Sunz Of Man - The Last Shall Be First (July 21, 1998)

It's a damn shame when you miss the lone opportunity to make something better of yourself because you fell asleep.

Well, Walter Reed bka Wu-Affiliates Sunz of Man co-founder Killah Priest got another shot and made the best of it, but he could've been an official Wu General and he blew it! Him and the great Masta Killa were both vying for that same position, up to the point that they were expected to deliver a verse to Wu dictator the RZA by morning and had only a fortnight to write a worthy verse. Of course, being that Priest was already a full-fledged MC while the High Chief was not at the time, he rested on his laurels, opting to sleep it off then bring RZA a verse from his stashbox that'll blow him away, What he didn't count on was the fact that MK sat up all night coming up with the verse that the world finally heard on Da Mystery Of Chessboxin'. Priest was absolutely floored: He had was absolutely no way to top that legendary display of lyricism. And with that, MK was escorted into the realms of greatness with his now-brethren as the Wu-Tang Clan, while Killah Priest seemingly was destined to languish in the realms of obscurity forever.

That is, until he returned to Brooklyn and hooked up proper-like with his longtime friend David Collins bka Shabazz The Disciple to form a hip hop group called Sunz Of Man. And given that Walter still had relations with RZA stretching to the latter's Brooklyn roots, both dudes were awarded a chance meeting with another venture of his: Prince Paul's Gravediggaz. RZA was already impressed with Priest but he was absolutely floored with the heat the younger Shabazz brought to the table. Him and Paulie decided that they would be perfect on the lead single to the Gravediggaz now-classic debut, N****mortis/6 Feet Deep. The single, Diary Of A Madman, was an instant underground success, helping to establish a new genre of hip hop called horrorcore, even though despite the grim imagery, it actually had zilch to do with what technically consists as horrorcore, I digress.

From there, Priest and Shabazz would add new members to the Sunz Of Man collective, initiating dudes like Fredrick Cuffie Jr. bka 62nd Assassin (whom I guess should be considered as the Ol' Dirty Bastard of the clique. A fair enough comparison, since 62 is ODB's actual cousin) Vergil Lamar Ruff bka Prodigal Sunn, Chron Smith bka Hell Razah and Ian Smith aka 7th Ambassador. Many a Wu stan seem to forget about that last guy, which may be due to the fact that he left the group before they ever released a professional record. Another forgotten member is the group's one-time main producer Alaric Wilder bka Supreme Kourt, who also vanished from the group early, but not before recording an entire album's worth of material with them.

Said material was actually supposed to be released in 1995 as the group's debut and the first ever Wu-Affiliate record, Nothing New Under The Sun. Unfortunately, the ravages of time have swallowed whatever finished product that album was supposed to be whole, meaning that the only way you'll hear the finished version of that shit is if you go to the internet and look really hard. I'll wait. The group, however, released a single from those sessions called Solders Of Darkness/Five Arch Angels. The a-side was planned as a single to unite Sunz Of Man with yet another crew with deep roots with the Wu, one Killarmy. Soldiers Of Darkness left such a good impression that someone is still talking about it on random blogs dedicated to reviewing boom bap 20 years later. Still, the album's shelving was smack dab in the midst of the Wu's 5-year plan, so RZA had zero time to focus on managing acts other than his main crew. This naturally led to some issues within the management of Sunz Of Man, notably resulting in a couple of members leaving the group including co-fouder Shabazz The Disciple. Damn shame, that. He really was pretty awesome on cuts like Five Arch Angels.

Speaking of which, the group stayed releasing singles to and fro from the shelved album, including one of my three favorite songs from the group: No Love Without Hate. Still, the singles kept steadily coming, until enough interest was generated in a proper album from the foursome. And by 1998, Natural High, one of their final recordings with Supreme Kourt, was released to the adulation of their Wu-Tang predecessors. Now, the album had to be made.

By mid-1998, the world finally got a proper Sunz Of Man debut, called The Last Shall Be First, complete with full Wu-Element backing: The whole team sans Inspectah Deck is here. You're here to see if this album was worth this five paragraph intro.

