Killarmy - Dirty Weaponry (August 11, 1998)

You'll see if this whole 'dropping a post every month' thing blows over. You'll just have to see.

I don't know how you can absorb the black hole that is the Wu-Affiliate discography without suffering a few seizures. Because covering this shit is taxing. And so far, I'm attempting to cover dudes who are 100% confirmed to have direct ties to the Wu-Tang Clan. Obviously, I bit off more than I can chew, but I'm sticking with this run to its bitter end, no matter how long I'll take.

Back in 1998, Killarmy, made of Steubenville, Ohio's Terrance Hamlin bka Wu creative mind RZA's younger brother 9th Prince, Jamal Alexander bka Shogun (hands down my favorite Steubenville MC from the collective), Samuel Murray tka Beretta 9 nka Kinetic 9 and Rodney Stevenson bka Islord (the Cappadonna of the group), along with Staten Island, NY's Jeryl Grant bka Wu manager& actor Oliver 'Power' Grant's younger sibling Killa Sin (the Method Man of the group) and Domingo Del Valle tka PR Terrorist nka Dom Pachino, were in a situation that many a rap act found themselves in throughout the years: How will we ever follow up our debut? (Insert the whiniest emoji you can think of here.) Now granted, it ain't like people treat Silent Weapons For Quiet Wars as a goddamn timeless piece of music, even though it's way more deserving of a spotlight than albums like the friggin No Way Out vanity project by Comby Combs with his mainstream-whoring ways. Nevertheless, enough people listened to it, and more importantly, enough people liked it. Naturally, a sequel is expected that still retains whatever said fanbase liked about the original. So it's probably a pretty good idea that Steubenville's Selwyn Bogard bka revered Wu-Element 4th Disciple remained as the group's main producer.

For 4th, my SWFQW review mentioned that it was his "proving ground as an album crafter", to which I believe I said that "he passed that particular test with hella flying colors". Now, people (read: Wu stans) know to associate him with minimalist beats with quite the affinity for classic music. His retention for this album as well boosts the chance that maybe the crew will repeat their previous feat. Keep in mind that these dudes are attempting this after losing their manager & leader, Steubenville's late General Wise, . Listening to them speak about him, you get the feeling that he was pretty goddamn prevalent in their lives and that his death hit them fairly hard. RIP General Wise.

Side note: I don't really remember when it was that I was convinced to give these Killarmy albums a go. Maybe it's after the constant stream of awesome performances by Killa Sin I was exposed to. Scratch that, I believe I can pinpoint the exact verse from him that forced me to check these dudes out: It was his performance on the Real Live Shit remix. He blew everyone else away on that shit, even a very in-form Ghostface Killah.

And with Dirty Weaponry, you're here to see if these guys can do the same.

GALACTICS
We set the album off with the revelation that this album will host not one, but two guest producers. Granted, it's on 3 of 13 songs, but it's still worth mentioning. The first guest producer is Queens, NY's Ronald Bean bka Wu-Element DJ Mathematics and straight out the gate, you can hear his audacious challenge to 4th Disciple in the Mad Lads-sampling beat he's provided the group, preceded by a sample describing their MO yet again: They're militant in their pursuit of greatness in this game. The dialogue sample opening the song kind of drags a bit, until the relentless loop forming the beat emerges from its depths to engulf you in a sense of foreboding. This might be another triumphant showing from these guys after all. You first hear Dom's boring-ass hook (read: he delivers it as if there's a carrot stuck in his teefers. Thanks for that word, Mef!), and I must admit my initial frustration at hearing friggin' Islord spit the first verse. However, everything after that is nothing short of hip hop bliss. You're treated to three blistering verses from Beretta, Dom & 9P respectively, and surprisingly Dom blew me away. No lie, this is straight up the best verse I've ever heard from the guy! Not even 9P's gibberish flow can fill the gaping hole he incinerated in the beat. Very nice! The song ends with a sample from the Spawn HBO TV series, for better or worse.

