Now that Zilla Rocca and U-God Zilla have joined forces, the planets shall align and miniature golf scores shall plummet.
U-God is probably one of the most interesting MC’s in Wu-Tang. And by interesting I mean “not very talented.” He had that scene-stealing verse on “Da Mystery of Chessboxin” (you’re welcome, Brandon Soderberg) but he also did “Black Shampoo,” still the creepiest thing I’ve ever heard on a hardcore hip hop album. He’s flexed a rhyme style of Mafioso threats, misdirected 5 percent slang, Dungeons and Dragons word salad, and a flow that never quite landed on beat all the time. He’s always had a cool voice, but hasn’t done anything notable with it like Lord Have Mercy. He wore the Wonder Women bracelets years before Ghostface. His first solo album “Golden Arms Redemption” ranks up there with Cappadonna’s “The Yin and the Yang” as one of the holes that helped sink the Wu boat in the late 90s. And the video for “Bazar” shows what happens to your budget when your name isn’t Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface, RZA, GZA, or ODB.
With that said, I’ve always kinda rooted for U-God. He was never as technically precise as Inspectah Deck or GZA. He was never as intriguing nor mysterious as Masta Killa. I’m not sure if he did as much cocaine as Ol’ Dirty. And he didn’t pronounce his “R’s” as “W’s” like RZA. U-God (does anyone refer to him as Golden Arms anymore?) would sneak up on you with some standout verses here and there like on “The Big Doe Rehab” (“Semi-Automatic Full Rap Metal Jacket” from the “High School High” soundtrack is probably his best verse). And who could forget him flipping out on Method Man as they cruised on a bullet train through Japan during “The Show?” Plus if my memory serves me correct, his character on the Wu-Tang video game for Playstation was pretty decent, so kudos to you Mr. Lucky Hands.
I logged onto MySpace today and weirdly enough received a friend request from U-God himself. As a lifelong Wu-Tang diehard, this is probably the most exciting moment of my life. U-God wants ME to be HIS friend! Ideally, I’d prefer Ghostface or GZA, but when life gives you lemons, you accept U-God as your MySpace friend.
And He’s Even Kind to the Homeless….No Wait, That’s George Clinton
So what’s cracking in the land of U-Godzilla aka Mr. Excitement? After looking through his page, it appears that his musical influences aren’t weed, comic books, Shaolin, and Frank Zappa on cough syrup. Rather it says “THEIRS [sic] TOO MANY TO PUT UP HERE UGOD ZILLA.” Is he talking to himself or was that his signature? I don’t know what’s more frightening—the fact that U-God would think and type out loud when filling in his MySpace profile, or the fact he would only sign off his Influences section with “UGOD ZILLA.” It’s not like he’s Mike Jones or Rickey Henderson—there’s no other mention of his name on the entire page.
What’s also funny is that he claims to sound like “The beam of light this is casting all the shadows off this cold rock in space.” Umm..I was thinking more like Kool Keith with strept throat only not entertaining, but to each his own. U-God goes from manic and grammatically wretched in one box to eloquent, proper and philosophical in the next. Maybe U-God is as incoherently in tune with Knowledge of Self as Raekwon; we just haven’t heard enough interviews and shit talking on record to understand it fully. Or maybe he’s just crazy as shit. If you look at the next box that says Record Label, U-God decided to toss in his response of “soon come.” Yup, he’s fucking crazy.
Reading over his comments, it seems Baby U has been on his MySpace grind. Someone named Destiny and Brian (probably an indie band) said on April 3, 2008 “U-God…Thank You for the add!” Strongback said on March 29, “yo this shit blew my mind—Golden Arms requesting me for a friend??!?” Hey Strongback, I felt the same way! It inspired me to write this blog! And “Golden Arms Redemption” still sucks!
Ironically, Golden Arms Could Never Go Gold
Lil’ Thug, the first ever reported MySpace Rapper in existence, really wore his heart on his sleeve with the comment, “You are great. You are one of the best rappers in circulation. Thank for the add. Rezpekt!” To be honest, I don’t think they get Jay-Z albums in his country. And according to his post, rappers are like library books, newspaper, and Upper Deck baseball cards—not “in the game” or “on the scene” but “in circulation.” I’ll have what he’s having.
Besides the hilarious comments, there’s not much else going on with U-God. Most of his pictures are of famous people like Steve-O, Ice-T, and Killah Priest. He’s not really in the pictures with these people, but at least he has a nice camera with RZA owning his publishing and all. There’s links to buy some Wu-Tang t-shirts and hoodies along with a two-sided calendar for Wu-Tang’s 2006 world tour coupled with the album cover (?) for “Mr. Excitement.” I’m surprised hipsters didn’t get on U-God’s nuts with the sheer irony of that album title.
Well I’ve had enough excitement for one day. I’ll let y’all know when I get friend requests from Islord, Shorty Shit Stain, or The American Cream Team. Hopefully, it’ll “soon come.”
Download:
MP3: U-God ft. Method Man & Inspectah Deck-“Rumble”
MP3: U-God ft. Raekwon-“Shell Shock”
Beat Generation Bonus Tracks:
MP3: Nico the Beast-“Nico’s Theme”
MP3: Nico the Beast & Hannibal-“Heavyweight Bullies”
