Wu-Tang Clan: GZA, Masta Killa, RZA, U-God.

Personnel include: Aesop Rock, MF Doom.

It's taken a while for the Wu-Tang Clan to re-build the steam they had in the early 1990s, but this intriguing project, which pairs members of the Clan with underground hip-hop luminaries such as Aesop Rock, MF Doom, Sean P., Del tha Funky Homosapien, and others, should help the cause. Conceived by Wu cohort Dreddy Kruger, and with production from the RZA and new Wu producer Bronze Nazareth, among others, this is partially a family affair, and the classic Wu feel is all over these tracks--complete with spare yet high-minded beats and eerie loops.

But it's the rotating roster of MCs that really makes this disc, with surprising pairings like Aesop Rock and Del tha Funky Homosapien on "Preservation," and the GZA and Rass Kass on "Versus" (one of the album's highlights). "Biochemical Equation" boasts a killer beat from the RZA, who also takes the mic to trade rhymes with MF Doom. A tribute to deceased Wu-Tang member Old Dirty Bastard evokes the ghost of the original Clan, but the overall flavor here is contemporary and fresh, with undercurrents of the classic sound that brought the original ruckus so many years ago.

Entertainment Weekly (No. 845, p.75) - "...CULTURE embodies the group's unmistakable half-crazy, half-brilliant aesthetic." - Grade: B