ALLAH SEES EVERYTHING (FEATURING KILLAH PRIEST)
I'd've figured that, given it's title, Priest would contribute more to this track than hook duties, but here you go. So, Dom's on fire now. I'm serious, something happened to this guy after the first album, because he damn sure ain't playing around with performances like this. 9P and Islord (Ugh) pale by comparison, although I get the feeling that you'll tolerate 9P's shit here more than that of the personality vacuum. 4th accepts DJ Math's challenge on the earlier song and elevates the sweeping feeling Math brought with his own sweeping take on the samples here. 2 for 2.

5 STAGES OF CONSCIOUSNESS
To date, this is the lone track to in Killarmy's entire discography to feature all the members on one song. Does it fulfill expectations, you ask? Well sure enough, 4th Disciple brings you his signature minimalist mesh of obscure samples that might be combined with some keyboard play from him. The group fittingly responds, no question: We begin with the Shaolin, NY duo of Killa Sin & Dom bringing magnificent offerings that effectively set the bar high enough for the Steubenville crew to shine. Except Islord, of course. He's that annoying to me.

UNITE TO FIGHT

The Steubenville duet of Shogun and 9P fail to impress over this 4th beat that deserved more. That's really all I got. Next!

MURDER VENUE

You first hear Islord's fucking grating voice on the hook over yet another appropriately minimalist 4th creation. It is here that Beretta 9 chooses to surprise the fuck outta everybody by lyrically besting the three most well known members of Killarmy: Dom, 9P and most surprising of all, Killa Sin. B9 accomplishes this through sheer conviction alone on an otherwise OK song.

DOOMSDAY (FEATURING HOLOCAUST)

After his showings on vanity Wu sampler The Swarm earlier that year, the Wu family's raging collective hard-on for Anthony Brown fka Holocaust nka Warcloud, temporary figurehead of West Coast Wu-Affiliates the Black Knights, continues as he guests on not one, but two songs on Dirty Weaponry. And as I mentioned in the previous post, the attention here is very much warranted. This guy rides 4th's blood-pumping custom beat as if it was his sole purpose in life while dropping some undeniable heaters in his verse. You can almost hear B9 & Dom throwing in their respective towels midway through their respective verses.

RED DAWN
OK, now the blame is solely on Selwyn for this song being dead on arrival. He's obviously aiming to recreate the whirlwind of a journey that his production on SWFQW took you in here, but his keyboard display is just too goddamn paint-by-numbers. Too bad, as this track also features another standout B9 showing, while Dom and especially 9P fall by the way side. I mean, I know that Dom was clearly trying, but it is what it is.

THE SHOOT OUT
The lone single from the album that got the video treatment, and the fall in budget was noticeable to say the least. Oh, and by the way: Every single member of this group should've bitchslapped whomever came up with the video's asinine concept of them competing in obstacle courses for RZA's approval. And maybe smack him, too, because it seems like the shit he'd use in his own videos. Back to the song, though: I'm pretty surprised that this was the song these six chose as the one that represents this album best when I can think of at least four more deserving cuts, especially 5 Stages Of Consciousness. (Once again, the one song in the group's discography where, you know, all the members share the track together?!) The beat may very well be 4th's worst on this entire album. Pretty unfortunate that, as this song features some magnificent performances from Killa Sin and B9 despite its brevity, including what may very well be the only performance from Islord that I find tolerable. Still, the beat ruined this song for me. Oh and don't go looking for The Cook Out, the accompanying b-side to this song's 12": It's grade-a materialistic manure.

BASTARD SWORDSMAN (FEATURING HOLOCAUST)
DJ Math is back, and so far his beats for the album have been stellar. The integration of the various Al Green samples splattered throughout the beat sets the mood of paranoia off right. Dom comes correct this time, recapturing his form from the first few songs on Dirty Weaponry, only to be completely disintegrated by Holocaust's contribution. The following 9P verse never really stood a chance. The real mystery, though, is how the hell did Shogun drop in quality so fast, notably after being a star contributor to SWFQW. His verse here is pretty good, though. Especially his closing line.

LAST POET
Selwyn sits this one out as well, as in comes Russell Presley aka Russ Prez, main producer for female Wu-Affiliate crew Deadly Venoms, to continue DJ Math's endeavor to make up for Selwyn's atrocious showing on The Shoot Out with a Cilla Black loop that's pretty darn redeeming: He manages to wring every last drop of melancholy from said loop, then hands the resulting beat over to Killarmy. In turn, they assign Dom, Islord (groan) and 9P to do it some sombre justice. To that end, only Dom succeeds, as Islord is being Islord and 9P's prattling flow fails to suit this slow beat. Ultimately, this is yet another misfire.

