Don't Mess With the Purple Tape

In a day or so, Denzini is going to toss up a collaborative post between him, me, and a stripper named La Toya. I won't give anything away, except for that somewhere in that communicado of brilliance I make mention of the indisputable, undeniable fact that Only Built For Cuban Linx is better than Liquid Swords.

Now, Liquid Swords is certainly a great album, make no mistake. It's the Wu-Tang Clan's second greatest solo jawn; but not only is Cuban Linx the best Wu solo effort, it is the best Wu album period, including 36 Chambers.

I suppose I need some quantifiable proof to back up this claim, so let's break it down, compost style.

INFLUENCE:

Sure, aliases and mafioso posturing were not unknown to hip-hop in the years leading up to 1995, but Cuban Linx sparked a trend in the genre that is still present to this day. Don't blame Rae and Co. for the shitiness of what would come after (that's like blaming Einstein for the atomic bomb), because at the time it was a bold step, much in the same way NWA's Straight Outta Compton was the tipping point for the nascent gangster rap movement. Cuban Linx took the Wu's signature kung-fu-inspired style (also not unheard of before 36 Chambers), and flipped it, Galvatron style, in such a way that, afterwards, Shaw Brothers samples and dusty drums seemed played out in comparison.

That November, Liquid Swords would cement the Wu-Tang collective as the rulers of east coast hip-hop. The perfect soundtrack to the chilly, crime-infested streets of New Yawk, Liquid Swords brought back the rugged feel -- for the most part -- of the Clan's early years. But even on Liquid Swords can Cuban Linx's influence be felt on such tracks as 'Investigative Reports' and 'Killa Hills 10304'. Truthfully, while those songs are dope, they don't jibe with the album's theme. They sounded like filler, and they still do (the best motherfucking filler this side of free blowjob bread at the Outback Steakhouse, mind you). While 'Gold' is a gritty narrative of paper chasing in an urban setting, the former aforementioned tracks set a scope that the weight of the album can't balance, like elephants and ants on see-saws. I love Liquid Swords like I love my dick size (influence!), but what lasting impression -- like cuts to flesh -- has it had on hip-hop or any other genre apart from Seth Rogan's T-shirt in The 40-Year-Old Virgin?

RZA's Edge: Cuban Linx

ALBUM COVER:

Don't judge a [CD] by its and all that, but when you listen to both albums as much as I have, the covers become indelibly stamped in your conscience, so much so that it's impossible to hear or think about either without the image of smoke billowing from Rae's dome or the GZA choppin' off heads at a wonky perspective angle popping into mind. The color scheme of Liquid Swords, despite the mediocre Denys Cowan artwork, is effective enough, but it's the the awesomely tweaked Wu 'W' into a 'G' that cements it. By comparison, Cuban Linx's cover looks as though it would be better served as an inner-cover photo, lazy as it appears, were it not for the smoke on Raekwon's head and the Holy Grail lampin' in the forefront. By the way, whoever was puffing a blunt behind Rae when the pic was taken deserves royalties. Lots of.

RZA's Edge: tie

LYRICS:

GZA has, and always will be, the best lyricist in the Clan. That's why he's the Genius. "Weak, like clock radio speakers." "Smoked on the set like Brandon Lee, blown out the frame like Pan-Am Flight 103." The perfect metaphor that is 'I Gotcha Back.' I can go on.

However, what Rae and Ghost did, lyrically, on Cuban Linx is nothing short of phenomenal. I've always had (more than) a feeling the two, avec associates, were coked the fucked up while composing their verses, but they work so perfectly that their words, while complicated, make sense (eventually -- everything's eventual). Contrast that with what would come later (I'm pretty sure U-God is still in a stupor, speaking in tongues), and it ain't hard to tell that, for one album, lightning truly was caught in a bottle. And Nas's verse on 'Verbal Intercourse' takes it to Jupiter.

RZA's Edge: Cuban Linx

PERSONAL CONNECTION:

In the summer of 1995 I was alone at home while my parents, brother, and sister were on vacation. Copping Cuban Linx coincided with me meeting my first true (human) love. That November, still dating the same girl, her dog bit me on my left calf while we were making out (with the girl, not the dog). I remember that 'Cold World' was playing on her boombox. Muzack was playing in the hospital waiting room as I sat, waiting, for 32 stitches.

(I don't want to spoil things, but it didn't work out.)

RZA's Edge: Cuban Linx (Can it be that it was all so simple then?)

BEATS:

4th Chamber excluded, if you believe RZA stepped his game up between the release of the two albums you're trippin'.

RZA's EDGE: Cuban Linx

WORST TRACK:

'Rainy Days' is hard to sit through, for sure (it's no 'Try to Do Me,' mind you); no bad tracks on Liquid swords, only bad track listings.

RZA's Edge: Liquid Swords

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And the winner is: c'mon, like I have to tell you. Don't make me spit in your mouth.