Wu-Tang Clan

[The NZA]

So, in Wu news: Ol dirty chinese restaraunt is still with the Roc, and im not sure who signed with Shady/Aftermath, but there was a good live performance over in CA this summer...

 

 

Disciples of the 36 Chambers is a live performance of pretty much the entire first classic album, "Enter the 36 chambers", and some of their greatest hits. The disc is $15, same price as the DVD. Here's a track listing:

 

Disciples Of The 36 Chambers: Chapter

01    Wu-Tang Clan - Bring Da Ruckus

02    Wu-Tang Clan - Da Mystery Of Chessboxin'

03    Wu-Tang Clan - Clan In Da Front

04    Wu-Tang Clan - C.R.E.A.M.

05    Wu-Tang Clan - Wu-tang Clan Ain't Nuthin' Ta F' Wit

06    Wu-Tang Clan - Shame On A Nigga

07    Wu-Tang Clan - Ghost Deini

08    Wu-Tang Clan - Re-united

09    Wu-Tang Clan - For Heaven's Sake

10    Wu-Tang Clan - Criminology

11    Wu-Tang Clan - Incarcerated Scarfaces

12    Wu-Tang Clan - Brooklyn Zoo

13    Wu-Tang Clan - Bring The Pain

14    Wu-Tang Clan - It's Yourz

15    Wu-Tang Clan - Liquid Swords

16    Wu-Tang Clan - One Blood Under W

17    Wu-Tang Clan - Ice Cream

18    Wu-Tang Clan - Triumph

19    Wu-Tang Clan - Hood

20    Wu-Tang Clan - Run

21    Wu-Tang Clan - Run

22    Wu-Tang Clan - Tearz

23    Wu-Tang Clan - Method Man

24    Wu-Tang Clan - Dog S**t

25    Wu-Tang Clan - Shimmy Shimmy Ya

26    Wu-Tang Clan - Y'all Been Warned

27    Wu-Tang Clan - Gravel Pit

 

The Wu-Tang Clan made their first step to reclaiming the throne of rap as they regrouped on July 17, 2004 to perform at the Rock The Bells festival in San Bernardino, CA. All nine original members: RZA, GZA/Genius, Method Man, Ghostface Killa, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Raekwon, Masta Killa, and Ol' Dirty Bastard shared the stage for the first time in years. Joined by special guests Redman, Street Life and Cappadonna, this magical event was recorded in front of 10,000 fans who realized history was in the making as rap's greatest group had returned.

 

Ill post back when i get it, lookin good tho.

[RobitussinEF]

damn that is a jam packed album. it really does seem like a great catch!

[The NZA]

Hah, i thought the same thing when i saw that track listing...still havent had a chance to hear it, but today's my day off, so hopefully later!

If its tight, tussin, just ask for a copy, i should be good for it (but be warned, i dont know what quality it is, and the way it was copied, its like one big ass track...)

[RobitussinEF]

yeah for sure ill want a copy of that!

[DJ Ario X]

The Wu iz back but they just bringin back the classixxxx!!! For us ol' skoolaz that copped every WU album in its golden years (36 chambers all the way up to IronMan), this isnt new material, just a greatest hits compilation....I wanna see the Wu come with an album with all new all raw RZA produced-9-MCs-per-song Material!!!

Im still patiently waiting ....

Edited September 29, 2004 by DJ Ario X

[BigChiefSlapaho]

It's funny. Once, at the Roney Palace on South Beach, I was walking through the lobby and nearly bumped into Raekwon. He really didn't want to be noticed so he hurried his ass up the elevator to the penthouse. I'm guessing there were more Wu in the building.

[The NZA]

 

Even without ODB, i guess im not expectin a Wu group release anytime soon...Ghostface signed onto Def Jam (i think?), and their last album was wha, The W? Grimy and hardcore like the old shit, but not as strong as Wu-Tang Forever or the classic 36 Chambers. And the thing is, the idea from the jump was to get everyone into solo careers, and that's worked for most of them, I'd say, so there's that.

