Wu-tang - Killa Beez:
The Sting

Release date: March 12, 2002

Album Review by: : Silk

Disc: 1

1.Intro

2. Killa Beez

3. Out Think Me Now - Solomon Child

4. Bar Mitzvah - Black Knights

5. Doe Rae Wu

6. Bluntz, Martiniz, Girlz & Gunz - War Cloud

7. Dancing With Wolves

8. Spend Money - Lord Subperb/Intrigue

9.Take Up Space - Lord Subperb/Solomon Childs

10. Rollin

11. Get At Me

12. Spit That G

13. Wood Chuck

14.G.A.T.

15. Hatin' Don't Pay - Free Murder/PC/Shacronz

16. When You Come Home

17. KB Ridin'

Disc: 2

1. Odyssey

2. Thirsty

3. Digi Electronics

4. Billy

5. Rza Beat

6. La Rhumba

"The Sting" is the sophomore release by the Wu-Tang Clan collective - The Killa Beez - and very much follows the formula of the debut release ("The Swarm") in that it introduces us to a host of Wu-affiliates such as Killarmy, Suga Bang Bang, Black Knights, Solomon Child, Prodical and Timbo King amongst others. It opens with an introduction from beat-pioneer himself Rza, which reminds somewhat of "Wu-Revolution" (from the "Wu Tang Forever" album) but lacks the mysticism and pure malevolence of that polemic.
Wu Tang cohorts, U-God, Inspectah Deck, and Rza (or rather his Bobby Digital alter ego) appear on "Killa Beez", the second and undoubtedly the best track on the album. This is pure Wu. The skilful lyrics mix streetwise braggadocio with Nation of Islam tenets without compromising either sensibility. Inspectah Deck's verse is a highlight. Thoughts of a superior hip-hop album are likely to occur to the eager listener at this stage yet such thoughts are put into brutal perspective by the dismal fifth track "Doe Rae Wu" on which Ol' Dirty Bastard appears to have been allowed to rhyme on a track while inebriated or high resulting in neither cohesion nor any kind of rhyme flow. Rza manfully attempts to save the track but he would have been better served by omitting it all together.
Producer, Rza, and Wu-Tang Clan continue to be both powerful social documentarians and an important antidote to the rise of "hip-pop" or the Puffyisation or of hip-hop. However, on this effort the message may have become diluted by the multitude of voices. "The Sting" is neither threatening nor aggressive nor recalcitrant nor wise nor mystical nor blessed with the kind of Kung Fu imagery of previous Wu creations. Perhaps by inviting a bunch of their friends to jam with them in the studio, Rza has allowed the message that seemed so urgent on "….36 Chambers" and more recently on "Iron Flag" to be trivialised. Or perhaps the legacy of some of hip-hop's most gifted lyricists was a hard act to follow. Missing Raekwon the chef, Method Man and Ghostface Killa this album loses the ego, personality, controlled rage, intelligence, five percent mysticism and the troubling ghetto tales of their homes in Shaolin (for Shaolin read Staten Island, New York) as well as the superior lyrics of these emcees.
Wu Tang Clan has a impressive pedigree and it is against the background of the phenomenal "…36 Chambers", "Forever", and latterly "Iron Flag" that all Wu Tang albums must be judged. "The Sting" does not compare favourably to any of these albums. Therefore, only the diehard Wu Tang Clan fan or earnest hip-hop collector should feel absolutely compelled to add this to their collection.

PERSONAL FAVORITE TRACKS:

2. Killa Beez
3. Out Think Me Now
13. Woodchuck

Overall rating: 3 out 5

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