classic Wu-Tang solo run poll

rmde x10000

I will take that as an otm directed at me :)

and to pay it forward:

sometimes rza on 4th chamber is my favorite verse

― another al3x, Wednesday, 13 October 2010 16:45 (51 minutes ago)

rmde x10000

yeah yeah we've had this argument

I think we exist in a weird transitional period where the visibility of extra-musical gossip-blog/twitter/etc stuff in relation the the music itself has increased, and the artists are aware of it and try to work it sometimes, but people aren't quite willing to extend artistic license to 'real life' shit. which I guess means that lady gaga is our only hope.

(if it wasn't clear, this is my attempt to explain the current state of rap personas)

Tical > Return > Liquid > Linx > Ironman

i mean those kinds of similies are basically like, your literature/language arts teacher explaining rap music kind of goofy. its just ... dated juice crew type ish. rappers inhabit personas more fully now

good to know rappers don't use similes anymore

"clever and/or unexpected wordplay is so dated" goes a very long way towards why I don't feel a lot of current hip-hop

shit's outdated like milk in liquor store fridges

If rappers inhabit their personas more fully now, and having different personas in different songs is "dated", you'd think that'd be a bad thing for rap music and not a good thing, as that means rap is less versatile now. Isn't there room for both approaches?

sandals are pretty fucken feminine whether you're a drug dealer or a CEO

not if you are CEO of Sandals

its just ... dated juice crew type ish.

;_;

that ish could be your life.

Not wildly enthusiastic about Meth or ODB albums. Enjoy the Ghostface okay but feels like a straight fight between Gza and Rae. Oh, who am I kidding? Liquid Swords all the way, influenced mainly by the fact that it was the only tape I had in my car for a 5-7 month period back in the day and I love Meth on this way more than anything on Tical.

i think tical 2000 judgement day is kinda underrated too

Tical was the first one released, right? presumably because Meth was viewed as the one with the most pop potential? which is funny considering how NON-pop the album ended up being. it's so sludgy and murky, even moreso than 36 Chambers

imo meth didn't really find his voice until Forever

it's so sludgy and murky, even moreso than 36 Chambers

it got waterlogged or something

1. Cuban Linx
2. Liquid Swords
3. Tical
4. Ironman
5. Return

All great, 3 & 4 could easily switch around on any given day but I've got Tical on right now, loving the sludge and murk.

yeah method man was the chosen one, the first single from 36 chambers was "method man", that says something right there. funny how his career never lived up to the early rep. if you had told ppl in '93 that ghostface's discog would slay method man's, nobody, me included, would've believed it.

I remember tical being widely dismissed on release, indie kids seemed to be the only folks who dug it.

honestly I think Method Man was singled out as the breakout star because he is the most conventionally good-looking

like, "oh this is the one the girls might conceivably like"

which is funny cuz afaict the big breakout pop star was actually ODB lol

tough call on the 1&2 spots, but my ranking would be

GZA - Liquid Swords
Ol' Dirty Bastard - Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version
Method Man - Tical
Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...
Ghostface Killah - Ironman

even though liquid swords is played out like NES controllers

u mad shakey

method man had a distinctive voice, great flow, a way with a hook, memorable rhymes & images

it was his to lose

xp

i got fat bags of skunk
i got white owl blunts
and I'm about to go get lifted

never 4get

I like the idea of Liquid Swords, and "Shadowboxing" has my favorite Meth moment ever, but it's boring and stodgy most of the time.

I'd rank them:

Ironman
Cuban Linx
ODB
Liquid Swords
Tical

i mean meth doesn't have the raw charisma of a masta killa but he does have a certain something

I'm not knockin Meth, he's great. Just noting that in retrospect tagging him as the breakout star was a little odd

I like what aero aid upthread about GZA loving the sound of words; he may contemplate them too much imo.

*said

who has the most hits of all the Wu solo guys? I would think that "Got Your Money" and ODB being on "Fantasy" trump everyone else's...? (Meth's biggest hit must have been the original Mary J. Blige version of "All I Need" right?)

xp

Meth, by far.

Meth 'n' Mary scored a #2 single. ODB has his bit on "Fantasy."

i really love tical...and obv blackout is a classic too, plus meth is one of those ppl that's always welcome on any track IMO, great guest verse dude on tons of wu-tang and others songs

shakey you are acting like he's a shit sandwich not a ticallion stallion!

the sound of words; he may contemplate them too much imo.

barring u from all future ashbery discussions/conferences/anthologies my friend!!

wow apparently I thought Got Your Money was a way bigger hit than it actually was. weird

The tenor of Meth's rhymes and often goofy presence don't really align well with the Wu sound in my opinion

I only love three Ashbery collections so fine with me.

xpost

I love all five of these albums, but am voting Liquid Swords.

there was a good piece on Wu Tang in Mojo of all places a couple of years ago...GZA came off as really...different...

he was riding around with the writer in his car and said "I don't listen to music, I only like to open the windows and listen to the sound of the wind"

he says he never listens to anything, which kinda makes sense if you listen to him, his whole style and aesthetic is so personal quirky and out of step with everything, even the wu

yeah method man was the chosen one, the first single from 36 chambers was "method man", that says something right there. funny how his career never lived up to the early rep. if you had told ppl in '93 that ghostface's discog would slay method man's, nobody, me included, would've believed it.

I'm pretty sure Meth's records have sold more than Ghostface's, even if Ghost has gotten more critical acclaim. And I assume Meth is generally the best known of the Wu rappers too, due to his movie roles. So it's not like they made a wrong decision choosing him as the breakout star.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_Man_discography

So yeah, Meth has three platinum albums whereas Ghost has only one (Ironman).

ODB's got one platinum and one gold - I kinda can't even believe the first one outsold the second.

I don't -- the first one was at the height of the Wu's permeation of pop culture. "Shimmy Shimmy Ya" was a far bigger presence than its chart peak would suggest.

same with "Incarcerated Scarfaces" and "Shadowboxing"

I'm not really concerned about who sells what to whom really

speaking of old wu-tang, house of flying daggers of OB4CL II is sooo old school wu and everyone goes so hard :)

(posting cuz i love the meth verse, but everyone is fantastic)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR7kVnh3PlI

you sold platinum round the world I sold wood in the hood