INTRO
Skit.

COLD
First Wu-Element to step up to the plate is 4th Disciple and he erases whatever goofy shit the intro went for with his haunting mesh of Maxine Brown and James Brown. The first Sunz Of Man member you hear is also by far the workhorse of the group: Mr. Hell Razah. And I confess: I'm not OK with him being such, because every time I hear him, he comes off as a boring Shabazz The Disciple ripoff. That being said he bookends a scorching Prodigal Sunn verse with passable verses. This was a pretty good start.

NATURAL HIGH (FEATURING TREBAG)
Supreme Kourt gives you the first of his two contributions to his former group's debut, and it is a fucking banger. It absolutely transforms its Al Green foundation in a towering party beat. Unfortunately, the hook will make you eat yourself. Yep, that description was intentional. I want you to visualize every single one of its cringe-worthy details. That's how horrid this hook is. To top it all off, the only two who stick on-beat are Sunn and guest Trebag, who's ripping off Killah Priest's subject matter wholesale. Still, you need to hear this beat.

FLAMING SWORDS
Ya boy Derrick Harris is next, and curiously he chooses to give you his take on the Bobby Digital style of beats, with the result being pretty underwhelming. Weird, as True Master was on fire in '98. Whatever. The first appearance of 60 Second Assassin will, however, leave an impression on you: you will either overzealously love his delivery or overzealously hate it. There's no middle ground with this guy. I happen to be of the former group, though, as you see how he can come across as yet again another slightly focused version of ODB, following in the late great Grym Reaper's example. Priest cranks up the violent imagery to 1000, yet still comes off as a bit boring. I don't know how that's possible. Razah and Sunn end the song with their respective standards: one's awesome and one's a boring Shabazz clone.

ILLUSIONS (FEATURING MASTA KILLA)
The first of five Wu Generals on this album, the severely underrated Masta Killa, leaves his mark on this somber Donny Hathaway loop by Mr. Bogard, who sprinkles a dope Bob Marley excerpt mid-song. Nice touch, 4th. And I gotta say, everyone comes correct here. Yes, even Chron reigns in the Shabazz impression enough to give a very serviceable performance. So much so that even with MK's dope-ass verse, it's actually Vergil Ruff who outshines everyone else here. Simply put, the man was not to be denied this time. Good shit, y'all.

SHINING STAR (FEATURING OL' DIRTY BASTARD & EARTH, WIND & FIRE)
We now come to the oddball out of the entire album, as this song sounds as if it were made in a different reality than the rest of this album. The video accompanying this was so ludicrously awesome, as it featured the second Wu General of the evening, one ODB, at the top of his element. If you somehow still don't know what made people love this guy, hop yourself on over to YouTube now and watch this damn video. That being said, Sunz Of Man send Killah Priest out to get some lollipops for ODB's rest periods while the rest have the time of their lives on the actual record along with the late icon. 62 also references his harmless appearance on Raekwon's Glaciers Of Ice in a manner that adds to his verse properly. And this is the precise point where my praise for this song ends, as Wyclef's pretentious ass produced this song. This beat was screaming for the radio to play it as an alternative to the Comby joints fucking up the mainstream back then. In the most annoying way that Wyclef typically reserves for himself.

ISRAELI NEWS (FEATURING TREBAG)
Oh no. This track is obviously Walter's idea. Now while Supreme Kourt's Blackbyrds-sampling beat is pretty melodic, there's a reason why I generally stay the hell away from Priest's shtick: His subject matter is just way, way over his head. I get it: You want to inspire dialogue about the touchy subject of belief and spirituality. But such big questions, in my humble opinion, simply cannot be answered by mere thoughts or reactionary judgments, such as committing to what certain people like to call "blasphemy". I know it's a frowned-upon word for some, but there's a point behind such a branding. No, these questions take no less than entire lifespans of research and discussion in various interconnected humanitarian fields, whether they be history, thought, philosophy or even culture. Sometimes, even science can enter the equation. I really don't want to turn this site into a debate forum, as there's a time and place for everything. Which brings us back to the song: The whole thing is just Trebag and Razah taking leafs outta Priest's book, who's typically spouting utter gibberish here. So, this is a definite skip for me.

