Lyrics 9- If this album review was based solely on lyrics, this Staten Island crew would have a near perfect album. The lyrics are clearly the strongest part of this album. If you are capable of blocking out the sporadic beats and just focus on the actual words then this album has the ability to take any listener back to the 90’s when Wu Tang ruled and everybody knew about The Killer Bees.
Production 4- To say the production was bad would be too cruel. However, to say that the production was boring, repetitive, confusing, and a bit cluttered would be down right true. Some of the beats were so off that it felt more like spoken word than a song. Casual listeners will more than likely make it through 3 tracks before they toss this cd from their musical rotation. To add to the futility of the beats, most of the hooks are either non existent or just down right annoying, leaving several songs with horrible transitions. On the ODB tribute the beat totally switches towards the end of the song. This will leave many listeners scratching their heads, and wanting to smack the producer.
Conclusion 7- If everyone on your team is against going left, what direction will you choose to go? Although this album wasn’t a complete disaster, it is a far cry from what it could have been. 8 Diagrams has its moments, but even a casual hip-hop fan who has never even heard of Wu-Tang can tell that no one was on the same page when this album was in the works. So for the Wu-Tang fans that were waiting for their triumphant comeback, you’ll have to wait a little bit longer. This album won’t be a complete disaster, but like Jay-Z’s “Kingdome Come” it will be labeled as the album that just didn’t cut it.
COMMENTS
I totally agree with this review...the production is horrible..the lyrics are tight...it just sounds like every song is a slow song...no life or upbeat hip hop...i was really looking forward to this album and it just ended up being a disappointment for me...mainly because of the horrible production
that's really a shame
I THOUGHT IT WAS COOL...BUT GHOSTFACE'S ALBUM IS BETTER
Im still coppin it so there.
.......
damn RZA sometimes u can't go with your heart in terms of production....you gotta ask your brothers what they want too....this coulda been a classic if it wasn't for beats
it was a 7.5 or around there for me.. but the review is on-point, RZA tried being too diverse.
wooooooooowwwww i am amazed at this review....rza's production on this album was sooooo dope....there was a few tracks i didnt like, but for the most part its crazy, different....but craaaazy......theres no such thing as being TOO diverse...
word men the production was ill, it cuz ppl seein that miss info shit wit raekwon were he sayin the production went accordingly to the label budget and all that shit, but this cd is stil fire
But im not buyin a hip hop album for beats anyway, i anticipatin some ill lyrics and quotes. If i cared about beats more than lyrics, i would jus lissen to one of dem southern rappers, no offense.
u dnt listen to rap for the fuckin beats i listen for the lyrics beats come 2nd im still coppin so fuck it
but the beat and chorus has something to do with the overall track quality tell me what classic song had a trash beat and horrible chorus? none..........
i aint say nuthin bout the hook brotha i kno a hook partially holds a song together but the beat should always come 2nd next lyrics 1st
If you say it's more about the lyrics you are wrong. The beat is just as improtant. You can't dance to a flow. You can't bump a freestyle acapella in the whip(that's some annoying ish.)And you definetly don't want to see your favorite emcees with weak production. That has been many an artist down fall. Just look at the WU. When the beats were there, they were on top of the world. From Iron Flag and all of there sophmore solo attempts(except Ghost, who has an ear for music and keeps hot beats) were subpar. Remember, it is MUSIK. The flow drives the MUSIK. without the MUSIK, you just don't have a song. Period.
CoSign^
yea u could say it aint as dope as expected. I was hopin they would take it back 2 that raw grimey shit like 36 chambers but i guess that aint happenin. lyrics were 4 sure on point, but take 4 example that "stick me 4 my riches" it has various random breaks & the hook plays on 2 much, instead of havin all that chorus, u coulda had more spittin. I dunno what 2 think, cuz wu albums always gotta get like 5 listens b4 u can see if it sticks or not, but i kno it aint grabbin me instantly like 36 chambers or forever did
FU.. that Review, Im a WUTANG head from Way back and many many dismiss this comment as just a disgruntled fan, BUT im very Objective and honest if i think that music is WACK! This Diagrams Album is FIRE!! The only problem i have is that Ghostface was not on the album enough, especially the last part of it. BUT the production is not bad at all.....RZA is ahead of most of these producers a refuses to follow mainstream ideas of good production!! The album is so dense with knowledge,rhytms, and sounds that it needs to be listened to several times before u can make an intelligent decision!!!
RESPECT THE GODS
EXACTLY. I JUST DONT UNDERSTAND HOW SO MANY PPL BE HATIN ON THIS ALBUM. THIS SHIT IS STR8 FIRE. ITS DIFFERENT AND AT THE SAME TIME IS CLASSIC WU. RZA HAS ALWAYS BEEN A PIONEER IN PRODUCING AND IM GLAD HE DID HIS OWN THING AND DID SOMETHING DIFFERENT WHILE STILL KEEPIN IT WITH THE STYLE OF THE WU.
