No Said Date

Even more than ten years after 36 Chambers, it still felt like some members had something to prove — which might be why No Said Date, the last solo debut to come from the original nine, still sounds hungry long after the Wu empire was firmly established. Much of the same production crew is back from rescuing Uncontrolled Substance five years earlier, with Mathematics’ caged-jaguar boom-bap and the blues-ish / blood red skulk of True Master’s beats more than holding their own alongside three captivatingly weird RZA originals. That makes the steely confidence of the headline rapper sound like he’s swinging hammers even at his most reserved, an embodiment of the idea that it’s the quiet ones you’ve got to watch out for.