Unreleased

Performer: Wu-Tang Clan
Distributor: Caroline Distribution

Notes: Since their 1993 debut, no group in hip-hop has delighted bootleg CD sellers like the Wu-Tang Clan, thanks to their massive stash of unreleased material. The compilation album UNRELEASED brings together a collection of hard-to-find tracks and rarely heard remixes from various Wu members. Whether they're studio outtakes from solo projects or unreleased cuts from peripheral Wu-Tang affiliates, all these tracks are stamped with that unmistakable Shaolin sound. Predictably, the highlights on UNRELEASED come courtesy of core members Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, the GZA, Method Man, Inspectah Deck, the RZA, U-God, and Masta Killa, while Shyheim, Cappadonna, Killah Priest, Superb, Streetlife, and Hell Razah round things out with some solid cuts of their own. As most collections of rare or unreleased tracks are bound to do, Wu-Tang Clan's Unreleased reaffirms that there was in fact a reason why these tracks did not make it onto proper full-length albums or onto singles as B-sides in the first place. Compiled and mixed by Mathematics, the songs on the record feature more Wu affiliates than full-fledged members, and while there are some decent cuts (the funky soul remix of "Queens Day '88," the old-school feel of "Wu Banga" -- originally found on Ghostface Killah's 2000 album, Supreme Clientele) -- a lot of the remixes (the lackluster production of "Wise," for example) fall short, and the scarcity of Meth and Raekwon don't help matters. When the Wu do show up, like in "Da 'N,'" they sound good, and remind fans why they're so popular and respected in the first place, but the tired sex rhymes from M Speed, Streetlife, and Drama on "Eggs, Hash & Grits" or the empty braggadocio and threats from Shyheim on "Non-Equivalent" don't live up to the standards that Wu-Tang have already set up. The group promised a new studio album later in 2007 (their first since 2001's Iron Flag), meaning that Unreleased can slide off as just acting as a means of whetting listeners' appetites before the real thing appears. ~ Marisa Brown

Arriving in the early 1990s, when rap was split between gangstas and bohemian jazz-rappers, Staten Island's Wu-Tang Clan promptly reinvented intelligent hardcore hip-hop. A unique contract deal, allowing the group's individual members--including Ol' Dirty Bastard, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, and chief sonic architect RZA--to pursue solo careers on the side, made them the most prolific rap crew of the late-'90s and beyond. In addition to their various individual projects, Wu-Tang's love of Asian martial arts cinema led to them presenting various Hong Kong classics and to RZA's collaborations with filmmakers Jim Jarmusch (GHOST DOG: THE WAY OF THE SAMURAI) and Quentin Tarantino (KILL BILL).

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