Man just to add on to my comment, when the rest of the world hears this album next week, this review and those in favor of it will mos def DISAGREE with it!! Once again the WUTANG DAME WITH THAT FIRE ON THIS CD. Just the lyrics alone make it so special!! The BEATS are TIGHT, the first three will have your head NODDIN son. Then when you can focus and reflect on what is said and how it's said by these brothers.......THE REAL WILL RECONIZE that the CREAM always rises to the TOP fam
PEACE
I'm just gonna hope you're right.
I guess..
IM GONNA DOWNLOAD IT AND LISTEN TO IT TO SEE IF ITS WORTH BUYING
okay the lyrics are tight, but the beats come from the shitter--it's hot!
okay the beat is tight, but the lyrics fucking suck--it sucks!
look over that a bit, and see how wrong all you lyricalphobes are. you know the classification of a right-on-point hip-hop song?
the beat has to be hot and the lyrics have to be sick for it the song to stick. if you say otherwise, then you're saying a poem is good as long as it has good rhyme scheme and concept, regardless of it have having bad flow and sentence scheming. you can't have one without the other.
get off wu's dick, and accept that it was a decent album.
was that even written with english grammar???
This review is pathetic (no offense to the reviewer) but this album is one of the few gems of 2007. 2 compare this to Kingdom Come is totally offpoint because that was a Jay-Z "comeback" album n it sounded terrible. Even die hard Jay-Z fans I know didn't like it. While 8 Diagrams, is not a comeback but more like a "return to the 90s" feel for me. I rate 8 Diagrams a 9 because it has EVERYTHING true hip-hop fans have wanted. Wu never started with any dancing tunes on 36 Chambers(maybe the "Method Man" track). This album re-captured the sounds of that era rather than Wu-Tang Forever n definately sounds nothing like "The W" (i don't remember any tracks from this album) or "Iron Flag" (was ok, but not amazing). The beats on 8D are dark, grimey and makes feel the streets.
I really don't understand how anybody can be bitching and whining that there's no fast tracks in this cause hip-hop fans have been wanting tunes that are rough, rugged, grimey n raw 4 ages, n now dat u finally get it u cry about it!?
From the first track "Campfire" u know the album is gonna come hard. All the way to the last track dedicated to O.D.B. "Life Changes" the actual beat doesn't change that drastically but subtelly. Hence the title Life Changes. N the lyrics fitted that track like a glove. My fave track is 'Windmill' cause it's just a powerful track while my worst is 'Sunlight' which is a RZA solo n sounds a bit depressing. Someone mention "Stick Me For My Riches" has a extended chorus. I don't think so. The guy sings in the beginning but after that it's pure rhyming and the beat just DEEP. I mean u can see someone getting robbed in the cold 2 that beat. Shit u can feel the cold in that beat!!!
I don't judge music on the artists. I judge music on the quality of it, n this is pure class. So don't get me wrong, I'm not giving this a high review because it's Wu-Tang. I'm giving it a high review cause it's hip-hop....n it's what we've been waiting for.
CO-SIGN MY DUDE....
stick me for my riches is prolly one of the dirtiest tracks on the whole album, definitely one of the best put together tracks....without the "extended" chorus it just wouldnt be the same song...
N I'm gonna get alot of hate for this comment, but Ghostface's album doesn't even hold a candle to 8 Diagrams.
I'll give it an 8.0 even though I haven't heard it it's happy to see people helping out hip-hop.
i just realized 50 CENT GOT AN 8 AND THIS ALBUM GOT A 7.....hahah yea yea, i'm a trust ALLLLL of defsounds reviews from this point on.....STOP SMOKING THAT SHIT....
starter with sunny valantine is tight
I wasnt feeling this album, And even if you`re a hardcore
Wu Tang fan.You gotta look at it from a right point.RZA
Made this album, Rest of the members wasnt with it.
The real 8 Diagrams should be Big Doe Rehab cause the beats
Is real & lyrics is on point.
"you gotta look at it from a right point"? what point is that? The Big Doe Rehab is hot but ONE LYRICAL SWORDSMAN can't defeat 8 Lyrical Swordsman! Brothers cant get down with DIVISION, but get to the FOUNDATION which is UNITY......later with what yall talking bout that the album is not good.....LISTEN. Then listen AGAIN...maybe you might learn something.
honestly, if one of the wu emcees was able to take down all the others, it would be ghostface. he is probably the best rapper alive that actually still makes music. no disrespect to the other guys in wu, but ghost is the god. big doe rehab isn't fishscale or supreme clientele, but it is better than 8 diagrams, and i even really liked 8 diagrams. it's just that when ghost gets going, he can't be stopped.
good review
i don't actually think all of the beats were bad. i like wolves and rushing elephants a lot. i mean, of course rza's production is better on the other wu albums, but he can't make the same beats over and over again. i respect his attempt to grow as a musician and a producer. i will admit the beats were too slow and it really affected each emcees verses.
you the album isnt their best, but rza solo cut "sunlight" is one of the best wu tang songs ever
wu-tang fucking sucks
ghostface BIG MONEY REHAB. classic. instant fucking classic. 8 diagrams is ok but the ghost shit is the truth.
cjknightz... eat a fat dick.
Damn..
this album was crack