Blue Sky Black Death

It’s only fitting that as this year draws to a close, the Wu-Tang Clan Clan prepare to storm the record charts in full force. Along the way, there have been a couple of darts thrown at the public from Clan affiliates. The latest one is the new album by Hell Razah, Razah’s Ladder. It’s an unheralded shot at the charts, but one listen to the album explains why this may be the case.

First off, Hell Razah teams up with a production duo who may have one of the more colorful names in the industry today, Blue Sky Black Death. The combination between emcee & producers serves up a solid dose of straightforward lyricism and some of the best production of the year. A bold claim, but some of the beats on this album are superb. They help to frame Razah’s calm flow with a mix of soaring horns, muted but pointed basslines and melancholy strings. You get that sense of introspection born underneath streetlights on these tracks much more clearly. If you want flaws from this album, however, look no further than Hell Razah. He does have the tendency to fall into the trap of being entirely too dense, to the point where he becomes a bit preachy a la Killah Priest. The album’s introduction is Blue Sky Black Death’s retelling of the Biblical story of Jacob’s Ladder in a voice that can be as grating as the ones of the Israelites on random street corners in Manhattan. But this thankfully doesn’t dilute the album’s strength.

Another element of Razah’s Ladder that strikes me is the absence of heavy collaborations, which has plagued some Wu efforts here and there. Razah chooses to go for unexpected collaborations and is wildly successful. “Halos” features a succinct but wicked verse from fast rising hip hop favorite Crooked I and the fiery “Project Prophecy” sees some work from Ill Bill and Shabazz the Disciple. But Razah takes the weight of the album’s work on his own shoulders and delivers an album that gives you a genuine taste of rugged reflection. Hopefully he’ll continue to focus on the grind rather than the glamour that has plagued some of his Clan members.

For more info, visit www.myspace.com/razahrubiez