Hip Hop/Rap Fanatics Unite!

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ODB = Syd Barrett is lulz, but kind of yeah.

Honestly Return is the only ODB album that I think is solid all the way through. After that, I'd probably listen to his Osiris mixtape more than his other 2 studio albums.

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But I'll express better formed thoughts on the album in a bit...

Ol' Dirty Bastard - Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version
This was the second solo album in the first wave of Wu-Tang solo albums (the first being Tical, or the real first being Words From The Genius). As such, it is produced almost entirely by RZA and certainly retains that early Wu-Tang lo-fi, creepy sound that made Enter The Wu-Tang so compelling. Indeed several tracks here could fit pretty well on Enter - "Snakes" being the most obvious. But what really makes Return set itself apart from the group effort - even when there are plenty of guests to boast - is none other than Russell Jones. Not for a moment will he let you forget that this is his show. And really, the album is better for that somewhat spastic hand taking the reins. While it does sound like Wu-Tang, it pretty much always sounds like ODB's version of Wu-Tang. Which means a long, drawn out intro about venereal disease. It also means that between bouts of incredible rapping ("Brooklyn Zoo" being the obvious overground example here) he'll also be seeing how long you can make a throaty sound, using words that seriously are not even words, or trying his hand at singing "New Jack Swing" style ballads that his father learned from your nana ("which is good!"). While it's not a perfect record, and while some of the choices that ODB makes lyrically and vocally fall in line with some of the more surreal output that Kool Keith would be known for a few years later, repeated listens reveal that this album is just plain fun, and ultimately that thematic consistency makes for a surprisingly solid whole.

[Frag Mortuus]

I'm a huge Wu-Tang Fan as well. I've been a fan since I heard C.R.E.A.M. late night on MTV as a 13yr old. However, the years haven't been kind to the group even though they do occasionally drop an amazing album. Cuban Linx Pt. 2 and 12 Reasons to Die being the most recent that I have heard. Both of those deserve to be at the top of the list of Wu Classics.

As far as ODB Return to the 36 Chambers, I have always loved this album. I heard he was drunk during the entire recording of the album, which is why he sounds so.....drunk....during the whole thing.

However, I have always thought Nigga Please was better. I think it represented the style of music that ODB really wanted to create but the sound of Wu-Tang didn't really allow for it. He always seemed like the odd man out because he really isn't that great of an Emcee, especially compared to Rae, Ghost, Gza, and Deck. But, who is?

IMO, once RZA stopped producing all of the groups albums they started to go down hill. RZA's production is what 36 Chambers and the first wave of solo albums so great. All of those albums sounded like Clan albums with a different star on each one. Once RZA stopped, that trademark sound was never captured again. Even on later tracks and albums that RZA did produce he was never able to work that same magic.

I hate that such a strong influence in Hip Hop has all but been forgotten except for the die-hard fans. I will always be a fan and will check in from time to time to hear the latest albums and whatnot, but the magic is gone :/

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As far as ODB Return to the 36 Chambers, I have always loved this album. I heard he was drunk during the entire recording of the album, which is why he sounds so.....drunk....during the whole thing.

makes sense.

IMO, once RZA stopped producing all of the groups albums they started to go down hill. RZA's production is what 36 Chambers and the first wave of solo albums so great. All of those albums sounded like Clan albums with a different star on each one. Once RZA stopped, that trademark sound was never captured again. Even on later tracks and albums that RZA did produce he was never able to work that same magic.

I agree and I don't. After he stopped producing all, I think it meant that each individual rapper was now left to handle the vision of their albums. So it was more THEIR visions than his. Which means that for better or worse, we got them instead of more of him. Of course most of us just wanted more stuff that sounded like classic Wu haha. And often many of the most successful non-RZA solo albums ape his sound: Masta Killah's NO SAID DATE, Deck's THE RESIDENT PATIENT, ONLY BUILT II, even GZA's album w/ DJ Muggs.

That's of course completing ignoring Ghost, as that dood has had one of the most consistently compelling solo discographies of the last two decades!


Anyway,


DOOM - Unexpected Guests
This collection of (mostly) rarities is really good, unless you're a rabid DOOM fan. If you've followed his career closely than suddenly a glaring flaw comes into light: this could have been so much better. Most of the issues come from being too unfocused a set. While the variety is nice in having collaborations, solo b-sides and tracks that DOOM has produced for others, it seems that Gold Dust tried to cram too much onto one disc which results in a lesser compilation. For instance, considering the vast amount of rarities to choose from, why waste precious minutes on album tracks? Certainly any fan of DOOM already owns Operation: Doomsday, so the inclusion of "?" is baffling. Likewise, seeing "Angels" show up here is strange as well considering it was on 2009's Born Like This, though in fairness this appears to be the earlier mix with less drums that originally surfaced several years earlier. There's also the off-putting inclusion of partial songs. Scienz Of Life's collaboration "Yikes!" doesn't even feature Scienz Of Life on this one, instead just fading in and out of DOOM's verse giving it a mixtape feel that it doesn't need. So while there's no bad songs to be found here - which makes it a successful compilation - it also could have been the first of several amazing compilations had more thought been put into it.

