Meth, Ghost and Rae, Wu-Massacre
Def Jam

Okay, so the thirty-minute mini-album Wu-Massacre is something of a rush job, with few developed concepts and no memorable hooks. But who cares? The Wu-Tang triumvirate sticks to what it does best and spits hardcore darts over a crackling set of soul loops. While the results aren’t revelatory, they’re thrilling all the same. Ghostface’s “Pimpin’ Chipp,” where he impersonates a hooker paying tribute to her dead pimp, is a strange highlight. Other songs, such as “Youngstown Heist” and “Criminology 2.5,” seem pockmarked with bellowed threats and blasting gun shots.

Rap Is Not Pop: Kid Cudi, Eminem and the Perils of Addiction

This post is inspired by a commenter on my recent piece about Eminem and his album Recovery. “Somebody’s finally on the radio talking about NOT doing drugs. That’s a good thing,” wrote Halo in the comments section. “I know that it’s tough being clean and still keeping it real.”

Why has there been so little hip-hop that addresses drug and alcohol addiction? It’s not as if rappers aren’t abusing drugs: The tabloids are filled with their exploits, whether it’s Lil Wayne serving time for drug possession, T.I. violating his probation over Ecstasy tablets and codeine syrup, or Gucci Mane reportedly heading to rehab. It appears that the days when it was only “cool” to smoke weed are a thing of the past. Yet those personal struggles rarely make it into the music.

Kid Cudi’s new album, Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager, offers a striking counterpoint to Eminem’s Recovery. While Eminem related his drug problems like he was confessing at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting, Kid Cudi hides his troubles within ramblings about the pressures of fame. He celebrates his love of herb on “Marijuana” – but marijuana’s not a drug, right? However, he doesn’t address his public struggle with cocaine, save for an audible snort during “All Along.” Man on the Moon II reflects the rap community’s general ambivalence towards party favors, and how overuse of them can destroy careers – and lives.

Rare are the examples of rappers who cop to drug problems. When Coolio emerged from WC and the Maad Circle to launch a solo career, he used his criminally-underrated 1993 single “County Line” to note that he lost years to crack addiction. And after earning a sordid reputation for being a coke fiend, Cage got clean, and has used subsequent albums like 2005’s Hell’s Winter and 2009’s Depart from Me as post-rehab therapy. These and songs by others like Fatlip (“What’s Up Fatlip?) and Tech N9ne (“T9X”) fall into the realm of public confessionals.

Then there is Andre 3000, who admittedly wasted the success of OutKast’s 1994’s debut Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik on living the rap life – getting high and chasing girls – before experiencing a spiritual awakening. “In the Jacuzzi catching the Holy Ghost/ Making one woozy in the head and comatose,” he remembers on “Life in the Day of Benjamin Andre,” the closing track to OutKast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. “I hadn’t smoked or took a shot of drank because I started off the second album on another note.” Andre made such a remarkable visual and musical transformation for OutKast’s second album, 1996’s ATLiens, from wearing a white robe and head scarf to reciting Nuwabian beliefs that the Egyptians were descended from aliens, that some fans speculated he was on drugs. On “Return of the ‘G’” from 1998’s Aquemini, Andre staunchly defended his new look: “Return of the gangsta/ Thanks ta/ Them n*ggas who get the wrong impression of expression/ Then the question is, ‘Big Boi, what’s up with Andre?/ Is he on coke?/ Is he on drugs?/ Is he gay?/ When y’all gon’ break up?’/ When y’all gon’ wake up/ N*gga I’m feeling better than ever/ What’s wrong with you?”

Fans didn’t question Andre 3000 because he stopped getting high. They wondered why he changed. The hip-hop audience seems to loathe personal and artistic evolution unless it’s within a pop context of Bowie-esque visual and sonic transformation; OutKast’s mastery of that dynamic made it one of the past decade’s best-selling artists. But for those who don’t hold pop ambitions, staying the same appears to be the only recourse. On “Can It Be So Simple (Remix) from 1995’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, Raekwon rhymed, “Now I’m all about G notes/ No more time for weed mixed with coke/ I wash my mouth out with soap.” Of course, he spent much of his 2009 sequel Only Built 4 Cuban Link…Part II regressing into cocaine glory.

