Customer Reviews

The Renaissance Child [Vinyl]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's been awhile since we've had a true Wu album in all the expected aspects. The grimy production, the dirty samples, the mathematical lyrics that drop knowledge from bar to bar; while Ghostface and Masta Killa both released exceptional albums last year, neither man really captured the spirit of the Wu; the 36 Chambers appeared to have closen for good. Enter one of the least known Wu-affiliates, yet possibly the beginning of a renaissance.

Heads know 2007 is going to be the biggest year for the Wu since the turn of the millenium, and leading the way for what appears to be a phenomemal rebirth of hip-hop's greatest crew is Hell Razah; an emcee who has been down with the W for well over a decade, yet has never gotten noticed outside of his group, Sunz of Man, who in themselves are often recognized as "Killah Priest & Friends." Hell Razah proves on his debut album that he may very well be the best Wu-associate in 2007, even surprassing Priest; his debut, Renaissance Child, is just as brilliant as Heavy Mental was, and as much as I adore Priest's music, Razah's flow is far more engaging. The production on this album is also brilliant; the stand-out cut, Project Jazz, is possibly the best produced hip-hop song I've heard in YEARS; it's just that great a piece of music. No surprise that MF DOOM produced it, or that DOOM and Talib Kweli both appear on the cut.

Guests on this album consist of an underground dream-team; R.A. The Rugged Man, Talib Kweli, MF DOOM, Ras Kass, Tragedy Khadafi, Priest, and of course, other Wu-affiliates. The production, as a whole, is just mind-blowing; it's hard to believe an underground emcee can assemble such a large, diverse collection of music, and still release a cohesive album, but Hell Razah manages to on Renaissance Child. While Sean Price's album was more hyped, and was, in itself, a great hip-hop album to open the year up with, it wasn't quite as hard-hitting, or memorable as Hell Razah's debut here. Perhaps Hell Razah's album is so dope because no one was expecting an album THIS stellar; yet, here it is. With gems laid all over this album, from beginning to end, there's no doubt that this is an early candidate for hip-hop album of the year; definitely the best thus far.

I cannot believe this album is this good> I am 1 of the biggest wu fans ever.Since 36 chambers all the way through!I own 117 wu and wu fam cds and I must say this is an incredible album! From the beats to the lyrics 2 tha subject matter this is a must have for any wu fan and any hip hop fan for that matter!!!!!!!!!

Hell Razah preforms very well on his debut as a soloist "The Renaissance Child." He drops that east coast 5% knowledge on pretty much every track but he still has that thuggish street feel to him. A majority of the songs are produced by 4th disciple and Bronze Nazareth. On a lot of their tracks you will find it really easy to relax too, this is true with the story of complicated drug dealings on "Los Pepes pt.1" The beat is beautiful and Razah sounds like one of the top five dead or alive on it, as does Bronze Nazareth. Another song that hooked me in was "Buried Alive." the bass will get you amped up and Razah's lyrics will assist "I'm back, holdin' that ratchet, y'all left it on my casket/A rap kid that opened up my CD plastic, Another birth of a MC classic/I Hell Raz' the dead, when I speak to the masses." Even though Hell Razah is a phenomenal lyricist he sometimes comes off as too force full with his beliefs and he over fills the glass with knowledge, and sometimes the beats that he chooses to rhyme to are a bit annoying to listen to, this is true with the song "Musical Murdah" also Hell Razah's hooks are, at times a "stretch" But if you a true fan of lyrics and story telling raps then you will fully appreciate this release. Other songs you will love are "Project Jazz" and "Millenuim Warfare." So get it and i hope this helped you out.

Hell Razah always seemed like a star in the making back with the Sunz Of Man, but 'Renaissance Child' is even better than fans could have hoped. Razah is an absolute flamethrower on this record, touching on everything from religion to Dick Cheney. While he doesn't shy from talking about life on the streets here and there, don't pick this up if you're expecting a typical hardcore hip-hop album. This is a record that you'll need time to wrap your head around .

Thankfully, the production team is ready to keep up. The beats on this record are top-shelf, mixing that classic 'haunting piano' Wu-Tang sound with some old-school horn section stuff. Add in killer verses from some of the underground's top MCs (particularly Ras Kass and the Rugged Man, who completely tears it up), and you've got the best album yet of 2007.

