As the last member of the Wu-Tang Clan to get an album out (yes, U-God actually beat Masta Killa), MK shocked us all with the Nature Sounds release of “No Said Date”, one of the most surprisingly solid post forever Wu-releases (excluding those from Ghost, of course). He looks to strike gold twice with “Made In Brooklyn” a quick follow-up to his long-delayed debut. 

     “Made In Brooklyn” gets off to a rough start, with the uninspiring “Then and Now”, which features three sons of the Wu-Tang Clan (its unclear if each of these are born from the seed of Masta Killa). However, each verse of the song gets progressively worse as the track plays on, suggesting a bleak future for the group’s legacy. The MF Doom produced (or shall we say “leftover from Special Herbs”) “E.N.Y House”, finds an anemic Masta Killa lazily sewing words together with no goal in sight. Thankfully, things pick up on “Brooklyn King” produced by Nature Sounds in-house beat-professor, Dev-1, which finds the Killa sounding much more invigorated, thanks to his minimalist, old school beat. Things kick into high gear when the rest of the Clan jumps in the fray, such as on “It Is What It Is” and “Iron God Chamber”, two classically executed Wu bangers, with show-stealing verses from Ghostface, Method Man, and RZA, respectively. 

      Things don’t quite fare as well when the other members aren’t there to back him up however. It’s nice to see Pete Rock contribute a beat to the project on “Older Gods Part 2″, but unfortunately much of the track is taken up by the strange religious ramblings of two of the Wu-Tang Clan’s drunken masters. “Let’s Get Into Something” is wildly out of place, as the crooning of Frenchie Sartel (?) and smoothed out production doesn’t belong on this otherwise raw LP. The reggae flavored “Lovely Lady” also sticks out like a sore thumb, hardly including any participation from MK at all.  

      While Masta Killa is often the most overlooked member of the clan, Made In Brooklyn almost shows why. Many times his rhymes seem randomly generated and some of the songs here even sound unfinished, suggesting that this LP is in bad need of (at least) executive production from RZA, if not even a beat or two. ?