Wu-Tang is forever. After almost 20 years of classic New York City rap and hip-hop, Raekwon is taking the name Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang for his fifth studio album, bearing in mind the martial arts film that inspired the Wu-Tang Clan to come up with their group name. Bringing back the soundbites from the film that were ever-present on the Wu's debut album in 1993, Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang keeps Raekwon true to his roots.
With this particular title, one would think that Raekwon wanted to delve into the deep history of the Clan and embody the type of craft the group normally produces. Even though this solo album lacks the genius production of RZA, the sound is still flawless. Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang's production has achieved the sound that RZA would have generated had he been present in the process.
Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang is a pseudo journey for Raekwon as he identifies Shaolin as his home of Staten Island. In simple terms, Raekwon is just keeping it real. The title track ""Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang"" has melodic rhymes, yet still has an intuition for drama; Rae's street stories are sinister. He's smooth, and is more than capable of understanding rhymes and combining them with impulsive beats to blend harmoniously with kung-fu movie samples.
""I wanted to go real deep with this album, go into that kung-fu world and deal with one of the concepts that they're dealing with,"" explained Raekwon as he defended his album. On one track in particular, ""Snake Pond"", Raekwon envisions himself as a fighting ninja of Shaolin. In a pursuit to capture a villain, ""Snake Pond"" seems to explore the themes of envy, love, and sacrifices. But really, it's all about revenge: ""I'm going to find this motherfucker and cut his head off, using karate,"" said Raekwon.
Any great rap album cannot be made alone. Raekwon has the company of fellow Clan members on Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang, including Method Man, Ghostface Killah and Inspectah Deck. Method Man himself defines ""Every Soldier in the Hood."" His talent on this track is immaculate, reminding us that he keeps music flowing and can morph any track to suit his beat.
Raekwon also sought out contribution from unaffiliated artists, such as Jim Jones, Busta Rhymes and Rick Ross. ""Rock 'N Roll"" is a diversion from Raekwon's other tracks, however he defends it by asserting that he grew up on artists like Queen and Led Zeppelin; he wanted to get into rock because it shows creativity. Exploring all levels of music, Ghostface, Jim Jones, and Raekwon collaborate to distinguish this track from others on Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang.
In a series of videos on vimeo.com, Raekwon said ""[Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang] is like me, before I was actually part of the Wu-Tang. Before that, I was on the block. I was living in Shaolin. This album just shows the street side of me, challenging the great side of Wu-Tang."" Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang will result in enormous praise for Raekwon, however there is not much reason to say this is a challenge. This album is essentially another Wu-Tang album, just without RZA. Raekwon does, however, pay homage to what he has learned since his first encounter with Shaolin and the Wu.
Rae does use various kung-fu movie samples to place his Shaolin against Wu-Tang, a personification of RZA's house. This premise, however, eventually unearths the truth: Shaolin and Wu-Tang are one and the same. Raekwon may have produced his fifth solo album, but he is only proving how vital RZA has been to everything he has produced in his career through these songs. Raekwon will never depart from RZA's persuasion and talent. Like I said before, Wu-Tang is forever.
