Curtains Reimagines Wu-Tang History on Mixtape

In one of the oddest emerging hip-hop trends this year, rappers are now revisiting older material by the genre's classic artists to create novel new mixtapes. No, we don't mean a few songs or lines here or there. These are fully-dedicated studies and new takes on works from some of the biggest and best that hip-hop has to offer.

The first (and most focused to date) was Fashawn's reimagining of 'Illmatic' -- a song-for-song remake that featured new lyrics but found the rapper sticking to Nas' flow and subject matter in an admirably dedicated manner. Now, Curt@!n$ (we are referring to this spelling of his moniker only once) has a new set that finds him honing his skills exclusively over classic Wu-Tang Clan beats.

Presented with Black Scale Clothing, 'The Dissertation: The Wu-Thesis' definitely has a case study element to it. The lead single from the tape is '2 Sports Cars,' Curtains' collaboration with Dom Kennedy, which finds the emcees taking turns sparring over 'MGM' from 1997's 'Wu-Tang Forever.' While many of the concerns fall outside of the Wu kingdom (remove the chess and mysticism and add more Twitter references), it's an interesting update over some of the greatest beats.

If anything, Curtains presents an interesting thesis about how to test new rappers as they try to get fame and respect. Many hip-hop fans have criticized the genre for poor production and lifeless beats over the last few years. It's often used as an excuse for a lack of popularity in new rappers. Curtains shows that if you can hold your own over a legitimate Wu banger, then there's probably good things in store. Download the mixtape for free here.