Ghostface puts Iron Flag in perspective: “If there is a message to this album, it’s that we the kings of this shit.” There are some artists that you wait for and some you die for. Wu-Tang Clan used to be in the latter, but as they’ve become more disorganized and off doing the solo thing or spending time in jail, you never know when a new Wu release will be on the shelves.
Iron Flag finds the crew back as Wu rediscovered the high-flying talents of superman and sure producer Rza, who took a backseat on W. Iron Flag smacks the world of hip-hop back on its collective heads. The members are lyrical snipers with deadly aim. “In The Hood” is a grim look at a Wu reality, while “Rules” is about living in the right of the poor and the rich.
Flavor Flav brings his “Soul Power” to the Wu, even if he’s like a deer trapped in a speeding car’s headlights. “Uzi” is another game of pass the mic. The solemn and troubling “Babies” is surely one of the deepest tracks from the brotherhood in a long while with real blues roots locked deep in their rock-solid style.
Iron Flag isn’t as all over the map as it might seem, even when you have the wonderful Ron Isley adding a soul-cooking flavor to “Back In The Game”. It’s a delightful listen. As a matter of fact, Iron Flag as a whole is delightful. It takes a Wu-Tang album to show you what hip-hop has been missing for some time.
+ cc morris
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