Raekwon - Immobilarity (November 16, 1999)

 

What the hell is that kid in the above cover asking for? That truly is the mystery of all, isn't it? Curiosity is burning my insides. Or maybe it's the banging honey and spices sandwich I just ate that's doing so. What do you mean, there's no such thing?! Oh well.

It's another post, and yet again we discuss the impact a hip hop act leaves on their own discography when dropping an undisputed timeless contribution to the genre. Some, like Mobb Deep, succeed in honing their craft to the point of blowing away their previous material. Others, like Nas, carry over enough qualities from their magnum opus to make their upcoming material almost but not quite as good.

Then, you got people like a certain Cory Woods, bka Raekwon of the legendary Wu-Tang Clan aka the Chef aka Lex Diamonds aka Louis Rich aka Cheffy, (my favorite) who drop an album considered so polarizingly against the excellence of his previous work that the lasting damage would take him years, years, to fix.

How excellent was his previous material, you ask? Well, let's just say that he participated in crafting an album with a certain allure that has reached mythical proportions. To the point that fans awarded it a certain mystique through branding it the 'Purple Tape'. I'm of course talking about Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... This album was responsible for expanding upon a concept introduced by the great Kool G Rap, where he utilizes criminal imagery as a metaphor for his music hustle, and turning it into a goddamn subgenre of East Coast hip hop, then of hip hop period called mafioso rap. Don't believe me? Many of the biggest names mainstream rap has ever seen have relied on the mafioso subgenre, including AZ's Doe Or Die, the aforementioned Mobb Deep's Hell On Earth, the aforementioned Nas' It Was Written, The Notorious B.I.G.'s posthumous bloated mess Life After Death, the repulsive Sean 'Comby' Combs' repulsive No Way Out and one Shawn Carter's Reasonable Doubt, the latter almost identically copying the themes presented on the Purple Tape. Oh, and the following year he collaborated in making Ironman, which I consider to be the Purple Tape's superior twin.

Back to the man himself for a bit. Surely you're asking by now: But what the hell stopped him from repeating the very same feat his previous work did?! I'm glad you asked that, youngin. See, Rae is guilty of a crucial flaw in this game: Being absolutely blind to one's shortcomings. Every time I've heard Cheffy here speak about said work, he's talking as if he's the lone person responsible for its success. By now, you already know that can't be further from the truth, as OB4CL and Ironman are crucially collaborations between three equally important parties: Cheffy, Ghostface Killah and RZA, whom people tend to forget the most. You know, the guy who crystallized the entire Wu-Tang concept to begin with, came up with the business plan, dubbed the '5-year plan', that took them to the top and produced every single album they put out during said period? That guy.

The official mindset Rae mentions when talking about crafting his first true solo album, ridiculously titled 'I Move More Officially by Implementing Loyalty and Respect in the Youth', or Immobilarity for short, is that he wanted to update his sound and polish it a tad when presenting his vision. Basically, he wanted to rip off Reasonable Doubt thinking that its polished sounds fit him, too. Pretty whiny, if you ask me. Thing is, he came pretty close to achieving the desired result through his hook up with a certain production team called the Infinite Arkatechz nka Arkatech Beatz, made up of Dewar brothers Collin and Michael. These dudes had an electric chemistry with our host, manifesting in their ability to provide the best backdrops for his crhymes, aside from RZA of course. Also along the way, Cheffy decided to expand into cultivating newer artists under his own umbrella. Read: he just wanted a group of people to carry different flavors of his favorite potato chips wherever he went. So, he put on producer Triflyn and MCs the Harlem Hoodz (the late Chip Banks and Baby Thad), Polite, Nino, Kingpin, Rhyme Recca & Lord Superb and rebranded the collective the American Cream Team. That last dude though, as much as I don't want to, will be making a return to this blog in the future. As part of their deal, Cheffy demanded that Triflyn work extensively on Immobilarity. Rounding up the production team backing the album are frequent Zhané collaborators Vo & Pop, Carlos Broady aka 6 July from Comby's jolly bag of Hitmen (who worked extensively with Wu-Affiliate La The Darkman) & some dude called DJ Devastator, who appeared once on the 1998 Wu vanity album the Swarm. That last choice was pretty interesting, since Rae apparently wanted to prove that he could make a quality album without leaning on the Wu brand. Yeah, we'll see.

