Wu-Syndicate

Wu-Syndicate is a Wu-Tang-related album minus the production talents of main-man RZA (credited here as executive producer). Produced by newcomers DJ Devastator, Tata, Dred and Mathematics, Wu-Syndicate is far from the worst Wu-Tang cash-in, in part because the productions occasionally transcend the trademarked Wu sound. While rappers Myalansky and Joe Mafia are cartoonish gangsters closer in concept to the 1930s than the gangsta '90s (similar to No Limit's Gambino Family), tracks like "Pointin' Fingers," "Ghetto Syringe" and "Muzzle Toe" are well-produced and even superior to several tracks from the latest "real" Wu-Tang Clan album, Forever.