Steve 'Flash' JuonIt’s time to get self-referential. In 2022 Grant Jones reviewed the Cappadonna & Stu Bangas collaboration “3rd Chamber Grail Bars” for RapReviews. Less than one sentence in Grant dropped a reference to “that infamous album artwork for ‘Black Tarrzann‘” that I honestly completely drew a blank on. Infamous? Cappadonna? Well he’s been at the center of a lot of debates over the years — whether or not he’s an actual Wu-Tang Clan member, whether or not he’s a good emcee, whether or not his vocal tone is obnoxious to listen to — but nothing he had done struck me as “infamous.” This cover art was so ridiculous though it got the attention of retired NFL player and sportscaster Marcellus Wiley.
“At the end of the day I love Cappadonna” says Vlad in response to both men cracking up. I feel that. Darryl Hill gave me the time of day for an in-person interview and I’ll always love him for that. That love means I feel like I can be honest with him and not sugar coat it. Grant is right. Marcellus is right. That artwork is regrettable at best and downright nauseating at worst. Vlad also opined that Cappadonna made it terrible on purpose to get people talking. I had that same thought when I heard some of his bars on the opener “Mean Streets” featuring Killah Priest. I don’t mean that the bars are terrible — he obviously thought about what he said and spit it competently. What I didn’t expect is that Cap would come out with some anti-vax right wing conspiracy theory bullshit. “I feel bad for the teachers and the preachers/They want to inject us to fuck with our features/So whatever happen now God please don’t leave us/I still don’t know why the Jews did that to Jesus.” WHAT?
Look — the album cover is ridiculous — but it’s not nearly as infamous as anything Cappadonna said in the last verse of the song or the fact he caps off the song by yelling like Tarzan swinging from a vine. The brother is entitled to his views and to spit them without censorship, just like I’m entitled to tell you as the writer of the review that I don’t condone antisemitism and take every vaccination I’m offered. I believe in science and I don’t believe in any Illuminati bullshit. The production of the song is fine and so is the guest appearance from Priest, which means there was no reason to give the whole thing a black eye like that at the end. Whatever. “Black Tarrzann” is a wildly uneven album and it makes me wish there were more songs like “Mean Streets” and less of Cap acting like he’s leaping from tree to tree. “Get This Work” is the kind of song I’m talking about. It’s got that classic RZA/9th Disciple sound.
It’s also got some more conspiracy bars like “if you black and on top you might get shot” and “the devil […] manipulate the weather, play with the storms/create all kinds of weapons of mass destruction/not to mention, all the chemicals that’s erupting.” You know who the devil is by now right? If not listen to some classic X-Clan records and you’ll pick up on it quick. You’re going to have to accept this level of discourse if you’re listening to modern era Cap records. It would be easier to do if he wasn’t compelled to include silly Tarzan imitations throughout this one. At times with the right guest stars, such as A-F-R-O on the title track, the songs can transcend the goofy shit and become listenable.
Darryl Hill has a lot to say about the state of the world, and sometimes I think he can’t decide how to say it. “Life On Welfare” gravitates from sounding like government assistance is a trap to saying the ghetto itself is the trap and welfare at least helps you make it through. “Welfare, hell yeah, gotta survive.” It can be both but it still would have been nice for him to pick a lane. We get closer to his persona on “Cancel Culture” though, as he randomly decides to spit “you was hard first then you switched to a queer” and “fuck y’all devils, y’all like Miss Piggy.” Even when Killah Priest spits his own brand of conspiracy theories (and he’s a guest on this song) he usually doesn’t sound this vicious, hateful or homophobic. Cap has had a long and successful career in and outside of Wu-Tang so it’s hard for me to understand him being this angry in his 50’s. He should be lounging and enjoying life.
As much as I try to let my respect for Cappadonna come through while listening to “Black Tarrzann” there are plenty of times this album gets vulgar and uncomfortable. “Walk With Me” sounds like one of Kool Keith’s Hugh Hefner fantasies and makes me think the two should be doing work together. “You Can’t Defeat Me” says he’s “coming off the top just to get that bag” which would be fine if he didn’t follow it with “niggaz turn bitch on me, act like a sneak thief.” He can’t decide whether he wants to shout out fellow rappers or rant at them for betraying him. I feel genuine sympathy for him on “Mamma Can You Hear Me,” a track where you can see how influential he was on the early Wu before a prison bid stole his chance to shine.
THAT may be why he’s so bitter, now that I think about it. He got denied the chance to be considered Wu-Tang on day one, and even though RZA has affirmed he’s official in interviews, you can’t help but notice there’s no Rae, Ghost or Meth on this shit — not even U-God who he reportedly mentored personally. Just Priest, who himself is Wu by extension, though to me he’s as much Clan as Masta Killa or Cap himself. That’s a can of worms to open on another day. The point is Cappadonna is still angry about some shit that happened to him 30 years ago, and he lets it out in some real ugly ways on this album, but you can’t say he’s not speaking from his heart whether you agree with it or not. Just choose some better cover art than this if you ever remaster it and maybe tone down the antisemitism and right wing talking points in the future. Trust me Cap, they don’t love you. They love you espousing their talking points but they’re the “devils” you’re talking about.