Donnie Dopeflow
02-06-06, 09:37 PM
After Wu Tang Clan’s 36 Chambers, and their subsequent solo onslaught there was a certain expectation that they would inherit the rap world. After Forever failed to establish them as a popular entity (en masse), Wu heads and members began to envy the reigning King B.I.G. and his Dynasty. Sadly like Y2K, Wu Tang would never truly blow, but fortunately in general neither would their music. While bad Boy crumbled, RZA continued detonating serious blasts beneath the surface.
Ghost Dog: The Way of The Samurai, The Album (2000) (the Official Soundtrack of Ghost Dog: The Way of The Samurai) is one such weapon of mass production; a sonic battlefield of hypnotic synths, strings, and drums of all shapes and sizes, peppered with deadly rap land mines, war cry reggae, and soothing R&B (after all samurai’s need to tend to their wounds). And instead of doing nothing between tracks, meditate on nothingness with some help from Forest Whitaker’s Samurai Code Quotes.
"Even if a samurai’s head were to be suddenly cut off, he should still be able to perform one more action with certainty. If one becomes like a revengeful ghost and shows great determination, though his head is cut off, he should not die."
The music is RZA at his best. The sound is organic, and haunting. It takes unexpected turns, with a high-pitched horn here, a metallic clinking there, and the songs keep going when you think they would stop, and vice-versa. The artists perform exceedingly well. Most are Wu-affiliates. Most of the Clan makes an appearance, RZA raps on a few tracks and does some choruses. Kool G. Rap makes an appearance, as does Jeru, LA the Darkman, and Masta Killah.
There are some standout tracks. One of which is, The Man by Mastah Killah & Superb. There is also Walk the Dogs by Royal Fam and La the Darkman. On North Star (and RZA’s) 4 Sho Sho the rapping is cocky and articulate, and the chorus is comparable to, and as catchy as Careful Click Click. Fast Shadow has some hilarious pre-medicated Ol’ Dirty Bastard, and some surprisingly ill verses all around. Samurai Showdown is RZA’s solo track and one of the highlights of the album due to it’s perfectly eerie turned bangin’ beat and off-kilter slang and delivery.
Overall, the album is almost too consistent to pick favorites and that’s what makes it great. The production is unmatched, and while the Mcing doesn’t always live up to that, it is always sufficient or better. This soundtrack was made for Robert Diggs, a young poor boy, who would watch the cheap kung fu flicks in his neighborhood and grew up to make hip hop about them. The stars have aligned and while Wu Tang may or may not be a consistent dynasty, (Let’s hope it is) the RZA is a consistent king of this rap thing.
Note: I wrote this review headless.
Ghost Dog: The Way of The Samurai, The Album (2000) (the Official Soundtrack of Ghost Dog: The Way of The Samurai) is one such weapon of mass production; a sonic battlefield of hypnotic synths, strings, and drums of all shapes and sizes, peppered with deadly rap land mines, war cry reggae, and soothing R&B (after all samurai’s need to tend to their wounds). And instead of doing nothing between tracks, meditate on nothingness with some help from Forest Whitaker’s Samurai Code Quotes.
"Even if a samurai’s head were to be suddenly cut off, he should still be able to perform one more action with certainty. If one becomes like a revengeful ghost and shows great determination, though his head is cut off, he should not die."
The music is RZA at his best. The sound is organic, and haunting. It takes unexpected turns, with a high-pitched horn here, a metallic clinking there, and the songs keep going when you think they would stop, and vice-versa. The artists perform exceedingly well. Most are Wu-affiliates. Most of the Clan makes an appearance, RZA raps on a few tracks and does some choruses. Kool G. Rap makes an appearance, as does Jeru, LA the Darkman, and Masta Killah.
There are some standout tracks. One of which is, The Man by Mastah Killah & Superb. There is also Walk the Dogs by Royal Fam and La the Darkman. On North Star (and RZA’s) 4 Sho Sho the rapping is cocky and articulate, and the chorus is comparable to, and as catchy as Careful Click Click. Fast Shadow has some hilarious pre-medicated Ol’ Dirty Bastard, and some surprisingly ill verses all around. Samurai Showdown is RZA’s solo track and one of the highlights of the album due to it’s perfectly eerie turned bangin’ beat and off-kilter slang and delivery.
Overall, the album is almost too consistent to pick favorites and that’s what makes it great. The production is unmatched, and while the Mcing doesn’t always live up to that, it is always sufficient or better. This soundtrack was made for Robert Diggs, a young poor boy, who would watch the cheap kung fu flicks in his neighborhood and grew up to make hip hop about them. The stars have aligned and while Wu Tang may or may not be a consistent dynasty, (Let’s hope it is) the RZA is a consistent king of this rap thing.
Note: I wrote this review headless.