Ol' Dirty Bastard - Return to the 36 Chambers : The Dirty Version (1995)
BY BIG BAD BARAGON

Whaddup ya'll! It's Big Bad Baragon gettin it on' as usual. I felt it was only right that I make this the first review we do, seeing as how much I love Wu Tang Clan, the ODB, and that part of my name derives from a song on this album ("Snakes" when ODB begins singing "Bad, Bad"). Enough about me though, let's get down and dirty!
This album is the debut of Wu Tang Clan member Ol' Dirty Bastard, one of the more popular members of the clan for reasons beyond music, fans will know what I'm talking about! It's heralded as his greatest work during and after his life, and for good reason. This album serves as a blueprint not only ODB's style, but for any artist who's defined by wildness and eccentricity, and is probably the earliest example of "crunk" in hip hop history. Welcome to the Dirty Version of the 36 Chambers.
1. INTRO
"Produced" by the RZA, the first track on this joints serves as a humorous, somewhat long-winded, introduction and accurate indication as to what's to come. Here dirty begins by introducing himself as someone else, which later leads to him reading a open about, amoung other things, a women whom he loved that broke his heart and gave him a STD. If you think that's bad keep listening to the album, lots more grim where that came from. As far as intro's go, it's definitely one of the funniest ones in I've yet to hear, albeit a little too long.
2. SHIMMY SHIMMY YA
Another RZA beat, he holds down most of the album, and he does a damn good job. This beat is as simple as the lyrics, and just as catchy. Beginning with a Richard Prior sample and a few piano notes that sound like a child playing with one hand, a simple drum beat kicks and and Dirty begins to croon "Ooh, baby I like it raw" which make up for a majority of the song. It isn't something that showcases the full extent of RZA or Dirty's ability, but it serves as a simple sing along rap song that you may not love but you probably won't hate. It also display's Ol' Dirty's bizarre creativity, as the chorus plays in reverse at one point.
3. BABY C'MON
Not one of my favorite's off the album, but a decent song nonetheless. This is a chorus less joint in which Dirty continues to demonstrate how he get's "dirty and down to the floor". He spits about what he usually spits out, how ill and dirty he is. RZA most def comes out for this one, with an almost haunting loop over a more funky one classic Wu Tang rawness. It ends with the beat playing out, and since the beat is a headnodder, so it's all good. This isn't one of the strongest tracks on the album and it shows some of the very few faults that plauge the album, but they are few and far between.
4. BROOKLYN ZOO
This track is definitely one of the highlights of the album. Wu Tang affiliate True Master (also responsible for Cappadonna's "Slang Editorial, and Ghostface Killah's "Fish"), teams up with the ODB himself to lay down a funky piano driven beat. After a quick intro with ODB threatening some unknown adversary (with a women and what sounds like Ghostface in the background) he begins by letting us all know he's "the one man army Ason"! His performace completely backs up his claim, it probably would've taken a group or modern rappers to do the damage he did to this joint. It comes to an end with Dirty reciting his line from "Protect Ya Neck", "Shame on you when you step through to the Ol' Dirty Bastard, Brooklyn Zoo!" Easily one of the best joints on the album.
5. HIPPA TO DA HOPPA
I like this one alot. With a similar intro to Shimmy Shimmy Ya, this beat takes off into something a little more live with guitar riffs and bass that will drive your ears crazy with the right headphones. RZA once again serving up fire. Dirty kicks it only the way he can with hilarious lines like "I keep my breath smelling like shit so I can get funky, oh baby I'm not having it". With a simple chorus comprised of nothing but a faded out ODB saying "Hippa to da hoppa and you just don't stoppa" in addition to RZA stratching up some horns the song serves as something you could envision being played at a 70s dance club Wu-style.
