Don't call it a comeback

While it might not be a wolf in sheep’s clothing, “Return of the Wu and Friends” is not what it appears to be either. Produced by longtime Wu collaborator Mathematics, “Return” is neither a comeback effort, as the title implies, nor is it entirely fresh.

More than half of “Return” is recycled efforts rather than reinterpreted ones. Lifting beats and tracks from sources ranging from Masta Killa’s “Made in Brooklyn” to even his own previous efforts, Mathematics’ implications of “exclusivity” on certain tracks resonate as a lie and could polarize the truest fans, exactly the people these types of releases aim to please.

That’s the unfortunate truth of the impression “Return” gives, because the greatness of Wu-Tang is on full display in the lyrics. At times its swagger is almost jubilant and, as always, wonderfully condescending.

But for the most part, “Return”’s facade renders it hollow. Even some of the production Mathematics does offer seems lazy but hides under the guise of the Wu’s raw style.