Author Topic: CAppadonna - The Pillage (Read 597 times)

OpTiCaL · « **on:** May 23, 2003, 02:00:08 AM »

Taken from http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/2111/cappa.html :

"The first time I heard Cappadonna was on Raekwon's "Ice Cream". After an all-star cast on the song featuring Method Man doing the hook and Ghostface Killah ripping a verse, Cappadonna kicked a smooth yet rugged flow which blew everyone away.
Then, he gained exposure on Raekwon's "Only Built For Cuban Links" and on Ghostface Killah's "Ironman". When Wu-Tang Clan came out with "Wu-tang Forever", Cappadonna was not officially part of the Wu but was on a good handful of songs. He became the "unofficial 10th member of the Wu" who will be closer than any of the Sunz Of Man or any of Killa Army...

...So now the question is.. 'Does Cappadonna deliver?'...

Well I gotta be honest and say 'not really'.. He starts off with some pretty strong cuts on this 16 song lp... 'Slang Editorial', 'Pillage' and 'Run' are good starts... They are also the 12" singles he teased us with prior to this albums release.. He has an excellent follow up with the song 'Blood On Blood War'.. His flow his tight.. the Wu-Tang sound is present...and things look to be all good...Then afterwards the album goes down hill a little (not much) but cold have done without a couple of tracks on here...

"Slang Editorial" kicks the album off with the typical Wu sample from a dubbed movie. The beat is mid-tempo and eases in with horn loops which has a cool atmosphere. His rhymes are sharp, quick, sometimes extremely direct and sometimes extremely abstract: "I drip through the faucet- I never lost it- Where the party at- give me the mic and I'ma toss it- Head crack talk back, verbal attack- Side track you get japped with my lyric impact.." Still, the chorus, rapped by Cappadonna is complimented by the sliding horns and beat. It's weird yet cool: "My slang is editorial explicit material, Breifcase yo, live in stereo flow, Feel me, Donna realty, Set the black people free, Killer bees got the best D, Killer bees got it locked D, got it locked D..." Tru Master produced the song and did an excellent job. On Wu-Tang Forever, he couldn't even touch Rza's dope production but here he comes very close.

"The Pillage" featuring Killa Bamz is opened up with a sample of gangsters talking about raping a woman...hmmm??? There's not really a chorus on this one but they do say "The Pillage! The Pillage!" a couple of times.. It's a cool track but now as smooth as the previous. Cappadonna kicks some wild rhymes that are out there using a weird and original rhyme delivery especially when he ends the song with: "Drugs as my retardation, masturbation- False identification, one nation- Blood, mud, water, togetherness- Terrorist, peace to all thug, Hennesey in the jug- Box cutter under the rug, that'll cut your whole mug- You bugged, kid, fuck off..." The next song is the next single but is not too catchy.. was very surprised when I heard the album why they picked this song to be the single since the topics and rhymes are extremely hardcore and the structure of the song is extremely loose.

Produced by Rza, "Run" is a dope song about getting into and out of trouble by running your ass off when the cops are chasing you. Cappadonna loosely rocks the chorus: "Run!... if you ever pack a nice size gun- run!... if you sell drugs to your dun- run!... be the fuck out word god run hard..." It's a dope hardcore jam! Wild with plenty of energy, Cappadonna carries this song and Rza's beats pound.

"Blood On Blood War" is another dope jam which pounds with beats produced by Rza. Killa Bamz does the hook on this joint: "Blood on blood war, take your mind on tour, stand tall like the Berlin Wall -Automatic darts are pulled- Stand for, never ignore the blood on blood war- Uncut raw we live for..." Cappadonna kicks some wild rhymes on this joint over a very dope Rza beat. His rhymes are sometime extremely wild and sometimes very short.. You never know what to expect but something unexpected: "Acid rain, a capell, wet you, And upset you, get you death threat, on cassette, it's the project, Reject, with the mic check." What?

You have to admit that those are some wild ass rhymes! It's a dope song!

