Most of us know Cappadonna as the last rapper to join the Wu-Tang Clan. And for a long time he was just the 10th and only unofficial member of the Clan. Why the Brooklyn-born rapper didn’t join the supergroup earlier remains unknown, but fact is that Cappadonna being raised in Staten Island bonded with the rest of the Wu-Tang members already in preschool. And another, even more important fact is that Cappa made his way into the spotlight a lot faster than some of the original members of the Clan such as Master Killa, U God or Inspectah Deck by dropping his first solo album, The Pillage, back in spring 1998. And although the album didn’t succeed to totally convince Wu-Tang fans worldwide it went gold and Cappadonna took this chance to show the world that he’s a talented and strong rapper.

Now in 2001 Cappadonna opens a new chapter of his career releasing his sophomore joint, The Ying And The Yang . Or "This album reflects the real me, the good and the bad, the sinful and the spiritual, in short, the Yin and the Yang," as Cappadonna explains it himself. With only ten tracks The Ying And The Yang is a relatively short longplayer, but this isb't necessarily bad since Cappa spares us the usual intro and skit bullshit and focuses on straight rapping. The record starts with The Grits featuring 8-Off, an hardcore, inyourface track. Then comes Supermodel with Ghostface Killah on the second mic giving Cappadonna a lyrical backup he doesn’t even need. The almost jiggy Love Is The Message Your browser does not support inline frames or is currently configured not to display inline frames. i> features my favorite Wu-Tang member Raekwon. On We Know Cappadonna is joined by the SoSo Def family’s Jermaine Dupri and Da Brat, one of the wacker tracks of the album. And on Big Business Cappadonna even gets put in the passenger seat by Shyheim killin it on this one with his raspy voice with rhymes like „I ride shotgun in Cappa's black ML four-twenty / benz jeep with big boy heat, a thirty-thirty / shotgun, pull it out and show you what a thug about / y’all niggas is pussy, that’s why y’all get atein' out. The Ying And The Yang ends with the Caribbean, ragga flavored One Way 2 Zion featuring Culture.

After all Cappadonna is at his best when he sticks to the typical, hardcore Wu-shit because lyrically he as what it needs and he definitely doesn’t need a fancy beat that draws the attention away from the emcee‘s lyrics. The Ying And The Yang is a good alternative to all the funky-futuristic, Timbo-like sounds that have become (too) popular these days.