Another example of creative recidivism is Queensbridge rapper Prodigy. On Mobb Deep’s 1999 hit single “Quiet Storm,” he vowed, “I spent too many nights sniffin’ coke, gettin’ right/ Wastin’ my life/ Now I’m tryin’ to make things right.” Years later, he released the excellent Return of the Mac, and its centerpiece was “Mac 10 Handle.” “I sit alone in my dirty ass room staring at candles/ High on drugs,” he begins, interpolating a lyric from Geto Boys’ “My Mind Playing Tricks on Me.” Prodigy never says what type of drugs he’s on. But Alchemist’s sampling of Edwin Starr’s “Easin’ In,” which he turns into a mottled, bluesy refrain for Prodigy’s violent rant, leaves the impression that the rapper is all tweaked out.

“Mac 10 Handle” illustrates that, when it comes to exploring the depths of drug addiction, rappers tend to rely on our imaginations as a guide, while marking a path with breadcrumbs like dusty blues loops, downbeat and menacing keyboard sounds, and lyrical admissions of paranoia. These bleak arrangements are meant to contrast with the Ecstasy-popping adventures of Mack 10’s “Pop X,” Gucci Mane’s “Pillz” and D4L’s “Scotty.” Whereas one side highlights Ecstasy as a positive experience and frequent sex tool, the other hints at overuse, a burdensome monkey on the back.

Incredibly, despite all the recent headlines of arrests, real drug addiction remains taboo in hip-hop. Many of us remember the crack epidemic of the 80s and 90s and how it affected our communities. And so, despite the Ecstasy vogue, hip-hop fans don’t want to return to the wanton abandon of the disco era and Grandmaster Melle Mel’s “White Lines (Don’t Do It).” But what if that era has already reappeared, but we just don’t want to admit it? In a world that emphasizes mastery of your environment at all costs, copping to addiction signifies a loss of control and personal weakness.

Kid Cudi is often dismissed by critics as an electro-hop dandy, but he’s just as obsessed with dominance as the next rapper. So, for The Legend of Mr. Rager, he explained his personal troubles through a prism of the perils of fame and leading a revolution or “Revofev.” He unveils a new sound, too. Whereas Man on the Moon: The End of Day celebrated introspection as a psychedelic journey, complete with electro sounds and stories of mushroom-eating as foreplay (“Enter Galactic (Love Connection Part 1)”); The Legend of Mr. Rager simmers with melodramatic strings, emo-ish ballads and cryptic lyrics like “All Along’s” “I’m addicted to highs/ Would you like to know why? … I don’t want what I need/ What I need hates me.”

Narcotic addiction isn’t just an occupational hazard for celebrities both real and pseudo, but a problem that affects wide swaths of the population. Perhaps that’s why Eminem’s Recovery may be less musically sophisticated than The Legend of Mr. Rager, but it is more honest. “You’re lying to yourself,” says Eminem on “Talkin’ 2 Myself.” He could be speaking for a generation of MCs dabbling with hard drugs yet are afraid to look in the mirror.

—————————

This essay was posted November 9 on the Rhapsody SoundBoard blog. I wrote it for my Rap Is Not Pop column.

Photo by Pamela Littky.

You’ve read about it on your favorite blogs and websites. You watched the crazy teaser videos that ripped off the Brad Pitt flick Seven. You downloaded the free MP3s. Now it’s time to wipe away the drool, because the Meth, Ghost & Rae collabo album is coming out.

Set for release via Def Jam on March 30, Wu Massacre is mostly a Wu affair, with production from RZA and Allah Mathematics and guest spots from Inspectah Deck, Streetlife (Remember “PLO Style?”) and Trife. Interestingly, the Rhythm Roots Allstars, who were the backing band on many of those Scion Live mini-tours from a few years ago, and even showed up on Ghost’s The Big Doe Rehab, contribute to a few tracks.

Here’s what the label is calling the “tentative” track listing. I will update it if there are any changes.

• 1. “Criminology 2.5″
• 2. “Mef vs. Chef” (feat. Rhythm Roots Allstars)
• 3. “Ya Moms (Skit)”
• 4. “Smooth Sailing Remix” (feat. Solomon Childs & Streetlife)
• 5. “Our Dreams”
• 6. “Gunshowers” (feat. Inspectah Deck & Sun God)
• 7. “Dangerous” (feat. Rhythm Roots Allstars)
• 8. “Pimpin’ Chipp” (feat. Rhythm Roots Allstars)
• 9. “How To Pay Rent (Skit)” (feat. Tracy Morgan)
• 10. “Miranda”
• 11. “Youngstown Heist” (feat. Trife, Sheek & Bully)
• 12. “It’s That Wu Sh*t”

While the Plug One 50′s top 20 albums list is designed to be authoritative (or at least highly opinionated), the top 30 tracks list tends to be a mishmash of random favorites.