 

Since more heads need to know about the Wu, so first ill list what i think to be their classics, and then some good info. Must-haves...

 

Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers

Method Man - Tical

Ol' Dirty Bastard - Return to the 36 Chambers

Raekwon the Chef - Only built 4 Cuban linx

The GZA - Liquid Swords (B.I.B.L.E. is great)

Ghostface Killah - Ironman

Wu-Tang Forever

 

Over the next few months, I'm gonna try out more side projects, like Wu-Tang: The Swarm, Papa Wu, Masta Killah, etc. I'll post back, but basically, that stuff and any full album from Ghostface is a sure shot.

 

Taken from Wikipedia

 

The Wu-Tang Clan is a pioneering hardcore rap group, originally from Staten Island, New York, USA (Staten Island is referred to as "Shaolin" in their lyrics).

 

There are nine original members of the Wu-Tang Clan. All of the nine members have released solo albums and have performed under several subprojects with other Wu-Tang "Family" members and musicians outside the Clan. This was the plan from the group's inception: the group would make each of them famous enough to launch multiple side projects, and take over the hip-hop community through saturation of like-minded rappers.

 

Foundation

 

The founders of the Wu-Tang Clan were GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard and RZA (who also formed the by-then-defunct All In Together Now Crew). The GZA is the de facto leader of the group, as well as being widely regarded as the best lyricist among the group. The RZA is the producer of the group's albums, as well as many of their solo projects. The group quickly became known for hardcore violence, thumping, surreal beats and a warped sense of humor, all filtered through allusions to ancient Chinese folklore, mythic legend and martial arts film. The two cousins (GZA and RZA) created their rap nom-de-plumes by mimicking the sound that the words Genius and Robert would make when scratched on a turntable. The name of the group itself originates from the Wudang (or Wu-Tang) Mountains in the Hubei province of China, which are a traditional center of Chinese martial arts. The group have also developed various acronyms for the name (as hip hop pioneers like KRS One and Big Daddy Kane did with their names), including "Witty Unpredictable Talent And Natural Game" and "Wisdom, Universe, Truth, Allah, Nation, and God".

 

The Wu-Tang Clan first became known to hip hop fans, and to major record labels, following the release of the independent single Protect Ya Neck, which immediately gave the group a sizeable underground following. Though there was some difficulty in finding a record label that would sign the Wu-Tang Clan while still allowing each member to record solo albums with other labels, Loud/RCA finally agreed and the debut album Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers was popular and critically-acclaimed, though it took some time to gain momentum.

 

Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers did indeed establish the group as a creative and influential rap group in the early nineties (it was released in 1993), allowing GZA, RZA, Raekwon, Method Man and Ol' Dirty Bastard to negotiate solo contracts.

 

Solo careers

 

RZA was the first to follow up on the success of 36 Chambers with a side project, founding the Gravediggaz with Prince Paul (a producer, most famous for De La Soul), Frukwan (of Stetsasonic) and Poetic (of the Brothers Grimm). The Gravediggaz released 6 Feet Deep in August of 1994, which became easily the most famous work to emerge from hip hop's small sub-genre of horrorcore. Method Man was the first member of Wu-Tang to hit stardom with his November 1994 solo album, Tical, produced by the RZA who continued with the grimy, raw textures he explored on 36 Chambers. RZA's hands-on approach to Tical, which extended beyond his merely creating the beats to devising song concepts and structure, would continue throughout the first round of solo projects from the Clan members. Ol' Dirty Bastard found success soon after with Return to the 36 Chambers: the Dirty Version, which saw the 36 Chambers sound become even rawer and rough-edged. 1995 saw two significant and well-received albums from the group members. Raekwon the Chef's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx was a diverse, theatrical criminological epic that saw RZA move away from the raw, stripped-down beats of the early albums and towards a richer, cinematic sound more reliant on strings and classic soul samples. GZA's Liquid Swords had a similar focus on inner-city criminology to Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, yet was far darker, both in GZA's grim lyrics and in the ominous, forbidding production that saw RZA heavily reliant on keyboards for the first time. The two 1995 solo albums remain widely regarded as two of the finest hip hop albums of the nineties. Ghostface Killah released his own debut, Ironman, in 1996; it struck a balance between the sinister keyboard-laden textures of Liquid Swords and the sentimental soul samples of Cuban Linx, while Ghostface himself explored new territory as a lyricist. It was critically acclaimed and is still widely considered one of the best Wu-Tang solo albums. Although these albums were released as solo albums, the rule of RZA behind the boards and the large number of guest appearances from other Clan members (Raekwon and Ghostface's albums only had two or three actual solo tracks each and both included tracks that only included other Clan members and not themselves) means they are usually considered as important to the group's evolution as the group albums proper.