[Razzmatazz]

Enjoying this thread.

Noise you thought about reviewing music "officially"? I write for RapReviews.com and we could use another writer - we're FINALLY overhauling the website so very busy at the moment.

I am also rebuilding a CD collection, having sold all 250+ CDs I had last year to help fund a wedding.

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Noise you thought about reviewing music "officially"? I write for RapReviews.com and we could use another writer - we're FINALLY overhauling the website so very busy at the moment.

nah, I'm really not looking for any extra responsibilities these days. Just enjoying putting down thoughts on the random stuff I've been listening to. And more so, I'm enjoying that it's bumping this thread and encouraging conversation.

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Jay-Z - S. Carter: The Remix
So this is a weird one - an official release that nobody seems to know about because it was bundled with sneakers rather than sold in stores. So consider it a promo for both Hov's brand of kicks and The Black Album. What's surprising is that there's at least a real effort to make this feel like a solid album rather than a throwaway mixtape. Recorded during the fad of constant Black Album remixes, this seems to be the only collection of actual Jay-Z approved ones. Just Blaze shows up a lot here, and all of his remixes are good though hardly necessary. His take on "December 4th" is a really great somber affair, but it also takes away the feeling of celebration from the original for instance. Similarly his take on "99 Problems" sounds a lot like the original but employing Rick Ruben's sampling work from three decades earlier. It's an interesting, but feels more like a demo than a reimagining. Madlib shows up to remix "Threat," with a pretty unthreatening beat that unfortunately only lasts for a verse or so being ending abruptly. There's a couple of nice collaborations included - Dead Prez for one and a remix of Talib Kweli's "Get By" with Kanye and Mos Def. While none of this is top shelf material, it certainly comes close. And part of the problem may just be the unfortunate urge to compare it to The Black Album proper. In truth this is surprisingly solid even if not amazing. And it's definitely an interesting and overlooked sidenote to compelling era of Jay's work.

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this came in the mail today



...the important thing is that the bonus disc is a pressed copy of Section.80. Wooh!


...



G-Unit - God's Plan: Collector's Edition - 2006 - BCD Music Group
This is actually a more overground re-release of one of the early G-Unit mixtapes that caused so much buzz for their debut. Originally released in 2002, God's Plan was a pretty good highlight of the group's chemistry with plenty of freestyles and 50 singing the hooks. There are however two things that can majorly crush a quality mixtape: too many DJ drops, and random gun sound effects. And unfortunately God's Plan has both. If you can get by that, and you happen to be a G-Unit fan, then there's certainly plenty to like here though. Highlights include Tony Yayo going hard of Dre's "Deep Cover" beat, as well as the inclusion of the "Work It" remix that 50 did with Missy Elliott as well as his cut with Biggie from the Duets album. These tracks really help give it a more album-sounding quality - again that is botched thanks to the DJ drops and gunshots, as well as a few freestyles that cut-off abruptly instead of turning into full tracks (their take on "Mind Playing Tricks On Me" for example). But I do like how lean this set is. Clocking in at a mere 15 tracks instead of meandering like many mixtapes do to try to fill up the 80 minutes that the CD medium allows.

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if anyone's interested in swapping some CD's, I've got a couple of dupes to unload. I've got one of those fancy CDR's of A$AP Rocky's Live Love A$AP that you see on eBay all the time w/ nicely printed art. I've also got an extra copy of The Roots' Game Theory.

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Das EFX - Dead Serious - 1992 - East West
This album ushered a whole new sound when it dropped. It had that whole EPMD-sound for sure, but the whole "-iggity" thing was just so weird and awesome at the time. Plus, the rapid fire lyrics were full of various pop-culture pieces. Very unique and interesting. It definitely holds up today as well. The classics "Mic Checka" and "They Want EFX" are well... classics. But there's a lot of cool deeper cuts like the crazy epic beat on "If Only" or "Klap Ya Handz," which was the track that got them signed and would later be referenced on Tribe's own "Clap Your Hands." It's also interesting how they tried to balance pop and an underground aesthetic. In the same song that "shit" is edited out, the word "fuck" appears twice. It's almost charming in a baffling way. Similarly, even when the beats tried to stay rugged and they were rapping about hanging out in sewers, they also recorded a song about shitting your pants... which is just bizarre. But again unique.