TRIBULATIONS
This RZA production splits Sunz Of Man (what's left of them, anyways) into two tag teams: 62 and Sunn against Priest and Razah. And I hate to sound like a broken record here, but Cuffie and Ruffie really don't leave much room for the other two to impress. Maybe it's because Walter and Chron sound too goddamn bored with their shit that I couldn't care less about its actual content. It really doesn't help that Priest is sticking to his crap while Razah is straight up unimpressive. Meanwhile, the other two are putting in the effort and it friggin' shows. At least it's over a RZA beat that's respectable enough to warp its Whispers source in his trademark untraceable technique. Although, I guess that the hook was Sunn attempting to shake things up through sampling one of his lines from the aforementioned Shining Star. Too bad said line wasn't really that good to begin with.

THE INTERVIEW
Skit!!

THE PLAN

Yes! I've been waiting all Album to review this track, as 4th Disciple kicks the best beat on the entire album. No, really: Selwyn's Ann Peebles loop is a masterpiece that really helps the crew up their game. That's right: Chron and Walter dial down their negative heavy. They sound fairly good as a result, especially Priest. However, the clear star performance goes to 62nd Assassin, who simply sounds like he's having the time of his life. Vergil is pretty enthused, as well, and the entire song is better for it. Great song!

COLLABORATION '98 (FEATURING METHOD MAN & TRUE MASTER)
TM returns behind the boards to try his hand again at producing a decent digital orchestra beat. This one fairs a bit better than Flaming Swords, to be honest. He also sets the song off with a rare showing on the mic, and I gotta say: Son is nice! He's truly cut from the cloth of the GZA style of MCing, with focused punchlines and bonecracking conviction in his delivery. Dude leaves so much of an impression that the album's debuting contribution from Method Man passes by without you even noticing it. Seriously, this is uncharacteristic of Cliffy, as normally he obliterates cameos like this. Maybe it's because the beat is too tame for him? Nah, that hasn't stopped him before. Whatever. By this point, Hell Razah is beginning to sound tiresome, to the level that you might find yourself itching to hit that skip button. Invest in your delivery the way you did when you first came in the game, man. Don't worry, though: Prodigal Sunn restores the enjoyment factor as he hands in another whirlwind of a performance. Overall, this song is aight.

INMATES TO THE FIRE
Whoops. I spoke too soon. With no Killah Priest to be seen in the vicinity, the remaining three members unload a proper thrashing on RZA's second contribution to this album, by far his best of the three. As I said: Sunn, Razah and 62 deliver a posse cut that's clearly the best song you've heard so far on the album, with everybody upping their focus appropriately. Yes, even Razah. Go figure. However, I must mention that it's actually 62 who walks away with this awesome song. Dude sounds straight up possessed as he blacks out with rhyme after sickeningly awesome rhyme. My lone beef with this track is that Dreddy Kruger should've spit his shit on this song, as I've always liked his sick punchlines. Oh well, still an awesome song.

NOT PROMISED TOMORROW (FEATURING TEKITHA)
Selwyn finally shows himself again, after a lengthy absence to provide a somber beat that housing his trademark sampling of classical music. And Hell Razah stays awake this time. Amazing! He comes across much more passable this time. Unfortunately, this song also housing the second home-run in a row for Mr. Cuffie. Seriously, how are this guy's rhymes not quoted more? "If it don't fit don't force it/Can't mix the nine with the Caucus/Picture the ocean without the saltness/Killas without the forfeit" This cat is fire! However, Prodigal Sunn surprisingly tops him with a takedown of the system's injustices against the impoverished. I always knew he had it in him. Nice!