These are a few songs that caught my ear. Some were important singles; others were just “YouTube singles”; and still others were random MP3s. It was actually difficult to put together, not due to an abundance of choices, but because I usually pay attention to albums, not songs. I can’t promise that the situation will improve next year, and I’ll learn to remember the cuts that I liked, but shit, it would make this job a lot easier, wouldn’t it?

I decided to rank the top ten, if only to highlight the ones that truly stood out for me, and then alphabetized the rest.

1. Raekwon, “House of Flying Daggers”
Ice H20 Records/EMI

Raekwon caught everyone’s attention with this throwback to the glory days of Wu. Over a banging track from the late J Dilla — which, it should be noted, was reportedly commissioned before Dilla’s death — Rae, Inspectah Deck, Ghostface and Meth drop a bag of heat rocks, with GZA on the chorus. It let us know that the long-delayed Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt II would actually be good.

2. Eminem, “Beautiful”
Interscope

Relapse should have sounded like this bittersweet single, not the drug-addled attempts to reclaim Slim Shady glory that made it such a disappointment. It proves that Eminem, when not sheltered by Jimmy Iovine and a nation of suburban Stans, is still capable of producing great records. Bonus points earned for “Beautiful’s” accompanying video, which paid elegiac tribute to Em’s native, broken-down Detroit.

3. The Roots, “How I Got Over”
Def Jam

“Out on the streets, where I grew up/First thing they teach you is not to give a fuck/That type of thinking will get you nowhere/Someone has to care.” Brilliant.

4. Cage, “Nothing Left to Say”
Definitive Jux

Cage’s official single, the serial killer fantasy “Depart From Me,” got the Shia LaBouef video treatment, but this teaser single made a bigger impression on me. It honors his late friend and rhyme partner Tero “Camu Tao” Smith, an underappreciated vet who died from cancer last year. (A few major blogs who shall remain nameless, unaware of Camu Tao’s talents, struggled to mount tributes.) Cage gives him the musical tribute he deserves, promising to “live through Camu” over smash-mouth guitars and a raucous El-P beat.

5. Hudson Mohawke, Polyfolk Dance EP
Warp

This five-track instrumental 12-inch summarized Hudson Mohawke’s ideas, with the standout “Velvet Peel” at its whimsically digital center.

6. Buckshot & KRS-One, “Robot”
Duck Down Records

After Jay-Z’s “D.O.A. (Death of Autotune)” blew up, the airwaves Buckshot tried to claim credit for starting the anti-vocoder trend since his track dropped first. I liked when KRS-One rapped”Go online, look up Kraftwerk/everything we doing is past work.” It was kinda corny: these days, any teeny bopper can not only download Kraftwerk’s complete catalog, but their influences and their followers, which is neatly documented by Allmusic.com. You have to read deeper into Kris’ line to get his overall point — these silly trends really are reverberations of what’s come before them. It’s simple wisdom.

7. Anti-Pop Consortium, “Volcano”
Big Dada

After reuniting last year following a six-year layoff, I wondered if Anti-Pop still had the potential to “disturb the equilibrium.” This vibrant battle rap let me know that my fears were unfounded.

8. Sa-Ra Creative Partners, “Love Czars”
Ubiquity Recordings

Technically, this 10-minute locked-groove symphony isn’t a hip hop track; you’ll have to dig up the remix featuring Jay Electronica and Ta’Raach for that. However, it exemplified future soul, and all the cross-currents — from hip hop to house music and future jazz — that flow through it.

9. J Dilla feat. Black Thought, “Reality Check”
Nature Sounds

“Reality Check” was a diamond amidst the rough, unfinished beats and sloppy vocals of Jay Stay Paid. Black Thought’s rant about reality TV hell, with its allusions to Public Enemy’s “She Watches Channel Zero,” rolled over Dilla’s synth-y track like a third rail.

