WU-TANG CLAN 8 DIAGRAMS (SRC/UNIVERSAL MOTOWN) GHOSTFACE KILLAH THE BIG DOE REHAB (DEF JAM)
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Now that RZA has his creative juices flowing with all these different projects, it’s inevitable that some of them would leak into his production work on new Wu-Tang material. For 8 Diagrams, the clan’s fifth outing and the first since 1997’s Wu-Tang Forever that RZA has produced with little or no help, the other members have had to adapt to his evolved sensibility—which on too many songs includes not just the distracting extra instruments but nauseating R&B-style singing on the vocal hooks and refrains.
Unsurprisingly, a few of his comrades aren’t too happy about it. Ghostface Killah and Raekwon have spoken out against RZA in interviews with hip-hop gossip maven Miss Info, claiming (among other things) that the group isn’t happy with his work on 8 Diagrams. Raekwon even said there’s a chance the clan will try to work together minus RZA in the future.
The Wu-Tang Clan as a whole has deteriorated—strife among members, prison terms, and the untimely death of ODB have all taken their toll, and as a result there have been not only lackluster group albums but also subpar side projects like Raekwon’s new Ice Water crew. Through everything Ghostface Killah has remained the one relatively consistent member. Many consider him singlehandedly responsible for resurrecting the clan with his incredible sophomore solo album, 2000’s Supreme Clientele, which reinforced the group’s vintage sound (courtesy RZA and Wu affiliate Mathematics) with able beats from outside talent like Carlos “Six July” Broady. While Method Man was the mainstream face of the group, with his movie and TV roles, Ghostface was the one who kept us hoping that it would one day return to its former glory—and 2001’s Bulletproof Wallets and 2004’s The Pretty Toney Album kept that hope on life support.
For more on music, see our blogs Crickets and Post No Bills at chicagoreader.com.
Sat 12/15, 10 PM, Metro, 3730 N. Clark, 773-549-0203 or 312-559-1212, $45, $42 in advance, 18+.
