Think Backwards

Wu-Tang Clan “A Better Tomorrow”

First, a note of clarification: This is the title track from the Wu-Tang Clan’s new album, A Better Tomorrow. It is not the Wu-Tang Clan song called “A Better Tomorrow” from their album Wu-Tang Forever. I don’t really understand why they thought it’d be a good idea to make two completely different songs with the same title, but the RZA works in mysterious ways.

I have been a Wu-Tang Clan for a very long time, and despite becoming somewhat unreliable over the years, they remain my favorite rap act of all time. If I had to make a list of my 10 favorite rappers, at least five of them would be on it. That kind of love can lead to high expectations for some, but I think I’m pretty reasonable about it: I just want to hear these guys rapping, preferably together. A Better Tomorrow is a flawed record and definitely not in the same league as Enter the Wu-Tang, Wu-Tang Forever or The W, but honestly, I’m content to just hear Method Man and Inspectah Deck doing their thing. I like hearing Masta Killa and U-God, because where the hell else are you gonna hear them? So, in the sense that I’m happy for them all to just show up, I’m cool with the record. I like a few of the songs a lot. There’s only one track that I find embarrassing. Not a bad average.

However, I think Craig Jenkins’ review of the album on Pitchfork is very accurate. RZA’s musical obsessions and personal growth as a producer are now out of sync with the rest of the Clan, and it’s resulted in a lot of performances that seem more perfunctory than inspired. I have empathy for both sides of that situation, but I mostly wish RZA had compromised a bit more. No, that’s the wrong word: Collaborated. Back in the glory days of the Wu, his greatest talent was always knowing the best way to frame the talents of his rappers. Now that he’s gone the other way, it might be time for him to listen to those guys because they might have good ideas about the best ways to frame his skills.

Buy it from Amazon.