he's a stoner. But him and Ghostface are the only Wu members (in my opinion) that still have most of the fire since Tical and Ironman.

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-------- Undaground
------- Justice System
-------Slightly Stoopid
------------Help?

Deekin

i love this album, production,lyrics, 9.4/10 album to me

wuuuuuuuuuuu

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Now up and at em it's on, I was raised to be strong
And Mama told me be a Thug since the day I was born
I came up, out the gutter never changed my style
Got for real about my papers, cause the game was wild - 2pac

Kayaus

terrible album, the beats were not that typical vintage wu tang gutter shit, 36 Chambers and Wu-Tang Forever are obvious classics, 8 diagrams aint even in the same ballpark, rza fucked this one up...i remember hearin rumors of an 8 diagrams without the rza but i think it was all bullshit, it would probably be better tho, the rzas on some hippie shit now

@Boston Legend...

ive given it enough spins, too many if u ask me and i was listenin...i have no problem with the lyrics...my main thing is the production, i was definately not feelin the production at all, the wu has always had a certain sound, thats what makes them the WU...
plus, after all the years we've waited for a new Wu-Tang album youd think we'd get somethin better than this, i mean i was really anticipatin it months before it was released, i was real disappointed when i heard it