Considering the unusual amount of restraint he shows here, it's a small but pleasant consolation that his final mark upon the world was so pristine. Dirty's recent passing is especially sad because it seemed as if he was finally getting his life back on track after all the drugs, rehab, incarcerations, and high-profile public meltdowns. Even the famously erratic ODB was present, and even seemingly lucid, remembering all his lines and delivering them with charisma and flair. Miraculously, all nine original members showed up (plus a few auxiliary men, including Cappadonna). And how many times have you gone to a rap show only to wait three hours for half the group to appear and watch them walk off 20 minutes later? Live hip-hop albums are rare, perhaps rightfully so: Hip-hop relies so heavily upon careful production techniques that live performances can be like tabloid photos of a sex symbols caught unawares on a trip to the beach: no make-up, cellulite showing. And finally, U-God: the most esoteric member of the collective, sometimes a crowd-moving party rapper, other times a dextrous prose-spitter, spinning inscrutable word collages in a velvety baritone.Īmid long-running rumors of a break-up, on July 17th, 2004, the dormant Wu reconvened at the Rock the Bells festival in San Bernadino, California, and committed to tape the 27 tracks that now constitute the career-spanning live retrospective Disciples of the 36 Chambers: Chapter 1. The GZA: a candid lyrical prodigy meting out devastatingly precise similes. Ghostface Killah: a gifted storyteller weaving densely coded slang, crushed out heavenly in yellow Wallabies and Wu-Wear fleece. Ol' Dirty Bastard (RIP): a deranged parody of a soul singer, a profane, gaudy libido coming unglued. Raekwon: arguably the inventor of organized crime rap, who was cutting and flipping rhymes like weight long before every street hustler began to imagine himself a mafia don. Method Man: the larger-than-life MCaricature with a bottomless bag of catchphrases. Inspectah Deck and Masta Killa: the steely growlers ballasting the more flamboyant personalities like sandbags. Bobby Digital: shogun and CEO, the bipolar spitter of metaphysical knowledge and shit-talking battle raps. It's been a while since we've received a unified statement from Shaolin, so a quick roll call's in order.
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