Meth, Ghost and Rae
Wu Massacre

Comic Book Action from the Masters

Much is being made of the fact that the much anticipated Wu Massacre only just manages to encroach on the thirty minute mark and is therefore not an album but an EP. But if you look at some of the other big albums doing the rounds this year, Gil Scott-Heron's I'm New Here or Fang Island's self titled for example, you will notice a trend of shorter, punchier albums that pack a lot into them without taking up too much of the listener's time. You could expand the argument back historically and point out that After the Gold Rush was only 35 minutes and Revolver was only 34 but this would be a dull argument so we'll just say that sometimes it's quality that counts and not quantity and hip-hop as a genre is often guilty of bulking out CDs to bursting point with sub standard bonus tracks and skits.

The big question should be "Is Wu Massacre any good" and fortunately the answer is a resounding yes. Right from the gunfire that introduces "Criminology 2.5" we are dropped right into the action as though we were air dropped onto the front lines of some overblown street war by military helicopter and forced to immediately find cover from some of the most relentless and exciting beats I have heard from anybody in the Wu camp for some time. "Mef vs. Chef" continues the action with a full band and orchestra playing out what sounds like the score to a very cool action movie and later on, during "Gunshowers", the fire fight becomes terrifying and worrying even when listening from the relaxing safety of your living room armchair.

Much of the album sounds exactly like the comic book cover as Rae, Meth and Ghost re-imagine themselves, as they so often do, as their overblown super-hero alter-ego's complete with unusually swelling biceps and deadly weapons that few real life gangsters would barely be able to lift, let alone pull the trigger. Their comic book obsession is famous, and with the artwork to accompany it, it is possible to see Wu Massacre as another instalment of a larger story which never has to end.

Sometimes I have picked up comics, most regularly Spiderman, and I come in on part three of a four part story with no hope of fully understanding what is going on, but a lot of the time I could care less because the artwork is top notch, the colours are vibrant and the action sequences are mesmerising with enough lively banter between hero and villain to keep me entertained. In many ways this record reads like a comic book; you are dropped in and bamboozled by a lot of action and then abruptly kicked out of the fantasy world until the next instalment.

Rumour has it that Reakwon was angered by Def Jam Recordings who he says rushed the record out, and a couple of times some of the lyrics seem to reflect this with some lines that lack the usual imagination and wit and the odd stumbling repetition ("really really", "actually, actually") but for the most part the story telling is entertaining, over the top and offensive enough to coax a smirk from the corners of your mouth. It might not be the guilty parties on top form, but even when rushed these boys are better than a lot of rappers out there. Add to that the fact that the beats and samples are getting more exciting and make more of an impact than some of those that appeared on undisputed classics like Supreme Clientele and you've got a very solid album on your hands that, whilst not being the greatest release of the year, still holds its head up amongst the contenders.

B+