Selling My Soul in Bloomington, MN

He may be the quietest and least known of the core
Wu-Tang Clan
members, but rapper
Masta Killa
makes great strides toward shaking those qualities on
Selling My Soul
, his first solo album in six years. Course, if you ask
the Masta
, this is his first solo album ever in its way, as both
No Said Date
(2004) and
Made in Brooklyn
(2006) were both filled with enough
Wu
affiliates and
RZA
and/or
Bronze Nazareth
productions that they were almost proper
Clan
albums. Here, his only guests are
Kurupt
and a posthumous verse from
Ol' Dirty Bastard
, with outside folks like
9th Wonder
and
Koolade
offering beats alongside
Allah Mathematics
Inspectah Deck
. The title works two ways, being an indication that
Masta
is going to get pleasingly personal, but also that the productions are steeped in soul and R&B, offering a more upbeat and clean sound than the usual
murk and a
companion to
Ghostface
's retro effort
Ghostdini the Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City
. Check the worthy bouncer "Food" for
Killa
's wonderful, stream-of-consciousness look back at his struggle toward the top, or the
tribute "R U Listening," which mixes ninjas, credos, and a lazy, yet very effective, hook. ~ David Jeffries