10. Mos Def, “Casa Bey”
Downtown Records

Mos Def’s The Ecstatic was effortlessly innovative, and this laser-sharp example of his lyrical prowess, set to his own jazzy shapeshifting beat, was a sterling representation.

And here’s the rest of the list in alphabetical order:

Aceyalone & The Lonely Ones, “The Lonely Ones”
Decon

Asher Roth, “Lark in My Go-Kart”
SRC

Busdriver, “Least Favorite Rapper”
Anti-

Cage, “Depart From Me”
Definitive Jux

Cam’ron, “I Hate My Job”
Asylum

Clipse, “Kinda Like A Big Deal”
Columbia Records

The Clonius, Adroit Adventures EP
Ubiquity Recordings

Del and Tame One, “The Franchise”
Gold Dust Media

Dorian Concept, “Tropical Trilingual Tease” (online sample track from “Trilingual Dance Sexperience”)
Affine Records

Drake, “Best I Ever Had”
Universal Motown

Filastine, “Marxa”
Soot Records

Finale, “Jungle Music”
online MP3

Kero One, “Welcome to the Bay”
Plug Label

Mos Def, “Supermagic”
Downtown Records

MF Doom, “Lightworks”
Lex Records

Pill, “Trap Goin’ Ham”
Grade A Muzik

Raekwon, “Surgical Gloves”
Ice H20 Records/EMI

Tanya Morgan, “Hardcore Gentlemen”
Interdependent Media

Themselves, “Roman Is As Roman Does”
Anticon

Theophilus London, “Cold Pillow”
online MP3

This year’s crop of hip hop albums was an improvement over last year. But it didn’t come from the artists expected to dominate.

Around this time in 2008, everyone was buzzing about the “new school” of blog-hyped rappers. They injected the medium with an enthusiasm not felt in ages. So far, however, the results of this youth movement are decidedly uneven. Wale’s Attention Deficit drew mixed reviews; even fans of it must concede that it has plenty of decent rhymes, but lacks great songs. By contrast, Kid Cudi landed a few monster singles, particularly the undying “Day ‘N Nite,” but his Man on the Moon: The End of Day seemed monotone and self-indulgent. Blu and the Cool Kids mostly kept silent, and we all know what happened to Charles Hamilton.

With the jury still out on the so-called “freshman class,” the end of the aughts belonged to the veterans. With the notable exception of Nosaj Thing and Dorian Concept, all of the artists on this list are firmly established. Some mounted surprising comebacks after years of mediocre and sub-par work; others made solid follow-ups to classic albums. Unlike 2008 and Flying Lotus’ Los Angeles (and, I would argue, the Cool Kids’ The Bake Sale), these recordings didn’t establish new stylistic tropes. In a year when populism and stubborn class and racial traditions weighed down American culture, these works met expectations and buffered the status quo, whether it was the true-school ethos or the mainstream’s street-rap-as-blues credo.

That’s not to say that 2009 wasn’t an exciting time: it was. But hip hop music thrives on youth movements, and to see blog rap’s most promising rookies disappear in a cloud of weed smoke, meandering mixtapes and incessant corporate-sponsored tours and marketing campaigns was frustrating. It certainly didn’t convince the old heads from continuing to insist that the genre is a dead zombie walking. Of course, next year could be different. But for now, this is where we are.

I don’t know if this list is unique from any other, but I suspect there may be a few surprises. Perhaps the most contentious entry is for Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…Pt II. It has topped many lists, but it certainly didn’t top mine. If my summary reads negative, it’s in reaction to the universal acclaim that has greeted it, some of which seems unwarranted. People love their action fantasies, and Raekwon’s triumphant return has some great crime narratives. But I think some consider it the year’s best because it fits stereotypes of what a great hip hop album is supposed to sound like; other entries on this list drew strong reviews, too, but they were often considered something other than “real hip hop.”

I don’t know what that “other” may may be. Maybe “alt-rap,” “backpacker,” or some nefarious micro-genre like “wobbly”? But lists such as the Plug One 50 will continue to be an anomaly until fans stop equating the genre with criminal activity and po-faced lyrical schemes, embrace a more complex universe of sounds, and live up to Afrika Bambaataa’s vision of hip hop as a perspective on the world instead of a region-specific, drug-infested street corner.

Yes, 2009 was a good year. We got consistently great music, but we missed the excitement that made 2008 seem like a promise of better things to come. Hopefully 2010 will combine not only the tried and true, but also the shock of the new.

