Legendary Weapons

Here's a little tip for the discerning Wu-Tang fan who wants to know whether to get excited about a brand-new collection of Clan songs: if the tracklist to the new collection lists Wu-Tang members as featured guests, a red flag should go up. This likely means that one or two of the core members were not feeling the project and couldn't give it the "word is bond" stamp of approval. This red flag might have gone up for you when you saw the new Wu-Tang single "featuring RZA," and if not it should definitely be flying into the air when you take a peek at the full tracklisting below. Looks like someone is nowhere to be found (too busy getting into wacky situations that get resolved in 30 minutes?). Whatever it turns out to be, Legendary Weapons is headed into stores with the "Wu-Tang Clan" name via E1 Music on July 26, E1 being the label that put out the equally dubious Wu-Tang-featuring-Wu-Tang-members-album-not-album-where's-GZA-let's-call-it-compilation-wait-but-the-tracks-are-all-new-too-late-it's-at-the-record-plant Chamber Music in 2009. Actual featured guests include M.O.P., Killa Sin, AZ, Trife Diesel, Sean Price, and Termanology, and the beats are apparently c/o The Revelations, a Brooklyn-based R&B group that can make themselves sound a little like RZA. The "compilation" could be decent (Chamber Music wasn't exactly a throwaway), but its less-than-official status means that Wu-Tang fans are going to have to keep waiting for that long-awaited official Wu album that redeems 8 Diagrams that redeems Iron Flag that redeems The W.