The paradox of the Wu-Tang Clan "album" has been something
discussed beneath the music throughout most of the collective's recent career, as LPs have
been dubbed group or affiliate compilations, blend-hybrids, such as what we saw
with Chamber Music, and supposed
official solo albums (Iron
Flag or 8 Diagrams), so when you
see the absence of Masta Killa and GZA on the tracklist of Legendary Weapons, as well as the Executive Producer title RZA
takes despite Lil Flame, Andrew Kelley, Noah Rubin, and others’ production
credits, along with the fact that the album is listed as a Wu-Tang collection
without the "Clan," you’re left once again with the general question of what the
Wu-Tang Clan is nowadays.
The list of affiliates is endless, the solo albums are rife
with Clan cameos, and media rumors of dissention between members makes the idea
of the 36 Chambers Wu-Tang Clan
something of a hip-hop Leprechaun, but when it comes down to it, everyone just
needs to leave it alone. Music from Wu, whatever you want to call it, is Wu in
one way or another, and in the case of Legendary
Weapons, we’re getting some of their best in recent years.
A hit or miss aspect of Wu LPs throughout their career has
been balance, as the scale always leaves some section with more focus than others.
Ghostface is arguably Wu’s most talented member lyrically, and rightly deserves
his abundance of features on tracks throughout Legendary Weapons, but in the grand scheme, the sixteen other
featured emcees, which range from longtime Wu members to affiliates to Action Bronson and Roc
Marciano, all find their focal point within the twelve records (interludes and
outro not included). RZA, Raekwon, Cappadonna, and Inspectah Deck are as
present as anyone else in regards to attention, though you’ll find (a few
tracks aside) that the best sounds rightly come from Tony Starks (one of
Ghostface’s many nicknames if you’re in the dark). "Laced Cheeba," "Legendary
Weapons," and "The Black Diamonds" are spotlight tracks without question, though the sociopolitical
intro track "Start The Show" by Raekwon and RZA, along with Killarmy Wu
affiliate Killa Sin’s primo track "Drunk Tongue" easily take spots on the upper
rungs of the hierarchy of song quality.
Legendary Weapons
has its slumps, such as "225 Rounds" and "Only The Rugged Survive" where the
production overpowers the lyricism (it’s in these instances where we have to
ponder the extent of RZA’s influence), or "Never Feel This Pain," where the
emcees seem out of element in every aspect, though the negatives are never
worthy of a rating less than mediocre. Lil Flame, Andrew Kelley, and Noah Rubin handle most of the
album’s production, at least in the credits, and show their best in the orient-influenced
instrumentals of "Drunk Tongue," the atmospheric sounds and samples of "Legendary Weapons," and East Coast street-easy usual Wu styles of "Diesel
Fluid," and "Black Diamonds." Of course, the kung fu samples hold their place
throughout, but that needs no mentioning.
Depending on your taste, redundancy can be a wound here, as
the lyrical content is mostly kept to talent exhibitions, though tracks like
the opener "Start The Show" and "Diesel Fluid" contain some social commentary to break the strain. Legendary Weapons could benefit from
some topical diversity, as Wu has nothing left to prove, but when it comes down
to a pure listen, you won’t find much here to disagree with. Sure, you can find
some of the same sounds on another album, but I doubt you’re going to subtract
potential classics simply because they lack an abundance of individuality.
To truly hear Legendary
Weapons, you have to submit to the truth that we’re never going to hear a 36 Chambers from Wu again, the same way
we’ll never hear another Illmatic or Reasonable Doubt, and if you can
unshackle the past from your perception, you’ll find records that rarely touch
on mediocre ratings. Stop waiting, because quality is going to pass by, and if
you’re stuck on the fleeting idea of some majestic Wu return to 1993, then
you’re not going to catch Legendary
Weapons or anything afterward for what it is.
SumOlogy: Clan or
Compilation, it doesn’t matter, because this one makes up for 8 Diagrams.
7.5/10
Follow JT Langley on
Twitter: JTL_ologyMusic
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