1. Mos Def, The Ecstatic
Downtown Records

Few albums sound as hard-earned as The Ecstatic. It incorporates everything Mos Def has done up to now, from the scat-rapping to the soulful singjay-ing that is a bedrock of his stunning live performances. Like Erykah Badu on last year’s New Amerykah Part One (4th World War), he turns to cutting-edge producers — namely Madlib, Oh No and Mr. Flash — to create a frission that his past albums lacked. Those older recordings, particularly 2007′s disastrous True Magic, made The Ecstatic a surprising comeback, but it wouldn’t have been possible without those trials and errors. Its hopeful theme, an obvious nod to President Obama’s 2008 election and the ensuing “Life in Marvelous Times,” tells of a hard road to glory.

2. Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Nuclear Evolution: The Age Of Love
Ubiquity Recordings

If Sa-Ra’s first collection of recorded material, The Hollywood Recordings, was a coked-up ode to sex, drugs and nightlife; then Nuclear Evolution showed a way out of the despair and decadence. “Love Czars,” the album’s magnificent centerpiece, rolled out a locked groove as hypnotic as a Theo Parrish track; “Cosmic Ball,” with jazz-fusion master Gary Bartz as guest, was a shambolic dance in the light. Overall, Nuclear Evolution showed the different sides of Sa-Ra with a depth not heard before, justifying their rep as one of the most talented of the new soul era.

3. Nosaj Thing, Drift
Alpha Pup Records

Here’s an excerpt from my interview with Nosaj Thing earlier this year:

The hype surrounding Drift is the inevitable result of a scene gathering media and fan attention. Thankfully, Drift isn’t a summary of beat music clichés, but a haunting suite of songs that resembles Romantic classicism, minimalism/new music theory and old-school “electronica” techniques pioneered by Global Goon and Aphex Twin. (One of Drift’s tracks is titled “1685/Bach,” a nod to the year Johann Sebastian Bach was born.) Marrying his esoteric melodies to subtly dusted beats, Nosaj Thing creates an instrumental journey that leaves an indelible impression.

4. Brother Ali, Us
Rhymesayers Entertainment

Some critics have asked why Brother Ali, with two great albums under his belt, is never ranked among today’s best MCs. Certainly, few artists could convey inner peace and happiness with such clarity. Like Animal Collective, whose Merriweather Post Pavilion used domestic bliss as a source for drama as rich as any emotional conflict, Brother Ali takes marriage and family as a starting point to wonder why the rest of the world is in turmoil. He raps with such passion and moral certitude; he truly is, as Chuck D. calls him, “a soldier of love.”

5. Aceyalone, Aceyalone & The Lonely Ones
Decon

The second in a planned trilogy of tributes to his influences (the first being 2007′s underrated dancehall venture Lightning Strikes), Aceyalone & the Lonely Ones celebrates the big beats of classic Motown and doo-wop. But it’s not just another retro-soul exercise. Aceyalone playfully inhabits Bionik’s tracks, dropping a series of clean, family-friendly rhymes reminiscent of Freestyle Fellowship’s “Inner City Boundaries.” This may not be Aceyalone’s most important album, but it’s joyously fun all the same.

6. Raekwon, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…Pt. II
Ice H2O Records/EMI

At 22 tracks, this long-awaited sequel to Raekwon’s 1995 masterpiece was full of highs and lows, from the terrific “House Of Flying Daggers” and “Surgical Gloves” to boorish smackdowns like “Broken Safety” (featuring the always predictable Jadakiss). Importantly, this edition focused narrowly on crack dealing, all the way down to the absurd “We Will Rob You” (an interpolation of Queen’s “We Will Rock You”). Save for the anguished “Cold Outside,” it didn’t aspire towards the white-hot hellfire and spiritual redemption of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. Here, drug dealing isn’t one’s lot in life, but a familiar role, like a Martin Scorsese gangster flick. The purple tint of the album cover — an allusion to the original’s limited-edition “purple tape” jewel case  — signified business as usual. However, its best songs made for undeniably spectacular mainstream entertainment.