SERVING JUSTICE
Here, after a short and indifferent dialogue bit, 4th finally redeeming himself by bringing us the best beat on the album bar none, as he samples the famed Lonely Shepherd piece to masterful effect. After a hook from Dom and 9P, Dom and Killa Sin engage in a lyrical duel where they bounce off each other effortlessly, with Jeryl absolutely slaughtering Dom. Also, big shocker here, 9P contributing another of his prattling verses was a highlight instead of a drawback because, again, this beat was not a snoozefest. A definite album highlight.

WHERE I REST AT
It's finally official: Shogun has fallen off. You will realize that on this track if you enjoyed the fuck outta his shit on the crew's debut. He's still serviceable, of course, but he's nowhere near where he was lyrically on SWFQW. But I'll be damned if I don't enjoy the hell outta this track regardless. Why? Because this song houses the absolute best lyrical performance on this album, courtesy of (who else?) Killa Sin. Seriously, the fucker goes in on Selwyn's equally-epic Gladys Knight-sampling beat. One more criticism, though: I loves me some wordy hooks, but they need to be crafted right. Which, sadly, wasn't the case with B9's contribution here. Still, a very enjoyable song, nonetheless.

PAIN
The final song on this album doesn't sound like a Killarmy song in the least, This is more of early Sunz Of Man territory, as their unreleased material reveals they were serious about their dark imagery. This isn't supposed to be a knock on this track, as the grim dialogue between Spawn and the Violator from the HBO series is sampled perfectly here by 4th Disciple, who then proceeds to build the entire beat, keys and strings and all, around said sample. The Steubenville team plus Killa Sin close out the album with performances that are worthy of such haunting surroundings. Well, except for Islord, as he sounds goofy as fuck talking about how he'll cause ruckus to "weak motherfuckin' analog n****s". Trust me, he sounds this annoying almost every. Single. Time you hear him spit.

FINAL THOUGHTS
OK, this is where I lay the barebone facts on this album: I've actually come across many opinions stating that this album was a vast improvement on the first, going on and on about how the beats and rhymes were stepped up noticeably by all involved. To be honest, I find that to be too much of a stretch, as the only ones whom efforts at improving themselves clearly show are Beretta 9, by far the most consistent member on this album, and Dom Pachino, whom still fails to impress sometimes. The rest were either simply coasting on their earlier styles, which in Killa Sin's case is mostly pretty damn great, or in 9th Prince' case is too dependent on the energy of the beat. Because he sounds pretty goddamn shitty on the slower instrumentals. As for Islord and Shogun, one was Islord and the other was the most disappointing member from the group, bar none. We're talking about a guy who went toe to toe with a very in-form Killa Sin on the first album. And if a true Wu stan ever heard that form, he'd know how glowing a compliment that's supposed to be. Speaking of instrumentals, 4th is the most glaring drawback of the entire project. Don't get me wrong, he's still mostly phenomenal. But comparing his showings here with the gargantuan accomplishment he's done on SWFQW, and he just comes up short. Even though the guest productions by DJ Math and Russ Prez were pretty goddamn knee-slapping. It is what it is.

WORTH IT? Only if you loved the first one, as there are still some straight jewels on this album, as well. Just don't get your hopes too high on this album surpassing the first. As I've said, that just ain't happening.

Your destination for more Wu-Affiliate shit. You masochistic bastard, you. For more from Killarmy, check this.

Killarmy - Silent Weapons For Quiet Wars (August 5, 1997)

I know I'm not following chronological order. Fuck off.

So, it's the mid-90s and a certain group called the Wu-Tang Clan are in the midst of experiencing their biggest successes to date. Naturally, the next step was to spread their influence in a way that keeps the Wu flag high up both critically and commercially. Basically the plan was to debut a carefully-selected group of artists that would ensure their growth as a whole. These new debutants were dubbed the Wu-Affiliates.

