Wu-Massacre

''Wu-Massacre'' is a collaboration studio album by American rappers and Wu-Tang Clan members Method Man, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon, released March 30, 2010 on Def Jam Recordings. Production for the album was handled by several hip hop producers, including RZA, Allah Mathematics, Scram Jones, Emile, Ty Fyffe, BT and Digem Tracks Productions.

The album debuted at number 12 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 37,900 copies in its first week. It charted modestly in international markets and produced four singles. Upon its release, ''Wu-Massacre'' received generally positive reviews from music critics. The album has sold 64,000 copies in the United States.

Background

The album was first announced in July 2009, when Method Man mentioned the project to MTV News, stating that he wanted to do an album with several other Wu-Tang members. He described the album as being a "Rae, Ghost and Meth album," with "RZA-produced tracks, as well as some outside producers."
Initially, the album was to be titled ''Wu-Massacre'', and was later renamed ''Three the Hard Way'', however, after the leak of the ''Wu-Massacre'' artwork, it was later re-affirmed as the official album title.GFK Explains Group Name & Album Title
rapradar.com. Retrieved on 2010-03-20. Though unsubstantiated rumors began to circulate that the project would be a new group, Method Man refuted these claims in a cover-story interview with ''The Source'', stating: "By no means are we trying to start a group, that's why I was mad as hell that people was jumping the gun and shit, asking us to name our group and all that. What the fuck we look like making a new group?" Ghostface Killah also touched base on the subject in an interview with Rap Radar, stating "We not a group. We already in Wu-Tang. So it’s not like we trying to start a group. We don’t need that."

In an interview with MTV, Raekwon described the making of ''Wu-Massacre'', as well as the album's production, stating;

Release and promotion

A three-part video series began to surface on the internet for the album's promotion in fall of 2009.

Singles

On November 25, 2009, Allah Mathematics premiered the song "Mef vs. Chef 2" live on his radio show Math Files. The song features verses from Method Man and Raekwon, and was said to be from ''Wu-Massacre''. On January 25, 2010, Def Jam released the first single, "Our Dreams" on their website, which will be appearing on the ''Wu-Massacre'' album. On February 22, 2010, Def Jam released a free mixtape called, ''Avenging Eagles'' by Allah Mathematics featuring various older Raekwon, Ghostface and Method Man material as a warm-up to ''Wu-Massacre''. Aside from "Mef vs. Chef 2," the mixtape also premiered the song "Miranda". On March 2, 2010 the next release from the album was "Criminology 2.5", an original '' Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt. II'' track but was cut before the final pressing, but revised as it no longer contains Raekwon's verse, contains a re-used Ghostface Killah verse from the song "The Badlands" instead of the original verse planned for ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt. II'', and a verse from Method Man. "Mef vs. Chef 2" and "Miranda" have now been released as the album's second and third singles. On the release of the video for "Our Dreams" a fourth single was also released called "Dangerous". Another single ("Gunshowers") was released; it was produced by Digem Tracks Productions.

Artwork

All three cover portraits were created by Marvel Comics artist Chris Bachalo and inked by Tim Townsend. The third and final cover was released on March 15, with the illustration by Bachalo with art direction by Alex Haldi.

Reception

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 12 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart with first-week sales of 37,900 copies.Wu Massacre and E-40 Chart with Albums
. Current.com. Retrieved on 2010-04-08. In its second week, it fell 25 spots to number 37, selling an additional 11,000 for a total of 49,000 copies. The next week it sold 6,600 more copies going over the 50,000 mark selling 56,000. It also entered at number six on ''Billboard''s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and at number two on its Rap Albums chart.Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 4/4/2010
HipHopDX. Retrieved on 2010-04-10.Rap Albums: Week of April 17, 2010
''Billboard''. Retrieved on 2010-04-10. The album has sold 100,000 copies in the US as of August 2015.

In Canada, the album debuted at number 29 on the Top 100 and number four on the R&B Top 50 chart."Albums: Top 100 - For the Week Ending 4 April 2010". Jam!
Archived
on 2010-04-10."R&B: Top 50 - For the Week Ending 4 April 2010". Jam!

on 2010-04-10. In France, it entered at number 128 on Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique's albums chart.Charts: ''Wu-Massacre''
acharts. Retrieved on 2010-04-10.

Critical response

''Wu-Massacre'' received generally positive reviews from music critics; it holds an aggregate score of 73/100 at Metacritic.''Wu-Massacre'' (2010): Reviews
Metacritic. Retrieved on 2010-04-01. Allmusic editor Andy Kellman called it "consistent, duly rugged, and satisfying".Kellman, Andy. Review: ''Wu-Massacre'' Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-03-30. ''Entertainment Weekly''s Simon Vozick-Levinson praised the rappers' lyricism and stated, "Method Man's acid sarcasm grounds Ghostface Killah's tightly wound exclamations, which in turn nicely balance Raekwon's flinty realism, and the trio's rhymes are well served throughout by big, soulful beats".Vozick-Levinson, Simon
Review: ''Wu-Massacre''
''Entertainment Weekly''. Retrieved on 2010-03-25. Zach Cole of '' URB'' commended its energetic production and the rappers' lyrical deliveries, calling the album "a delight with not a wasted minute".Cole, Zach
Review: ''Wu-Massacre''
'' URB''. Retrieved on 2010-03-30. ''USA Today''s Steve Jones praised its production as a "rich, sonic tapestry", while writing that the rappers are "fierce and focused, firing steel-jacketed barbs with abandon on this wallop-packing collection".Jones, Steve
Review: ''Wu-Massacre''
''USA Today''. Retrieved on 2010-03-30. ''The Harvard Crimson''s Colm Dubhrosa complimented its dynamic format, writing that "''Wu-Massacre'' manages to condense all that is most vitally raw and dynamic about this hip-hop trio into a snappy 30-minute album that blazes by in a flash of intensity and verve".Dubhrosa, Colm
Review: ''Wu-Massacre''
''The Harvard Crimson''. Retrieved on 2010-04-06.