 

With solo careers established, the Wu-Tang Clan came back together to release the enormous double album Wu-Tang Forever in June 1997. It was eagerly anticipated and entered the charts at number one ; no mean feat for an album that made very little attempt to have wide commercial appeal, and whose lead single Triumph was a five minutes plus nine-MC "posse cut" with no chorus. The sound of the album mostly built upon the sounds of the previous three solo albums, with RZA increasing his use of keyboards and string samples, as well as for the first time assigning much of the album's production to his proteges True Master and 4th Disciple (known as the "Wu-Elements"). The group members also appeared much more ambitious lyrically than on 36 Chambers, with many verses on the album being dense stream-of-consciousness narratives heavily influenced by the teachings of the Five Percent Nation. However, the live tour supporting the album was cancelled halfway through amid rumors of internal disputes.

 

The group's close associate Cappadonna, who first appeared on Raekwon's debut and was a large presence on both Ironman and Wu-Tang Forever, followed the group project with March 1998's The Pillage, and soon after Killah Priest (like Cappadonna a close associate of the Clan, though not an official member) released Heavy Mental to great critical acclaim. A compilation album, Wu-Tang Killa Bees: The Swarm, was also released showcasing more Wu-affiliated artists as well as including new solo tracks from the group members themselves. The same year, 1998, Ol' Dirty Bastard began a long career of erratic behavior, landing him in both the headlines and jail on a regular basis. At the Grammy Awards, he protested the Clan's loss (in Best Rap Album) by interrupting Shawn Colvin's acceptance speech. He then announced a name change to Big Baby Jesus, but never followed through. He was also arrested several times for a variety of offenses, including assault, making terrorist threats, shoplifting, wearing body armor after being convicted of a felony and possession of cocaine. He was also in trouble for missing multiple court dates. The whole Wu-Tang Clan also fell under suspicion as alleged leaders of a gun-running scheme between Staten Island and Steubenville, Ohio. The investigation never found significant evidence for the allegations.

 

In the midst of such problems, the Clan released yet more solo albums. In the space of just three years, RZA's Bobby Digital In Stereo, Method Man's Tical 2000: Judgement Day, GZA's Beneath the Surface, Ol' Dirty Bastard's Nigga Please, U-God's Golden Arms Redemption, Raekwon's Immobilarity, Ghostface Killah's Supreme Clientele and Inspectah Deck's Uncontrolled Substance were all released. RZA also composed the score for the film Ghost Dog - The Way of the Samurai, directed by Jim Jarmusch, while he and other Wu-Tang members contributed music to a companion "music inspired by the film" album.

 

However, with a seemingly never-ending line of mostly poorly-received releases from affiliates such as Killarmy and Shyheim, a greatest hits album, as well as Wu-Tang branded clothing and video games, the market had been saturated with Wu-Tang products, and the second round of Clan member solo albums didn't do as well, either popularly or critically. Method Man and ODB were still quite popular, and the critics still fawned over GZA and Ghostface Killah, but their sound was becoming heavily imitated by others, and they were no longer superstars of hip hop. Fans also bemoaned the lack of RZA input on these albums, which were mostly produced by the Wu-Element producers, other lower-ranking affiliates or by outside producers such as the Trackmasters or the Neptunes.