The first mark these guys left on the industry was through Sunz Of Man, the very first Wu-Affiliate group, on Diary Of A Madman, the debut single of Gravediggaz, in which Wu ringleader RZA was a full-fledged member, which led to their debut album, the classic N****mortis/6 Feet Deep, on which they appeared on further songs along with a certain Dreddy Kruger (one of my favorite Wu-Affiliates period). From there, the slew of Wu-Affiliates only grew, as they kept popping up in Wu-related releases. Notice how many times I said 'Wu' and 'Wu-Affiliates' so far in this paragraph alone. Eventually, these dudes had to have a release of their own. And that's where our hosts come in.

In 1995, Sunz Of Man released their debut single under Wu-Tang Records called Soldiers Of Darkness. This song features the very first recorded rhymes of any member from Killarmy, the second group of Wu-Affiliates to ever be introduced. Naturally, it would be the two with the strongest ties to the actual Clan: Staten Island, NY's Jeryl Grant bka Killa Sin, who is the younger brother of Wu-Tang manager Oliver Grant bka Power and (similar to many a Wu fan) my absolute favorite member of Killamy, and Steubenville, Ohio's Terrance Hamlin aka Madman (an alias that should've went to Sunz Of Man member Prodigal Sunn. True Wu stans will know why.) nka 9th Prince, younger brother of RZA himself. Their performances in this song, well, mostly Killa Sin's, obviously turned enough heads for people to check for their later output. (Of course, the accompanying Wu banner almost ensures said outcome, which is always a plus.) So, when Wake Up featuring Sunz Of Man was released this time, more people took notice of this new unit in the Wu-Affiliate ranks. And by the time RZA shouted them out along with the effing Gravediggaz and, again, Sunz Of Man on the intro to Triumph on Wu-Tang Forever (the best material from the entire Clan, group or solo.), it was official: Album time was upon Killarmy.

Up until that time, Killa Sin and 9th Prince were the only known members of the group. By the time Wu-Renegades was released later that year, however, the late General Wise, founder and true leader of the group, had already added the remaining five members. Steubenville's Jamal Alexander tka Shogun Assasson nka just Shogun (who, unlike many a Wu fan, is my second favorite member of Killarmy) Samuel Murray tka Beretta 9 nka Kinetic 9, Rodney Stevenson bka Islord (hands down, the Cappadonna of the group) and Staten Island's Domingo Del Valle tka PR Terrorist nka Dom Pachino, the only other member besides Killa Sin who isn't from Steubenville. As you've probably guessed by now, most of these dudes are childhood friends of 9th Prince. I know the question that's on your mind right now: (whiny voice) 'But shoe-in. You said there were five more members? Where's the fifth member, huh? HUH?' Alright, alright. You see, both Soldiers of Darkness and Wake Up were RZA productions. Well, starting with Camouflage Ninjas, which also came out in 1996, Killarmy accomplished a goal many aspiring MCs absolutely disregard to this day: adding a producer who knows his shit to their ranks.

Selwyn Bogard bka 4th Disciple is yet another export of Steubenville. More importantly, his subsequent contributions to the group prove that the most important role in the creation of good hip hop is the producer, not the MC. Now I know that Bobby already did that with his five-year plan but still, the point begs proving yet again. 4th Disciple, along with fellow Wu-Element True Master, also get criminally overlooked as frequent contributors to many classic Wu songs. So in 1997's Silent Weapons For Quiet Wars, Killarmy's debut, 4th has a chance to showcase his true capabilities properly.

Silent Weapons For Quiet Wars was the other album besides The Pick, The Sickle & The Shovel to be released alongside the Wu's gargantuan sophomore. And it benefited way more than it should've. Now, it sold zilch because come on, but one can assume that it sold enough copies for Wu-Tang Records to warrant a follow up the next goddamn year.

Silent Weapons For Quiet Wars, boy/girl (pick one):

DRESS TO KILL

4th Disciple starts the evening off with samples from what sounds like a chessy-ass political documentary. You know, the ones that stale rotten orange cheeto, the one that the US government calls a president at the time of this writing, grew up on. Anyways, it serves as a very fitting introduction to the group's aesthetic. In place of their parent Clan's kung fu MO, we're supposed to treat these guys as an army of lyrical terrorists. Hell, for the duration of this album, one of their members calls himself PR Terrorist. As such, the three members displayed here relay the message very well. Although allow me to clear the air on something: Many a Wu fan complain about 9th Prince' deliberate disregard for rhyming on-beat, and at first I might be inclined to agree, but I find the shit too damn funny. I know that's not Mr. Hamlin's original intention, but here you go. Plus, you can't deny that the BNB (Boasts N Bullshit) he's actually saying fits the image a group named friggin' Killarmy is aiming for perfectly. That said, my two favorite members from Killarmy bookend this song. 9th Prince never had a chance. Awesome song.