FOR THE LUST OF THE MONEY/THE GRANDZ
I swear, this is the second time on the blog where my concern regarding a certain album from 20 years ago gets addressed as I'm making it so thank you, Hell Razah from 20 years ago, for focusing more on your delivery. It allows you to pull out performances like this that steal the show from your groupmates on songs like this. Although I don't really get the "repeat phrases"  thing y'all got going on, it's still OK as my enjoyment of this song hasn't dwindled in the slightest. Maybe it's because True Mas' finally brought an absolute banger of a beat? Seriously, this Sweet Inspirations-looping instrumental brings back his iron-clanging sound that he made his standard on albums like The Pillage and Tical 2000. This shit knocks.

CAN I SEE YOU (FEATURING BERETTA 9)
4th Disciple crafts a beat that, while good, fails to avoid the inevitable: a slump song after the previous three highs for Hell Razah. Not to worry, though, as Killarmy's Beretta 9 brings his elevated game from Dirty Weaponry with him in a scorching verse. Only for Sunn to predictably steal the show with yet another strong showing. By this point, it should be clear to you who my favorite member from this collective is.

THE BATTLE
Skit!!!!

NEXT UP (FEATURING METHOD MAN)
True Master is back and hogs production duties for the last two tracks of The Last Shall Be First. This song is strictly punchlines and, really: who better to join your punchline endeavor than Mef, the Wu's resident punchline king? 62 sets shit off nicely but Prodigal Sunn surprisingly slips up here. His verse is just plain uneventful. While in a reverse of fortunes, it's actually Hell Razah who's the best Sunz Of Man member on this joint. His line: "Y'all rappers couldn't blow if a windy storm produce/And sung a kiddie song and wore a Power Ranger suit" will issue a chuckle from you. Hell, I laughed so good I was shaken from my half sleep stupor. But come on, you there's only one outcome when you share a punchline track with Mef. Sure enough, he more than makes up for his underwhelming earlier showing with a verse that's up to his awesome standards. Great song, but I must ask, though: Where the hell is Killah Priest?

INTELLECTUALS (FEATURING RAEKWON & GOLDEN ARMS)
After an intro where 62 riffs about something, True Master loops a Flaming Ember sample effectively, eclipsing his work on the previous song. The album ends with two Wu Generals, The Chef and Golden Arms, boosting this song heavily. Rae sets it off lovely, with his patented crhymes taking center stage. Too bad, Hell Razah is in his drugged Shabazz clone phase yet again. Moving on. As you hear 62 spit his shit, you might also finally reach the point where his shtick risks being too overused. I beg you, though: Listen to what he's actually saying. The man is an MC, straight up. Finally, Golden Arms closes the album out with another trademark negative capability showing. And like all his others, his style continues to fly over Wu stans' heads to this very day. Too bad his hook throughout the song was a pile o' bile. Following Goldie's verse, Hell Razah almost derails the goodwill this song has generated so far with his abhorrent singing and extended outro. And unfortunately, still no Killah Priest.

FIVE ARCH ANGELS (OUTRO)
Fuck whomever allowed this insult to remain on the proper release.

FINAL THOUGHTS
That's it. No more Wu-Affiliate shit for a long ass time. That being said. Killah Priest shows up on only four tracks: I never said the dude can't spit. I just said I didn't like his quasi-religious spiel. No excuse to leave off the majority of his group's goddamn project, though. That being said, I still enjoyed this album, as Prodigal Sunn and 62nd Assassin kept me entertained throughout the vast majority of the album. And the constant presence of the Wu-Elements helped keep the sound pretty damn consistent, which is usually what happens when you hand over production to one team if you can believe it. However, there's technically a continuation to this review. Read on.

WORTH IT? Oh bet. This album mostly houses some of the best songs you'd ever hear from the Wu camp, which is just a testament to how strong that W was, not only from a business standpoint but creatively as well. As for the continuation I spoke about?

