Carhartt Presents: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... vs. Liquid Swords

Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... or Liquid Swords?

  • Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...

    Votes: 8 42.1%

  • Liquid Swords

    Votes: 11 57.9%
  • Total voters
    19
droid

droid

Well-known member
Linx is a fine record, beautiful in places, outstanding production with some amazing tracks, but there's also something sickly about it, all that piano and strings, a maximal sentimentality, reinforced by the overuse of John Woo dialogue. The overemphasis on mafioso mythos also creates an impression of artificiality, play-acting, a deliberate move away from 'realness' into a slick Hollywood presentation. Reminds me of Vangelis' Blade Runner OST in its vibe & aesthetic coherence.

Swords on the other hand, is dense, cold and hard, almost unbearably bleak and dystopian at times, reflected by GZA's deadeyed twisting flow and cynical, grizzled chronicles of urban horror. Though there isn't a bad track, its true that its slightly less consistent than Linx, but it also contains some of Rza's finest work, way more diversity in production, more minimalism, more cartoon horror, better guest performances...

It has to be Swords.
 
droid

droid

Well-known member
Not to downplay the vocals, but just listen to this devastatingly raw, don't-give-a-fuck-style brilliance.

 
luka

luka

Well-known member
Yeah they're amazing. Those two albums don't have any counterparts. I wonder if that's cos of all The beats he lost in the flood cos nothing he did before or after is anything close
 
Corpsey

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
I wonder if this thread will bring Crowley out of retirement?

OB4CL.

I've never smoked crack but I still think that OB4CL is maybe what crack feels like. Anxious, bassless strings, brittle drums, snatches of arguments, the somewhat manic styles of Rae and ghostface.

Also it's crack cos it's just fucking brilliant. I think I nicked the crack metaphor of an article in HHC which specifically compared Glaciers of Ice to crack.

It's gritty and cheap sounding but also has this slightly soiled romanticism to it with all the strings.

It's probably the best rap album I know of which I don't know any of the lyrics to.
 
Corpsey

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
As much as the production is (for me) the star of the show, I do think Rae and ghosts voices are key to my preference cos I never really liked gza as much as the other major members. He had a more laid back (or methodical) flow and that deep voice. I'm probably wrong. But my MVP was always ghostface (although to contradict this method Man was the other MVP - he wasn't as smooth as gza, more raw)
 
droid

droid

Well-known member
Gza aint laid back or smooth, he's angular, lisping, off kilter, punching out his enunciation. Methodical, but like a butcher jointing a pig.
 
S

sadmanbarty

Well-known member
Cuban linx comes out the speakers and grabs you. It demands your listening. A lot of that’s to do with ghost and rae, but it’s in the production too.

Liquid swords you can choose to engage with or not. Hugely, hugely rewarding when you do, but it doesn’t make yiu
 
S

sadmanbarty

Well-known member
I was saying to like this would be trickier if you picked the best 4 of each track and pitted them against each other.
 
version

version

Well-known member
Rae, Ghost and Meth had the best voices. Rae being my favourite. He just sounds sick on everything. GZA, RZA and Deck are cool, but they all have that same speech impediment where they can't pronounce their Rs. ODB is ODB. And I can't remember what U-God, Cappadonna and Masta Killa sound like.
 
version

version

Well-known member
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...

Ice Cream
Glaciers of Ice
Incarcerated Scarfaces
Guillotine (Swordz)

vs.

Liquid Swords

Investigative Reports
4th Chamber
B.I.B.LE.
Liquid Swords
 
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