CLASH OF THE TITANS (FEATURING STREETLIFE)
This was an interesting choice for the b-side of the 2nd single, which we'll get to. Shogun opens up this song, as well, sounding just as impressive over a 4th Disciple beat that sees him go way back, looping a Celeste Aida sample and sprinkling it with enough dusty keys and a drum break that will throw you instantly back to RZA's Tical days. Then, 9th Prince enters the picture and the laughter starts for me. Dom Pachino with his overrated ass punches in, interrupting the fuck outta 9th in the process, which only increased my laughter. By the way, to all you Dom Pachino fans shitting on 9th Prince, Dom's flow was equally as erratic, if not even more so. All's forgiven, though, as we have the first of two features from bonafide Wu generals in Streetlife. I've already said it in my Forever review and I'll say it again: Streetlife is an official Wu general. Even though he tends to be satisfied as Method Man's hypeman. Anyways, he blows every one of his costars outta the water, naturally. Poor Beretta 9 is left to pick up the pieces, and he sounds like an adult version of Islord on pretty much everything I heard him on. Having said that, he does OK. All in all, a very good track.

BURNING SEASON
Until this shit comes along. Yes, people. You get a true Killa Sin solo that is the first of many shots during his career where he proves that he's the most deserving of a solo album from the group. Alas, his numerous run-ins with the law (whom unfortunately have caused many an injustice on Staten Island throughout the years. RIP Case, Eric Garner & many more.) have resulted in him getting locked up for a long time. Sigh, now the only option you have left is supporting him through his music. I'll state for the record that this song is one of my favorite songs on the album. Basically, 4th Disciple provides a canvas of multiple head-nodding samples of the same Al Green record, while adding a few touches to make the result truly blood-pumping. He then passes the canvas over to 9th Prince, who lays the hook and gets the hell outta the way as Killa Sin burns the canvas, the surrounding area, the whole thing down. He may be the one MC who can access the 'crhyme' style popularized by Raekwon The Chef without coming off as a biter. This be some headbanger shit.

BLOOD FOR BLOOD
Again with the samples from left field! Very true to RZA's teachings. Except that 4th Disciple is a bigger fan of classic English odes than RZA. Or Irish in this case, as he samples a Dead Can Dance acapella and surrounds it with instrumentation of his own composition. The result's pretty impressive, as the members who punched in for the day: Shogun, 9P, Dom & B9, all accommodate themselves nicely to the beat, with Shogun again taking the cake. 9P's flow sounds like he's trying too hard to meet a deadline again, but somehow it fits slow jams like this. This was nice.

SEEMS IT NEVER FAILS

Ah yes, the advent of Islord. And he chose to debut his 2-year old voice on the 4th Disciple beat, composed from scratch, that is most likely to get stuck in your noggin. So, Islord does such a shitty job he manages to make 9th Prince sound like GZA by comparison. Although I must say once again that 9P's jumbled flow sounds a lot better on Selwyn's slower beats. This did what it could, so let's move on now.

UNIVERSAL SOLDIERS
With the most fitting kung fu skit that can possibly describe Killarmy, 4th Disciple constructs his most minimalistic beat on the whole album, building it around a distinctly sped-up Isley Bros loop. Really impressive work. In a repeat feat of Dress To Kill, Killa Sin smokes his cohorts yet again with the surprising exception of Dom, who comes admirably close.

LOVE, HELL OR RIGHT
Skit. Although this reminds me of the early Wu skits. Still a skit, though.

