Oh Raekwon, you don't have to flex for ME...So I was wrong when I said that 8 Diagrams was never going to come out, a la Detox. Apparently it'll be upon us by the end of the year (maybe), and for the skeptics out there, the Clan have released "Watch Your Mouth" as the disc's first "single". If nothing else, we now have something to talk about.
As a single, "Watch Your Mouth" reminds me a lot of Kanye West's "Can't Tell Me Nothing": it doesn't sound like it would play well, if it ever gets played, on radio, because the beat is so knowingly grimy and can't compete with the shiny hooks and expensive synths of our new Hip-Hop, brought to you by T-Pain and Timbaland. Also like "Can't Tell Me Nothing", it's probably gonna sound a lot more convincing as a piece of an entire album. But because we don't have 8 Diagrams yet, we only have this to make a snap judgment on.
And what a groggy, terrified judgment that is. "Watch Your Mouth" as a much-anticipated rap single is bound to disappoint everyone except maybe the most die-hard Wu disciples, but those disciples are going to be mighty pleased to at least hear it. As CokeMachineGlow's review of the track put it, it doesn't matter how good this song is, because it is unmistakably a Wu-Tang song, and we need it. I won't simplify the song's vitality to that degree, but I gotta admit, when GZA comes in with, "Put my Clan in the front/ Reunite 'em," I smiled, because hey, for me Wu-Tang is still umistakably nothing to fuck wit.
Listening to "Watch Your Mouth" as someone who appreciates a replayable beat and understands that the genius of the RZA was once a foregone conclusion, however, it's hard to not be disappointed. A slinky string section descends into hell, sounding a little like a chopped version of the "Jaws" theme. There's a single drum doing its thing unsuccessfully in the background; to call it "boring" is to give it too much credit. And then there's the chant "You bet...ter watch... your moth...erfuck....ing mouth..", spoken by the Clan as if to convince themselves of their potency instead of us. This is lazy production. Even the out-of-place horns of Iron Flag's "Uzi (Pinky Ring)" at least had some unexpected pop compared to this depressing stomp. It's not like the Clan hasn't gotten a solid beat since 36 Chambers: "Protect Ya Neck (Jump Off)" and "I Can't Go To Sleep" were wholly original and impressive. Hell, listen to Supreme Clientele and see how bad RZA's fallen off. After "9 Milli Bros."'s refreshing comeback, this sounds flat. Somebody call MF Doom!
The Clan itself is hit-or-miss, and that's fine, because it'd be impossible for everybody to come hard on this track. Raekwon starts the ceremonies by having absolutely no fucking idea what to do with the beat, so he just sort of postures, quietly. Masta Killa sounds a lot more effortless in his flow, talking about guns and ninjas and what-not. The Other Killa has certainly become a respectable MC over the years, and could steal Inspectah Deck's role as Nondescript Cool Guy on the album. Method Man brings fire with "Rappers, ya TIME'S UP! Finish them RHYMES UP!", splitting up his verse with the most passionate "WU!" he could muster. It's unbelievable to think about how comfortable this guy sounds around the rest of the Clan, dropping highlight after highlight.
Pretty Tone almost comes in too early, then talks about tucking guns next to his belly and comparing Wu-Tang to George Foreman ("out in the streets, we grillin 'em!"), before making very little to no sense. All in all, another solid Ghostface verse. Inspectah Deck jumps in, all too briefly in my opinion, and "stomps the yard". U-God... goddammit, U-God. Sometimes you're really awesome, and then sometimes you say stuff like, "I'm like the Grouch/ My mouth is a circus". U-God's flow completely busts up Rebel INS' momentum, and wins the award of Worst Verse Of the Song. Then RZA comes in, and having just listened to his contribution five times in a row, I can honestly say it makes no impact on me whatsoever. He still sounds a little too stutter-y, and he lends some interesting dynamics, but all in all... meh. But then GZA arrives, fashionably late as usual, and he kills it, then brings it back to life, then kills it again. In the mere 20 seconds he's allowed the mic, GZA conjures up the best rhyme I've heard in a while ("No beef, less talk and more action/ You could roll as a whole and we'll send you back in fractions"). It's a turn of phrase like this that makes me believe in 8 Diagram's potential. Dude's the Genius!
I really believe that this song, which sounds so flawed right now, could work as a piece in Diagram's puzzle. Method Man, Ghostface, and GZA are all in form here, and Masta Killa looks like he's the secret weapon the Clan needs to score a touchdown. But no, I won't be banging "Watch Your Mouth" anytime soon, because as a single it's just a clumsy miscalculation. What we have here is the equivalent of a movie trailer: maybe I can't see all the pieces coming together out of context yet, but my interest is piqued, and I'm very excited for this album. It's nice to have SOMETHING, ya know?
But where's Cappadonna......?
....
DONNAAAAAAAAAAA!!
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