The Clansmen admit that they strayed — into fractiousness, into substandard solo projects, into self-indulgence, away from the innovative, front-running hip-hop that made them the shit in the first place. The RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God and Capadonna convened again (ODB was locked down, but able to contribute a little), under the watchful eye of beatmaster RZA, and have turned out a third album that's a hardcore, slammin' lyrical gang-bang. Lean and mean at just under 50 minutes, The W marks a return to streety rawness, built from RZA's restless sonic muse. The disc's nastiest joint, "Careful (Click Click)," which steps up right after an intro, layers whack submarine sounds and a sleigh bell over a terse groove. The Clan passes the mic, spewing dangerously intelligent thug rhymes, and then launches into an irrepressible chant chorus. The W is inherently messy in spots, but RZA manages to rein in the chaos for the most part. Stylistically, the set has a wide range: the dancehall-inspired "One Blood Under W"(with vocals by Junior Reid); the tense, percolating "Let My Niggas Live" (with Nas); the party-esque "Gravel Pit." The disc has some dead wood as well, most notably the ODB vehicle "Conditioner." Overall, though, the album re-establishes Wu Tang as a formidable artistic force. It remains to be seen whether such a bracing effort will resonate with a mass audience.
—Eric Snider
This article appears in Dec 2-8, 2000.