The best word to sum up both the hype surrounding 8 Diagrams, as well as the musical content itself, would have to be 'Unpredictable', which ironically is what the 'U' in 'Wu' stands for. Though the anticipation and desire for a new Wu-Tang album has been lively for quite some time, nonetheless, the result is nothing short of surprising. Quite simply, 8 Diagrams is like no other Wu-Tang album to date.
Return to the Chambers... Again
In true Wu fashion, 8 Diagrams opens with a clip from an ol' kung fu flick. But unlike the frenzied swashbucklery of taunts and sword strikes common in previous Clan recordings, the intro begins with a dialog between master and student, discussing the importance of "kindness, justice, faith and courage." The mature and contemplative theme presented in 8 Diagrams' introduction in due course pervades throughout the album, as each members' stylistic techniques and perspectives seem vividly altered by the tests of time. The music kicks off with the gloomy hums of the fluid and murky "Campfire," as Method Man returns at his grimiest alongside the hard-body taunt-raps of the Clan's unofficial 10th member, Cappadonna. But it's Ghostface who steals the show with the already fan-favorite line "We gon' have a ball, might as well pick a testicle."
"Campfire" is soon followed by the jazzy, bass-heavy reverberations of "Take It Back," featuring co-production by Easy Mo Bee who has historically found his niche by mastering this style (lest we forget he produced most of the beats on GZA's first album, Words from the Genius). 8 Diagrams' second and only other co-producer, Allah Mathematics, joins in and hits the boards with RZA on one of the album's main events, "Stick Me for My Riches." Laid out with a darkly distorted soul sample, a sudden series of unexpected high-hats rain on the beat, tightening it up really quickly as Method Man, a hoarse Inspectah Deck, RZA and GZA ride the melody and hook with high energy.
Though the production on 8 Diagrams is phenomenal, fans looking for a throwback to the boom-bap sound of the early 90's will be disappointed. Instead, the album features meticulously crafted compositions, chiefly the elaborate and soulful 'The Heart Gently Weeps', a work of genre-crossing art. Accompaniment by Erykah Badu, John Frusciante and Beatles' baby Dhani Harrison brings a whimsically soothing and delicate touch to the otherwise violent content matter of the song's tale.
Likewise, the somber strings (which are only further accentuated by the repetitiveness) of "Gun Will Go" foster solemn emotion, while the simple hook will grab you after a few listens. Much of 8 Diagrams' songs proficiently apply a key balance of well hought-out beat-craftsmanship, along with well-suited lyrical and vocal content. Another instance: the jazz-infused bubbly oscillations of "Starter" bode well with the track's subject matter, as GZA and U-God's relaxed tone parallel the beat's placid and eased nature.
The Abbott Advances His Abilities
Completing the scores for such films as Kill Bill Vol. 1, 2 & Blade: Trinity, the RZA's growth as a producer has found him implementing a much more diverse set of instrumentation for his projects. And though Raekwon might criticize RZA, calling him a "Hip-Hop hippie" for his genre-bending achievements, The Abbott's style bares little to no resemblance of the peace and love, flower power 60's. Far from 'groovy', 'gravely' would be a much more appropriate description for 8 Diagrams' dark soundscape as RZA's experience has given him the tools to expand and polish his craft, while resurrecting the gloomy elements of his Gravediggaz roots. Case in point is a track like "Rushing Elephants" which features a swinging beat buried under the auspices of cacophonous strings, or the somewhat similar-sounding 'Unpredictable', which distorts a swanky guitar-funk sample into a shrill horror-fest, terrorized by RZA and Inspectah Deck who boasts he'll "cause a massacre with no chainsaw."
One of 8 Diagrams' standout tracks is 'Sunlight', a highly philosophical RZA moment which in actuality would probably feel more at home on one of his solo albums, rather than smack-dab in the middle of a Wu record. "Sunlight" is perceptibly a labor of love as RZA drops some gems and highlights the metaphysical terrain he's known for divulging during interviews. Uttering Zen-like enigmas, RZA asks: "Every tree is numbered, but who could count them?/ The name of all things in this world, who can pronounce them?/"
Fork in the Road: Music & Mutiny
While the 'U' in 'Wu' stands for 'Unpredictable', it unfortunately doesn't stand for 'Unity.' Intended to be the Wu's return to form (sans Ol' Dirty Bastard), 8 Diagrams comes close: but no cigar. Rather than finding the Clan forming like Voltron, much of the members' assemblage feels cut-and-paste and artificial; even the album's cover is clearly a collage of individual photos.
Raekwon and Ghostface, the Clan's most prominent crack-rappers, have expressed their discontent with RZA's "Hip-Hop hippie" direction, and unfortunately, the timing couldn't be worse, as much of 8 Diagrams' initial reception has been tainted by R.A.G.U.'s disgruntled opinions.
Throughout 8 Diagrams, the Clan members receive a relatively shared amount of airtime, with Method Man scoring above average with participation on ten of the album's sixteen tracks. Ghostface fans will be disappointed though, as the Iron Man only appears on four tracks, the final one being track six, meaning that Ghost disappears and is completely absent for the last 45 minutes of the album.
Yeah... seriously! Most importantly, Pretty Tone' doesn't even show up for the seven-plus-minute-long 'Life Changes', the eagerly anticipated tribute track for Ol' Dirty, the Clan's fallen soldier. How can you form Voltron when you're missing some crucial pieces? With that being said, die-hard fans will appreciate that the album is capped off by '16th Chamber', rumored to be a "lost track" from Enter the 36 Chambers, the Wu-Tang Clan's opus and introduction to hip-hoppers worldwide.