6. RAW HIDE FT. METHOD MAN & RAEKWON
Another one of my favorite's of this album! Also the last one to feature a hook (although it's only two bars long). It features two verses from Dirty, with him mentioning once again the possibility of him having a sexual-transmitted disease "Imagine/getting shotted with Ol' Dirty insulin/Not saying I got it, but nigga if I got it you got it!". His second verse (although it's only half-rapped and half-yelled) is proceeded by one of my favorite Raekwon verses to date, referring to his verse as "the bulletproof fly shit, strong like tai stick". Next up is Method Man, representing himself well with his trade mark bouncy flow, referencing "period blood" just as ODB did, if that doesn't gross you out you'll most likely be impressed at the cohesiveness these guys show. It ends with Dirty describing the music as "old and dirty" and thanking all of us for listening to the music of the Wu Tang Clan. I would like to thank you, ODB, for giving us the music that you did, especially this song. RZA on the beat of course!
7. DAMAGE FT. GZA
One thing about this album is although Dirty is the least lyrical of the Clan, he is without a doubt the most consistent in terms of energy. Every member who makes an appearance brings an energy that you haven't seen since the original 36 Chambers, and that we probably will never see again. This song is a perfect example. If you remember GZA on "Clan In Da Front" then you won't be too surprised by what you hear on this record. RZA and 4th Disciple handle production (although it is bland enough for half of RZA to have done the beat) GZA and Dirty's chemistry bring the track up to stadium rocking status. With references to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and stories of scaring dark skinned Panamanians, we see the GZA and Dirty going back and forth with hilarity and finesse only these two cousins could bring you!
8. DON'T YOU KNOW FT. KILLAH PRIEST
When it comes to story telling within the Clan, we usually look to Ghostface, GZA and even Raekwon, but here we see Ol Dirty Bastard taking a stab at weaving a tale. Whereas Ghostface tells stories that are more emotional, GZA with more emphasis on cause and effect, and Rae with crime detail, Dirty tells stories you would expect him to tell, wild, "that shit didn't really happen" stories. Although some of the lyrics can be traced back to a rare RZA performance, a story of lust for a classmate, and getting oral sex from a teacher in front of that classmate is definitely meant for Dirty to tell. The Priest makes an appearance, but his story wasn't as memorable, nor was his performance as energetic, however he served his purpose of balancing out the track nicely. The story concludes with Dirty being sucked off by his teacher, with the promise of a part II. Very creative concept over a Lyn Collins sampling RZA beat. Most likely a song you'll be playing for a very long time.
9. THE STOMP
RZA & Dirty collaborate to make this beat. Similar to the first production collab, it sounds as if half of the RZA made it, seems like he's better off alone in that department. As for lyrics, Dirty delivers as usual, but due to the uninteresting beat it doesn't quite hold up between the preceding and proceeding cuts making it eligible to be skipped. Something that stuck out to me however, was the fact that Dirty paid tribute to Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, in the midst of the notorious East Coast / West Coast feud, saying that he admired them and calling them "real niggas". That's probably not enough to make this track a banger, but it offers us some insight as to the humble man Dirty was, very rarely on this record will we get to see any other indications of Dirty's personality other then the Dirty side.
10. GOIN' DOWN
This is definitely a unique track, even in the company that it's in. Not for Dirty's battle fired lyrics, nor for the RZA beat it's provided with, but for the interlude. In the middle of the track, a women (rumored his wife, but I'm having a hard believing he was married) is yelling at him, and he belts out singing “Over the Rainbow” by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg. It's just something your going to have to hear for yourself. Truly bizarre.
11. DRUNK GAME (SWEET SUGAR PIE)
The title says it all. Dirty, obviously drunk, pays tribute to older R&B / Soul musicians that influenced his style over a beat he and Ethan Ryman produced. As minimal as the beat is, it's serves it's purpose by offering up a soulful melody for Dirty to "sing" over. Not much of a song, but it's interesting to get to know who Dirty listened to coming up, with his style being as unique as it is it would be almost impossible to find out simply by hearing him.