WAKE UP (FEATURING HELL RAZAH & PRODIGAL SUNN)
Weirdly enough, this song was chosen to be the b-side to Killarmy's debut single. RZA scores this song by looping a minuscule sample of a Joe Harnell composition for the Incredible Hulk TV show. Needless to say, this is 92-97 RZA we're talking about here, so you already know this shit's beautiful. Prodigal Sunn and Hell Razah from Sunz Of Man repay Killa Sin and 9th Prince for their contributions to Soldiers Of Darkness. Even though Hell Razah (my least favorite member of Sunz Of Man) had zilch to do with that song, so why is he punching in for 62nd Assassin again? Everyone else stepped their lyrical game way up, though: especially Killa Sin. Spectacular song.

FAIR, LOVE AND WAR

4th Disciple's back, and he brings with him a beat that could've very well fit the subject matter that Killarmy has hammered home numerous times by now, if not for one very noticeable and glaring flaw: Selwyn decides to introduce a goddamn synthesizer a la Zapp. By God, does this move stand against every musical direction the Wu has ever went for in the most inappropriate way possible. So much so that it'll be the only remaining memory that stays with you from the song, leaving each of the war-themed BNB inputs from Killa Sin, Beretta 9, Dom Pachino & Shogun to die a pitiful death. Shame, as they were quite up to the album's standards so far.

WU-RENEGADES

The 2nd single. This also oddly came out before the album. 4th Disciple's synth on the previous track was so horrendous that he had to redeem himself somehow. Well, my fellow Wu stan, I'm happy to say that he completely delivers on said redemption. Looping two of the most obscure classical music samples I've ever come across (courtesy of Norwegian pianist Christian Sinding & legendary Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov), Selwyn cooks up one hell of a recipe for the quartet of Dom Pachino, Killa Sin, 9th Prince & Beretta 9 to expand on the war-themed BNB we've grown accustomed to throughout this album. Once again, Killa Sin lyrically rules the bunch by a wide margin.

FULL MOON

A soulful excerpt from Brooklyn Bridge starts off this album cut, followed by a well-used Headhunters drum break by Selwyn. It's really impressive how he's kept the sound of the album this consistent while surviving the pitfalls of redundancy, and this beat is definitely no exception. Of course, the duo of 9th Prince and Killa Sin decide out of the blue that this beat is appropriate for a deviation from the subject matter prevalent so far on the album: 9P dedicates his verse to a friend on the verge of release from jail, while Jeryl mourns the death of his friend. Both express a vivid attention to detail, which always doesn't hurt. Yeah, I liked this and you will, too.

UNDER SIEGE

From two songs of expert sampling techniques to a completely original composition by 4th Disciple, permeated by dialogue excerpts from Stanley Kubrick's classic war horror film Full Metal Jacket. I tell you, RZA taught this Wu-Element well. This be the song that proves why Shogun is my second favorite Killarmy member by a considerable margin. Dude says: 'Now you're a mere memory of bloody victory'. Fellow members Dom Pachino and Beretta 9 sharing the track with him can only hope to sound this ill.

SHELTER (FEATURING HOFFA)

We're introduced to the very first Killarmy affiliate, something called a Hoffa who used to go by the name of Cloud 9. So that technically makes him an affiliate of an affiliate of the Wu. Fascinating. Anyway, dude's stuck with hook duties here, as this song is a completely Steubenville affair, with Beretta 9 and Shogun giving a verse apiece. Naturally, Shogun smokes his cohort to kingdom come over another jarring keyboard display from 4th Disciple. 'Jarring' here was somehow meant to be a compliment.

CAMOUFLAGE NINJAS 

The actual debut single, even though it's b-side, the aforementioned Wake Up, received the true lead single treatment, music video n'all. I'm also pretty sure Wake Up came out, in some form or another, before this song. Whatever. Selwyn chooses to insert the second kung fu sample here, after which he reveals his beat, composed from an Earth, Wind & Fire loop surrounded by singing from an unknown vocalist. I actually suspect it's Tekitha wailing her ass off, but I've looked everywhere for proof of such claim without finding none. This is the third song in a row where Shogun lyrically reigns supreme over whomever shares the track with him. Dom and B9 already felt his wrath and now it's time for 9th Prince to have a taste as well. Let's not get it twisted, though: Everybody did a good job here.

