Wu-Tang Clan’s ‘The Saga Continues’ Woke but Sleep-Inducing

Since the 90s, Wu-Tang Clan has influenced and developed hip-hop culture by being among the first superstar artists to rap about controversial issues. Wu-Tang Clan set the stage for the integration of conscious and gangster rap when their debut album “Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)” shook the genre in 1993 with its strong hooks and bars. That album was the essence of that time period, ensuring their status as one of the greatest rap groups. Since then, Wu-Tang Clan has mostly sustained their brilliant work, although their albums since “36 Chambers” have not had the same impact. They certainly looked to break this trend with “The Saga Continues,” their long-awaited seventh album, which dropped on Oct. 13.

In an era in which most of the genre since the debut of “36 Chambers” has turned to girls, drugs, and money, rather than arguments of substance, it’s exciting to see where there is meaning behind lyrics.

In 2017, the rap scene is less about specific lyrics and rhymes and more about how the songs impact our current culture. Rappers like the infamous Lil Pump didn’t get famous because he’s a good rapper with strong lyrics. Instead, he got on social media and created a ridiculous catch phrase that people start saying when they are under an influence on a Saturday night.

Obviously, Wu-Tang Clan is not impressed with this current wave of new school rap. In many ways, “The Saga Continues” reminds us of what was and what should be. Of course it makes sense that rap is going to change stylistically, but just because something changes doesn’t mean it must lose its original intentions.

The album opens with the statement, “It’s the 21st century and we’ve still got to dodge the motherf***ing coppers.” Within seconds the group is able to call out what is wrong with society in a creative and poetic way. Wu-Tang Clan shows their wisdom and experience through this one line: They are able to demonstrate how long they’ve been in the rap and hip-hop scene and witnessing the injustices happening to black people in America. With the country’s president embroiled in racial controversy, it’s beyond refreshing to hear RZA say, “If I put my fist through the face of a racist / Smack 'em tasteless / Would I face three cases in court, locked in places / Or shackled to a seat of a bus, a hundred of us / Life in America shouldn't be so tough.”

While the album is able to touch on multiple points that are what some might call “woke,” such as police brutality and racism, there’s a problem—Wu-Tang Clan has the same sound that they did in 1993, but the genre has changed. While the album is strong in lyricism and message, the listener in 2017 demands more creative production and memorable choruses. In a day and age in which production and beats mean so much, a simple beat won’t cut it unless the lyrics are absolutely phenomenal.

An album released in late 2017 should not sound like it came out the same time as “Ready to Die” by Notorious B.I.G. It might seem hypocritical to ask the Wu-Tang Clan to be more modern while criticizing the majority of new school rap, but they don’t need to change what they are trying to say, just how they say it: Artists like Kendrick Lamar, Chance the Rapper, J. Cole, and Kanye West rap about similar material but push musical boundaries at the same time. “The Saga Continues” has four skits, a trope that has been outdated on rap albums since the early 2000s. Today’s rap albums include interludes and reprises, which provide a modern update to skits by featuring musical content as well as conceptual ideas, but Wu-Tang Clan stubbornly sticks to skits.

Wu-Tang Clan’s new album has a star-studded crew, good features, and a fantastic message, but it will never be something great—it will never fully impact society in the way the group might hope it would. The point of “The Sage Continues” might be more about the message than the music, but we are in a society and rap culture that focus on sound. If a group wants to get their message across, they have to use both.