12. SNAKES FT. KILLAH PRIEST, RZA, MASTA KILLA & BUDDAH MONK
One of my favorite songs of all time. As I said before, I get a portion of my name from this track, hoping to have a remix of it in the future. Anyway, I think this is one of the better joints on the album, featuring Clan members Masta Killa & RZA who also produces it, and affiliates Killah Priest and Buddah Monk of the Brooklyn Zu crew, Dirty's spinoff group. The track opens with a sample from the Five Deadly Venoms leading into a Killah Priest intro, comparing people to serpants. He then kicks of a verse telling a very detailed story about a murder that was committed in Brooklyn. RZA and Masta Killa both tell similar stories, RZA being the most energetic and Masta Killa the most insightful, dropping gems to live by such as 'Justice must be born there's no escpace/'cause a snake can't be reformed, so I wait". With the amount of knowledge and coherency, one is left to wonder how ODB will be able to fit in. Simply put, he doesn't. He begins to sing his own rendition of Jim Croce's hit. "Bad, Bad, Leroy brown, baddest man in the whole damn town, badder then the deep blue sea, badder then you and me!" He then starts to talk about people and comparing them to animals, salamanders, black panthers, and piranhas but never snakes. He then just trails off and commences to screaming, but it's definitely entertaining and further defines Dirty's role in the clan as the least lyrical but the most live. Buddah Monk spits a short verse at the end but it's hard to hear with all the kung-fu samples happening beneath him, and upon further inspections you realize it wasn't worth hearing. The track ends with Dirty shouting out the whole Wu Tang Clan (minus Masta Killa, who is on the song with him). This might not be the best song but it's easily a contender for the most entertaining.
13. BROOKLYN ZOO II (TIGER CRANE) FT. GHOSTFACE KILLAH
Remember the lyric's from "Damage"? Dirty doesn't, as it takes him 3 tries to say them through. I'm still not sure if it was on purpose or not, but the ODB tries to recite the Damage lyrics in place of an original verse and he messes up a few times, all on the record. You may discount Dirty for repeating a verse on an album, but you should by now be accustomed to Dirty's lack of lyricism by now, and the performance is so humorous you can't help but laugh. Ghostface (my favorite rapper) delivers as usual, a hard verse featuring whatever he feels like saying. As soon as he's done the album cuts into a sample of Damage, and then it goes over other parts of the album. As much as I love this record as a whole, it would've made an excellent final track with Ghostface going hard as he did followed up by a recap of what we've heard so far. RZA handles the track with excellence once again.
14. PROTECT YA NECK II THE ZOO FT. BROOKLYN ZU & SUNZ OF MAN
Remember that comment I made about crunk music? Yeah, this is the joint I was talking about yo. Maybe not quite as ill as the original Protect Ya Neck, but just as live if not more so. The main difference is that the original had 8 different people bringing 8 different styles over a RZA beat, where if you didn't enjoy one members verse you probably would the next guy. This version offers alot less diversity, but a hell of alot more energy. Ol Dirty opens up the track talking about disrespectful little niggas, and then hoes, and then he seems to be threatening an unknown group of people for an unknown reason, but Dirty has never needed much of an explanation so none is given. He spits two bars, and stands out of the way and let's his homies bang out on the track. What stood out to me the most was the difference in energy Killah Priest brought to the table. It's his third appearance, and on the first two tracks he was alot more mellow, here he is heard yelling and delivering so fiercely that I didn't know who it was the first couple of times I heard it. My favorite verse is between ODB's and Shorty Shit Stain, but this whole track was fire! RZA on the beat.
15. CUTTIN HEADZ' FT. THE RZA
Another would-be good place to end the record, and on any version other then the CD it is the last track. Featuring what sounds like the "Clan In Da Front" beat in reverse RZA and dirty go in together displaying a partnership that only these two cousins and clansmen could bring you. Based on the sound of the audio and of ODB's subdued peformance it definitely sounds like it was made in the earlier, soberer days of Dirty, possibly even before the fame. The song feels like what it is, the slowing down at the end of the wild roller coaster, making it fitting in the scheme of things.