SWINGING SWORDS
This time, 4th Disciple builds an entire instrumental from scratch around a very well-known Billie Holiday sample. Wu stans who just so happen to be Billie Holiday stans as well will recognize it immediately. This time, Dom P finally shows some effort with the beginning of his verse, only for him to give up midway and revert to his lukewarm form of shittalking that you've begrudgingly heard from him all night. Fear not, though: 9th Prince and Killa Sin bookend his contribution. You don't need me to tell you who bodied this song the best, because by this point, you'd've already chosen him as your favorite Killarmy member, just like every Wu stan who's been exposed to them so far.

WAR FACE (FEATURING HOFFA)
RZA returns to the boards with another Full Metal Jacket sample, before committing one of the laziest production choices I've ever come across so far: He literally used the same beat he did for reggae/dancehall legend Bounty Killer's, wait for it, War Face (Ask Fi War), a remake of his own 1995 cut Ask Fi War. Nevertheless, it's a fucking cunt move. So, it was all for the best that Killarmy made the beat their own. Trust me. Hoffa returns with an actual verse this time. Oh sorry, he was known as Cloud 9 then. I think he was pissed of 9th Prince & Beretta 9 took all the 9-related names he thought were available to him, so he went with the only name he could think of: Cloud 9. And now everyone laughs at his stupid choice every time people come across this song. That being said, he admittedly sounds like the seventh member of the group, which is to say he sounds fittingly serviceable here. 9th Prince comes with the same flow he's used so far and Beretta 9 continues his overtly direct and simplistic style of braggadocio, which works on beats like this. Shogun, however, surprisingly turns in his weakest effort on the album, one which he rectifies later on in his verse. Thankfully, Killa Sin, in his final appearance on this album, bats cleanup and boy does he ever clean up. I swear, every time I hear him on this album my frustration with his current situation increases. The overall result will fill your appetite.

5 STARS (FEATURING MASTA KILLA)
Yes. Killarmy scored a cameo from the High Chief himself. Maybe the fact that he knew that his solo shot wasn't coming anytime soon helped. I doubt he was aware that it would be a seven year wait, though, or we would've definitely seen much more cameos from the guy. Nevertheless, he shows up here and, no lie, delivers the best verse on the entire album over 4th Disciple's recreation of a popular Johnny Mandel record. Killarmy can only thank the Lord Almighty that Masta Killa committed to such a degree. None of them come close to touching his lyrics, of course. But I will say that Shogun is back on his groove, making sure to banish his previous contribution far away from the listener's memory, sounding the best out of any of his groupmates. I would say that he was inspired by Beretta 9's surprising leap in quality. For real, he turns in a fantastic 10 bars. For their parts, 9P & Dom  make do with their bread n butter, with 9th sounding a tad more focused, in a sign of things to come.

FINAL THOUGHTS
It just hit me how long this album really was, and how long my write-up of it is, as well! So no one actually bought this. Come on, you were expecting another Death Row situation? The industry was very keen to never allow that again. Having said that, it may all be for the best, as this scenario guaranteed that only the most hardcore Wu stans were exposed to this shit. And I think that such an audience is exactly who this album is for. I'm not saying that this record can't be enjoyed by any other type of music lover. Hell, I actually feel that this project remains Killarmy's most accessible album to date. It surely set the standard for future albums from the group. Don't get me wrong, Killarmy is definitely no Wu-Tang Clan, but on projects like this, they properly display how to cover slip-ups within a group setting, so that the song as a whole doesn't get ruined. For that alone, they are worth mentioning and studying. But take in the fact that this was also 4th Disciple's proving ground as an album crafter, and he passed that particular test with hella flying colors. This project can always be presented as an exemplary showcase when debating Selwyn's status as one of the production greats. Plus, it's always nice to hear Killa Sin spit his heart out, and it's always equally nice to see Shogun finally get some shine. I believe I'm the very first person on the Interweb to ever praise duke's lyrics.

WORTH IT?
Many people have disliked Killarmy in the past because they didn't get to experience what they were about, what with the jumbled flows n'all. However, this album really presents the full spectrum of Killarmy's message successfully, so if any album from their catalog deserves your attention, my pick would be this one. We'll eventually see if there's another one deserving of similar recommendation later. 

Craving some more shit from the actual Clan? Here. If you're crazy in love with that W brand, though, here. Enter at your own risk. And finally, this is where all those batshit crazy enough to be Killarmy fanboys go.