U-God's Resume #30, "Enter U-God"

--Official Stats--
Artist: U-God
Song: 1. "Enter U-God"
Producer: The RZA
Album: Golden Arms Redemption
Release Date: October 5, 1999

Well, well, well. We finally come to U-God's solo album and let's just say that he bats way late in the roster. Let's check the line up:

1993 - Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
1994 - Method Man, Tical
1995 - ODB, Return to the 36 Chambers
1995 - Raekwon, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx
1995 - GZA, Liquid Swords
1996 - Ghostface, Ironman
1997 - Wu-Tang Forever
1998 - Cappadonna, The Pillage
1998 - RZA, Bobby Digital in Stereo
1998 - Method Man, Tical 2000: Judgement Day
1999 - GZA, Beneath the Surface
1999 - ODB. N---- Please
October 5, 1999 - U-God, Golden Arms Redemption --AND-- Inspectah Deck, Uncontrolled Substance

HOLY CRAP. Ten solo albums dropped before this one. Every member of the clan (except for Inspectah Deck and Masta Killa) had come out, even Cappadonna. Shoot, by this time several people had already dropped two albums! In fact, weird side projects even got pushed through before this (Killarmy, Sunz of Man, Killah Priest). Method Man even dropped a side project (with Redman). So what was the delay? Was U-God putting in the extra work to make sure his album was great? Was he being delayed because he wasn't that well known? Was he just too busy? Who knows? Let's take a look.

I also should point out that U-God's debut shared a release date with Inspectah Deck's debut (is that right? I don't remember that?). He didn't even get his own day. WTFFF?

So we'll go ahead and take a look at this entire album track by track. An album that I will go ahead and say that I hate. This was honestly the first Wu album that deeply disappointed me to the point of anger. I was looking forward to this album, it was another Wu cut. ODB and GZA had both just dropped decent albums and I expected the trend to continue. For all any of us knew, this could have been another Ironman or Liquid Swords. So, on that fateful October day in 1999 I was near the Burlington Mall (in New Jersey) I stopped in and picked this up on the day it dropped, I spun it immediately in my car and was amazed at how bad it was. It was one of the albums that changed my view of both the Wu and hip hop for the worst.

I very clearly remember listening to this album for the first time...it was a day that everything changed for me. My enthusiasm for hip hop and music in general wained. This wasn't the only album that got to me, there was a lot of shit in 1998-2001, but this was a major blow to my outlook. It was a strong push over the edge...and it started with this song.

So I haven't heard this album in years and I don't really want to review it. But at least I'll be hearing it with fresh ears and my expectations are rock bottom. Maybe I'll find a jewel. Hopefully I'll find a jewel. But not today, this won't be a jewel, it's an intro, and I doubt it'll be a Kung Fu sample.

Let's find out...

1. "Enter U-God"



This is one of the worst intros. Sure, when you listen to it here by itself, it's divorced from the album and out of context, and maybe could be something more in the context of the album. But I doubt that the following track could change my opinion of this. So we've got U-God sounding like he's performing as a member of the crowd (not on the stage). The crowd doesn't seem to be interested in what he is saying as they just keep on talking during his verse. Now U-God has always had an odd flow, not necesarrily a bad flow, but he definitely flows differently from everyone else. He usually fits well over a beat, but without a beat he sounds really odd.  

I'll commend him on spitting a raw verse for his intro, I love that, but before I get to his lyrical content I can't help but point out that he's rhyming to the cadence of Donna Summer's hit disco song I Will Survive. It's A WEIRD CHOICE and it's A BAD IDEA. How is it that nobody heard this and mentioned to U that it might be a bad idea???? That's right, four question marks. The lyrics themselves are okay, he spits the typical Wu Tang lyrical dominance thing, no big deal. In fact, it might be good if it were on a dope beat, but here it's just dumb. Check it out...

--Lyrics (To the tune of I Will Survive by Donna Summers)--

AW SHIT!
Now I got you tremble'n for the battle to begin
I'm not gonna leave this place with no sad face
Cuz I'm gonna win
The battle everybody in the world just came to see
Golden Arms, (ah!) take out these cornwalled ass MC's
All y'all corns - walk out the door (ah!)
You run the same rhyme that the crowd don't wanna hear no more
Gun blastin this and flashin that, reality now actually
You better listen, you better listen carefully
We came here (we came here), to dull the bass (ha, ha, ha)
And Mathematics catch the cut while RZA Ra just hold the bass
And I'm rhyme and on timin', it's so fresh from out the pack
Niggas got problems, cuz the Wu is fighting back
Please don't sing (please don't sing), yo battle rap (ha, ha, ha)
We got the most, the sugar coated bully rhymes from out the back
And we breakin', and we taken everything you fuckin own
Not yo bitches, but yo FUCKIN' MICROPHONES!

[Talking]
Y'all muthafuckas ready for the Redemption?
Bring it muthafucka *echos*
Yo Yo, dis U-God representin' that W
Tru, we comin' thru, I'm comin' thru
Wit the Redemption
This time it's me dolo solo here brah!
Guerilla Warfare you know how we do
Uptown, Downtown, Dirty South, LA, New York, Chi Town
We commin' thru for this shit, represent (respresent)
Yo, Yo, Watch out! They let the hell out the gates

At least it's not just random words, right? Well, U does the old trick of shouting out the names of a lot of heavily populated areas, making everyone happy, then he makes sure to let his listeners know that this is a solo album. Duh. And that's it. Oh, the track was produced by the RZA while he was doing other things like his taxes or something distracting. I mean the audience noise background is annoying and it never improves. The only nice thing, production wise, are some of the effects that make it sound like U is actually on stage.


This whole intro sucks worse than I remembered. I fear we're doomed. DOOMED!

Track Score: 0/10
U-God’s Score: 0/10
Impact on Rep (+,-,=): Harms

Next Week: Onward! U-God's wrath continues with track 2: "Turbulence".


About this series: U-God’s Resume is a series of posts which looks at each line of U-God’s entire career to determine if his status as ‘wack’ is justified (as labeled by internet morons). I think it is not. U-God is dope. We'll prove it. Leave it to the Tort Team.