16. DIRTY DANCIN'
Eh, this is a maybe you'll like it maybe you won't. Dirty comes in smoking and reminiscing about something that probably never really took place, over a Halloween-ish beat. Features Method Man, not at all was he bad but it just seemed like a verse he did more out of obligation. Not a bad track through, and it seems as if the boys are all enjoying themselves so you might have fun.
17. HARLEM WORLD
This is another one you'll just have to hear. A bonus track in addition to Dirty Dancin' with Meth, this features production from Big Dore. A long track featuring Buddah Monk (not rapping, thankfully) and another unidentified women who is uncredited but sounds similar to the other rand woman we hear in "Don't You Know" & "Goin Down". Possibly Wu affiliate Jamie Sommers. It's interesting because here we find Dirty singing, rapping, bragging, and storytelling, as well as whoever mixed this did one hell of a job, definitely an adventure for your ears. A good ending for a great album!
This record definitely proves to be an entertaining one, with a few showcases of lyrical prowess provided by Dirty and all the appearances, save a few. Packed with hilarious stories, show stealing battle raps, funky grooves, kung fu flick samples, and just about anything else you'd expect on a solid Wu release back in the day, it definitely lives up to it's name in terms of energy, production and performance. However, as expected, Dirty's entertaining ability doesn't cover up for these records complete lack of intellectual stimulation (other then maybe "Snakes"). Other then Method Man's debut, all the Wu first round records featured tracks with the primary artist not featured (Ghostface Killah "Assassination Day" & "The Faster Blade", GZA "B.I.B.L.E" Raekwon "Wisdom Body") so no one would've blamed Dirty for giving Ghostface a soulful solo or giving GZA an introspective cut. But the record served it's purpose, to be funky. In my opinion it's one of the best Wu solo's ever, and one of my fav records without question. I'ma give it a 8/10 hearts. I hope the unreleased ODB joints RZA is holding on to can match up to these.
8/10
Big Bad, Bad Baragon
*Artists are encouraged to submit their Mixtapes, Albums, or EP’s to [email protected] for a full track by track review & rating. We will also post the link for said project making it available to all of our viewers.
This album is the debut of Wu Tang Clan member Ol' Dirty Bastard, one of the more popular members of the clan for reasons beyond music, fans will know what I'm talking about! It's heralded as his greatest work during and after his life, and for good reason. This album serves as a blueprint not only ODB's style, but for any artist who's defined by wildness and eccentricity, and is probably the earliest example of "crunk" in hip hop history. Welcome to the Dirty Version of the 36 Chambers.
1. INTRO
"Produced" by the RZA, the first track on this joints serves as a humorous, somewhat long-winded, introduction and accurate indication as to what's to come. Here dirty begins by introducing himself as someone else, which later leads to him reading a open about, amoung other things, a women whom he loved that broke his heart and gave him a STD. If you think that's bad keep listening to the album, lots more grim where that came from. As far as intro's go, it's definitely one of the funniest ones in I've yet to hear, albeit a little too long.
2. SHIMMY SHIMMY YA
Another RZA beat, he holds down most of the album, and he does a damn good job. This beat is as simple as the lyrics, and just as catchy. Beginning with a Richard Prior sample and a few piano notes that sound like a child playing with one hand, a simple drum beat kicks and and Dirty begins to croon "Ooh, baby I like it raw" which make up for a majority of the song. It isn't something that showcases the full extent of RZA or Dirty's ability, but it serves as a simple sing along rap song that you may not love but you probably won't hate. It also display's Ol' Dirty's bizarre creativity, as the chorus plays in reverse at one point.
3. BABY C'MON
Not one of my favorite's off the album, but a decent song nonetheless. This is a chorus less joint in which Dirty continues to demonstrate how he get's "dirty and down to the floor". He spits about what he usually spits out, how ill and dirty he is. RZA most def comes out for this one, with an almost haunting loop over a more funky one classic Wu Tang rawness. It ends with the beat playing out, and since the beat is a headnodder, so it's all good. This isn't one of the strongest tracks on the album and it shows some of the very few faults that plauge the album, but they are few and far between.