 

Recent history

 

In 2000 the group reconvened to make a new album: minus Ol' Dirty Bastard who was incarcerated in California for violating the terms of his probation. Almost finished with his rehab, Ol' Dirty Bastard escaped suddenly and spent one month on the run as a fugitive before showing up onstage at the record release party for The W, the group's new album. Ol' Dirty Bastard managed to escape the club, but was captured by Philadelphia police and sent to New York to face charges of cocaine possession. In April, 2001, he was sentenced to two to four years in prison. The W itself was mostly well-received by critics, particularly for RZA's production, and also gave the group a hit single with the uptempo Gravel Pit (which was supported by an extravagant faux-prehistoric Flintstones-inspired video). 2001 saw the release of Digital Bullet (the second RZA album released as Bobby Digital), Bulletproof Wallets (Ghostface Killah) and The Yin and the Yang (Cappadonna). The group's latest album (as a group) was 2001 Iron Flag, made without the participation of the still-incarcerated Ol' Dirty Bastard, and which received mixed but mostly positive reviews.

 

After GZA released Legend of the Liquid Sword in late 2002, the following two years saw a spate of new solo releases, including new works by Cappadonna (The Struggle), Method Man (Tical 0: The Prequel), Raekwon (The Lex Diamonds Story), Ghostface Killah (who, in his new contract with Def Jam Records, changed his pseudonym to simply Ghostface, and released The Pretty Toney Album), Inspectah Deck (The Movement), Masta Killa (No Said Date), Shyheim, Wu-Element producer Mathematics (Love, Hell & Right) and an untitled work by the ODB (recently released from prison, and then signed to Jay-Z and Damon Dash's Roc-a-Fella Records Label). The Pretty Toney Album was critically acclaimed in the mainstream press, and the independently released No Said Date was well-received by the group's hardcore fanbase and hip hop enthusiasts in general for its unpretentious, back-to-basics approach and in-house production. 2004 also saw the unexpected return of the Clan to the live stage, and minus Ol' Dirty Bastard and Method Man (who was filming the Fox sitcom Method & Red) they embarked on a short European tour, before coming together as a complete group for the first time in several years to headline the Rock The Bells festival in California. The concert was released on DVD shortly afterwards, along with another greatest hits compilation. This renewed interest in the group fuelled rumors that another group album is on the way soon, although nothing concrete has been announced by the Clan themselves. Ol' Dirty Bastard's death on November 13, 2004 should have a limited impact on the Clan, given that his involvement with the group had been very sporadic for many years.

 

Members and their aliases

 

    * Ghostface Killah (short: ghost) (birth name: Dennis Coles)

          o Sun God

          o Tony Starks (from the comic Iron Man)

          o Ghostface

          o Pretty Toney

          o Tone-Tanna

          o General Tony Starks

          o Starkey Love

          o Wally Champ

          o Ironman (from the comic Iron Man)

          o Black Jesus

          o Ghost Deini

    * GZA (pronounced "The Jizza") (birth name: Gary Grice)

          o The Genius

          o Allah Justice

          o Justice

          o The Scientist

          o The Head

          o Maximillion

    * Inspectah Deck (short name: ins, deck) (birth name: Jason Hunter)

          o Fifth Brother

          o Rebel INS

          o Ayatollah

          o Manifesto

          o Charliehorse

          o Rollie Fingers

    * Masta Killa (short name: masta) (from the film Shaolin Master Killer) (birth name: Elgin Turner)

          o High Chief

          o Jamel Irief

          o Noodles

    * Method Man (short name: meth) (birth name: Clifford Smith)

          o Johnny Blaze (from the comic Ghost Rider)

          o Methtical (Meth-tical)

          o MZA ("The Mizza")

