Released on Apr. 25, “Black Samson, the Bastard Swordsman” proves that the Wu-Tang Clan still have it after more than three decades in the game.
The album’s cover and name are inspired from the 1974 film “Black Samson,” a blaxploitation film about a man who is both a nightclub owner and a martial artist. He uses his fighting skills and pet lion to take down drug dealers and protect his city.
This continues a theme in Wu-Tang projects of martial arts influenced names. The very name for the rap collective is derived from the 1983 film “Shaolin and Wu-Tang,” a Hong Kong movie about two different martial art schools going to war.
“Sucker Free City” acts as the introduction of the album. Less of a song and more of a series of boastful statements over a beat, “Sucker Free City” sets up a confident theme that is continued throughout the project.
The first true song of the project, “Mandingo,” brings back the boom bap style that the Wu-Tang Clan popularised in the early 90s. Lyrics in the track prove that Wu-Tang are still as creative as ever, this is especially seen in lines by original member Inspectah Deck. “Big shot, stealing your meal, you on Ramadan / I’m all day with the smoke like Tommy Chong.”
This bar is extremely complex: it uses “shot” from big shot, stealing your meal, and the slang term of “smoke” to create a criminal undertone to the lyrics. However, a double entendre is created with a reference to Tommy Chong, a Canadian actor known for his movies about the antics of a pothead. Stealing a meal is also compared to Ramadan, an Islamic religious holiday in which Muslims fast from sunup to sundown.
The unique quality of the Wu-Tang style is exemplified in “Roar of the Lion.” The track blends calming background vocals, heavy hitting drums, and dark themed lyrics. Despite each of these themes being so different from each other, they blend together perfectly.
“Claudine” brings a sad but romantic mood to the album. Singing from Dutch artist Nicole Bus creates a slow rhythm, while lyrics from Wu-Tang rapper Ghostface Killah express his desire to be able to once again see his mother who passed away.
The influence of martial arts is seen once again in the track “Shaolin Vs Lama.” The name of the song is taken from the 1983 film “Shaolin vs. Lama,” part of the Shaolin series that has played such a role in the development of the Wu-Tang Clan. The track uses a sample from Wu-Tang member Inspectah Deck’s 1999 song “Word on the Street.”
“Executioners from Shaolin” is another classic hardcore hip hop song from the album. Hard drums mixed with a sample from the Shaolin theme creates a sound that is extremely reminiscent of the early beats of Wu-Tang leader RZA which created the Wu-Tang sound.
The theme of the project changes with “Cleopatra Jones.” Named after a 1973 blaxploitation film, “Cleopatra Jones” slows down the hardcore hip hop style used previously in the project. The lyrics praise women close to the Wu-Tang members, “She was African, body spectacular, she’s immaculate.”
“Warriors Two, Cooley High” is a collaboration between the Wu-Tang Clan and Griselda member Benny the Butcher. It has some of the greatest lyricism in the project with bars such as, “My queen bee in the honeycomb she prenup, I’m linked up with them killer bees them wings up.” This line from Method Man has multiple meanings: first it sets a theme of bees with “honeycomb,” “killer bees,” and “wings up.” However, the lyrics also refer to Killer Bee, a character from the anime Naruto who is known for freestyling within the middle of a fight.
The production skills of Mathematics are truly exemplified on the track “Let’s Do It Again.” A mixture of boom bap and old skool, the beat from Mathematics is one of the best of the project. The line “Murdered half of the top ten while Benny butchered the rest” is a reference to the previous track “Warriors Two, Cooley High.” This track once again saw the feature of Griselda member Benny the Butcher.
The final song in the project, “Trouble Man,” ends on an unorthodox note. With no rapping, “Trouble Man” is not a traditional Wu-Tang song, with the only vocals being from a guest feature from Cincinnati singer Kameron Covert.
“Charleston Blue, Legend of a Fighter” is a bonus track that sees the collaboration between the Wu-Tang Clan and underground rapper KXNG Crooked. Nicole Bus’s vocals are used along with a slow rhythmic beat developed by Mathematics to create an uplifting mood.
Overall, “Black Samson, the Bastard Swordsman” shows that the Wu-Tang Clan have preserved their skills throughout decades of a game changing run. Despite the production of the album being from Mathematics instead of the traditional Wu-Tang producer RZA, the project still has the unique Wu-Tang style.