4. BROOKLYN ZOO
This track is definitely one of the highlights of the album. Wu Tang affiliate True Master (also responsible for Cappadonna's "Slang Editorial, and Ghostface Killah's "Fish"), teams up with the ODB himself to lay down a funky piano driven beat. After a quick intro with ODB threatening some unknown adversary (with a women and what sounds like Ghostface in the background) he begins by letting us all know he's "the one man army Ason"! His performace completely backs up his claim, it probably would've taken a group or modern rappers to do the damage he did to this joint. It comes to an end with Dirty reciting his line from "Protect Ya Neck", "Shame on you when you step through to the Ol' Dirty Bastard, Brooklyn Zoo!" Easily one of the best joints on the album.
5. HIPPA TO DA HOPPA
I like this one alot. With a similar intro to Shimmy Shimmy Ya, this beat takes off into something a little more live with guitar riffs and bass that will drive your ears crazy with the right headphones. RZA once again serving up fire. Dirty kicks it only the way he can with hilarious lines like "I keep my breath smelling like shit so I can get funky, oh baby I'm not having it". With a simple chorus comprised of nothing but a faded out ODB saying "Hippa to da hoppa and you just don't stoppa" in addition to RZA stratching up some horns the song serves as something you could envision being played at a 70s dance club Wu-style.
6. RAW HIDE FT. METHOD MAN & RAEKWON
Another one of my favorite's of this album! Also the last one to feature a hook (although it's only two bars long). It features two verses from Dirty, with him mentioning once again the possibility of him having a sexual-transmitted disease "Imagine/getting shotted with Ol' Dirty insulin/Not saying I got it, but nigga if I got it you got it!". His second verse (although it's only half-rapped and half-yelled) is proceeded by one of my favorite Raekwon verses to date, referring to his verse as "the bulletproof fly shit, strong like tai stick". Next up is Method Man, representing himself well with his trade mark bouncy flow, referencing "period blood" just as ODB did, if that doesn't gross you out you'll most likely be impressed at the cohesiveness these guys show. It ends with Dirty describing the music as "old and dirty" and thanking all of us for listening to the music of the Wu Tang Clan. I would like to thank you, ODB, for giving us the music that you did, especially this song. RZA on the beat of course!
7. DAMAGE FT. GZA
One thing about this album is although Dirty is the least lyrical of the Clan, he is without a doubt the most consistent in terms of energy. Every member who makes an appearance brings an energy that you haven't seen since the original 36 Chambers, and that we probably will never see again. This song is a perfect example. If you remember GZA on "Clan In Da Front" then you won't be too surprised by what you hear on this record. RZA and 4th Disciple handle production (although it is bland enough for half of RZA to have done the beat) GZA and Dirty's chemistry bring the track up to stadium rocking status. With references to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and stories of scaring dark skinned Panamanians, we see the GZA and Dirty going back and forth with hilarity and finesse only these two cousins could bring you!
8. DON'T YOU KNOW FT. KILLAH PRIEST
When it comes to story telling within the Clan, we usually look to Ghostface, GZA and even Raekwon, but here we see Ol Dirty Bastard taking a stab at weaving a tale. Whereas Ghostface tells stories that are more emotional, GZA with more emphasis on cause and effect, and Rae with crime detail, Dirty tells stories you would expect him to tell, wild, "that shit didn't really happen" stories. Although some of the lyrics can be traced back to a rare RZA performance, a story of lust for a classmate, and getting oral sex from a teacher in front of that classmate is definitely meant for Dirty to tell. The Priest makes an appearance, but his story wasn't as memorable, nor was his performance as energetic, however he served his purpose of balancing out the track nicely. The story concludes with Dirty being sucked off by his teacher, with the promise of a part II. Very creative concept over a Lyn Collins sampling RZA beat. Most likely a song you'll be playing for a very long time.