          o Shakwon

          o The Panty Raider

          o Tical

          o Ticallion Stallion

          o Hot Nixon

          o John-John McLane

          o John-John Blaizini

          o Johnny Dangerous

          o The Ghost Rider

          o Long John Silver

          o Iron Lung

          o Hot Nikkels

    * Ol' Dirty Bastard (short name: ODB, dirty) (birth name: Russell Jones) (deceased)

          o Big Baby Jesus

          o Ol' Dirt Dog

          o Joe Bananas

          o Freeloading Rusty

          o Dirt McGirt

          o The Projessor

          o the Bebop Specialist

          o the Specialist

          o Prince Delight

          o Unique Ason

          o Cyrus

          o Dirt Schultz

          o Joe Bannanas

          o Ol' Dirty BZA

          o Osirus

          o Ason Unique

    * Raekwon the Chef (short name: rae) (birth name: Corey Woods)

          o Lex Diamonds

          o Louis Diamonds

          o Rick Diamonds

          o Shallah

          o Louis Rich

          o Shallah Raekwon

    * RZA ("The Rizza") (birth name: Robert Diggs)

          o Bobby Steels

          o Bobby Digital

          o The Abbot

          o Chief Abbot

          o the Scientist

          o Prince Delight

          o Prince Dynamite

          o Prince Rakeem

          o RZArecta (from resurrector - waking up the mentally dead)

          o Ruler Zig-Zag-Zig-Allah

    * U-God (birth name: Lamont Hawkins)

          o 4-Bar Killer

          o Baby U

          o Universal God of Law

          o Baby Huey

          o Four-Bar Killer

          o Golden Arms

          o Lucky Hands

          o UGodz-Illa

 

Discography

 

    * 1993 Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (Loud)

    * 1997 Wu-Tang Forever (Loud)

    * 2000 The W (Columbia)

    * 2001 Iron Flag (Columbia)

    * 2004 Disciples of the 36 Chambers: Chapter 1 (Sanctuary)

 

Interestin shit..i didnt know the RZA co-founded Gravediggaz, that shit was hardcore.

[The NZA]

Chief, i just noticed your story bout Raekwon, that shit's awesome.

 

Some great news for Ghostface fans like myself & Ario X...

 

 

Three Ghostface Albums Materializing In Stores This Year

03.29.2005 8:25 PM EST

Wu member plans solo LP plus collabos with MF Doom, Raekwon.

 

Ghostface's next album may as well be titled Ghostface Meets Metal Face, as he's teaming up with iron-mask-loving hip-hop veteran MF Doom.

 

"I'm into old hip-hop, and the music that he makes is right up my alley," Ghostface said. "His beats are real underground. He's got the sound RZA had back in the day."

 

The Wu-Tang rapper and the former KMD member have collaborated on six songs thus far, and while the project will probably be released on Doom's indie label, Nature Sounds, his manager claims Def Jam is also interested.

 

Meanwhile, Ghost is digging up tracks for his next solo album, tentatively titled Rapper's Delight, and Doom may have some tracks on that project as well. "I'm working my album around his beats and whatever I add from other producers," Ghost said. "I would love to do a whole thing with him. He's a cool guy."

 

And while some Wu fans might've been disappointed that Raekwon wasn't on last year's The Pretty Toney Album, Ghost promised the Chef would be featured on at least four or five songs on the new disc.

 

"Fans are always asking why you didn't do this or that, but they have to understand that people are working and busy themselves," Ghostface said.

 

Schedules aside, the two are also in the early stages of piecing together a second duet album, following up Only Built 4 Cuban Linx.

 

"We sort of Batman'd and Robin'd that first album," Ghost recalled. "I told him to send me some beats that he wants to use so I could catch some lines on it when I could. I'm really trying to focus on my thing, but I like to focus on two things at the same time."

 

A lot has changed since their 1995 album, Ghostface said — especially the state of hip-hop. Referring to 50 Cent and the Game's highly publicized saga earlier this month (see "50 Cent And The Game Call A Truce"), he declared, "The game is like wrestling right now. ... I don't see any originality in it no more. Everything is a gimmick. It's not based upon good music. It's just based on hype now. You have to shoot somebody in order to sell some records. I put out good albums, but my albums never really sold nothing."

