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‘Wu-Massacre’ far from earlier 2010 release

By Robert Rossi, Managing Editor, on April 1, 2010 12:28 AM

By Robert Rossi, Assoc. Culture Editor -

“For old times’ sake, you know how we do,” Ghostface Killah says to introduce Wu-Massacre, a full-length album collaboration between Wu-Tang Clan members Method Man, Ghostface, and Raekwon, who each receive equal billing on the album’s cover.  The disc is far from the first Wu-Tang release of 2010 (DJ Mathematics’ Return of the Wu and Friends and Inspectah Deck’s The Manifesto have dropped since the new year), but Massacre is the first to both deserve and receive the hype surrounding a new album from the group. Showcasing perhaps the three most charismatic of the nine Staten Island emcees, the album is the latest entry in a Wu-Renaissance kicked off by Method Man and Redman’s Blackout! 2 and Raekwon Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt. II.

While Wu-Massacre is not a sequel album like Method Man and Raekwon’s previous releases, its first two tracks build off previous Wu tracks. “Criminology 2.5” takes its name and the core of its beat from “Criminology,” from Raekwon’s original Cuban Linx album, and “Criminology 2,” from the underground release Cuban Link 2 Fishscale the Prequel. While “2.5” does not attack the gut with the same power or feature a lyrical performance nearly as brilliant as Ghost’s verse on the original, it towers over “2,” mainly due to the presence of Method Man. Next on Massacre is “Meth vs. Chef 2,” which comes much closer to matching the brilliance of its namesake. Rae and Meth slither over the beat, trading verses in a battle-style contest to see which emcee can boast the smoothest flow.

Ghostface Killah begins stealing the album on the third track, a remix of “Smooth Sailing.” Ghost comes away with the best performance on many of the subsequent tracks, but perhaps it isn’t a fair fight. The horns and soul samples more closely resemble Ghost’s 1996 release Ironman than anything that Method Man or Raekwon have put out as solo products. There is definitely a heavy Cuban Linx influence on many of the tracks as well, but nothing here approaches the dark, grimy beats of the Tical albums. It is a testament to Method Man’s adaptability as an emcee that he does not get outshone rapping on beats that sound custom-catered to Ghost and Rae. The guest appearances are therefore inevitably forgettable. Even fellow Clan member Inspectah Deck can’t match what Meth, Ghost, and Rae bring.

Selecting highlights from Massacre is difficult. While there are no weak tracks (except for the pointless skits), there are none that rise above the rest either. “Gunshowers,” “Pimpin’ Chipp,,” and “It’s That Wu S**t” stand out slightly, but not by much. On every track, the trio delivers lyrics that match the masterful ingenuity of their early, legendary releases, while the beats all put swag in your step and enhance the vocals rather than distract from them, a problem that has plagued some later Wu recordings.

Wu-Massacre represents no shattering of previous artistic boundaries by the Wu-Tang Clan, unless you count giving top billing on the album to multiple members. No one in mainstream rap hits as hard as the Wu, and perhaps this is why the group no longer counts on radio play to sell records. Regardless, the album still sounds current and relevant, the type of music that most rap artists are trying and failing to make. Forgotten because of the massive size of the Wu-Tang Clan, but the reason they have become rap’s greatest and longest-lasting dynasty, is the fact that each individual emcee can go toe-to-toe lyrically with anyone in the rap game. At this point in the group’s career, it has become taken for granted that a release of solid quality by the group’s standards, like Wu-Massacre, is a great rap record by the standards of the industry as a whole. “I’m a don,” proclaims Ghostface on the album’s closing track, and he’s right. 8.0/10