Wu Block
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''Wu Block'' is a collaborative studio album by American rappers
Ghostface Killah Dennis Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 C ...
(of
Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close aff ...
) and
Sheek Louch Sean Divine Jacobs (born September 30, 1976), better known as Sheek Louch, is an American rapper best known as a member of The LOX and founder of D-Block Records, along with Styles P and Jadakiss. Personal life and career At around the age o ...
(of
The Lox The Lox (stylized The LOX or The L.O.X.) is an American hip hop group from Yonkers, New York, formed in 1994. The group is composed of East Coast rappers Sheek Louch, Styles P and Jadakiss. They had originally signed to Puff Daddy's Bad Boy ...
). Louch announced the album in 2011, in an interview. The album was released on November 27, 2012, by
E1 Music MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch", formerly known as Koch Records and eOne Music) is a New York City-based independent record label and music management company. It was formed in 2009 from the music assets of Koch Entertainment, which had ...
. The album features guest appearances from
Raekwon Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name Raekwon The Chef, or simply Raekwon (), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream success ...
,
Jadakiss Jason Terrance Phillips (born May 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Jadakiss, is an American rapper from Yonkers, New York. He began his career in the 1990s as a member of the rap trio The Lox, managed by Ruff Ryders and signed with B ...
,
Cappadonna Darryl Hill, better known by his stage name Cappadonna, is an American rapper. He is a member of the hip-hop collective the Wu-Tang Clan and is a member of the rap group Theodore Unit together with Ghostface Killah. Career Cappadonna (also know ...
,
Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half of ...
,
Styles P David R. Styles (born November 28, 1974), better known by his stage name Styles P (also known mononymously as Styles), is an American rapper, best known as a member of hip hop group the Lox, alongside childhood friends Sheek Louch and Jadakiss ...
,
Masta Killa Jamel Irief (born Elgin Turner; August 18, 1969), better known by his stage name Masta Killa, is an American rapper and member of the Wu-Tang Clan. Though one of the lesser-known members of the group (he was featured on only one track on their 19 ...
,
GZA ''Gary Eldridge Grice'' (born August 22, 1966), better known by his stage names GZA ( ) and The Genius, is an American rapper and songwriter. A founding member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, GZA is the group's "spiritual head", being both ...
,
Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu (), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by R&B, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut al ...
and
Inspectah Deck Jason Richard Hunter (born July 6, 1970), better known by his stage name Inspectah Deck, is an American rapper, producer, and actor. He is a member of the groups Wu-Tang Clan and Czarface. He has acquired critical praise for his intricate ly ...
.


Background

In February 2011,
Sheek Louch Sean Divine Jacobs (born September 30, 1976), better known as Sheek Louch, is an American rapper best known as a member of The LOX and founder of D-Block Records, along with Styles P and Jadakiss. Personal life and career At around the age o ...
stated that he and
Ghostface Killah Dennis Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 C ...
were about 8 songs deep into the album. In July 2011, during an interview with DJ Semtex, Ghostface Killah said that the album would be released in February 2012. The album's first single "Union Square" was released on June 29, 2012. On August 20, 2012, it was announced that the album would be released on October 9, 2012. On August 20, 2012, in a press release, Ghostface Killah spoke about the album, saying: "It’s real street shit for the fans. They’ve been thirstin’ for this." Sheek Louch also spoke about the album, saying: "''Wu-Block'' mixes the rap style, lyrics, beats, imagery and ideology of the 9 member Wu-Tang clan with the flow, underground star power, hard hitting bars, street story telling and bass rattling sounds of D-Block." On October 5, 2012, the album cover was released, and it was announced that the album would be released on November 13, 2012. On October 29, 2012, the track listing was released, and it was announced that album would be released on November 27, 2012.


Critical response

''Wu Block'' was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. At
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 69, based on 13 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The Company Man of
HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...
gave the album three and a half stars out of five, saying "From mic to plug, ''Wu Block'' is a vintage Rap release only lacking in invention. Ghost and Sheek have made these songs repeatedly their entire career, only this time they created them together. And that’s all right. It’s hard to hate on pioneers for doing what they pioneered." Nick De Molina of '' XXL'' gave the album an L, saying "''Wu-Block'' stays true to its roots and makes no compromises in pursuit of airplay." Matt Jost of RapReviews gave the album a 6.5 out of 10, saying "The co-headlining brings a certain focus to the project while the added features make it fully evident why these two posses, who as entities are arguably past their heyday, have remained on the scene." Dan Caffrey of
Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...
gave the album three stars out of five, saying "The seasoned tone and familiar production lend ''Wu Block'' ease and listenability, but also result in empty posturing on tracks such as “Take Notice” and “Do It Like Us." Jayson Greene of
Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
gave the album a 6.5 out of 10, saying "You don't tune into a D-Block and Ghostface Killah collaborative project expecting surprises, so here's the good news: There are absolutely none on Wu-Block." Jason Lymangrover of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
gave the album three and a half stars, saying "Minus a few modern reference points, it's an album that's firmly rooted in the grimy, thuggish '90s, packed full of mafia don lyrics and endless references to jackin' marks, sportin' bling, and pushin' yeyo. Still, Shaolin and Yonkers camps wouldn't have it any other way." Al Horner of ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' gave the album a six out of ten, saying "Whatever happened to the good old days, wonder Wu-Tang Clansman Ghostface Killah and D-Block’s Sheek Louch on their imaginatively titled collaboration. Like a rap Grindhouse, dripped in grimy nostalgia for a 1990s New York lived on ashen corners, the release turns the clock back in sound and spirit with the languorous productions of regular Ghostface collaborator The RZA replaced by hard beats and menacing samples."


Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 73 on the ''Billboard'' 200, with first-week sales of 8,600 copies in the United States. It fell to number 152 in its second week selling 4,200 more copies.


Track listing

;Notes * Ghostface Killah does not appear on "Drivin' Round".


References

{{Authority control 2012 albums Sheek Louch albums Ghostface Killah albums Collaborative albums Albums produced by Frank Dukes Wu-Tang Clan