The day after Wu-Tang Clan released their new single “Ruckus In B Minor” from their upcoming A Better Tomorrow album, producer Just Blaze took to Twitter to criticize one aspect of the song’s engineering.
Asking who aligned the track’s vocals, Just Blaze pointed out that the raps are “all over the place.”
Last month, HipHopDX spoke with members from the group and reported updates from a press conference about their next album. Speaking specifically about “Ruckus In B Minor,” RZA detailed collaborating with Rick Rubin on the song’s mix.
“When you’re making an album, you get stuck sometimes because you’re listening to the music over and over,” RZA said. “There’s a song that I feel really captures the essence of our vibe right now called ‘Ruckus In B Minor.’ Codename is ‘Still #1.’ I played with that song for like a month and couldn’t really find that proper mix. I called up Rick Rubin and I was like, ‘Yo, you’ve been making classic Hip Hop from the early days as well as Rock and Alternative. Can you take this song and find a great mix for it?’ I sent it to him. When he got it he was like ‘Cool. Sounds great. Do you got any ODB that I can add to it?’ I did dig through some crates and we’ll see how that formula comes out.”
RELATED: Everything You Need To Know About Wu-Tang Clan’s “A Better Tomorrow”
Nobody in the industry wants to tell Rza that his new material is wack. There’s nothing more difficult to deal with than a brilliant person who is an egomaniac. Even if every member of the clan and 10 million more people told him his new shit sounds weak, he just think they ‘don’t get it’. I’m tellin’ you…there’s something suspect going on in the Wu-Tang studios. There was a hidden hand in there helping him produce their old shit. There’s just too many red flags.
I agree, Rza sounds mad corny…man too many dope producers out here that hungry…he is outhinking himself…..how come Raekwon production dope as hell…and this Wu shh so far is awful..damn can you go get illmind, Sounwave, Noah , No id, Justice League, (th Wonder, Nottz, Soul Council, Just Blaze, Kanye or someone thats not corny…..these Gilligan island sci fi beats are like Rakim said back to the lab
ContractKiller, I agree no doubt. I kind of wonder about the RZA. Seems like he can’t make a beat worth a dime nowadays. In all honesty, I haven’t heard anything truly nice since that “Triumph” track dropped back in 1997. Makes you wonder if RZA really did have a helping hand while creating all those gems back in the good old days.
helping hand was PCP/angel dust and honey dipped blunts!!! He doesn’t/can’t go down that route no more cos’ he’s working in hollywood and he’s got kids dammit I read somewhere he’s married to some doctor chick!!! Rza is like Eminem in a way, without those substances, the music just aint the same…
No idiots he stop sampling and he trying to play his beats now but the last beat he had was dope was on the was on obfcl 2 so he can still get down he just think he’s a musician now and he changing his sound remember all his old stuff got fucked up in the flood in his basement so he really aint been the same since anyway so what he need to do is let thw other WU producers come in as a team to do it now you got tru master,bronze,cilvaringz,4th disciple,and mathmatics that should be enough to make a dope wu album but he don’t even use them for help with input when they know the original sound that they need so yes rza has an ego but can you blame him though when he is a great producer of pride to step to the side
I’ll agree that RZA’s production is like a pendulum swinging back and forth but to act like RZA hasn’t done hot shit recently, last 5 years or so, is absurd. Chamber Music, Legendary Weapons, Man with Iron Fists soundtrack, Dopium, all had Rza’s signature and them shits KNOCKED. Like I said, I get that he goes into some way other shit at times (his most recent EP called “Only One Place To Get It”), but let’s not over-exaggerate.
Reckoning, that RZA shit you just labeled off, that stuff is OK, at best. I mean, it’s listenable, but is that all we expect from someone that was regarded as the dopest hip-hop producer in history? I mean, listen to all these ill producers now days. When you got niggas like Alchemist, Sid Roams, Pete Rock, Jake One, etc., just churnin’ dope shit out daily, and the Rza drops one or two records a year that are OK, then something not right. C’mon now, this nigga was makin’ beats 20 years ago that could stand up against shit made now, so how is it that he can’t even get anywhere CLOSE to the shit he was making 20 years ago? Somethin’ ain’t right. And don’t give me that “he evolved” shit, because to me it sounds like he devolved. Not just the sound of his beats, but even the arrangements, the engineering, the way the samples are slice, it’s just low quality. It’s like some 16 year old local nigga tryin’ to sound like the Rza. I mean, some of this shit just sounds like he threw a keyboard down the stairs and recorded it. Stop frontin’, you know it’s true. Peace.
LMFAO @ throwin’ keyboard down the stairs and recording it. Funniest shit!
Don’t think anyone is criticizing the song. Only part of the engineering or production. He’s criticizing it from a technical, producer’s point-of-view.
Don’t think he’s detracting from the song itself.
exactly
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I hear that shit a lot lately. Either niggas cant stay on beat or dudes aint linin they shit up right
the record brought new and fresh ideas to me…I loved how he slowed it down and sped it up and changed it around. I’m with that shit. Just because Just Blaze goes in and loops a damn song from beginning to end doesn’t mean that’s the only way to make music.
yo what the fuck is a just blaze b?
these salamander ass napoleon niggaz don’t even rock sweatpants under their enyce jeans n they have the audiodacity to talk reckless about the god rza like whats a king to a god, who the fuck is you b!?
rza out here grinding, making and scoring shitty ass movies and beats that would’ve sounded good in 2001, what is you doin out here Justin blazeth III?
