Uncontrolled Substance (Explicit)

Uncontrolled Substance (Explicit)

Inspectah Deck's debut LP has been one of the most eagerly awaited in Wu-Tang's long history. As the Clan's vaunted lead hitter on pivotal posse cuts like "Triumph" and "Protect Ya Neck," Deck displays a gift for metaphoric mastery and complex rhyme schemes. In fact, few other MCs are more effective than Deck at creating evocative street-level images with single line strokes from his lyrical stylus. Line for line, Deck could easily outshine even fellow Wu members like Method Man or Raekwon, but in a new Wu era where RZA has opted out of handling the bulk of the group members' production, Deck loses out considerably. <I>Uncontrolled Substance</I> is nowhere as banal as GZA's <i>Beneath the Surface</i>, and there are some great tracks ("Femme Fatale," "9th Chamber"), but writ large, RZA's absence is the disc's more glaring shortcoming. How you gonna have the Wu's most venomous rhymer trying to come with an album without the clique's most accomplished beat chemist behind him? This is a great album, but it could have been far greater. <I>--Oliver Wang</I>