In contrast, ''Exclaim!''s Del F. Cowie viewed its weaker tracks as those that do not feature all rappers and called the album "a patchy project that given some time and attentive conceptual execution could have been more than the sum of its parts".Cowie, Del F
Review: ''Wu-Massacre''
''Exclaim!''. Retrieved on 2010-03-30. RapReviews writer Guido Stern called its production "uneven" and shared a similar sentiment, writing "Mostly it's just frustrating because the whole tape probably only has like six or seven verses from each of the headliners".Stern, Guid
Review: ''Wu-Massacre''
RapReviews. Retrieved on 2010-03-31. Luke John Winkie of No Ripcord gave ''Wu-Massacre'' a 6/10 rating and called it "a fun, but mostly forgettable affair", but wrote "Rae, Ghost and Meth’s undeniable flow can make even the slightest record worth a spin".Winkie, Luke John
Review: ''Wu-Massacre''
No Ripcord. Retrieved on 2010-04-06. Pitchfork Media's Ian Cohen commented that "at the record's core are three MCs willing to spend a little critical capital and just have fun over pitchshifted soul beats".Cohen, Ian
Review: ''Wu-Massacre''
Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2010-04-09. Evie Nagy of ''Billboard'' wrote favorably of the rappers' performances and commended the album's production and cohesion among its tracks.Nagy, Evie
Review: ''Wu-Massacre''
''Billboard''. Retrieved on 2010-04-10. Giving it an 8.0/10 rating, IGN critic Phil Owen viewed the album as a case of "quality over quantity" and wrote that it "all flows brilliantly".Owen, Phil
Review: ''Wu-Massacre''
IGN. Retrieved on 2010-03-30.

''The A.V. Club''s Nathan Rabin wrote that the album "thrives on the chemistry between Ghostface Killah’s excitable ranting, Raekwon’s smoothness, and Method Man’s combination of raspy humor and middle-aged grumpiness".Rabin, Nathan
Review: ''Wu-Massacre''
''The A.V. Club''. Retrieved on 2010-04-06. Huw Jones of Slant Magazine perceived its sound as reminiscent of early Wu-Tang Clan albums, writing that it "celebrates the same stylistic elements that put Staten Island on the musical map in the '90s".Jones, Huw
Review: ''Wu-Massacre''
Slant Magazine. Retrieved on 2010-03-30. HipHopDX writer Slava Kuperstein gave it four out of five stars and wrote "''Wu-Massacre'' stands on its own merit as an assembly of three legendary emcees putting on display what earned them the legendary status in the first place".Kuperstein, Slava
Review: ''Wu-Massacre''
HipHopDX. Retrieved on 2010-03-29. ''Rolling Stone''s Jon Dolan viewed it as a return to the rappers' "classic-Wu roots" and commended the album for its "imperious soul samples, waves of purple haze and pointillist pimp fantasies".Dolan, Jon
Review: ''Wu-Massacre''
''Rolling Stone''. Retrieved on 2010-03-30. Tiny Mix Tapes writer Chris Norton gave it a three-and-a-half out of five rating and wrote that it "functions more as a reminder that these soldiers are still deep in the trenches, leaning on the time-tested skills and sounds that put them at the top of the 90s and spurred their revival in this past decade".Norton, Chris
Review: ''Wu-Massacre''
Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved on 2010-05-09.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits for ''Wu-Massacre'' adapted from liner notes.Track listing and credits as per liner notes for Wu-Massacre album

* Clifford Smith – vocals, executive producer
* Dennis Coles – vocals, executive producer, artists and repertoire
* Corey Woods – vocals, executive producer
* Chris Bachalo – artwork
* Theodore Bailey – guest vocals
* Ronald Bean – producer
* Anthony Caputo – recorder, mixer
* Mel Carter – producer
* Mike Caruso – producer
* Patrick Charles – guest vocals
* Christina – additional vocals
* Kevin Cossom – additional vocals
* Mitchell Diggs – producer
* Robert Diggs – producer
* Tyrone Fyffe – producer
* Oli Grant – producer
* Alex Haldi – art director

* Dan Hastie – keyboards
* Darryl Hill – guest vocals
* Jason Hunter – guest vocals
* Sean Jacobs – guest vocals
* Scram Jones – producer
* Jamel Scott - producer
* Jordan Katz – trumpet, trombone
* James King – saxophone
* Donnelle Little – guest vocals
* Josh Lopez – guitars
* Pete McNeal – drums
* Tracy Morgan – additional vocals
* Ethan Phillips – bass
* Antonio Reid – producer
* Ron Robinson – producer
* Lenny Santiago – producer, artists and repertoire
* Davey Cheg Widden – percussion

Charts

References

External links

Official Page
at Def Jam
*
Wu-Massacre
' at Discogs
*
Wu-Massacre
' at Metacritic

{{Authority control

2010 albums
Albums produced by RZA
Albums produced by Mathematics
Albums produced by Ty Fyffe
Albums produced by Scram Jones
Albums produced by Emile Haynie
Def Jam Recordings albums
Ghostface Killah albums
Method Man albums
Raekwon albums
Collaborative albums
Wu-Tang Clan