9. THE STOMP
RZA & Dirty collaborate to make this beat. Similar to the first production collab, it sounds as if half of the RZA made it, seems like he's better off alone in that department. As for lyrics, Dirty delivers as usual, but due to the uninteresting beat it doesn't quite hold up between the preceding and proceeding cuts making it eligible to be skipped. Something that stuck out to me however, was the fact that Dirty paid tribute to Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, in the midst of the notorious East Coast / West Coast feud, saying that he admired them and calling them "real niggas". That's probably not enough to make this track a banger, but it offers us some insight as to the humble man Dirty was, very rarely on this record will we get to see any other indications of Dirty's personality other then the Dirty side.
10. GOIN' DOWN
This is definitely a unique track, even in the company that it's in. Not for Dirty's battle fired lyrics, nor for the RZA beat it's provided with, but for the interlude. In the middle of the track, a women (rumored his wife, but I'm having a hard believing he was married) is yelling at him, and he belts out singing “Over the Rainbow” by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg. It's just something your going to have to hear for yourself. Truly bizarre.
11. DRUNK GAME (SWEET SUGAR PIE)
The title says it all. Dirty, obviously drunk, pays tribute to older R&B / Soul musicians that influenced his style over a beat he and Ethan Ryman produced. As minimal as the beat is, it's serves it's purpose by offering up a soulful melody for Dirty to "sing" over. Not much of a song, but it's interesting to get to know who Dirty listened to coming up, with his style being as unique as it is it would be almost impossible to find out simply by hearing him.
12. SNAKES FT. KILLAH PRIEST, RZA, MASTA KILLA & BUDDAH MONK
One of my favorite songs of all time. As I said before, I get a portion of my name from this track, hoping to have a remix of it in the future. Anyway, I think this is one of the better joints on the album, featuring Clan members Masta Killa & RZA who also produces it, and affiliates Killah Priest and Buddah Monk of the Brooklyn Zu crew, Dirty's spinoff group. The track opens with a sample from the Five Deadly Venoms leading into a Killah Priest intro, comparing people to serpants. He then kicks of a verse telling a very detailed story about a murder that was committed in Brooklyn. RZA and Masta Killa both tell similar stories, RZA being the most energetic and Masta Killa the most insightful, dropping gems to live by such as 'Justice must be born there's no escpace/'cause a snake can't be reformed, so I wait". With the amount of knowledge and coherency, one is left to wonder how ODB will be able to fit in. Simply put, he doesn't. He begins to sing his own rendition of Jim Croce's hit. "Bad, Bad, Leroy brown, baddest man in the whole damn town, badder then the deep blue sea, badder then you and me!" He then starts to talk about people and comparing them to animals, salamanders, black panthers, and piranhas but never snakes. He then just trails off and commences to screaming, but it's definitely entertaining and further defines Dirty's role in the clan as the least lyrical but the most live. Buddah Monk spits a short verse at the end but it's hard to hear with all the kung-fu samples happening beneath him, and upon further inspections you realize it wasn't worth hearing. The track ends with Dirty shouting out the whole Wu Tang Clan (minus Masta Killa, who is on the song with him). This might not be the best song but it's easily a contender for the most entertaining.
13. BROOKLYN ZOO II (TIGER CRANE) FT. GHOSTFACE KILLAH
Remember the lyric's from "Damage"? Dirty doesn't, as it takes him 3 tries to say them through. I'm still not sure if it was on purpose or not, but the ODB tries to recite the Damage lyrics in place of an original verse and he messes up a few times, all on the record. You may discount Dirty for repeating a verse on an album, but you should by now be accustomed to Dirty's lack of lyricism by now, and the performance is so humorous you can't help but laugh. Ghostface (my favorite rapper) delivers as usual, a hard verse featuring whatever he feels like saying. As soon as he's done the album cuts into a sample of Damage, and then it goes over other parts of the album. As much as I love this record as a whole, it would've made an excellent final track with Ghostface going hard as he did followed up by a recap of what we've heard so far. RZA handles the track with excellence once again.