With all these factors, Raekwon unleashed Immobilarity into the public, who bought five hundred thousand copies of the damn thing, mirroring its legendary predecessor in commercial performance. Do I feel it mirrors its critical acclaim, as well? See for yourself.

INTRO

Now, while this intro is obviously a feeble attempt at recreating the atmosphere of the first album's intro, the Dewar Bros. give you an awesome beat sampling, of all things, the main theme for Jurassic Park. So of course Cheffy pisses all over the golden opportunity by not rhyming to it. I loathe this practice by rappers.

YAE YO

6 July, in his lone production for Immobilarity, brings a serviceable instrumental. The way he uses that Kraftwerk drum break is dated as all hell, though. Still, the Lestat's Recitative loop is gloomy enough to move things along properly. Rae decides to launch into a one-verse wonder about a cocaine deal gone wrong. At least the lyrics are awesome and it's consistent with the opening skit? Moving on.

CASABLANCA

Arkatech Beatz are back with another movie theme-sampling concoction, this time from Schwarzenegger's Conan The Barbarian. Yeah, this one's a theatrical banger. So far, the first three instrumentals on Immobilarity are built around themes from movies, so maybe we're seeing an album-wide trend here? Wouldn't put it past Cheffy to request that from everybody. Speaking of which, he brings you another one-verse wonder housing a tale almost identical to the previous song, only with a larger scope and Rae himself being the villain. The beat and rhymes are married much more successfully this time, even recalling the highs of the awesome album cut Knowledge God off OB4CL. Nice!

100 ROUNDS

The second single, complete with a video showing him guiding the cowardly Floyd Mayweather in a training montage. Oh, you think I'm violating? Listen to this and tell me he hasn't been this chicken shit for the majority of his embarrassment of a career. Hell, this music video might be the closest you'll see of this bih actually knocking someone out. My guess is that Rae saw the videos to Mama Said Knock You Out and Second Round KO back to back and wanted to top them. The video does its job, I guess. Triflyn debuts his first production on Immobilarity, and I can almost swear that he ripped off the previous song's sample. Too bad the resulting beat sounds like it might euthanize you. Which of course means that Cheffy here wastes another batch of awesome lyrics after a pointless ass intro featuring Baby Thad. Moreover, he wastes three verses on this song. Sorry but this beat torpedoed any chance of you enjoying the overall track. It is what it is.

REAL LIFE

DJ Devastator is actually the lone producer on this entire album that is kinda related to the Wu camp, and admittedly he comes with a competent instrumental. Now, before I continue on: Cheffy? If you wanted to prove that you can write a quality album without leaning on the Wu brand, probably don't name-drop two-thirds of your Wu brethren on the damn song! It's hypocritical shit like this that plummet your legacy. Anyways, the two crime-tale-ridden verses are his usual top notch standard. All in all, the song is fairly aight, but that aspect kind of threw me off.

POWER (FEATURING AMERICAN CREAM TEAM)

Only five songs in, and it really seems to me that Cheffy has lost all hope to provide some sort of musical consistency to this album. How else would you explain Triflyn's beat desperately trying to ape the Swizz bloody Beatz sound, of all things?! Anyway, Rae shares mic time with the Harlem Hoodz, Superb and Rhyme Recca. Outta these four, only Rhyme Recca consistently showed promise. Chip Banks RIP can be pretty hit-and miss, and Baby Thad and Perby here are straight up crow bile. You know. The type that leaves a stench for decades. Motherfuck this song.

SKIT 1

Yeah, no.

