“A Better Tomorrow”
Wu-Tang Clan
Warner Bros. Records
4/5 Paws
On its new release, “A Better Tomorrow,” Wu-Tang Clan proves its unity with tracks exploring violent street scenes of the past and its path toward achieving widespread acclaim while sticking true to original hip-hop instrumentals.
For two decades, Wu-Tang Clan has maintained a standard for producing hard-hitting East Coast hip-hop. Based out of New York City borough of Staten Island, N.Y., the Clan is a brotherhood of nine solo artists that agreed early on to stay together, permeating the music industry as a collective force.
Following an approximately 20-year period of blooming solo careers and the tragic death of member Ol’ Dirty Bastard in 2004, the Wu-Tang Clan reunited in 2011 to begin work on its sixth studio album, “A Better Tomorrow.“ After three years of production, “A Better Tomorrow” exemplifies the members’ timeless collaborative cohesion and dedication to their legacy.
Wu-Tang Clan is no stranger to the hip-hop world as portrayed in the opening track, “Ruckus In B Minor.” Its lyrics project an aggressive display of the hard work put forth by members to push the group to a high level of commercial success.
“The most duplicated, anticipated, validated/ Urban legends in the books with the ones who made it/ Highly celebrated, everything was work-related/ Current Top 40 got the Wu deep in all their business,” chants U-God on the second verse of “Ruckus in B Minor”.
Producer Robert Digg, better known as RZA, paints instrumental soundscapes of distorted guitars, vintage organs and old cinema sound clips throughout the album that stick to originality and avoid the influence of popular, electronic hip-hop.
Emotions get tough real early on in “A Better Tomorrow.” The second track, “Felt,” hits the ear in an eerie fashion as pulsing synths and cold acoustic guitars back a lyrical exploration by Method Man and Ghostface Killah of Wu-Tang Clan’s musical journey.
At first the album does not seem to pursue any concrete lyrical theme. However, sparks finally start flying on “Hold The Heater,” as a more serious tone is backed with violent street sound clips and loud collaborative vocals by RZA, Cappadonna, and U-God.
Smooth chorus vocal work by soul singer Nathaniel emerges on “Keep Watch,” a song with simple instrumentals. In the third verse, Cappadonna aggressively emphasizes a desire to protect riches the group has worked hard to achieve over the years and to avoid the drama of dealing with police and crooked friends.
“Preacher’s Daughter” centers in on Method Man expressing a longing to be with a woman who grew up in church while he grew up in poverty. Impressively RZA, Masta Killah, Cappadonna, and Ghostface Killah come together and relate to a specific story over colorful, gospel background vocals and organs.
A wide variety of live instruments including crisp trumpets and rolling acoustic guitars provide a refreshing contrast to the album’s dark and aggressive start. It is not until the concluding tracks of “A Better Tomorrow” that the themes of its title begin to materialize.
One of the few uplifting songs, title-track “A Better Tomorrow,” brings forth an inspirational feel of warm pianos and violin orchestral arrangements. The chorus features soulful vocals that combine lyrical elements of spiritual exploration, politics and the bigger picture of life outside of the streets.
“New World Order slave trade, minimum wage, Medicaid/ Can a devil fool a Muslim nowadays/ Inside my lab, I’m going mad,” chants RZA in a fierce, critical tone.
The penultimate track, “Never Let Go,” starts with an audio clip of Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech “I Have a Dream”. This song is truly where intriguing ideas and new content come forth.
“Never letting go, I’m never letting go of my beliefs/ My faith, convictions, real/ Both hands holding on, never let go the wheel/ We hood legends, misunderstood,” cries U-God in a personal display of emotion.
Sound clips of children happily exploring a playground begin the final track, “Wu-Tang Reunion,” which is exactly as the title indicates: a celebration of the album’s production. After over 20 years of commercial success as a group and soloists, the Wu-Tang Clan concludes “A Better Tomorrow” by expressing the longevity of its brotherhood and a shout-out to fans for continuing to fuel the group’s legacy.
– Max McGee