Overlooked: Sheek Louch x Ghostface Killah “Wu Block” (Album Review) Posted by Dharmic X on 12/03/12 | Filed under Opinion, Ghostface Killah, Album Reviews, Sheek Louch, Overlooked, Wu Block

A Note from Nathan S: So much new music comes out every week I can't possibly keep up with it all, even only the RefinedHype worthy-material. So the homie Dharmic X is going to be shining a spotlight on some dope albums that got "Overlooked".

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When Sheek Louch announced that him and Ghostface Killah were putting together an album called Wu-Block, featuring members of both the Wu-Tang Clan and D-Block, two of New York City hip-hop’s most legendary crews, the anticipation for the results was high. Then came a springtime blitzkrieg of release after release from the pair to serve as precursors to the final product. And then... months of silence, with the project seemingly disappearing from the collective hip-hop consciousness until ten days ago, when suddenly records started leaking left and right. Yes, Nathan already posted a couple of those leaks, but Nathan also basically told me that the initial criteria was retarded (he actually said it was too strict). So after hours of scouring the internet to find a dope album that Nathan hadn’t really touched that came out last week, I abandoned that task and went to really taking in this new Wu-Block album.

Obviously, you want a Wu-Block album to sound like a collaborative effort, and Ghostface and Sheek do a great job of bringing everyone into the fold. The only key figure missing from the project is RZA (and I’ll get into that more when I get to the production). Of course Styles P (four), Jadakiss (three), and Raekwon (three) contribute the most guest verses on the project, as expected, but we even manage to get two verses Method Man, so all-in-all, there is a very strong showing, and together, everyone contributes to the album’s strong suit: BARS.

Take Jadakiss off of “All In Together,” which is really a LOX record featuring Ghostface: “I shoot it up ‘til the property value drop; you used to play good defense, now you flop.” On a slight tangent, “All in Together” is a great example of why we need a new LOX album in our lives, pronto.



“Stella” is another highlight off this album, a full-fledged story cut that details an interrogation of a woman who the Wu-Block crew (Ghost, Sheek, and Method Man) have been doing business with but who might also be robbing them and perhaps working on behalf of someone else. Ghost’s opening verse paints a descriptive setting that the listener can dive right into, and the back-and-forth of sorts between Meth and Sheek brings the listener into the emotion of the encounter and the tense situation.

The standout track off the entire album is by far also it’s most unique and off-kilter line-up. “Driving ‘Round” includes the only non-Wu-Block feature in Erykah Badu, and her majestic vocals give the laid-back sample loop (put together by Moose... and Termanology. Yeah, the rapper) an angelic quality, and despite not being very aggressive or grimy, it serves as a great soundscape for Sheek, Masta Killa, and the almighty GZA to wax poetics on driving by their neighborhoods. Masta Killa definitely comes correct, but let’s be honest, the star of this track is GZA, and he first 48s the track. At one point, he is confronted by a hobo at a stop sign who asks for spare change. GZA “throws him singles,” and breaks down the situation further: “He mimics my song that’s on repeat, addiction’s so strong, got him in knee-deep. Button on his lapel, picture of Obama, four years later we’re stuck in the same drama.” While “Drivin ‘Round” certainly sounds atypical, it is a beautiful record that’s been on repeat ever since I first heard it.



The production is probably the lowpoint of Wu-Block, as it really is the epitome of hit-or-miss. The records I mentioned above (“Drivin ‘Round,” “Stella,” and “All In Together”) sound great. Frank Dukes emerges as the star producer on this album with his two joints, “Different Time Zones” and “Bust Shots,” and that in itself is disconcerting. When you consider the names of some of the producers both Wu-Tang and the LOX have worked with collectively and individually, names like Phonix Beats (“Pull the Cars Out”), Joe Milly (“Been Robbed”), and Fithestate (“Guns for Life”) don’t inspire much confidence, and truthfully, they underwhelm. “Pull the Cars Out” is by far the album’s lowpoint, a record that simply feels dated in a bad way. MCs like Ghostface Killah have the potential to be truly embraced in this era with their lively personalities and mic presence while rapping about crazy scenarios and delivering top-class bars, but making a dated “club banger” doesn’t translate over at all, especially when the clubs are playing material that sounds nothing like that track.



Overall, Wu-Block is a solid project on the whole, and is certainly slept on thanks to the fact that it’s being put out by eOne, arguably the worst pseudo-independent label known to mankind for hip-hop (don’t get me started). But it is at times frustratingly disappointing. And at the end of the day, when you look at the current climate, listeners could go to Mic Tyson if they want hardbody hip-hop, The Most Hardest MC in the World if they wanted D-Block ruggedness, or The Man With the Iron Fist soundtrack if they were nostalgic for some classic Wu-Tang. Wu-Block feels like an honorable mention recipient in comparison.

See Also: Overlooked: Rapper Big Pooh’s “Fat Boy Fresh Vol. 2” (Album Review)