Dark beats and hard rhymes from West Coast Wu warriors

Wu-Tang Clan affiliates Crisis the Sharpshooter and The Rugged Monk brandish razor-sharp rhymes over dark production helmed by former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante. Other than some familiar drum breaks, the beats on Medieval Chamber aren’t as sample-heavy as other releases from the Wu-Tang fold. Instead, the rappers’ cool-guy posturing is matched by the coldness of the largely electronic instrumentals. There are a lot of keyboards and bubbling synth bass throughout the album, and “Keys to the Chastity Belt” even features a very Prince-like drum track. Sung hooks on the album sometimes hit the mark, as on “Sword in Stone” (courtesy of a Funkadelic sample) but fall flat elsewhere (“Medieval Times”). A number of TV dialogue snippets add a thematic quality to tracks like “Drawbridge”, where Twilight Zone and Key & Peele samples are combined to interesting effect. Fans of gloomy hip-hop sounds should definitely give Medieval Chamber a listen.

RIYL: Wu-Tang Clan, The Dopplegangaz, El-P
Recommended: 1, 2, 5