Sach O couldn’t buy Cuban Linx II from iTunes yesterday. Don’t make me go pick up a plastic disc Apple.

“Cold Outside”

24. They telegraph that “Cold Outside” is the sequel to “Rainy Dayz”.

25. Note to producers: less autotune, more off-key warbling from Suga Bang-Bang over what sounds like the finale of a Chambara flick. Who produced this? This sounds like the soundtrack to a nervous breakdown and might be the only beat that totally captures the utter weirdness of the original’s middle section (”Ice Water,” Glaciers of Ice.”)  Can you imagine any other emcee thinking it’s a good idea to rap over something this abrasive in 2009?

26. “They found a 2 year old strangled to death with a “love daddy” shirt on in a bag on the top of the steps. Police blowin niggas, narcs and judges, me and son had beef, I had to murk him we supposed to be brothers. Cause he came home frontin, feelin like that I owe him somethin. Cause I’m gettin money, drive a lil something-somethin. Renee got AIDS with five kids, smoked out, house is brick, bills haven’t been paid in days. Her Crooklyn man’s a molester, caught case and the crime’s raisin, swastikas on the church they Satan. Holiday season is here and I’m vexed, who the fuck made Christmas up? I’m fuckin broke and it ain’t makin no sense. Newports is 7.50 a box of Huggies is off the meat-rack, she’s back 30 days she relapsed! Our troops need to leave Iraq, and rap niggas need to go on strike so we can make more cash! CHORUS.”

27. Ghostface runs away with the song, but remember that Raekwon found the beat that inspired him. The Wizard of Poetry is shaping up to be Ghost’s Immobilarity to CL2’s Supreme Clientele: it won’t be nearly as bad as the critical perception, but will likely suffer from terrible execution.

“Black Mozart”

28. The transition to “Black Mozart” is a little abrupt. I was expecting the dramatic slow fade, not a sudden leap back into Karate-quote land.

29. The abundance of kung-fu talk hints that this album is just as inspired by 36 Chambers as by OBFCL. The Wu never did record a true sequel to their debut since they’d already moved into prog-rap territory by Forever. Sampling a spy-muzak version of the Godfather theme is the kind of lighthearted oddball move that Rza abandoned in the mid-90’s but that worked to great effect on Meth and Dirty’s first albums. It’s nice to get a chuckle out of a Wu-Tang album without laughing AT it.

30. Conversely, Rza’s vocals suggest that he’s now totally lost in Sly Stone meets Lee Perry territory. This needed Bobby Steels not the Hip-Hop Hippie.

“Gihad”

31. I probably should’ve paid attention to “Gihad” when it leaked last year and ended up in my “random tracks” folder–purgatory for emcees who can’t put together coherent releases. Glad it found a home.

32. Never thought I’d hear Wu-Tang over a Necro track but I guess it makes total sense given that Non Phixion were Jewish imitation-brand Wu. Except Goretex–that guy actually pulled it off. Regardless, they should keep Necro on speed dial, better that this stuff go to the Clan than a Sabac Red solo album.

33. Rae and Stark’s verses highlight their respective approaches to this album: Rae is all about subtlety and detail whereas Ghost is throwing more shocking imagery per second than he has since “Wildflower.” The latter tends to pull you in quicker, but there’s something to be said about Rae buying a crib next to Bill Clinton’s mother cuz she fucks with the Chinese. I’m giving him the better verse this go around.

34. That said, Ghost’s sound effect when a bullet spins out>>>>>Kanye’s “Pwew! Pwew! Pwew!”s on the album that shall not be named.

“New Wu”

35. “New Wu” sounds much better in the context of the album. As a single, it’s an awkward “we’re baaaack” song that serves little purpose than to remind us that they’ve been gone. As an album track, it’s a solid three verse battle rhyme with Meth spazzing the fuck out and one of Rza’s best beats in recent vintage. It’s also proof that rappers shouldn’t bother with releasing this type of record as a single. Unless you have T-Pain, you won’t hit mainstream radio and your audience is more likely to geek out over “House of Flying Daggers”, which is the exact moment when anticipation for this project went through the roof.

36. This chorus is still too self-referential. The original Cuban Linx never stopped to acknowledge how awesome Cuban Linx was– it just concerned itself with detailing the world the Clan was living in. Self-awareness is an intrinsic part of Hip-Hop, but much like the 808 drum machine, we went overboard this decade. Word to Joe Budden’s punchlines.

37. If the production lists on the net are to be believed, this is also Rza’s last beat on the album. I remember a few years ago he was set to produce half the album but I guess that was before the whole 8 Diagrams debacle, which is where at least a couple of those tracks ended up (”Rushing Elephants,” “Unpredictable”). Sadly, as good as those beats were, Rza’s attempt at mind of expansion compromised them. Rae did good by helming this one himself.

“Penitentiary”

38. Back and forth storytelling prison rap with jittery production! Contrasted with Verbal Intercourse, this is a lot more immediate. I wonder if Raekwon wrote this one himself, sounds like it.

39. The beat ramps up the tension to 11. The ability for hip-hop production to set the stage for an emcee to paint a picture, rather than a location appropriate mood (club record, radio record, street record) has been all but lost in recent years.

40. One thing missing from this album is the inventive song titles Wu used to come up with. “Verbal Intercourse” and “Knowledge God” sound a lot cooler than “Penitentiary” and “Baggin’ Crack.”

“Baggin’ Crack”

41. Speaking of “Baggin Crack’, this is the first time I’ve been impressed with an Erick Sermon beat since “Music” in 2001. Rae’s greatest achievement on this album might be the beats he coaxed out of underused elder-statesmen producers. This sounds like “Reservoir Dogs’” evil synth-enhanced twin.

42. Raekwon absolutely bodies these short tracks. Rather than make every song an epic number, he drops these slices of life, which give the record depth. Rap needs less choruses and more instances of the words “dig-dug”.

43. Suge Knighting the building is a great threat.

Download:
MP3: Raekwon-”Walk Wit’ Me” (iTunes Bonus Track)”
MP3: Raekwon ft. Ghostface-”Badlands”

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