TRACKS TO TRACK DOWN:
SOLDIERS OF DARKNESS (FEATURING KILLA SIN & 9TH PRINCE)
This is such an essential Wu-Affiliate experience, it ain't even funny, for this is the actual debut of the very concept. And it did its job to the fullest, lemme tell you. 4th Disciple helms this masterpiece with a brilliant Henry Mancini loop that is upgraded from somber to absolute dread as the MCs step up, and for an intended supergroup: these guys meshed very well together. The Killarmy half set shit off, with Killa Sin sounding fairly elementary compared to what he'd later accomplish on the lyrical aspect. 9th Prince went by the name Madman at the time, and while he sounds exactly the same as his later contributions to the first two Killarmy albums, that name fit someone else on the song so much more. For as we start the Sunz Of Man part of the song, it's Prodigal Sunn who comes in and steals the song from everyone present.Not even Killah Priest and 62nd Assassin's dope-as-fuck verses are exempt from Sunn's wizardry here. His delivery is so fucking chaotic that he earned the right to be called the true Madman of the Wu-Affiliates. This song is timeless.

FIVE ARCH ANGELS
Shabazz The fucking Disciple is on this song! This is what a Sunz Of Man album should've sounded like. 4th Disciple again helms this masterpiece of a Marvin Gaye distortion, while all the five MCs of the crew get down something right. This is where you'll notice just how much Hell Razah bit Shabazz' style, because for every witty line that Shabazz spits, Razah tries to recreate to little fanfare. I will say that his younger voice sounds weirdly squeaky, which is so different to how his voice sounds on the proper album it may be jarring. Priest is uncharacteristically funny as fuck with some of his punchlines, while Sunn continues his winning form from the previous song. Considering that this was the b-side to Soldiers Of Darkness, I'd that whomever bought that single was very lucky indeed.

NO LOVE WITHOUT HATE
This track is the best representation of what original producer Supreme Kourt could've brought to the table had he stayed on with Sunz Of Man. For this level of dark mastery behind the boards was present in most of his works with the group, but this song is where you'll be able to hear it the most: SK alters the most random of Al Green samples into a sorrowful beat coupled with drums that will shatter your bones for the foursome to dismantle. And boy do they ever do. Even Hell Razah's average verse is lifted by his awesome hook. Seriously, this is the best hook Sunz Of Man has ever came up with, and it was Hell Razah who wrote it! Of course, the remaining three share equal props for the best verse. I'm serious, that's how good these guys were together. To the point that I completely understand why many Wu stans eventually felt shortchanged with the eventual album.

DEATH BE THE PENALTY (SHABAZZ THE DISCIPLE SOLO)
For a producer for Killarmy, 4th Disciple sure did produce a lot of Sunz Of Man's records. Such as this masterpiece of a debut single, released very shortly after Shabazz split from his group. This song is a continuation of the skill that made people love this guy on Diary Of A Madman, as his imagery was so vividly descriptive you had to buy into what he was rhyming about.

CRIME SAGA (SHABAZZ THE DISCIPLE SOLO)
First time I seen this was through the music video, directed by the GZA of all people. The instrumental was a creative mashup of various excerpts from a Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson song from The EducationOF Sonny Carson OST. By this period, Shabazz the MC has evolved so much in such a short period of time that this song by its very lonesome was cited as a huge inspiration to one of the greatest MCs to ever destroy a beat, the late great Big Punisher. As cited by the man himself, Crime Saga, with its upgraded flow while retaining the vivid imagery Shabazz became known for, was instrumental in the dude's lyrical growth, because if you remember his showing on Fat Joe's Watch Out Now, his flow was much tamer then. Meanwhile Shabazz was continuing to wow everyone with the wordplay he displayed here about a kid who gets lost in the corruption around him. The level of metaphors and entendres reaches madness by the end of the song and you're left at how in the hell was this song lost in the bowels of the mid-90s underground scene. This is by far Shabazz' best solo showing, in my book. And we're done.

Lost in the rabbit hole of Wu-Affiliates and want a way back to the main crew? Here. If you actually like it here, then here's some more fo' yo' freaky ass.