NY vs. Beantown rivalries aside, the Wu-Tang Clan is similar to the Boston Red Sox. While superstars like Method Man and Ghostface Killah are the face of the crew, the group’s consistent victories stem from team chemistry and from role players handling their duties. RZA is widely-credited for establishing the ensemble’s signature sound with his daunting melodies, but producer/DJ Allah Mathematics has a substantial stat sheet as well. Painting pictures with both the MPC (i.e., Ghostface Killah’s “Mighty Healthy” and Bobby Digital’s “Must Be Bobby”) and the palette (drawing the group’s original “W” logo and the artwork for GZA’s classic Liquid Swords), the Jamaica, Queens native is as Wu as it gets. After two solid solo LPs under his belt, Mathematics tries his hand at the instrumental album with the two-disc set Soul Of A Man.

While verses from street scribes like Raekwon and GZA are sorely missed, the album’s first disc shows that Mathematics hasn’t lost the essential elements that Wu-Tang fans have cherished since the early 90s. Abstract splices from kung fu flicks still kick, and sped-up samples are skillfully utilized without being overdone. The cavernous keys, searing strings and steady basslines on several tracks can seamlessly gel with previous Wu releases, and songs such as “Track #12” glow with an updated wistfulness of the group’s heyday. Mathematics also hurls change-ups with cuts such as “Track #10,” straying from the Wu formula with jubilant horns and carefree snares. Though a couple duds fall short, the first disc succeeds with Mathematics using enough of his bread and butter to keep die-hard fans happy, and enough jam to keep listeners on their toes.

After presenting the first disc as freshly-packaged piff, Mathematics goes back for the first time with the second half, giving listeners an ambidextrous audio resume of his 90s-to-present catalog. Nostalgia ensues when he reboots the Wu’s classic dungeon sound with Inspectah Deck’s “Uncontrolled Substance” and Ghostface’s “Wu Banga 101,” and switches to the off-kilter sampling with Ghostface’s “Strawberry.” Uptempo numbers like the Clan’s “Do You Really (Thang Thang)” and Meth and Red’s “Fire In Da Hole” are also included, along with other Wu-Tang highlights like “Rules” and the aforementioned “Mighty Healthy.”

With Soul Of A Man, Mathematics covers all of the bases: he basks in the history he’s already created, shows that he’s still got the juice, and adds some new weapons to his arsenal in the process. While usurping some of his cohorts’ stardom and name recognition may be far off, this release shows that Mathematics is definitely keeping his spot on the roster.