Beneath the Surface
While the Genius continues to slice through resistant mentals with hisliquid swordrhyme schemes, his sophomore album is the first clear sign that Wu-Tang's pre-eminence may be waning. Without Bobby Digital working the track wizardry,Beneath the Surfaceis an odd amalgamation ofRZA-wannabe tracks (courtesy of the Arabian Prince and Mathematics) that are starting to sound more and more like Swizz Beats every day. Gza's rhyme assaults still pack a wallop, but his album shows wear at the seams, bulging with impossibly high ambitions and uneven execution. Songs like "Breaker, Breaker," "Publicity," and "Hip Hop Fury" still burn hotter than Sahara summers, but it's not enough to help the entire LP catch fire.--Oliver Wang