ALL I GOT IS YOU PT.2 (FEATURING BIG BUB)
Rae proclaims his love for Ghostface, fellow OB4CL & Ironman collaborator. Fancy that! The way this album's going, it's almost as if Rae wants you to forget he ever made a classic album, let alone convince you to believe he's continuing his supposed progression in a proper manner. It probably wasn't a great idea, then, to commission Vo & Pop of Zhané fame to recreate the vibe of Ghost's classic Mother's Day theme song off Ironman. To that end, he almost succeeds. The resulting beat shamelessly but effectively loops five seconds from a Lionel Richie hit. Rae actually spits a gut-wrenching verse in a genuine tribute to his mother and you feel every biting emotion he describes. Markings of a true lyricist. Unfortunately that only lasts for half the song, as former Today alum Big Bub spends its remainder in a Lionel Richie interpolation skin-crawlingly inappropriate to the subject matter. This song could've been very special. Shame.

JURY (FEATURING KIM STEPHENS)
It seems as if the only people actually working on giving Cheffy productions actually worth his lyrical efforts and investment are the Infinite Arkatechz, as they loop an appropriately moody Chris Spheeris excerpt to stay the hell outta the way of Rae's lyrics. May I add that Kim Stephens also blows her parts away. I can't find if she found any work before or after this, but she damn sure should've. You know how rare and refreshing it is to hear some actual accomplished R&B over a Wu-related track? Exactly. Back to Rae's lyrics: He decides to continue the good idea he had last song and go on diversifying the album's subject matter. This time, he spits three awesome autobiographical verses your way. Then again, lyrics haven't really been Immobilarity's problem, so far. It's the beats you'll beef with, and thankfully there's nothing to get mad at here. This shit rocks.

FUCK THEM (FEATURING METHOD MAN)
Unlike this dead-on-arrival-ass garbage. Cory, hint: Stop giving garbage producers exposure, asshole! Triflyn has been outright horrendous behind the boards so far, and this beat is one of his worst. To make matters, Wu brother Method Man's hook setting off the song is so cringeworthy it pretty much guarantees that you'll never ever listen to the full song. Luckily for you, I'm a glutton for punishment. Rae brings Mef in the booth for their absolute worst collaboration to date. The worst song on the album, thus far.

SKIT 2

Um, hell fucking no?

LIVE FROM NEW YORK
I need a proper song to wash the manure outta my ears. Now. Oh, this is produced by the Infinite Arkatechz? And it's the lead single? Sign me up! All jokes aside, many people who hated this album point to this song as its lone highlight. Well, I wouldn't say the absolute highlight but you bet your rusty sheriff's badge it's up there. IA loop yet another Chris Spheeris excerpt and bring the ruckus. Seeing as these sounds were what Rae was aiming for in the first place, he zones out wonderfully with them braggadocio he can be so devastating at. Very deserving of its lead single status & a definite banger.

MY FAVORITE DRED

At this point, I've just about reached my limit with this Triflyn cat. To the point that when he actually does bring something bearing some semblance of quality to the table, I believe that he very well may've stumbled upon it by accident. Not a good look, Cheffy. And once again, the mismatch between beat & lyrics renders the fact that Cory delivered a pretty damn imaginative tale about a thriving drug dealer who meets his end completely irrelevant. These mismatches are really getting on my nerves.

FRIDAY

Another bowel movement of a Triflyn beat, another dope-ass one-verse Raekwon crhyme. This is getting exhausting.

THE TABLE (FEATURING MASTA KILLA)

Hold up. No it's not. Boy/girl (pick one), may I present you with the crown jewel of Immobilarity, courtesy of the Infinite Arkatechz. (Who else?) I don't know why exactly did the Dewars have this raging hard-on for Chris Spheeris' material, but if it helped them produce shit like this? More power to 'em. For Rae's part, him and guest Clansman Masta Killa bring the motherfucking house down a verse apiece with their introspection. Rae's verse is much longer than MK's, but since GZA's motto (Make it brief, son, half short and twice strong) rings very true, the High Chief's contribution is infinitely more worthwhile. This song deserves to be mentioned among the absolute finest songs outta the Wu camp. I'm as serious as cancer.

SNEAKERS

After he repaid the Rebel for his favor on Tru Master, lead single of Soul Survivor, with an underrated gem in Trouble Man, Pete Rock heads to the Chef this time, wanting to repay him for his showing on Tha Game off the same album. True to form, the beat's a Jimmy Stewart-sampling masterpiece, with scratches of Rae himself, Ghostface, Nas, Prodigy of Mobb Deep and the late Big Punisher to sweeten the deal. Cheffy uses this golden opportunity to create a timeless ode to guess what? His lyricism is truly reminiscent of GZA, which is excellent. Another one for the good.