 

He's hoping Jay-Z can reverse that trend, now that Jay's got a corner office at Def Jam (see "Jay-Z, Dame Dash Sell Roc-A-Fella Records; Jay Named Def Jam Prez").

 

"Jay knows I'm fresh, and [about] the work I've been putting in on the streets. It's great for somebody to understand me," Ghost said. "I'm glad that Hov is the president because I'd rather talk to him than anyone that's over 50 years old. I just wanna get my talent out to the world within these next two or three years. And maybe two albums after that I might call it a wrap.

 

"My goal was just to do 10 albums. But if God spares my life and gives me the frame of mind, then I'm gonna keep going until he tells me to stop," Ghost continued. "I'm going to go straight into film. I've been writing movies. I want to produce and direct if I could and just get my movie career up, 'cause I think I could get real busy on the acting tip. If they caught me in Hollywood, it's gonna be some sh--. I want to do a little real estate and help poor people. I want to be that dude on the TV like, 'For five cents a day you could feed this kid right here.' That's what I want to do. It's payback for what God gave me."

 

MF Doom's manager said he expects Ghostface and MF Doom's album to drop this fall. Ghost said his solo album and his reunion with Raekwon will likely drop later this year as well.

[The NZA]

As if the Ghostface news alone wasnt enough to brighten this year...GZA (the Genius) has one coming too

 

The GZA Presents New Album & East Coast Tour

Thursday - May 12, 2005

by Elle Castro 

 

Wu-Tang Clan member GZA takes off on a limited East Coast Spring 2005 concert series in preparation of his new album, The GZA Presents.

 

GZA aka Genius will be taking over the stage for a limited series of dates to promote his highly anticipated Koch/ Babygrande Records debut album. The Babygrande premier LP, tentatively entitled The GZA Presents, is expected to drop in the latter part of 2005. The album will definitely feature classic Wu-Tang collaborations.

 

Genius will be joined on his Spring '05 East Coast exclusive concert series by the likes of raw underground emcees such as J-Live, Vast Aire and C-Rayz Walz.

 

The Gza's new material will add to his classic catalog which dates back to 1991 and include joints like the gold-selling Liquid Swords, Words From The Genius, Beneath The Surface, and Legend of the Liquid Sword. The GZA Presents is expected to return GZA to his prolific emcee status.

 

GZA's Spring 2005 Exclusive East Coast Dates:

 

5/18/05 - Farmingdale, NY - Downtown

5/19/05 - New Haven, CT - Toad's Place

5/20/05 - S. Burlington, VT - Higher Ground

5/21/05 - Northampton, MA - Pearl Street

5/22/05 - Portland, ME - The Station

5/23/05 - New York, NY - BB King Blues Club

5/24/05 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar Lounge

5/25/05 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club

5/26/05 - Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of the Living Arts 

 

Shame he aint anywhere near South FL, id love to hear some old Liquid Swords shit, even if just for B.I.B.L.E.

[The NZA]

For my fellow Wu-heads: last month's (lenghty) XXL article on Raekown's next "Linx" project...

 

Ten years ago, some men with rhymes changed the face of hip-hop music. In the shadow of fellow Wu-Tan Clan stars Method Man and Ol' Dirty Bastard, Raekwon and his lyrical accomplice, Ghostface Killah created Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... a criminology rap classic that hustlers worldwide relate to.