“rza out here grinding, making and scoring shitty ass movies and beats that would’ve sounded good in 2001,”
LOL shout outs to Ghost Dog
he gettin the EDM money
hahaha. wu tang keeps losing releasing low quality songs, featuring unknown r and b stars
How can an r&b “star” be unknown?
just blaze actin like hes never heard a wu record before.. lol
Clearly he has or else he wouldn’t have listened to the song and then commented on how shitty it was.
the whole whole wu music brand is doing abstract vocals, cuts & offbeat samples
I’m mad at myself for clicking this stupid ass article
Just heard snippets of the listening session for this album and I gotta say it sounds good… damn good as a matter of fact. This is what the Wu are all about, setting trends and fly beats that hit the ball out the park straight outta left field, this album gonna be dope. Some hard lyrics over opera singing and orchestration
don’t agree with JUST BLAZE; there are several beats in the track, with different tempos/ vibes. interesting.
are you cats new to wu-tang sound? There’s no father to it, It’s dirty, and it’s a bastard. Them cat’s been doing off-line lyrics and beats…why have yall not noticed? Go back and check it out. That’s their sound, grimey and unfinished, sort of like dilla’s beats, that’s what makes it sound so authentic.
It sounds contrived now though. Its not authentic any more, it’s planned, and it’s corny. It’s a caricature of itself.
@Contract Killer
That’s WU’s style, and that’s the point of Ken’s comment. It is authentic because that is what Wu has rocked with from the beginning. If you don’t feel it then you just don’t feel it. But to stand from afar and say that Wu Tang’s style is no longer authentic is actually planned and corny on your behalf.
My G, you’re not understanding what I’m saying. First of all, I love the Wu. It’s my favorite rap group of all time. I was there at 11:59 to cop every album they came out with when I was in middle school/high school. I WANT to like their new shit, it’s just not good. They used to be unconventional and unpredictable because they were so raw, and they had independence that allowed them to experiment with shit that hadn’t been done yet, and also, let’s face it, the heavy drugs they were on contributed to the uniqueness of their sound. Now, it’s like they’re consciously trying to re-create their unpredictability, but that’s impossible. That’s like trying to explain a dream, or a artist trying to replicate an abstract painting. It just can’t be done. Just the fact that it’s so corporate now, and they aren’t in the same zone, and they obviously aren’t all on the same page any more, it’s really effecting the music in a negative way. Look, it happens to the best artists in the world, and in every genre of music. Radiohead is like a rock version of it. You can’t expect niggas to get married, have kids, live in a big house in the suburbs, and be able to make the same music they made when they were young, struggling, thuggin’, druggin’, and experiencing things for the first time. I think the best way to go would be like how Rae and Ghost are doin’ it. They still got ill beats, still make dope music, but they’re not trying to re-create the old WU sound that is no longer there. The WU can still be a great group, if the RZA can accept that his role now has to be different. It’s like NBA player who can jump out of the gym in his early 20’s, but when he loses his hops he needs to develop other parts of his game in order to stay in the league. RZA is still trying to jump out of the gym, and he’s missing dunks and getting his shit swatted. He needs to facilitate instead of trying to take over the game, because he can’t any more. Peace and love.
Fuck outta here.
Nah Just,u wrong! POW!
the song is great – people just hating or brainwashed to think everything has to sound one way…
in fifty years no one will be around to say sorry
hate to sound intelligent especially here but it’s kind of like someone hearing Instant Karma and saying the vocals are all fucked and distorted
just blaze needs to shut the fuck up and worry about his own records – most of which sound exactly the same.
**SHOTS FIRED**
…..ANYWAY, IT HAD TO BE THAT BAREFOOTED WHITE GUY WITH THE BEARD WHO HAD NO BUSINESS IN THE WU STUDIO SESSIONS!!!! FUCK YOU RZA!!!!
DON’T HATE ON MY OPINION!!!!
I dont know Just, The song sounds tight to me.
until I looked at the check of $8170 , I did not believe that my father in law had been actualey taking home money parttime from their laptop. . there moms best frend has done this 4 less than 9 months and just paid the mortgage on there house and purchased McLaren F1 . original site……..
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Poetical Tyrant should also join the wutang http://itunes.apple.com/album/id925468674 download this or check it on spotify if you wonna know what I mean.
until I looked at the check of $8170 , I did not believe that my father in law had been actualey taking home money part time from their laptop. . there moms best friend has done this 4 less than 9 months and just paid the mortgage on there house and purchased McLaren F1 . original site……..
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http://WWW.PayFlame.COM
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Who gives a 4uck what this d1ck r1ding F4gg0t has to say?
$t0p u$1ng #’$ 1n y0 c0mm3nt$ $#1t 1$ w3@k k1ddddddd
guys… it was a TWEET. Funny how Hip Hop blogs try to create stories and beefs from a tweet these days. And you all get upset….
I’m cosigning with you on that. I don’t think the wu cares what just blaze thinks.
Who the FUCK does JUST BLAZE THINK HE IS…..he ain’t relevant he waiting on JAY Z greatest hits album to hit the streets to get another check! You didn’t land on the ROC the ROC landed on you bitch ass
Yo somebody slap this dude, he aint even making hip hop beats no more, he’s making house music now. WTF does he know…im excited about the new WU Album sounds like they finally got back in RZA’s chamber and laid down some classic joints. WUTANG FOREVER!!!!!
vehemently disagree… shit bangs.
NO ONE is understanding this i guess. The beat and the vocals are seperate sound files. He is saying someone took those two different sound files, layed them on top of eachother, and did not properly line them up to be on beat with eachother.
That’s all. NOTHING about the quality of the music, or anything like that. I just read thirty comments that completely missed whats going on here.
This!
Wu shouldve got some Just Blaze beats. how dope would it be if they got some beats Blaze, Ye, Q-Tip, Lil’ Fame, Dilla, Alchemist, Harry Fraud, and Neptunes. I can’t take another album with the same weak RZA beats man but I can only dream