graviti - we hold you down

While The Juice Crew, Native Tongues, Hit Squad and many others have made a huge impact on HipHop, the crew that made one of the largest imprints on HipHop is a collective of nine MCs from Staten Island (for the most part) known as The Wu-Tang Clan.

From '93 to '97 no crew that made more impact on HipHop than the "Shaolin Monks." They literally were the Voltron of HipHop. Collectively, they destroyed the game with Enter the Wu-Tang Clan: 36 Chambers and it's follow-up Forever. Individually, they blanketed the game with an unprecedented string of back-to-back platinum and gold solo albums, all while introducing the term "ice" and the concept of multiple aliases. And don't get it twisted, the reign didn't really end in '97. The Bad boy era may have ruled the day, but The Wu was still making noise. Now seventeen years later, Raekwon and Ghostface remain at the top of their game, having both released critically acclaimed albums in '09.

Enter CurT@!n$.

Since releasing Dope for President last year, CurT@!n$ has mostly relegated himself to one-off singles and guest features. But now he's back with a full-length mixtape inspired by The Wu-Tang Clan. On the new project, The Dissertation, Dope Boy C uses classic Wu-Tang tracks to deliver his patented aggressive, yet inspirational "ugly face rap." But you don't have to believe me you can, "ask any Seal."

Beginning with Dissertation Enterlude, Dope Boy C immediately sets the tone for the rest of the tape with lines like:

I stick a man like M1 for the Dead Prez
Push a ni$$@ head back like I sell Pez
And I spit crack so you can tell the Feds

However, it's songs like Dissertation Introlude and Letter to the People Pt. IV that truly display the depth of CurT@!n$ talent. Just as easy as it is for him to be that fly dude with clothes and cars, he's sounds like it's even easier for him to spit lines of empowerment.

If you free you mind you can see the blind
I mean the invisible
It's all about your spiritual
You gotta know self
So shed the material
And when you're reborn
Cut the umbilical

Overall, CurT@!n$ continues to prove that there is a lane for conscious extravagance with a militant tinge to it. The Dissertation is just the latest landmark on his road to the top. If you haven't been paying attention, here's the perfect opportunity to start.

Side bar: What I really like about the track selections is that CurT@!n$ didn't take the easy route and pick the Wu-Tang hits. While I suspect that Triumph, Ice Cream and Bring da Pain would have gotten murdered just as easily as the tracks he did select, I definitely wouldn't have felt the same way about the project. Instead tracks like the GZA's Killah Hills 10304, Ghostface's 260 & Fish and Raekwon's Glaciers of Ice all get shown love.

At the same time, as a huge Wu-Tang fan, I am embarrassed to admit that I've forgotten the origin of some of the tracks. But the great thing about Dissertation is that I'm spending this weekend listening to all things Wu-Tang.