NY vs.
Beantown rivalries aside, the Wu-Tang
Clan is similar to the Boston Red Sox. While superstars like Method Man and Ghostface Killah are the face of the crew, the group’s consistent
victories stem from team chemistry and from role players handling their duties.
RZA is widely-credited for
establishing the ensemble’s signature sound with his daunting melodies, but
producer/DJ Allah Mathematics has a
substantial stat sheet as well. Painting pictures with both the MPC (i.e., Ghostface Killah’s “Mighty Healthy” and
Bobby Digital’s “Must Be Bobby”) and
the palette (drawing the group’s original “W” logo and the artwork for GZA’s classic Liquid Swords), the
Jamaica, Queens native is as Wu as
it gets. After two solid solo LPs under his belt, Mathematics tries his hand at
the instrumental album with the two-disc set Soul Of A Man.

While
verses from street scribes like Raekwon
and GZA are sorely missed, the
album’s first disc shows that Mathematics
hasn’t lost the essential elements that Wu-Tang
fans have cherished since the early 90s. Abstract splices from kung fu flicks
still kick, and sped-up samples are skillfully utilized without being overdone.
The cavernous keys, searing strings and steady basslines on several tracks can
seamlessly gel with previous Wu
releases, and songs such as “Track #12” glow with an updated wistfulness of the
group’s heyday. Mathematics also
hurls change-ups with cuts such as “Track #10,” straying from the Wu formula with jubilant horns and
carefree snares. Though a couple duds fall short, the first disc succeeds with Mathematics using enough of his bread
and butter to keep die-hard fans happy, and enough jam to keep listeners on
their toes.

After
presenting the first disc as freshly-packaged piff, Mathematics goes back for the first time with the second half,
giving listeners an ambidextrous audio resume of his 90s-to-present catalog.
Nostalgia ensues when he reboots the Wu’s
classic dungeon sound with Inspectah
Deck’s “Uncontrolled Substance” and Ghostface’s
“Wu Banga 101,” and switches to the off-kilter sampling with Ghostface’s “Strawberry.” Uptempo
numbers like the Clan’s “Do You
Really (Thang Thang)” and Meth and Red’s “Fire In Da Hole” are also
included, along with other Wu-Tang
highlights like “Rules” and the aforementioned “Mighty Healthy.”

With
Soul Of A Man, Mathematics covers all of the bases: he basks in the history he’s
already created, shows that he’s still got the juice, and adds some new weapons
to his arsenal in the process. While usurping some of his cohorts’ stardom and
name recognition may be far off, this release shows that Mathematics is definitely keeping his spot on the roster.