Cash Rules Everything Around Queens

Wu Latino “C.R.E.A.M. (Latino Remix)” – These little xeroxed flyers are all over this small stretch of Broadway in Astoria, and as far as I can tell given my walk around the neighborhood and on through Steinway Street, nowhere else. Either the Wu Latinos got carried away and ran out of flyers before making it past their second block, or they targeted this particular area because, um, maybe some high profile radio programmers from Clearchannel live on that block, or at least frequent the Dunkin’ Donuts or the florist between Crescent and 30th Street. (Actually, the most plausible reason I can think of is that there is some kind of rehearsal/studio space on that street, and maybe the Wu Latinos were working there and went on a mini-postering spree after an especially good session.)

Anyway, whether it was their goal or not, they got my attention. I’m a pretty big Wu-Tang Clan fan, so I’m kinda pre-sold on seeing things with the W logo. But Wu Latino? Huh? There’s been Wu-Tang affiliates of various quality (mostly awful, if we’re being honest) for years now, but this is the first time I’ve heard of the Clan licensing out their brand to an entirely different enthnicity. (Maybe this shouldn’t be a shock after that Chappelle’s Show “racial draft” skit with the RZA and the GZA getting traded to the Chinese.) It’s unclear if these guys have any meaningful connection to the actual Wu-Tang Clan, or if they are just canny dudes franchising the name and hoping to piggyback on the Wu’s credibility. Aside from a track featuring Raekwon and this remix of “C.R.E.A.M.,” the Wu Latinos sound almost nothing like the Clan, favoring super-clean reggaeton tracks to anything remotely grimy and bleak. Their version of “C.R.E.A.M.” works, but really how could it not? The track is a stone classic; that piano motif even sounds fantastic as a midi on my cell phone’s ringtone. The music remains exactly the same, and Method Man’s chorus has not been omitted. The Wu Latinos’ rapping sounds fine, though I don’t understand a word they are saying, and it doesn’t hold a candle to the original verses from Raekwon and Inspectah Deck. The idea of Latin hip hop with a Wu aesthetic is appealing, but even when they are jacking their biggest hit’s beat wholesale, the Wu Latinos are still shy of their mark. (Click here for the Wu Latino site.)

Elsewhere: The Fiery Furnaces interviewed on NPR’s Fresh Air! Matthew completely nails exactly what it is that is great about his sister’s voice when he is asked about it by Terry Gross.