Pick Three – U-God verses

One thing I didn’t expect from June’s Wu-Tang show was how much fun it would be to shout along with U-God’s verses. The crowd was at its loudest doing karaoke versions of Ol’ Dirty’s ‘Shimmy Shimmy Ya’ and ‘Got Your Money’ at the end, and during ‘Protect Ya Neck’ everyone screamed “MOVE IT ON YOUR LEFT!” so loud you almost forgot Method Man hadn’t bothered to show.

Of the Wu-swordsmen who were present, U-God had some of the best sing along moments of the night. You could see that he knew it, too, rapping with a drink in his hand, looking a little fruity (complimentary) and frankly chill as hell as he belted out “RAAAWW I’ma give it to ya/With no trivia/Raw like cocaine straight from Bolivia”.

U-God isn’t the most impressive MC in the Clan, either in terms of his slang or his rhyme schemes. He’s not the biggest personality either, which is probably why none of his solo albums have stuck with me. In 1999 Golden Arms Redemption seemed too far removed from the classic Wu sound to hit true. Now, it sounds just about close enough to be passable.

Despite their public animosity, and RZA’s tendancy to get lost in his own mythology, it turns out that The Abbot has a the measure of Golden Arms’ strengths:

U-God, he’s the bass of the group. He’s just got that dope-ass low voice. And he’s also know as the Four-Bar Killer because he can kill it in four bars. He hits you like in a kung-fu movie, when one motherfucker hits you with a punch from one inch away and it pushes you across the street. U-God can do that.

RZA – The Wu-Tang Manual

Maybe this is why U-God sounds so good on the later Wu albums he hates. His voice booms off the concrete slabs of The W and the gleaming surfaces of Iron Flag with verve, and finds space in the low end of RZA’s 8 Diagrams orchestration. That being said, when it came to picking a top three, the final list focused on early classics.

1. Raekwon the Chef ft. Ghostface Killah and U-God – ‘Knuckleheadz‘
2. Ghostface Killah ft. U-God – ‘Cherchez La Ghost‘
3. Wu-Tang Clan – ‘Da Mystery of Chessboxin’‘

‘Chessboxin” and ‘Cherchez La Ghost’ are perfect showcases for U-God’s ability to belt out short verses that sound like hooks, but ‘Knuckleheadz’ is on another level. On the opening song from Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, U-God comes in at the end like an unexpected threat, a danger that’s been rumbling away in the bassline but which neither Ghost nor Rae saw coming. His character destabilises the whole song then dies, never to show up on the album again. As guest appearances go, it’s a showstopper.