east coast gangsta rap/concept album/breaks and soul samples

Adrian Younge puts together another lush, soul-influenced concept hip-hop album, this time teaming up with Ghostface and Raekwon, with RZA narrating and some well placed guest verses from underground rappers both veteran and up-and-coming. I think this one works a bit better than the Souls of Mischief one because a) it feels both a little heftier and sound a little more restrained in construction, and b) the pulpy lush soul blaxploitation thing fits a lot better with Wu’s aesthetic than Hiero’s. The story’s an over the top supernatural gangster revenge thriller, full of bloody double-crosses. I feel like Quentin Tarantino would love this. Doesn’t have the grit and grime of classic RZA, but neither does RZA nowadays.

FCC clean (edited), instrumentals on disc 2

RIYL: memories of classic Wu-Tang, soul-sampling-hip-hop, Jackie Brown if it was put together like Kill Bill

1. thick acoustic drums and bass, slow shuffling, fuzzed soul/psych guitar, female backup vox. short intro. 0:51
2. solo choral wordless melody for a bit, then sparse keys and drums, ghost on the hook. then raekwon on the verse. shimmery psych guitar fragments, occasional spaghetti western female backup vox. ghost verse later, expository rza outro. 3:12
3. slow strutting break, thick bass, mellow guitar. verses come in and rhythm gets busier, melodies get sparser for a bit, then bells and other flourishes just before the hook. lush organ accents at points. 3:31
4. funky upbeat drum break and spare guitar give way to quick bass riff, rhythm guitar, descending piano loop, other fuzz guitar interjections. upbeat flows, on-beat but loose. 2:04
5. clean electric bass, echoey drums, woodblocks, organ streaks, piano, chimes, offbeat spoken word flow interlude. could play right into next. 0:49
6. flows seamlessly from prior track. melodic patterns change up, various pianos and organs mostly on the intro/chorus, steady rhythm guitar over funky/sinister bass and drums on the verses. upbeat slightly frantic (but controlled) deliveries from all involved. grimey robbery and getaway scenes. 4:15
7. mellow but plaintive (and later foreboding) organ layers. cool textures, beatless. backstory exposition interlude (via RZA’s narration of a side character’s confession). 0:36
8. a capella opening :55, furious kidnapping revenge. beat kicks in like turntable winding up and backspinning, slow spare drum break, then thick electric bass and shocks of greasy guitar and organ. darting conspiratorial verses, shootout narration from lyrics born, more frantic complementary narration from chino xl. 4:33
9. sad descending piano loop gives way to heavy funky drums/bass/rhythm guitar. more exposition from RZA. 1:15
10. organ and slow drum break, then slow rich bassline and another low wailing organ (or choir?) in background. original organ comes back throughout on chorus. apocalyptic feel. could play w/ #11. 3:13
11. organ and horns and quick drum break, harpsichord loop comes in with bassline. piano and horn loops trade off with harpsichord loops. quick tradeoffs between rae and verse, one-upping each other on 70s blaxploitation mafioso imagery. 1:55
12. rapid (continuous?) lo-fi piano loops. loping drum break w/ woodblocks, growling bass, fuzzed backup vox. drums pick up a bit more momentum at points. clearer sighing backup vox later, with some organ streaks. regrets and hesitations from ghost, prodding from rae. 2:41
13. growling rising sinister synth. a bit of narration from RZA, then in comes a quick strutting break and growling bass, watery bells, frantic ghost verse. a convenient out is found when our anti-hero seemed cornered, clear room for a sequel. 2:51

recommended: 6, 8, 13, 4, 11, 12