Speaking of incarceration, this was the first (but, sadly, not the last) album where Ol' Dirty Bastard's presence isn't really felt.
Ringleader The Rza provides nearly all of the soundscapes for his brethren to destroy, and all of the not-incarcerated members do their best to outshine the others, all except for U-God, whom I apparently will never stop clowning.
This is proven by the fact that The W is, to date, the only Wu-Tang group album that features several hundred guest spots from outside of the camp, an even mix of rappers that the Wu had worked with before and artists brand new to the cause. The W, their third album, was (apparently) intended to show the hip hop community that the Wu were cognizant of their peers and sales competitors. The Wu were feeling untouchable, so of course, it was time to hit the public over the head with another group effort. Their Wu-Wear clothing line was flying off of the racks, and their brand of sore throat and flu medications (tag line: "You best protect your neck!") was selling out in cities where people liked to mix their cough syrup with liquor. After the second round of Wu-Tang solo albums hit the market (Ghostface Killah's Supreme Clientele being the final one), the Clan found themselves in a unique position: the market was flooded with Wu-Tang albums, both from the group members and from their lesser-known (and mostly lesser-talented) affiliates, and they were selling gajillions of records, proving themselves to be the marketing juggernaut that Rza had always postured himself to be.
0 kommentar(er)
