“Gangsta flavas from the Wu Mastas,” announces the cover excruciatingly,though the nine core members of the Wu-Tang Clan are peripheral figures on this shoddy compilation. Instead the 15 tracks focus on marginal associates of the Rza, drawn from a clutch of patchy projects like Wu-Chronicles, Wu Syndicate, and Wu-Tang Killa Bees. As ever, there are marvellous moments-Cappadonna’s “’97 Mentality” ranks as one of the corporation’s best ever tracks. Nevertheless, the cynical recycling of substandard material only serves to denude the Wu’s reputation rather than make them seem omnipresent.
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