Let’s actually disregard the title. This isn’t a Wu-Tang Clan album (despite the artist name) nor is it a Wu-Tang album in spirit. Nearly all this album has that resembles past Wu-Tang is that some of the songs feature Wu-Tang members. Ever since the Shkreli scandal involving a single Wu album going for two million dollars, the legendary ‘90s rap group has been consistently seen in a negative light by passive fans and diehards alike. So to continue the trend, they falsely hype up The Saga Continues as a return of the group, with production from RZA and fan-favorites such as GZA, Ghostface Killah, and Raekwon, often considered Wu’s best rappers.

But don’t be fooled. This album isn’t worth a million bucks, nor is it worth your time. In a nutshell, this album is purely a Mathematics and a Wu-affiliate album. Mathematics, although a co-founder of The Wu-Tang Clan, is not considered a main member and is often criticized for his lackluster production. The main Wu producer, RZA, decided to sit this one out. This was a terrific move for his reputation, because listening to this was a painful disappointment. A fair amount of backstory, but how does the actual music hold up in terms of all the controversy? The easiest way to describe it would be a dysfunctional family reunion with a great deal of tension and quite a few relatives who don’t remember each other. Previous Wu albums contain an average of four members per song, but here we see about one on each and occasionally people who have no affiliation to the Clan in any way, often featured longer than those who are. It’s rapping for the sake of rapping. Not one has any bit of interesting storytelling to share and if they ever come close to, Mathematics waters it down with a tacky R&B beat that sounds like an Usher throwaway from 2004.

The real problem, however, boils down to the delivery and the conveyance. The energy and enthusiasm that made 36 Chambers and The W so lively is completely absent. Ghostface delivers some of his worst lines ever, and Method Man comes off extremely bland with only a few quick bursts. The album serves no purpose for anyone but Wu looking to produce a few bucks. It’s unnecessary and ultimately, a cheap moneymaker.

Put in simple terms, The Saga Continues is the equivalent to the spin-off TV series, Joey, of Friends. We all were wondering what happened to him, but once we received it, we realize we didn’t need to see any more than what was presented in the original.