RAW (FEATURING AMERICAN CREAM TEAM)

Vo & Pop are back, and by God this was a downer compared to the previous two joints. This posse cut is slightly better than the previous Cream Team outing here simply due to Perby's omission. Baby Thad's still menses, though. Never confuse the fact that this shit blows, though.

POP SHIT

Are you fucking kidding me with this horseshit, Cory?! Neither his lyrics nor Vo & Pop's cheap-ass beat are anything of note! RAPEFUCK this song.

HEART TO HEART

This instrumental solidifies Vo & Pop as two douchebags that lucked into the industry and have no place on this or any other Wu-related album. Not as bad as their previous outing, but still very bloody bad. Cheffy seems to think that this part of the album is suitable for flossing his ass off and bragging about introducing the mafioso template. Some points are valid and some should be shoved back down our host's throat.

FORECAST

Triflyn closes out the album, and what's this? Is he actually coming forth with a beat worth Rae's lyrics?! Well, you could've placed this beat earlier on in the album and established a serviceable momentum, at least. This album has absolutely none, if you miraculously haven't noticed by now. And now Cheffy wants to waste a beat? This is basically him shouting out the names of random places he's probably been to in the most drunken of ways. Fuck you, Cory.

OUTRO

Goddamn, this was pretentious as all fuck.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This album truly is a fascinating case study into the trajectory of Raekwon The Chef's career. Indeed, the proof presented on Immobilarity is damning that this guy works best as part of a collaborative team, not as a true soloist. How else can one explain the numerous chances Cheffy infuriatingly pisses away at establishing a solid and fruitful partnership with Arkatech Beatz? Because aside from the Soul Brother,(duh!) they are, far and wide, the producers most in sync with him, and had they been allowed to produce the entirety of the album or at least a vast majority of it, some consistency and momentum could've been cultivated to help him realize his desired concept. Instead, we got inconsistent material overseen by DJ Devastator and 6 July. Oh and let's not forget hacks like Vo & Pop or Triflyn with his incompetent ass shoving absolute trash down our throats, thereby forever ruining the lyrics paired with said piffle that are among the best Rae has ever spit on a true solo album of his. No, Cuban Linx and Ironman do not count as such. There's a reason that Raekwon never repeated the commercial feat he achieved here: People were too heartbroken.

WORTH IT? The Infinite Arkatechz' tracks and Pete's treat are essential listening. In no way can a sane person recommend owning the full album, though. I wish I was joking. Word of advice: Avoid the Triflyn songs like the plague.

TRACKS TO TRACK DOWN:
IT'S NOT A GAME (FEATURING AMERICAN CREAM TEAM & RZA)
Surprised to see the Infinite Arkatechz pop up on Cheffy's radar again? Well don't be. Off the Black & White OST, (yet another shitty film attempting to capitalize on the commercial benefits of hip hop back then) this track can be seen as the zenith of the American Cream Team movement. Set to a menacing violin-heavy instrumental by the Dewar Bros., Rae and his team demolish the track. Yes, even Baby Thad manages to sound serviceable. RZA acts as a surprise guest, set up perfectly as the song's closer. Best part of it all, Superb's whiny voice is relegated to hook duties! Brilliant! Even if the hook does tend to be repeated a gojazillion times. Still a track that should've made Immobilarity, as it fit the aesthetic Rae hoped to achieve like a glove.

RESPECT POWER

Another Arkatech Beatz production, another song relegated to the OST of a movie zero people saw. What, did the Dewar Bros. piss you off accidentally, Cory?! Is spreading your work across OSTs of shitty flicks your petty attempt at payback?! Whatever. The Dewars bring an ingenious Ennio Morricone loop that allows Rae to cut loose with the references to grandeur, each one clinging to your consciousness harder than the other. This fits Immobilarity even more than my previous suggestion. Not saying it's a better song, necessarily. Just a better fit. And we're done.

Click here to check out Cheffy's other shit.