7. Madlib – Beat Konducta, Vol. 5-6: A Tribute To…
Stones Throw

Originally released as two vinyl-only EPs (Vol. 5: Dil Cosby Suite and Vol. 6: Dil Withers Suite), this tribute to Madlib’s friend and collaborator James “J Dilla” Yancey contains real and genuine sorrow. Madlib may have been Dilla’s biggest influence in his final years; you can hear it in his masterwork, Donuts. So the Beat Konducta repays the favor by incorporating samples from Dilla’s best loved tracks, including “The Light.” It’s still quirky and weird…this is a Madlib album, after all. Call it a revival, with plenty of beers, blunts and tears to go around.

8. Serengeti & Polyphonic, Terradactyl
Anticon

Serengeti has worked quietly in Chicago, releasing poorly-distributed albums full of sharply detailed character sketches and odd hooks, which makes him a perfect addition to the left-of-center Anticon. As his official national debut, Terradactyl brings those subterranean elements to light. There is “My Negativity,” which he chants as “My Negga-negga-negga,” drawing an unconscious parallel with a historic epithet. “My Patriotism” turns not to politics but to intimate relations. Meanwhile, Polyphonic the Verbose’s electronic squalls dance around Serengeti’s tales of everyman woe like glowing brain synapses.

9. Tanya Morgan, Brooklynati
Interdependent Media

Brooklynati was a sophomore effort in every way — bigger guests, better production and a concerted effort to translate the rough charms of its debut, 2006′s Moonlighting, to a broader canvas and a wider, blogosphere-primed audience. That the group was mostly successful — the album doesn’t really take off until nearly a third of the way through, during their brilliant “horrorcore” parody “Hardcore Gentlemen” — misses the point. Von Pea, Ilyas, and Donwill continue to grow by leaps and bounds, delivering cipher cuts (“Never 2ndary”) and love jawns (“Never Enough”) with the unique perspective of three admitted rap nerds who are slowly becoming genuine indie-rap heroes.

10. DOOM, Born Like This
Lex Records

If The Ecstatic was Obama’s campaign of hope set to hip hop, then Born Like This was the rabid, red dog populist aftermath. It’s not exactly a fuck-you album on par with Prince and the Revolution’s Around the World In a Day and OutKast’s Idlewild, since DOOM bookended his first solo disc in five years with a gospelly “Thank Yah.” But after enduring rumors of alcoholism, ill health and even his death, prompted by years of eccentric behavior — he hasn’t been seen publicly without his trademark mask since the late 90s — and notorious no-shows at his concerts, DOOM sounds unrepentant. On the Charles Bukowski-quoting “Cellz” and the homophobic “Batty Boys,” among others, he sounds furious, shoving hard rhymes and third-person asides down your throat like Ron Artest. He doesn’t do it consistently enough to make Born Like This a classic, but he still manages to excite and infuriate all at once.

And here’s the rest of the list sans commentary:

11. P.O.S., Never Better
Rhymesayers

12. Finale, A Pipe Dream And A Promise
Interdependent Media

13. Shafiq Husayn, Shafiq ‘En A-Free-Kah
Plug Research

14. Busdriver, Jhelli Beam
Anti-

15. Mike Slott, Lucky 9Teen
LuckyMe

16. Anti-Pop Consortium, Fluorescent Black
Big Dada

17. Willie Isz, Georgiavania
Lex Records

18. Dorian Concept, When Planets Explode
Kindred Spirits

19. Zion-I, The TakeOver
Gold Dust Media

20. Mr. Lif, I Heard It Today
Bloodbot Tactical Enterprises

The only reason I’m posting this is because the track is so f’ing banging. To all you mainstream rappers trying to replicate those $500 K video shoots from back in the day with $20 K and a flip-cam operated by your weed carrier: Open your minds, dudes. There’s mad talented filmmakers out there who can work wonders on extremely limited budgets. If indie-rockers and indie-rappers can do it, then so can you.

Taken from Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…Pt II, in stores now.

Remember in the 90s when rappers use to compose battle anthems for random B-movie action flicks? This is like a throwback to that.

Part two of three. Somebody call a hearse.

Directed by Rik Cordero.

Part one of three. Please, please don’t let this be another crack rap album. I know the punters love it, but that shit gets boring.

Directed by Rik Cordero. This album doesn’t have a title or a label yet (it will probably be Def Jam), but is tentatively scheduled for December 22.

November 24 update: Nope, it just got pushed back to 2010.

I love the track, but the animation sucks. What happened to Afro Samurai?

Found via Allhiphop.com. From Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II, out September 8.