"Supa Ninjaz" features U-God and Method Man on a slamming track which should have been a single since a dope video and radio airplay would of made this dope song huge! Produced by Tru Master, "Supa Ninjaz" has a dope slamming beat a cool yet catchy chorus sung by all three: "Rock! They body-body Rock! The body-body Rock!.." Method Man kicks some extremely dope rhymes on this track: "Hmm, eye spy, with my crooked eye, Four metal street soldiers, born to die, Put em up yeah fuck yeah, when it's Hammertime, niggaz can't be touched here, the true and livin, Night vision unseen, like Jean- when I hack men The Unforgiven, left in prison.." Just when you thought it could not get any cooler, Cappadonna rips some very short terse rhymes which are abstract, hardcore and extremely dope: "I speculate, get my darts straight, don't exaggerate, Dictate, do it with the Papermate, set the plate, set the bait, checkmate, fuckin with cha mental state, Double take, meditate, earthquake, VGL contemplate, Big boys integrate; catch you at the sess skate, Army tank, high rank, got the bank, Got the shank talk the talk walk the walk from New York, to Up North to downstate to L.A., to all day, To cliches to instant replays, to all the DJ's, To PJ's, in the PJ's, equality days..." This is a dope song! Even though the chorus does sound a little catchy and comercial, it does not sound wack nor is it repeated too much... This is a dope song!!!

"MCF" produced by Rza is a good song but not as great as the others. I would not debase it by saying that it's filler because it has it's place on the album. MCF means "Money Comes First" and the sentiment is cool. Cappadonna's offbeat delivery of the chorus sounds wild but the beat does not change too much during the song: "Feet come first, sometimes not the head- Some niggas eat, some dont get fed- If you live by the sword you might die by the lead- You get what you get if you thinking with your dick- MCF mean your thinking with your head- Money comes first this time I cant dead- You get what you get if you thinking with your dick- MCF mean your thinking with your head.." The next song is extremely wild and offbeat due to the beat and the way Cappadonna goes off. "Splish Splash" produced by Tru Master is an odd song. There's no real chorus, it's just Cappadonna ripping some wild rhymes over a very wild and jagged beat: "I know a lot of brothers that think that they can flow, But when I come through, it's like everybody's slow, One kid told me he used to be a pro, Until he bump heads with new Cappachino..." It's a cool song and very hardcore both is sound and lyric.

"Oh-Donna" features Ghostface Killah and was produced by Mathmatics. It's a cool beat though it does not change at all. The chorus is Cappadonna singing "Oh-Donna, Oh-Donna!" It's a cool song though it does not hit as hard as the others, it's still very cool. "Milk The Cow" has another cool horn sample and like "Slang Editorial", it glides on through in a lazy mid-tempo sort of way. Tru Master also produced this gem. Cappadonna handles the first part of the chorus: "Milk this cow, milk this cow! Milk this cow, the best way we know how - Park Hill projects, chicka-POW!..." But then, even though he's not listed on the track, Method Man (or someone who sounds exactly like him) in a weird sound effect microphone does the second part of the chorus: "Hold your own nigga, Razor Sharp with the art- Don't gettin blown nigga, throwin darts at the charts- Danger Zone nigga, Cappadonna- You know the stee' potnah, Wu-Tang death before dishonor - what?..." It's a cool song with veryy cool sentiments... The song feels like a Rza song but is not... Tru Master and Cappadonna did a good job on this one though I read some reviews where this song was not on their list of good songs... Still, hear it for yourself and make up your own mind... I did..

"South Of The Border" is a very different type of song.. Some may call it filler but it really is not in my opinion... There is no real chorus though Cappadonna does repeat "Shaolin in the shadow, Medina in the shadow, The Emerald City in the shadow..." in two parts of the song. The beat alright though not the best and Cappadonna kicks a wild rhyme: "Crushed off the bag of dope, I felt pity- My cold thoughts evole around New York City..." He does say, "South of the border!" a couple of times and then, the beat totally changes! This is the coolest part of the song... The beat and Cappadonna's rhyme completely change: "Mysteries revolve around my unorthodox sound- Splash you, I'm still the best in town- Striving for perfection wit my new rap investment- My testament, my own apartment, on a confy pay rent..." It's very original... Not many rap albums have the courage to make a song and have it completely change in the middle of it.. This song did not catch or grab me the first couple of listens but after a while, I came to respect this joint highly... it's a dope jam!