Attention all Wu-Fans! This Hell Razah album is certainly off the hook. If you're familiar with any of Razah's underground mix-cd releases from the past 2 years (Burn Babylon Burn), you'll already know the magnitude of this CD and the level of production this is bringing to the hip-hop scene. After giving this album about 4 straight spins, I wanted to hear more jazz-horns for some reason-just like the song, "Project Jazz". It puts you in that mood-nah mean. I give it 4 stars because I realize the unlimited potential that Hell Razah posesses-you know there's more in store!

i dont own this album but i have "sound providers presents :nature sounds 2.0" and it has 4 tracks off of this album and all four are within the top tracks on the album. I must tell the reviewer below me has a very very good point, PROJECT JAZZ IS INCREDIBLE, its got great beats and the bars that get spit by talib, metalface & Razah is crazy, its like Rap & Hip Hop hooked up and had a baby & named it project jazz, hahah no joke!!!! im gonna cop this album, so should you!

sunz of man for life "as it was in the begin so shall it be in the end"

Hell Razah finally drops a solo album of his own after a decade or so of rapping and being a Wu-Affiliate. Also part of a few groups, released a few albums with the Sunz of Man & one with Black Market Militia as well, and is also part of the Maccabees (though they have no group album that has been released yet), so you know he is a veteran in the rap game, though flying under the radar of most people, I would suspect. This debut is a very nice album and was a long time coming. With 15 songs, you get 2 that are almost classics, 4 ar eok, the other 9 are good or real good songs. His style, voice, and content is very similar to that of Killah Priest (who is in all 3 of the groups Hell Razah is, and they have done many of songs with one another through the years as well) so you know just from that, that he has some skill and potential. Of the 15 songs, you get guests on 6 of them. Production is nice as well and handled by many different people. Khrome, Dirty Needles and Bronze Nazareth each do 2 songs, 4th Disciple, Dev1, MF Doom, Shuko, Fokis, Jordan River Banks, Smokeshop, DJ Battle and Fabreizio Sotti all do 1 song. A nice album to have from an under rated and unfortunatley lesser know but talented emcee.

#1 - 7.5 (short intro)
#2 - 9 (nice beat)
#3 - 8.5 (f/ Tragedy Khadafi, R.A. the Rugged Man & Timbo King -- also on R.A.'s "Legendary Classics, Vol. 1" album -- good beat)
#4 - 8.5 (f/ Talib Kweli & Viktor Von -- nice upbeat jazz track)
#5 - 7.5 (f/ Bronze Nazareth)
#7 - 7.5
#8 - 9 (nice beat)
#9 - 7.5
#10 - 8
#11 - 9 (f/ Killah Priest -- nice beat)
#12 - 9.5 (tight beat)
#13 - 9 (f/ Ras Kass -- nice beat)
#14 - 9.5 (f/ Killah Priest & Timbo King -- tight beat)
#15 - 8.5
#16 - 9 (nice beat)

Ch'ron Smith -- b. 10/1/76 -- Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY
Check all my reviews

this album was off the hook....razah has a deep style, and his production is great. every beat knocked PRETTY HARD. alot of classic cuts on this one. pretty decent collabos as well. the renaissaince track with timbo king, tragedy khadafi and ra the rugged man is probably the best track on here. there were a few tracks that had very un interesting mediocre beats and there were more than a couple of tracks that had horrible hooks, hence the 4 stars. BUT FOR THE BEATS ALONE I WOULD BUY THIS ALBUM.

I like his flow and can hear the Rakim influence in his flow. He sounds like him a little. Again another solid album that Bronze was involved in. This cat came back with a vangance. I gave it 4 stars because 2-3 songs are tired for me, but the lyrics make up for it. H-Raizah is gansta.

I had Blue Sky Black Death produced Razah's Ladder first, and was quite impressed by Razah. This dude is knowledge and not afraid to spit the truth. He is like a refined, not as agressive and raw Immortal Technique. Not taking away from Tech and his style cause I dig him as well. Reaissance Child is just sick! I still can't believe it sold so poorly, and that I took so long to get it. I guees just like with Tech and other true hip hop, people are afraid to hear truth and knowledge. If you haven't heard this yet, then you missin' out on one of the best CD's ever. Buried Alive & Chain Gang are my favorite joints on here, although the whole CD is fire. Ras Kass's verse on Musical Murdah is just unreal, maybe his best verse ever.