i like the clock radio lyrics -- im just saying theyve aged in a way rae's havent & sound very of their era. and yeah tuomas i think having different personas in different songs at least w/in rap music is weird & dated & unusual. 'unofficial wet tissue' is classic.
― j. sargent & lil k3v (deej), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 17:20 (thirteen years ago) link
lyrics on 'gold' aged well. "waitin for the train to make noise... "
i think ppl are more forgiving of some of the more awkward lyrical turns bcuz they get buried under RZA's erm 'soundscapes' so it sounds more menacing than they would on later GZA records. doesnt change the fact that 'feminine like sandals' is a goofy thing for a dude rapping about the drug trade to say
― j. sargent & lil k3v (deej), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 17:22 (thirteen years ago) link
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
― j. sargent & lil k3v (deej), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 17:23 (thirteen years ago) link
would you prefer "feminine like scented candles"
― i was like a person at a table at a place (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 17:30 (thirteen years ago) link
seriously don't get holding "dated" sounds/styles against a musician
what kind of travesty is that fucking tattoo.
― definatelypoopsmcgee (chrisv2010), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 17:31 (thirteen years ago) link
rappers inhabit personas more fully now
I feel quite the opposite; rappers now seem to me to be lame caricatures compared to the stuff on early Wu albums.
― Lazarus Niles-Burnham (res), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 17:32 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah I dunno if I would count this as a net positive. it's certainly made rap music more monotonous.
― i was like a person at a table at a place (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 17:34 (thirteen years ago) link
rmde x10000
― j. sargent & lil k3v (deej), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 17:35 (thirteen years ago) link
I will take that as an otm directed at me :)
― rmde and dangerous (bernard snowy), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 17:39 (thirteen years ago) link
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)
― another al3x, Wednesday, 13 October 2010 16:45 (51 minutes ago)
― rmde and dangerous (bernard snowy), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 17:40 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah yeah we've had this argument
― i was like a person at a table at a place (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 17:45 (thirteen years ago) link
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.
― rmde and dangerous (bernard snowy), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 17:51 (thirteen years ago) link
(if it wasn't clear, this is my attempt to explain the current state of rap personas)
Tical > Return > Liquid > Linx > Ironman
― MMLLLARRRFF (jjjusten), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 19:03 (thirteen years ago) link
good to know rappers don't use similes anymore
― vehemence is mine (Edward III), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 19:18 (thirteen years ago) link
"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
― GLEERILLAZ! (HI DERE), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 19:21 (thirteen years ago) link
shit's outdated like milk in liquor store fridges
― vehemence is mine (Edward III), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 19:25 (thirteen years ago) link
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?
― Tuomas, Wednesday, 13 October 2010 19:27 (thirteen years ago) link
sandals are pretty fucken feminine whether you're a drug dealer or a CEO
― rusko p. coltrane (Whiney G. Weingarten), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 19:28 (thirteen years ago) link
not if you are CEO of Sandals
― GLEERILLAZ! (HI DERE), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 19:29 (thirteen years ago) link
its just ... dated juice crew type ish.
;_;
that ish could be your life.
― da poupier (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 19:30 (thirteen years ago) link
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.
― pandemic, Wednesday, 13 October 2010 19:33 (thirteen years ago) link
i think tical 2000 judgement day is kinda underrated too
― da poupier (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 19:40 (thirteen years ago) link
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
― i was like a person at a table at a place (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 19:45 (thirteen years ago) link
imo meth didn't really find his voice until Forever
― all yoga attacks are fire based (rogermexico.), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 19:48 (thirteen years ago) link
it's so sludgy and murky, even moreso than 36 Chambers
it got waterlogged or something
― Lazarus Niles-Burnham (res), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 20:02 (thirteen years ago) link
1. Cuban Linx2. Liquid Swords3. Tical4. Ironman5. 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.
― Gavin in Leeds, Wednesday, 13 October 2010 20:03 (thirteen years ago) link
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.
― vehemence is mine (Edward III), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 20:06 (thirteen years ago) link
honestly I think Method Man was singled out as the breakout star because he is the most conventionally good-looking
― i was like a person at a table at a place (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 20:08 (thirteen years ago) link
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
― i was like a person at a table at a place (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 20:09 (thirteen years ago) link
tough call on the 1&2 spots, but my ranking would be
GZA - Liquid SwordsOl' Dirty Bastard - Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty VersionMethod Man - TicalRaekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...Ghostface Killah - Ironman
even though liquid swords is played out like NES controllers
― vehemence is mine (Edward III), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 20:09 (thirteen years ago) link
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
― vehemence is mine (Edward III), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 20:11 (thirteen years ago) link
i got fat bags of skunk i got white owl bluntsand I'm about to go get lifted
never 4get
― vehemence is mine (Edward III), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 20:12 (thirteen years ago) link
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:
IronmanCuban LinxODBLiquid SwordsTical
― raging hetero lifechill (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 20:13 (thirteen years ago) link
i mean meth doesn't have the raw charisma of a masta killa but he does have a certain something
― da poupier (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 20:14 (thirteen years ago) link
I'm not knockin Meth, he's great. Just noting that in retrospect tagging him as the breakout star was a little odd
― i was like a person at a table at a place (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 20:14 (thirteen years ago) link
I like what aero aid upthread about GZA loving the sound of words; he may contemplate them too much imo.
― raging hetero lifechill (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 20:15 (thirteen years ago) link
*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?)
― i was like a person at a table at a place (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 20:15 (thirteen years ago) link
Meth, by far.
― raging hetero lifechill (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 20:17 (thirteen years ago) link
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!
― da poupier (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 20:17 (thirteen years ago) link
the sound of words; he may contemplate them too much imo.
barring u from all future ashbery discussions/conferences/anthologies my friend!!
― drawl the whine (underrated aerosmith albums I have loved), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 20:19 (thirteen years ago) link
wow apparently I thought Got Your Money was a way bigger hit than it actually was. weird
― i was like a person at a table at a place (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 20:20 (thirteen years ago) link
The tenor of Meth's rhymes and often goofy presence don't really align well with the Wu sound in my opinion
― Lazarus Niles-Burnham (res), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 20:20 (thirteen years ago) link
I only love three Ashbery collections so fine with me.
xpost
― raging hetero lifechill (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 20:21 (thirteen years ago) link
I love all five of these albums, but am voting Liquid Swords.
― melody-hating aggr0 nerd (San Te), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 20:21 (thirteen years ago) link
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
― da poupier (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 13 October 2010 20:21 (thirteen years ago) link
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.
― Tuomas, Wednesday, 13 October 2010 20:22 (thirteen years ago) link