Okay, going to talk a little bit about the aforementioned hip-hop grouping before dipping into jazz, a little bit.
Firstly, I would say that even though 36 Chambers is basically the definitive Wu experience, it’s…not even in the top 3 of Wu-related albums, and that’s because there was an explosion of solo albums that are credited to individual members and associated acts; of course, all of those albums just had all the same Clan members on them. Why are these albums better? Well, a lot of it is that the production is better – all of the albums I’m going to cite here are produced by RZA and simply, he’s better at what he’s doing on these! Also the rest of the crew has improved as well and having single rappers being at the core of the creative process makes for less uneven listening experiences.
The best Wu-related album is Liquid Swords. It’s got a great thematic core, the samples from Asian grindcore flicks age a lot better than the DOIN’ STREET CRIME or “comedy” skits from contemporary albums.
Second best is Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. This album is just wall-to-wall bangers.
Ironman is more uneven than the other two of these albums (and thus more like the 36 Chambers); however, the highs are really really high, the highest being ‘Daytona 500’, featuring an incredible lineup where they sound like they’re rapping for their lives and featuring a stone-cold classic Bob James sample from ‘Nautilus’. I’ve linked the original AMV of og Speed Racer clips video for it, it has to be the Vimeo version because none of the YouTube videos are properly synced, which is awful and this is the INTENDED VIEWING EXPERIENCE GOD DAMMIT.
Other albums that I would consider ‘pantheon’ for this era:
Gangstarr - Step in the Arena
De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising
Okay, I lied, jazz next post.