If they were ever given the kind of promotion their skills deserved, The Theodore Unit remains one of the best Wu-Tang spin-offs, ever. A heavy-handed Ghostface [click to read] mentorship, ’88-inspired beats, and an audio Metrocard guided tour of New York, 2004’s 718 was a one-and-done gem of an independent album. In the years since the Unit disbanded, Trife Da God has been the lone continuation (besides Cappadonna), working primarily as Ghost‘s hype-man, and stand-in throughout albums like Fishscale [click to read] and especially More Fish [click to read]. The title says it all, as Trife (now as “Trife Diesel“) brings guest-shots from Freeway [click to read], Royce Da 5’9″ [click to read] and Ghost as he admits he’s Better Late Than Never.
Trife is a confusing breed of emcee. As was the case on his two previous retail releases, the Staten Island artist seemed to treat those small opportunities as if his career depended on them. Maybe they did. On “Stronger Man,” that side stands strong. The urgency of the song is driven by Trife‘s reflective lyrics that weigh the moral sacrifices in hustling to live, accented lovely by a beautifully melodic beat courtesy of Rhymefest [click to read] affiliates Animal House. “World Today” transcends dope-selling, as Trife proves to be one of the most news-savvy emcees, explaining why he’s a self-proclaimed project leader [click to listen] of the Stapleton Houses. Here, with President Obama speeches layered into the charged chipmunk Soul beat, Trife touches on Bernie Madoff, the auto industry bailout and crying on Election Day.
The confusion comes when the same man who can properly make an ode to his mother, unearth politics and tell convincing street tales fills his debut with quirky backpacker rap exercises like “Wanna Be A Rapper,” or bark-into-the-microphone posse cuts like “Prey vs. Predator.” While Royce Da 5’9″ delivers what might be his pre-Slaughterhouse verse of 2009 on “Powerful Minds” (shifting from chronicling a ménage a trios to “Bush getting less votes than Kelly Clarkson.“), Trife can’t keep up, even killing the moment with a dubbed chorus and inferior verse. Trife‘s skills are on full display, but Better Late Than Never doesn’t completely succeed in cutting the fat from the meat, in differentiating a mixtape from a truly impressive, and long-awaited debut.
Trife Diesel‘s solo arrival is true to form. Like his Theodore Unit projects a half-decade ago, the S.I. emcee is caught between studio-polished and street-level rapping. What’s gained in going for dolo is proof that Trife doesn’t need Ghostface beside him to command attention, and that with 48 bars at his disposal, Stapleton’s hardest repping rapper has plenty to say that reveals research, heart and thought.
