Rakim, Kurupt & Masta Killa
DPG Wu-Tang, Wu-Tang DPG - The Godbody LP
Holy Toledo/DMG/Compound Interest
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William “Rakim” Griffin is one of those emcees whose name always carries cache. When he has a new album forthcoming, people will always sit up to take notice. Such is the case when it was announced that he was getting ready to release a new album, DPG Wu-Tang, Wu-Tang DPG: The Godbody LP, partnering with Jamel “Masta Killa” Irief, and Ricardo “Kurupt” Brown to form a treacherous trio.
In the 40 years since he burst onto the hip-hop scene, Rakim has managed to maintain his aura as The God. Similarly, as a member of Wu-Tang Clan, Masta Killa conveys a similar amount of reverence. Kurupt, as one half of the legendary Dogg Pound, is historically regarded as one of the best emcees spawned from hip-hop’s gangsta rap scene. The threesome’s combined gravitas is enough to get people to buy into the potential of a collaborative project from the trio. It’s also enough to get people to overlook a really clumsy album title.
That said, I would advise those expecting The Godbody LP to function as a Rakim delivery system to…temper their expectations. Yes, The God is involved with every track on the album, but mostly as a producer. He, alongside Nick Wiz, provides the “hammer beats” (in Kurupt’s words) for the entirety of the project.
But despite what much of the hype for Godbody may have suggested, there’s not a whole lot of Rakim rapping on here. He appears on five of the fourteen full-length entries, one of which is a solo track, while others are extended “remixes” of songs that appeared on other projects. His verbal skills have not atrophied, but the lack of new verses from The 18th Letter does stick out.
I guess my frustration wouldn’t be as strong if this wasn’t the second time something like this happened with a Rakim album. G.O.D.'s Network: Reb7rth (2024) was marketed as Rakim’s fourth solo album and his first in over a decade-and-a-half. What was released had lots of Rakim-produced tracks, lots of Rakim-provided hooks, but only two Rakim verses. There were also lots of guest appearances. These guest rappers often did their thing, but the disparate components never really gelled. Overall, the album is considered a footnote.
The first half of The Godbody LP’s title more closely reflects the true nature of the project: DPG Wu-Tang, Wu-Tang DPG. It’s a Kurupt and Masta Killa collaborative album that’s produced by, and features limited lyrical input from, Rakim. As a whole, it’s pretty entertaining. And I can say that it’s definitely more memorable than Reb7rth.
Throughout The Godbody LP, Kurupt and Masta Killa both acquit themselves well on the mic. Their interplay throughout the album is good, trading bars on numerous songs. Both establish themselves as respectable elder statesmen, showing that they’ve each got ample tread left on their tires. It continues Kurupt’s mid-2020s bounce-back, after he spent over a decade dealing with personal and health issues.
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As a producer, Rakim provides solid fare. He has established chemistry with Nick Wiz, as the two have collaborated on songs for nearly three decades. Together they build a sound that balances traditional West and East Coast influences. The advance press described it as a 2020s take on Tupac Shakur’s proposed One Nation album, and that is an accurate description.
The first half of the project is heavy on the “DPG Wu-Tang” material. The album starts strong with “Goin’ Down,” a relatively laid-back rider track, assisted by a hook from West Coast fixture Kokane. Rakim leads off the track delivering versatile flows and shifting rhyme schemes. But Kurupt and Masta Killa’s tag-team rapport holds the song together, as it does throughout each of their subsequent verses.
The pair continue to transmit that energy on “Rock Ya Body,” a full-fledged DPG meets Wu-Tang posse cut. The horn-heavy track features energetic contributions from Daz Dillinger, Ghostface Killah, and Raekwon. Kurupt and Masta Killa each shine on “Push the Button,” moving over a more deliberately paced track. Masta Killa utilizes his own complex deliveries, rapping, “The mic assault lethal / Regal Eagle, claw sequel, teaching you perfectionist / Excellent swordplay, the specialist, ambidextrous / Breaking your jaw with either hand, treacherous.”
“Rabbit” further blends East and West Coast sounds, pairing early ’90s G-Funk synths with hard-hitting boom-bap drums. Lyrically, the song directly invokes Snoop Dogg’s “Tha Shiznit,” with The Doggfather contributing a verse on the remix which appears on the album’s back half.
Rakim does get more mic time on the album’s second half. The trio go for an epic feel on “I’m Good,” rapping over gothic pianos and chanting choral vocals. Rakim’s verses bookend the song, as he explains that while he’s built his legacy, he still looks to achieve more financial stability.
“Still Ill!” is a remix of “He Ill!” the lead-off track from Reb7rth, which was the first real collaboration between Ra, Kurupt, and Masta Killa. Their verses and the beat remain the same, but the track features new contributions from KRS-One and Kool G Rap. This meeting of the lyrical titans would feel more momentous if KRS and G Rap’s verses didn’t sound tacked on.
Meanwhile, “Hallelujah” is a “remix” of a Mic King song of the same name, which the Philly emcee, featuring Rakim, released earlier this year. Again, the song is almost exactly the same as its original incarnation, but with eight-bar verses from Kurupt and Masta Killa soldered on to the end. None of it is bad, but it makes it sound like they are trying to pad the album’s run time.
The album’s trio of solo cuts are some of the best songs on the project. Even though it was first released a month ago, Rakim’s “A Different Kind” still stands out. Flowing over some vintage boom-bap, The God sounds as spry as ever. He delivers high-grade lyrical ammo over two verses, sounding as regal as ever as he raps, “You can tell the difference / This is my Hannibal-on-an-elephant entrance / Like when the seventh angel blow the trumpet, not just to get it jumping / But to let you know it's a god in the circumference.”
“Nights Over Brooklyn” is haunting in its execution, as Masta Killa vividly describes the street level decay and mayhem of his neighborhood, perpetrated by the dealers, dope fiends, and police officers. “Nine and Chrome Fiend” is Kurupt’s cover of “Microphone Fiend,” which he delivers with great passion. Behind the boards, Rakim builds on the idea of the classic original, incorporating even further portions of Average White Band’s “School Boy Crush,”
I’ve always maintained that when it comes to albums, sometimes it’s best to not know how the sausage got made and just appreciate the final outcome. And I can very much enjoy more Rakim, even if much of this album isn’t as new as the hype suggested. It’s possible to enjoy The Godbody LP on its own merits, but I really wish that the seams were considerably less visible.
Notable Tracks: “A Different Kind” | “Nine & Chrome Fiend” | “Rock Your Body”
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