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Ministry Dark Side of the Spoon (Warner) Ministry's new album is quantum leaps ahead of their last effort, but still a far cry from the unstoppable powerhouse album known as Psalm 69. The songs on Dark Side... are stark, abrasive and a tad monotonous at times--picture a post-apocalyptic, scrap-metal-littered desert during a perrenial death-tinted dusk and you'll understand where they're coming from. Each track seems to bleed into the next as... well, they sound the same. Far from tepid, but far from groundbreaking, Dark Side... will hopefully tide fans over until Ministry comes correct. 7/10 (Lateef Martin)
Wu-Tang Clan The RZA Hits (Epic/Sony)
Muro "Dig on Summer" b/w "Weekend Funk #7" 12" (Incredible Records/Lexington) Falling in the category of "hip hop universal style" comes DJ Muro, a talented DJ, producer and MC who rips it on this record with several of his fellow Japanese MCs. Yes, I said Japanese. Muro, who you may recognize as the man behind the King of Diggin mixtape series, appears to have some other gifts apart from having an ear for rare and funky originals. On "Dig on Summer," he flows over the soothing boom of a butta beat, while the b-side posse cut features fellow MCs Boo, S-Word, Red Burn Winkle, Gore Tex, Tina and G.K. Maryan flipping several different Japanese flows over a goofy '93 kind of beat. The Japanese may have found yet another American institution to master. 8/10 (Scott C)
Trina & Tamara Self-titled (Sony) Stylin' soul sisters Trina & Tamara prove to be more than the sum of their looks. Writing almost all the tracks on the album, the siblings opt for sophisticated soul rather than around-the-way jeep jams. As such, tracks like the breezy "Joanne," funky lead-single "What'd You Come Here For," and the self-explanatory "Sister" should garner equal parts airplay and club play. The sexy "29," featuring Deborah Cox, does the job even without the other 40 points. 7.5/10 (Gerard Dee)
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It took almost all of the '90s to do it, but the Wu have finally blessed the world with a greatest hits collection featuring all of those Wu-bangers who made this crew the royal family of hip hop. From Method Man's self-titled anthem, to Ol Dirty's "Shimmy Shimmy Ya," to "Incarcerated Scarfaces" and "Ice Cream," the RZA can now sit back on his throne and survey the true dynasty that has come of all of their efforts. We all know that an album like this signifies that you've made enough hits for them to warrant their own record, but does it also mean that the Wu have reached a creative impasse and had no other choice but to release these now-classics? Who knows, but if you're a fan who missed some of these singles on vinyl, now's your chance to catch up. 9/10 (Scott C)