14. PROTECT YA NECK II THE ZOO FT. BROOKLYN ZU & SUNZ OF MAN
Remember that comment I made about crunk music? Yeah, this is the joint I was talking about yo. Maybe not quite as ill as the original Protect Ya Neck, but just as live if not more so. The main difference is that the original had 8 different people bringing 8 different styles over a RZA beat, where if you didn't enjoy one members verse you probably would the next guy. This version offers alot less diversity, but a hell of alot more energy. Ol Dirty opens up the track talking about disrespectful little niggas, and then hoes, and then he seems to be threatening an unknown group of people for an unknown reason, but Dirty has never needed much of an explanation so none is given. He spits two bars, and stands out of the way and let's his homies bang out on the track. What stood out to me the most was the difference in energy Killah Priest brought to the table. It's his third appearance, and on the first two tracks he was alot more mellow, here he is heard yelling and delivering so fiercely that I didn't know who it was the first couple of times I heard it. My favorite verse is between ODB's and Shorty Shit Stain, but this whole track was fire! RZA on the beat.
15. CUTTIN HEADZ' FT. THE RZA
Another would-be good place to end the record, and on any version other then the CD it is the last track. Featuring what sounds like the "Clan In Da Front" beat in reverse RZA and dirty go in together displaying a partnership that only these two cousins and clansmen could bring you. Based on the sound of the audio and of ODB's subdued peformance it definitely sounds like it was made in the earlier, soberer days of Dirty, possibly even before the fame. The song feels like what it is, the slowing down at the end of the wild roller coaster, making it fitting in the scheme of things.
16. DIRTY DANCIN'
Eh, this is a maybe you'll like it maybe you won't. Dirty comes in smoking and reminiscing about something that probably never really took place, over a Halloween-ish beat. Features Method Man, not at all was he bad but it just seemed like a verse he did more out of obligation. Not a bad track through, and it seems as if the boys are all enjoying themselves so you might have fun.
17. HARLEM WORLD
This is another one you'll just have to hear. A bonus track in addition to Dirty Dancin' with Meth, this features production from Big Dore. A long track featuring Buddah Monk (not rapping, thankfully) and another unidentified women who is uncredited but sounds similar to the other rand woman we hear in "Don't You Know" & "Goin Down". Possibly Wu affiliate Jamie Sommers. It's interesting because here we find Dirty singing, rapping, bragging, and storytelling, as well as whoever mixed this did one hell of a job, definitely an adventure for your ears. A good ending for a great album!
This record definitely proves to be an entertaining one, with a few showcases of lyrical prowess provided by Dirty and all the appearances, save a few. Packed with hilarious stories, show stealing battle raps, funky grooves, kung fu flick samples, and just about anything else you'd expect on a solid Wu release back in the day, it definitely lives up to it's name in terms of energy, production and performance. However, as expected, Dirty's entertaining ability doesn't cover up for these records complete lack of intellectual stimulation (other then maybe "Snakes"). Other then Method Man's debut, all the Wu first round records featured tracks with the primary artist not featured (Ghostface Killah "Assassination Day" & "The Faster Blade", GZA "B.I.B.L.E" Raekwon "Wisdom Body") so no one would've blamed Dirty for giving Ghostface a soulful solo or giving GZA an introspective cut. But the record served it's purpose, to be funky. In my opinion it's one of the best Wu solo's ever, and one of my fav records without question. I'ma give it a 8/10 hearts. I hope the unreleased ODB joints RZA is holding on to can match up to these.
8/10
Big Bad, Bad Baragon
*Artists are encouraged to submit their Mixtapes, Albums, or EP’s to [email protected] for a full track by track review & rating. We will also post the link for said project making it available to all of our viewers.