This album was released on June 3rd in 1997. I’m honestly not really sure how I’m gonna feel about this project. It’s almost 2 hours in length, and has almost 30 songs. It’s the much anticipated follow up to 36 Chambers. I know there are some really great songs on this album already, but it’s kind of daunting. It’s a very dense project. I generally dislike double disc albums, but I love Wu-Tang, so this should be an interesting listen.

Disc 1

Wu-Revolution performed by Popa Wu & Uncle Pete produced by RZA
Reunited performed by Ms. Roxy, GZA, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, RZA & Method Man produced by RZA
For Heaven’s Sake performed by Inspectah Deck, Masta Killa & Cappadonna produced by RZA
Cash Still Rules / Scary Hours (Still Don’t Nothing Move But the Money) performed by Raekwon, Method Man & Ghostface Killah produced by 4th Disciple
Visionz performed by Method Man, Raekwon, Masta Killa, Inspectah Deck & Ghostface Killah produced by Inspectah Deck
As High As Wu-Tang Get performed by Ol’ Dirty Bastard, GZA & Method Man produced by RZA
Severe Punishment performed by U-God, GZA, Raekwon, RZA & Masta Killa produced by RZA
Older Gods performed by Ghostface Killah, Raekwon & GZA produced by 4th Disciple
Maria performed by Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Cappadonna & RZA produced by RZA
A Better Tomorrow performed by Inspectah Deck, Masta Killa, U-God, RZA & Method Man produced by 4th Disciple
It’s Yourz performed by Raekwon, U-God, RZA, Inspectah Deck & Ghostface Killah produced by RZA

Disc 2

Intro performed by RZA & GZA produced by RZA
Triumph performed by Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Inspectah Deck, Method Man, Cappadonna, U-God, RZA, GZA, Masta Killa, Ghostface Killah & Raekwon produced by RZA
Impossible performed by RZA, U-God, Ghostface Killah, Tekitha & Raekwon produced by 4th Disciple & RZA
Little Ghetto Boys performed by RZA, Raekwon, Cappadonna, Ghostface Killah & Method Man produced by RZA
Deadly Melody performed by Masta Killa, U-God, RZA, Method Man, GZA, Streetlife, Ghostface Killah produced by RZA
The City performed by Inspectah Deck produced by 4th Disciple
The Projects performed by Raekwon, U-God, Method Man & Ghostface Killah produced by RZA
Bells of War performed by U-God, Method Man, RZA, Masta Killa, Raekwon & Ghostface Killah produced by RZA
The M.G.M. performed by Ghostface Killah & Raekwon produced by True Master
Dog Shit performed by Ol’ Dirty Bastard & Method Man produced by RZA
Duck Seazon performed by Raekwon, RZA & Method Man produced by RZA
Hellz Wind Staff performed by Streetlife, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, Method Man, RZA & Raekwon produced by RZA
Heaterz performed by Raekwon, Inspectah Deck, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, U-God & Cappadonna produced by True Master
Black Shampoo performed by U-God & Method Man produced by RZA
Second Coming performed by Tekitha produced by RZA
The Closing performed by Raekwon produced by RZA

The intro from Popa Wu & Uncle Pete was pretty unnecessary to be honest. The beat from RZA was fine, but I couldn’t take the straining vocals from Uncle Pete seriously. Popa Wu is talking about “Wu wisdom” throughout the song. It’s way longer than it needs to be. In fact, it’s actually the longest track on the entire album, which is kind of ridiculous if you ask me. It’s not that big of a deal though. I would’ve preferred if this intro didn’t even exist; the album is already long enough, so we don’t need unnecessary tracks like this. It’s fine though. I guess.

The beat on Reunited is actually really fuckin’ dope. GZA killed that first verse. ODB did his thing, and I loved RZA’s verse too. Ms. Roxy’s vocals on the hook are decent, and the verse from Method Man was great. I love the violin driven production. It’s dope af. The production on this album is a lot more polished than that of 36 Chambers. The first verse on For Heaven’s Sake from Inspectah Deck is really great. Masta Killa did a decent job. I’m not crazy about the way the beat gets higher pitched during the hook. It sounds kind of jarring. Cappadonna did his thing. It’s a good song, but I’m not as impressed as I was with the preceding track. Cash Still Rules has a pretty good beat, and the first two verses from Raekwon & Method Man were nice. Ghostface did a good job with the final verse, but I wasn’t crazy about the way it faded out at the end. The beat from INS on Visionz is pretty decent. I think he had the best verse on the song too. It’s got a really simplistic structure. It’s just one verse after another. Nothing about the song really blew me away, but I definitely enjoyed it. It’s dope. As High As Wu-Tang Get has one of the better beats on the album, and GZA fuckin’ killed the first verse. I like the hook from ODB. Meth’s flow was really great too. It’s dope af. I love the dark beat on Severe Punishment. It’s definitely another standout track. I really like the way the song is structured. Raekwon had the best verse in my opinion, but GZA did really well too. The electric sound effects in the beat on Older Gods sounded kinda cool. I’m not that impressed with the production on this track though. Ghost & Rae were cool, but GZA stole the show again in my opinion. He might actually be my favorite member. I can never decide. Maria is a really disturbing song about sex. There are few things more disgusting than the imagery of Ol’ Dirty Bastard having sex with a dirty thot. It’s definitely my least favorite song on the album so far. I don’t really think it’s bad, but I’m never gonna listen to it ever again. A Better Tomorrow has one of the best beats on the album. INS is actually goin’ in about something interesting. The song’s about mass incarceration. The hook is pretty cool. I think Inspectah Deck had a great verse. RZA’s verse kinda bothers me a little bit. I just really hate when older rappers talk shit about women just because they like having sex. It always comes off super judgmental and hypocritical. The song as a whole is dope af though.

