Masta Killa - Made in Brooklyn

73%
It might be a cliche to say it, but Masta Killa is, far and away, the most under-appreciated member of the Wu-Tang Clan. After being the last member to join the group, he only made one verse on the Wu's ultra-classic debut "Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers", and while other members went on to various solo releases of varying degrees of artistic and commercial success, it took Masta more than 10 years to release his solo album. Suprisingly, "No Said Date" became a modern-day Wu classic.

Now, a couple of years later, Masta Killa has to find a way to follow up a great album. The suprise factor is gone, and the amount of time given to the creation of this work is a lot less. It's a difficult situation, but one which I looked optimistically towards.

"Made in Brooklyn" begins with a really nice omnious (in a Wu way) beat, although for some reason, it does not feature Masta Killa's vocals. In it's place are 4 or 5 unknown little kids rapping - he did this on "No Said Date" but it was only two or three and the song was noticeably shorter. Though the kids try their best to sound like Wu-Tang Jr., the fact of the matter is that they have yet to develop the kind of voice or lyrical ability to pull anything like this convincingly, which is a damn shame.

The album's real opener is "E.N.Y. House", produced by M.F. Doom. Doom re-uses a beat from his "MM... Food" instrumental release. It ultimately lacks enough coherence to exist as more than a sample looped over a drum machine, which of course is what it is, but it's not ultimately what it should sound like (both elements should work as a cohesive unit, not run seperately). Another shame, since the vocals here are actually good.

Raekwon and Ghostface pop up for "It's What It Is", which is cool since Masta has a tendency to shine near his crew mates. However, though the beat is alright, it is way too repetitive. The next track opens up with bits of inane dialogue, but segues into a mellow beat, which Masta Killa turns into a good love song (think "Queen" off of his first album). The Wu posse cut "Iron God" features U-God, RZA, and Method Man, which again is a good thing. A funky horn-laced beat helps a lot, although the lack of a real melody makes it seem repetitive (instead of catchy) over time

There's a remix to an old, obscure GZA song called "Pass the Bone". The soul-heavy beat helps put the song over the top, though you have to question whether life really needs another rap song about weed. Following is "Older Gods, Pt. 2" with trademark funky horns from Pete Rock. The problem: a buncha guys who I do not know talk for 4 MINUTES about god-knows-what over the beat, and it is not even slightly interesting. By the time Masta Killa steps in to deliver a few lines, the beat feels tired and it all becomes a large 5 and a half minute throwaway. It's a damn shame.

Following this is a heavily R&B-tinged song "Let's Get Into Something", with singer Startlet.
Again, it takes more than half the song for Masta to show up. Overall, if R&B/rap is your kinda thing, you will like this. I can't really take any of this modern R&B, but I do enjoy the rap portions. Following is another Wu cut - "Street Corner" featuring GZA and Inspectah Deck. Bronze Nazareth makes a good RZA impression on the beat, and the song avoids any overdone introductions, which makes for one of the album's best cuts so far. Following is another Bronze Nazareth cut - "Ringing Bells", another killer beat and another killer song (no actual bells in it though).

Next is "East MC's", which features two more obscure Wu-affiliates: Free Murder and Killa Sin. The beat uses a super high-pitched string, and the two guests do a good job. However, another overdone introduction follows. After a minute of irrelevant bullshit, the actual song, the reggae-tinged "Lovely Lady" (featuring Ski and Government Tools) begins. It's actually incredibly fresh sounding: digital strings do the familiar reggae guitar crack while the drums are done live in a mix of reggae fills and hip-hop beats. Again, it takes a little time for Masta to even show up (4 minutes!). A little out of place, but it's pretty cool.

Overall, some bad choices (wasted beats, overlong introductions) hurt throughout the album, although Masta Killa manages a good run of impressive songs to close out the album. Masta stays on top lyrically throughout most of the album, but some beats get repetitve and others aren't too good. It's a step back from "No Said Date", and sadly, a bit of a classic case of the "sophmore jinx". It's a solid effort, but nothing that would make Masta raise his profile anymore than "No Said Date" did.

-Luis