Last November, I had the fortune of interviewing Cecil Otter while he was on tour with Doomtree. As he discussed the different projects he was working on, there was one in particular that excited me - Wugazi. Unfortunately, he asked me to take it off the record, since he didn’t want anybody to steal his idea before he and Swiss Andy finished the project. It killed me not be able to tell everybody, if only because I was so excited about the potential of the idea.

In the aftermath of The Grey Album, the mash-up suffered as every joker with a computer thought they could just layer the vocals from one album over a well-known instrumental track and it would be awesome. This can work for portions of a song and deliver in a live setting (see: Z-Trip), but it overlooks what made The Grey Album work so well. Danger Mouse didn’t just place Jay-Z’s vocal tracks over The White Album. Instead, he deconstructed the Beatles’ songs and then put the music back together in a way that fit extremely well with Jay-Z’s delivery to give new life to two fantastic albums. This in turn allowed him to create a new album that transcends the novelty of the idea.

I’m happy to report that Wugazi meets The Grey Album’s standards. Cecil Otter and Swiss Andy didn’t just sync up 36 Chambers and 13 Songs and hope for the best. They chopped up Fugazi’s tracks and went through the sizable Wu-Tang catalog to find a mix that did justice to the original idea. I’m glad that they took care to do it right, because the result is amazing. The reason that it works so well is that each song works in three ways. First, you recognize Fugazi are much more than a straight ahead punk band, and that they actually came up with some interesting and danceable songs. Second, you’re reminded that Wu-Tang is a powerhouse of emcees with undeniable charisma and talent. Third, upon repeated listens, you’re able to appreciate these songs as their own entities. When I spin “Slow Like That,” I’m not looking for people to realize what I’m spinning, I’m trying to get them on the dance floor. I’m willing to bet someone who’s not familiar with either artist could listen to 13 Chambers and enjoy it on its own.

Props to Cecil Otter and Swiss Andy for coming up with a fun idea, and taking time to create something interesting with staying power. This isn’t funny or cute - this is a damn good record.