It’s Yourz is notorious for being sampled in Drake’s song, Wu-Tang Forever. The beat is pretty good. RZA had my favorite verse. I love how aggressive his delivery is. The buildup to Ghostface’s verse was pretty cool. U-God definitely had the most underwhelming contribution. The hook is decent. It’s a good song. I fuck with it. The first disc is pretty good. It’s definitely nowhere near as good as some of the group’s other classic material though. I actually kinda enjoyed the intro to the second disc. It’s just RZA being a “REAL HIP HOP” artist, and talking about all the shit that’s been pissing him off in the industry.

Triumph is the most popular single from this album. It’s famous for Inspectah Deck’s unimaginably classic opening verse. A lot of people argue that it’s one of the greatest Rap verses of all time. The beat’s really great, and every member of the group got a chance to shine. It’s a really hard hitting song. I think it’s one of the best songs the Wu-Tang Clan has ever done. It’s dope af. The beat on Impossible is pretty dark. Ghostface fucking slaughtered his verse. I’m not crazy about the guest vocals from Tekitha. It’s not like she’s a bad singer; I just didn’t really care for the melody she was singing. The introductory skit on Little Ghetto Boys made me laugh. The song is pretty good. I think Dr. Dre flipped the sample a little better on The Chronic though. I also think the song lasted way too long. That drawn out outro was completely unnecessary. I really like the way Deadly Melody is structured. It was a pretty good introduction to Streetlife too. I like the song. It doesn’t really do anything different from any of the other songs on the album, but I enjoyed it. The City is another dope song. I like the incorporation of strings in the beat. It’s cool to hear a solo track from Inspectah Deck. The only thing I dislike about it is the hook, which isn’t even really that bad. It’s a good track. The Projects is a pretty slow paced song. The beat isn’t that impressive to me, but it’s not bad. Rae did his thing, and Meth’s verse was fine. The hook from U-God & Raekwon is alright. Ghostface Killah’s verse is absolutely disgusting. It’s about as lewd as Rap can get. I’m not really feelin’ it. The song is decent though. It’s not really bad to me. I just didn’t really enjoy it enough to warrant any repeat listens. The beat on Bells of War isn’t bad. Each MC had a good verse too. There’s not really much to dislike. It’s not blowing me away, but it’s good enough to not get deleted from my iTunes library. The M.G.M. was a decent song. It was cool to hear Ghost & Rae trading bars, and the beat wasn’t bad. I don’t know… It’s kind of a good song, but at the same time… I don’t know if I’m gonna return to it. I think I’m starting to get tired of Wu-Tang. I didn’t think that was possible. Dog Shit is another decent track. I’m not gonna pretend to like that hook from ODB. I’m not really interested in hearing him rap anymore either. Is it possible that my fandom of Wu-Tang was a phase? They just don’t excite me how they used to. Maybe it has something to do with this being a double album. It’s way too fucking long. I don’t wanna listen to any artist—not even a group—for more than 12 to 14 tracks. Method Man had an alright contribution to the song. It’s another decent track, but it just feels like more of the same. I won’t be returning to it. Duck Seazon is actually pretty dope. The beat actually sounds different, and Raekwon is killin’ the first verse. I could’ve done without all the F bombs. RZA had a great verse. Meth did his thing too. My only issue with the song is the usage of the homophobic slur. It’s dope overall though. The beat on Hellz Wind Staff is actually really cool. It sounds kind of heavy, and Streetlife had a great opening verse. Ghost’s voice sounds awesome over that beat. I actually really like it. It’s definitely one of my favorite songs on the second disk of the album. There’s not really anything I dislike about it. It’s dope af. The way RZA incorporated the fighting sound effects at the end was awesome. Each punch & kick added to the percussion pattern and fit into the beat really well. The beat on Heaterz is decent. Raekwon’s verse was fine. Inspectah Deck killed it. ODB did his thing, and I really liked U-God’s verse too. Cappadonna was alright. It’s a cool song. It doesn’t blow me away at all, but I definitely enjoyed it. The outroductory skit wasn’t necessary. I could’ve done without that shit. It transitions into Black Shampoo pretty smoothly, but I don’t particularly care to hear about U-God getting rubbed down in lotions. The beat is nothing special. I just don’t really wanna hear about this soft shit… It’s making me uncomfortable. I honestly don’t really like anything about the song. The production is lackluster, and the content is uninteresting. Second Coming is a solo track performed by Tekitha. I think she’s a pretty decent singer, and the production is solid. I kind of doubt I’ll be listening to the song again though. I like the way she sounds on the verses, but I’m not feelin’ the hook. It’s not really that bad. I don’t think it’s a good song though. It’s okay. I guess. The Closing is a spoken outro with absolutely zero replay value. It’s just Raekwon saying random bullshit that I don’t care about.

This album is really solid. It’s a good project. It’s far from perfect though. It’s way too fucking long. That applies to almost every other double album in history, so it should come as no surprise that this one had some filler. The second disk has a really noticeable drop in quality from the first one. It’s still got a lot of solid material though. I enjoyed about 74% of this project as a whole. It’s dope.

Favorite Song: Triumph
Least Favorite Song: Black Shampoo

B-