How many mics did Inspectah Deck's Uncontrolled Substance album get in The Source Magazine?

pauljerico

pauljerico

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that rza basement flood rob us a deck classic album

overall 4/5 album some bangers
 
feelosofer

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I believe it was a 3.5 mic album IIRC. Which is about right. It was a solid album. Decks rhymes were amazing but it was clear the production was a step back from the typical Wu release. I think if RZA didn't lose his music in 95 and it got pushed back this would have been a classic.
 
DANJ!

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got a 3.5, which is about right, maybe a 4 with generosity...

Had a few joints on there, it just wasn't a must-have or nothin of the sort.
 
BuddahMAC

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Alvin said:
@BuddahMAC because your one of the best Wu heads I know, what was your opinion of the album?
Click to expand...

It ultimately was a pretty good album but it underwhelmed for many reasons.

1) Deck was arguably the best MC in the group coming off Forever. This album unfortunately showcased his strength at that time was in spitting verses with people rather than crafting songs. 10 of the 16 songs are Deck dolo. It only features guest spots from 2 core Wu members. Although those "freestyle" interludes were a good concept.

2) Deck's not the best beat selector, and that's rough when you're the main producer on your album:

01 Intro 2:01
02 Movas & Shakers 4:33- RZA
03 9th Chamber 2:51- 4th Disciple
04 Uncontrolled Substance 4:50- Mathematics
05 Femme Fatale 3:06- Deck
06 The Grand Prix 4:44- 4th Disciple
07 Forget Me Not 3:50- VIC
08 Longevity 4:40- True Master
09 Word On The Street 3:44- Deck
10 Elevation 3:16- Deck
11 Lovin You 2:36- True Master
12 Trouble Man 5:06- Pete Rock
13 R.E.C. Room 3:16- True Master
14 Friction 3:36- RZA
15 Hyperdermix 4:52- Deck
16 Show N Prove 4:08- Blaquesmiths
17 The Cause 4:35- Deck

Think of Deck's other productions (Visionz, Beneath the Surface, Spazzola, Kiss of a Black Widow, etc...) and usually his weakest are the ones he uses himself. But even for "Elevation," which I like, check how much livelier Ghost made it sound for a quick hit on SC as "Stay True" (originally called "Deck's Beat.") And that might fall to the beats Deck chose from the other producers as well. While there are nice beats on here, I don't think many would place these among any of these producers' best. The Pete Rock beat stands out so much b/c it has life to it, while the title track is just kind of plodding. Also, some of the cuts end up sounding a little better on their own than in the midst of this album.

3) Besides the flood that fukked this album before it even got started, you had the 98-99 specific issues off Loud folding into Coumbia/Sony which delayed Deck's album and then the advance leak a half-year before the album actually dropped.

01 Movas & Shakers
02 9th Chamber
03 Femme Fatale
04 Settlement
05 Longevity
06 Nightshift
07 Elevation
08 Lovin You
09 Friction
10 Word on the Street
11 R.E.C. Room
12 The Grand Prix
13 Show N Prove

Now, this is when leaks were new so they scrambled to have Deck make a bunch more songs to counter what had already leaked & make a purchase worthwhile. Settlement (RZA) & Nightshift (True Master) came off and they added Uncontrolled Substance/Forget Me Not/Trouble Man/Hyperdermix/The Cause. It just added to a sloppy roll-out and left everyone underwhelmed when it finally dropped (like you had an extra half-year to not get a Wu posse cut or at least a Meth feature or only have Large Pro MIX one of your new cuts, etc...).

All that said, despite its missed marks and expectations, it's a solid release, worth spinning & has some dope songs.

videos:



cut songs:



bonus (verse reused for WOTS):
 
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