The closest to a very good album Cappadonna has post-2000 is probably Slang Prostituion from 2009. i was iffy on listening to it back then cause I didn't recognize any producers, but they were shockingly good.
This review was all i needed to see in order to pass on this album:
Cappa had announced around the time of his Eyrth, Wynd & Fyre release that he would record 70 tracks for P2 (and cut it down), that he had stashed beats from Pillage 1 producers 4th Disciple, Mathematics, some from RZA and that he was trying to find Goldfinghaz, all to use these original Wu-Elements to recreate the Pillage sound. He also recorded around that time "Slang Editorial 2" (produced by DJ Intrigue), which was a sick beat with lyrics worthy of this sequel (check SoundCloud for the track). All was looking perfect for Pillage 2.
Unfortunately, for whatever reason, Cap scraps the formula and we get nothing of the above. He throws the title on there with a weak cover not reminiscent of the first, and what we get is soft beats by unknown production teams from his new label home, GLF, apparently, and no "Slang Editorial 2". No Wu features. No posse cuts at all. At the least another duet with Meth or Ghost would have been something. Cap must have not been able to lock down the Wu-Elements as he once thought in 2013, and Goldfinghaz, the one Wu-Element who quit after one album (Cap's original The Pillage), must not have been able to be located. Unknown to many Wu fans, True Master was arrested and locked up in 2011, and will not be contributing to future Wu projects, unfortunately. Therefore this bears no resemblance to the first album and is in no way a sequel.
As a hardcore Wu fan, I was hoping these guys wouldn't just tack on a 2 to any album and actually create true sequels as Raekwon did with Cuban Linx II, but it looks as if Cap just threw the title on there without actually creating the sequel. It may be understandable that some Wu members are busy crafting their last albums such as Meth (Crystal Meth, Blackout 3 with Redman) that they are unable to cameo, however, Cap had said he had stashed Wu bangers for this project. It makes me think his new label had a lot to do with scrapping what would have been a magnum opus sequel and one Cap really needed. What we are left with is a shell of what was planned to be and sadly never took shape. I can only hope the other members' final albums will not be as disappointing as this entire album is.
Also of note is why is this a digital MP3 album only with no retail CD release? Didn't Eyrth, Wynd & Fyre get a physical hard copy release two years ago? I would assume Pillage 2 a sequel to his most critically acclaimed album would be a big enough deal to warrant a traditional release. Maybe he realized scrapping the sequel formula and keeping the title made this album suck so he would not really release it, and just give it the iTunes treatment.
Whatever the case may be, I think this proves once and for all that Inspectah Deck deserved those original Pillage instrumentals and all the RZA attention for his debut that instead went to a lucky Cap and accidental timing. At least with Uncontrolled Substance II, Deck knows he has to homage the original.
Wu fans, don't waste your money. Wait for the true sequels/final albums with Wu production (Supreme Clientele Presents... Blue & Cream: The Wally Era, Crystal Meth, Loyalty is Royalty, Uncontrolled Substance II, Liquid Swords II: The Return of the Shadowboxer, & Only Built 4 Cuban Linx.. Pt. III). Unlike this let down, they won't be rushed and are sure to be Wu Bangers.
Original Cappadonna quote:
"P82: So what are you coming with next, P2…?
CAPPA: Yeah, The Pillage 2.
P82: I was going to ask you about that. It was reported a while ago that you were working on it. So is that definitely in the pipeline…?
CAPPA: Yeah man, P2. I’m gunna get some tracks from RZA. I’ve got tracks from Mathematics and 4th Disciple, I’m trying to find Goldfinghaz. But it’s like, I want bangin’ tracks though.
P82: So are you trying to go back in with all of the same producers from the original Pillage…?
CAPPA: Yeah but mix it up though. Remember I’m doing 70 songs, don’t be surprised if it’s another double CD. Because if I’ve got just hits after hits who can stop that?"
This is not what he delivered. Skip this one.