"Check For A N*gga" is alright thought not the best nor too mind-blowing. Cappadonna shout outs many states when he raps in the chorus: "Check for a nigga, check for a nigga, check for a nigga- If you in Virginia, check for a nigga-If you in Manhattan, check for a nigga..." It's a cool joint though not the best.. I would not debase it by calling it filler because it has a very rough and rugged feel to it.. about communication amongst his African American brothers and sisters..."Dart Throwing" is a classic jam like "Supa Ninjaz"... This song is dope!!!

Produced by Tru Master, "Dart Throwing" features Raekwon and Method Man. There's no chorus, just straight spittin'!!! Rough rhymes over a dope.. very dope beat. Everyone shines on this one...bright... Raekwon sets it off: "Dart throwing, yo aimin at your nostril, Aeropostle, sword rockin halibut steak we choppin, Mili-tia, eight to nine generals at one time, Fine we blend wine, go beyond one line..." Then, Method Man comes in and rips it up too when he gets on the microphone to do his thing: "A lifetime I write rhyme, chippin through, the pipeline then it's flight time, that's when I'm jetty, in a fifty-seven Chevy, gassed on my own Getti, Head heavy, with deadly medleys..." But most of all, Cappadonna gets extremely ill when he kicks his rough rhymes which are extremely tight and very terse.."Injected with the Devil's english, I extinguish, and approach all hominyms, shit in your brain, Wipe my ass with the phenonmenyms, be holy, or get shot down with the Moet-o, kid encyclopedia, Left y'all petrol, my dancehall standoff, rap like Peter Metro, echo echo, what? Beware my psycho, limw piece tec-o leggo, Uniform flow, stay strong black my shit is real, Peace out bro..." Cappadonna does an amazing job on this joint and proves that he's just as good a rhymer as any of the Wu-Tang Clan... He deserves to be an official...

"Young Hearts" features Blue Raspberry and was produced by Rza. The beat and music are dope and so are Cappadonna's rhymes but Blue Raspberry does make the song weaker with the R&B hook:"Young hearts, run free, Run free, young hearts..." Cappadonna does kick some honest rhymes about relationships.. It's refreshing to see an emcee being realistic about love interests and not simply bragging about all the women he's getting..: "Girlfriend, what you did was wrong
Even though the love was strong, you moved on- Never had faith in the Don, you was safe, with the Don, and then you walked out, A broken house, a broken heart, Cry for my dart, we had a plan, We was woman and man, the hourglass, held the sand, I held you like contraband..." Still, the R&B hook makes the song weak. Though it's not terrible, it's one of the worst songs on the album but I still would not let this song represent the album.

"Everything Is Everything" is an amazing song produced by Goldfingaz and featuring Rhyme Recca doing the hook. It proves that an R&B singer does not need to do the hook on a joint. The beat is dope which uses a very cool piano loop. It's very bouncy and upbeat while the theme is somewhat deep. Rhyme Recca raps the chorus: "Everything is everything, reality- I keep my mind on everything, - cause everything ain't always everything, and everything that you see ain't reality, they just illusions..." Of course, Cappadonna kicks some very dope rhymes on this song which is extremely tight and could have commercial appeal without even sounding like a sell-out song: "Now check it, see if you can comprehend, these crossover rappers that lost they origin, Run from the Wu this time it's more trouble, I'm comin for the wreck so y'all could never bubble, Never concerned about rabbits, after my cabbage, Cherryheads, and parrots, won't live in the barracks, we Don Hoe- Buckwild with the flow, how we do, Timbo's and full boot, vocabulary pitfall, Fuck all, more clothes than the mall, Let's brawl, ,Wu-Tang broke radio laws, the opposite of mines is yours..." This is a classic joint!!!

