Over the past 22 years, the iron flag which proudly displays
the emblem of shaolin has remained firmly planted on the battlefield of hip-hop. Though it has weathered some very dark days over
the years, the recent artistic resurgence of the clan has it standing nearly up
right again. However, I’d like to take
you back to the days when the ascendance of Bad Boy, Ruff Ryders, and Roc-A-Fella
had knocked the clan down a few slots in the east coast hip-hop pecking order.
The lukewarm reception of their highly anticipated (though
criminally underrated) sophomore effort Wu-Tang
Forever brought about a premature end to their reign. Still, they soldiered on through an
increasingly foreign Hip-Hop landscape, releasing their third album The W during the Christmas season of
2000. It had a considerably lower
profile than its two predecessors, but still contained quite a few choice displays
of deadly Shaolin skill. One such
display was the warning shot “Careful (Click Click).”
The song itself is one of RZA’s more minimalist compositions. Programmed drums stamp footprints in the sonic
sand, while sound effects reminiscent of water droplets a la Jeru’s classic “Come
Clean” emanate a cavernous echo. It’s
banal and menacing, offering a skeletal variation on RZA’s “torture chamber”
style. Of course, no Wu-Tang track would
be complete with the requisite English dubbed dialogue snippets from a classic
Chop-Socky. The batting order is a
series of peaks and valleys.
The Abbot is first up, reinforcing the title of the song
with a gun brandishing warning to all attackers. It’s yet another of his scattered, stream of consciousness
style outbursts. U-God briefly interjects,
then Masta Killa sprinkles a bit of lyrical valium over the track. Cappadonna ups the energy level back to where
it was originally set. Ghost knocks the
door off the hinges with a blast of abstract thermite. Lord knows what he’s talking about, but as
always it sounds dope. U-God swoops in
again, managing to be even more abstract than Ghost or Cap. Inspectah Deck lays down a concise lyrical
blueprint that is technically the best written of all the verses.
The video for the song somehow managed to fly completely
under my radar at the time, but I discovered it last year on “Uncle” Ralph
McDaniels online mix show Video Music Box. The Joseph Khan directed clip is rather bizarre. The Clan is at a club, profiling and taking
in the milieu. A breaker decked out in a
Red Adidas track suit with matching Kangol and a thin gold cable reveals
himself to be an assassin. He pulls out
twin semi autos and blazes away, Chow Yun Fat style. The Clan produce weapons of their own and
return fire. Even after being perforated
with numerous shots, the assailant continues shooting with a disturbing smile
on his face.
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