Pollen: The Swarm Part 3 - Various Artists CD
2010 release from the Wu Music Group, the third installment in The Swarm series. The Swarm Part 3 features performances by Johnny Blaze (Method Man), Bobby Digital (RZA), Ghostface Killah, Killer Priest, Remedy, and a previously unreleased Ol Dirty Bastard track. The first two Swarm titles (The Swarm, The Sting) have sold 700,000 records to date.Additional Info: Since the first installment in 1998, the Swarm compilation series has been synonymous with the Wu B-teamers, phoned-in contributions from core members, and few and far between hidden gems (think Ruthless Bastards and Ghost's "Cobra Clutch" off of Vol. 1). Pollen: The Swarm, Pt. Three follows this formula to a T. Throughout the 15-deep track list, we get ample offerings from refugees from second-tier Wu-Tang outfits like Killarmy and Sunz of Man as well as a new set of Shaolin upstarts, while Method Man, the RZA, and the GZA are present on a handful of disappointing cuts. The one aptly titled track credited to the Wu-Tang Clan, "Tang Clan-Assed Out," feels haphazardly thrown together, with Meth providing perhaps the most cringe-worthy verse of his career before the GZA brings in a promising racial-profiling narrative that fades out almost as soon as it starts. Elsehwere, the RZA's vocals on the one Bobby Digital cut, "You Must Be Dreaming," were surely recorded while he was suffering from the flu. Undoubtedly, there's plenty to dislike about this compilation and, among all the flotsam and jetsam, the Killah Priest/Remedy collaboration joint, "The Testimony," succeeds in standing out as especially bad. Still, Pollen does hold at least two gems. The Wu's most reliable founding member manages to come through; Ghostface alongside his Theodore Unit brethren Trife, and Solomon Childs delivers a short but sweet street-banger with "Smooth Sailing." While the undeniably ill rapport between Remedy and Jo Jo Pelligrino on "Transportin'" recalls Ghost and Rae's best circa 1995 drug trafficking vignettes. ~ Matt Rinaldi
Specifics
- Album: Pollen: The Swarm Part 3
- Artist: Various Artists
- Label: Tvt
- Genre: Hip Hop
- MPN: WU-6290-2
Tracklist
1. Roll With Killer Bees
Rap - Armel, General Jihad, Ramith, Shaddow (2), Skratch (5), Surpreme*
Rap - Armel, General Jihad, Ramith, Shaddow (2), Skratch (5), Surpreme*
2. Headline
3. Assed Out
Producer - Allah Mathematics
Rap - GZA, Method Man
Producer - Allah Mathematics
Rap - GZA, Method Man
4. Dirts The Boogie
Producer - RZA
Vocals [Uncredited] - Buddha Monk
Producer - RZA
Vocals [Uncredited] - Buddha Monk
5. You Must Be Dreaming
Mixed By - DYP tha Goldynchild
Producer - Tommy Tee
Mixed By - DYP tha Goldynchild
Producer - Tommy Tee
6. M.E.F.
Producer - RZA
Producer - RZA
7. Smooth Sailing
Producer - Tyrone Fyffe
Producer - Tyrone Fyffe
8. Get It Started
Producer - 4th Disciple
Producer - 4th Disciple
9. Faced Down
Producer - Phantom of the Beats
Producer - Phantom of the Beats
10. The Testimony
Producer - IzReal (5)
Vocals - Heart (5)
Producer - IzReal (5)
Vocals - Heart (5)
11. Action
Producer - Falling Down
Producer - Falling Down
12. No Game Around Here
Producer - RZA
Rap - Hell Razah, Killah Priest, Tash Mahogany
Vocals - Suga Bang Bang
Producer - RZA
Rap - Hell Razah, Killah Priest, Tash Mahogany
Vocals - Suga Bang Bang
13. Into You
Producer - RZA
Vocals [Uncredited] - Tash Mahogany
Producer - RZA
Vocals [Uncredited] - Tash Mahogany
14. Transporting
Producer - Godz Wrath
Producer - Godz Wrath
15. Flight Of The Killer Bees
Producer - RZA
Producer - RZA
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