"Pump Your Fist" is a rougher joint produced Rza and features Killa Bamz spitting a rhyme and Tekitha spitting a rhyme, not singing a hook.. It's a pretty cool song but not as tight not as cool as the previous. The chorus has that call-response hip-hop feel as they shout: "Pump up your fist - pump up your fist -pump up your fist - if you love this shit..." Cappadonna steals the entire show from the other two... Killa Bamz rhyme is pretty foregettable as well as Tekitha's... nothing special at all but Cappdonna saves the song with some wicked ass lyrics: "Bigger bite bigger mic underground beneath these streets- W-T-C, leaky leak- Time meet, Chi meet, ain't nuttin sweet- Pakistan, Iran clan is like Christ- Word to Poltergeist, smash every tape- Deep thoughter, out of order, off- Seven thirty, bugged like psycho from the Bronx- Wild like fat pen child to be the rap Lawrence Martin- Eyes like lills, mescaline pills- Three bills worth of darts, pump the heart- Bottom of the chart, slug art closin you in once again..." This song would suck if Cappadonna was not on it but it's his album... so it's pretty good... I still would not debase this song by calling it filler...

The final song is the very commercial "Black Boy" which features Tekitha singing the R&B hook: "Black boyyyeee, it's your virtue- Black boyyeeee, no more suffering- Black boyyeeee, shine the light for we- Continue, black boy, black boy, black boy, black boy..." This is alright but a blatent commercial crossover attempt which is somewhat tolerable. This is not an aweful song which I cannot bare to listen to.. The beat is cool and Cappadonna's lyrics and flow are good too but Tekitha's singing and hook is just horrible.... Luckily, it's not an R&B song and luckily, Cappdonna rhymes throughout the song.. Luckily, it's more of a hip-hop song than an R&B song.. Still, I got to give it to Cappachino da great for making the rough hardcore joints the singles and not using something easy like this to sell out...

Overall, Cappadonna made a dope album in my opinion.. Now, I have always been a fan of him so I heard that his album sucked from many reviews.. Sure, the two songs "Young Hearts" and "Black Boy" we could do without... If those songs were not there, the album would be very close to perfect... short but very close to perfect. The beats are all thick, complete and never too boring.. Where Killah Priest's beats were weaker and less thick, Cappadonna's beats come through harder with a thick sliding groove. Even songs like "Splish Splash" where the beats are all over the place, the beats are still thick and compete...There's not one wack beat on this album..... Cappadonna's lyrics are all hardcore. Ranging from relationships, macking out, smoking out, pimping out, gangstering out, Staten Island living, cops, ghetto life, drugs, rhyming, hip-hop and of course... the WU!.. He does use a variety of topics though his words and delivery are very abstract and sometimes crooked and jaded. His style is what gives the song their creativity and originality. Though many of the beats and samples sound like typical Wu-sounding beats, Cappadonna's delivery and style makes his pressence known as he makes a name for himself, separating himself from the other members of the Wu-tang Clan and other Wu side projects. The only thing that brings down the originality and creativity is the R&B hooks on those two songs which just came out at a time where EVERYBODY is doing that... even the hardest of hardcore... Production wise, Tru Master and Rza shine very bright but Goldfingaz does a great job too. Like I said before, all the beats are good and full. Though there should be scratching and the occasional sliced up lyrics... the production of the album tight enough to be very tolerable and rough enough to be hardcore. On Wu Tang Forever, Tru Master could NOT touch Rza on the production but here, he comes very close... Some of the best songs are by Tru Master... The album flows nice too. The songs are just short enough and never boring where they get lame or too long. The samples from movies are placed perfectly hidden between the cuts. On shuffle or in order, this album sounds great. One thing for sure, Cappadonna's style and lyrics are very hardcore. He's never afraid to say what's on his mind nor does he censor himself from lyrics of guns, drugs, violence, and ghetto life. The only thing that weakens his hardcore level is the R&B singers and the hooks they sing... Cappadonna's hardocre expression mainly evident in his erratic flow which is unlike any rapper out there. Fast or slow, he can rip the microphone. Before this album, Cappadonna became a part of some cool songs where his chemistry with Ghostface Killah and Raekwon took flight in "Daytona 500", "Camey" and "Ice Cream"... The only thing that would make this album perfect is if there was a joint on this album with Raekwon and Ghostface all in the same song... Ghost and Rae are on the album but on separate songs... Still, Cappadonna made a good album...not brilliant but good...
which is more like a baby-Wu joint... His words and delivery are strong and wild.... Prepare for the pillage! "

A lot of people hated on this album but its one of those that if you give it a chance it will grow on you..i think a lot is to with complexity of sound and the beats...not what most people expected i think that was a contributory factor.

So in summation...its not my favourite wu...
...but wu'll do

pZ