Album review: Wu-Tang Clan – The Saga Continues is reminiscent of the hip-hop crew's 1990s heyday

There are plenty of the classic dusty beats reminiscent of the hip-hop crew's 1990s heyday

Wu-Tang Clan - The Saga Continues. 36 Chambers / Entertainment One

To own every release by prolific Staten Island hip-hop legends the Wu-Tang Clan already requires a bank account of unlikely depth. Nowadays, only millionaires need apply, after currently incarcerated pharma-pariah Martin Shkreli bought the rights to a one-off album encased in a box made by British-Moroccan artist Yahya. Thankfully, if your budget is more modest than this disgraced entrepreneur help is at hand with this 18-track collection featuring the majority of the core Wu crew (GZA is the highest-profile member that is notable by his absence).

As ever, the list of guest rappers is long: extended family including Redman and Killah Priest are on board, with the former's smoky skills aiding early highlight Lesson Learn'd. Ghostface Killah maintains his form as the Wu-Tang's wildest rhymer, adding his distinctive timbre and outlandish claims to the claustrophobic crawl of Pearl Harbor and Make Time, wherein his verse provides stark contrast to The Weeknd-esque chorus. That is a rare nod to the contemporary zeitgeist, though, because while The Saga Continues is more compilation than full Wu-Tang album, it has more of the classic dusty beats that defined their 1990s heyday than most of their latter-day studio efforts proper.

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