 

BUILDERS:

Raekwon the Chef a/k/a Lex Diamonds

RZA a/k/a Bobby Steels

Ghostface Killah a/k/a Tony Starks

Method Man a/k/a Johnny Blaze

Inspectah Deck a/k/a Rollie Fingers

Masta Killa a/k/a Noodles

GZA a/k/a Genius a/k/a Maximilian

U-God a/k/a Golden Arms a/k/a Lucky Hands

Cappadonna a/k/a Cappachino

Blue Raspberry, guest vocalist

Nas, guest rapper

 

INTRODUCTION TO 'THE PURPLE TAPE'

Hov and Kris can claim albums they've christened as blueprints. But if any recording from rap's modern age has earned the title, it's Raekwon the Chef's colossal Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... released on August 1, 1995, behind solo efforts from Method Man and Ol' Dirty Bastard, the Chef's showcase broke new ground, deviating from past Wu-Tang efforts, which emphasized nimble verbal jousts, and bringing something completely unexpected: a narrative - driven concept album that followed two ambitious street hoods (Rae and in a star making perfomance, partner-in-rhyme Ghostface Killah) along their rough road the riches. Cinematic in structure, infused with Rae's personality and humor and Ghost's indelible worldplay, and supporrted by some of Clan svengali RZA's finest production work, Cuban Linx inspired hip-hop hustlers everywhere to chronicle their own grimy paths to glory - from Jay-Z with Reasonable Doubt to 50 Cent with Get Rich or Die Tryin'. ."I was straight up into a drug zone vibe," raekwon recalls of making his autobiographical opus. "It was like a tablet of my life, where I wanted to go, and all thihs shit I seen. We was just showing n*ggas that we master all sides of the streets when it comes to trying to get to the top." Although East Coast rap gangstas like Kool G. Rap and Mob Style (the late 80's Harlem outfit that included Pretty Tone Capone a nd famed crime lord the original AZ) had covered similar subject matter, Cuban Linx's gritty vignettes elevated such storytelling to another level, potraying a slice of underworld life where Five Percent Nation theology, gangland robberies and recreational cocaine bumps commingled freely. The album also kick started several trends withing the rap game. Cuban Linx was the first instace of rappers adopting mafia-inspired aliases (Wu-Gambinos), songs like "Incarcerated Scarfaces" and "Ice Cream", initiated slang like "politic" and "butter-pecan Rican", into the hip-hop vernacular, and Cristal became the bubbly of choice for the ghetto fabulous set, thanks to Rae and co.'s endorsement in various song lyrics. Nothing, however was more indicative of Raekwon's allegiance to the street soldier aesthetic than the LP's intended full title, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Niggaz - as much a declaration of its musical potency as a forewarning to those not perpared for the uncut raw contained within, (Eventually and understandibly, the N-wordr was dropped). Rae also cosmetically distinguished his product from those of other artists, insisting on a purple-tinted cassette and CD case instead of a conventional clear version. "I wanted to potray an image that if I was selling cracks or dimes in the street, you would recognize these dimes from other n*ggas' dimes", he explains "recognize that I'm putting myself in another class, where this might not reach everybody table, but for the n*ggas who table it do reach, it's like, Yo, that's some hip hop bible to the streets." Ultimately, this uncompromising approach remains Cuban Linx's most enduring legacy. Raekwon and Ghostface would create their own slang, devote skits to Wallabee Clarks, use entire dialogue passages from their favorite films as interludes, and invite just one guest star to their coming-out party (Nas), because they didn't give two shits about fitting in with what other rappers were doing. As the duo spelled out on the controversial skit "Shark Niggas (Biters)", the whole key was to "be original". In this spirit, XXL alslo breaks form - from devoting our expanded Classic Material tributes to groundbreaking works of the dearly departed. On the 10-year anniversary of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...'s release, we spoke with Raekwon and his collaborators for their reflections and insights on the creation of this hard-boiled hip-hop classic.

 

01: Striving For Perfection

RAEKWON: When we sat down and did "Striving for Perfection", we knew how important the intro to an album is. We were comming in as young, scrambling n*ggas. We had visions-- goals and dreams. And when we was saying certain things, shit was relating to n*ggas' lives for real. But at the end of the day, we was just trying to let it be known that, Yo, we gonna do this and we ain't gonna stop. If we fall off, we fall off. But if we get on, this is only the beginning. It was just something like, Yo, if this shit don't work right there, gotta go another route. Probably gotta go get on some robbin' some bank shit. Some ol' other shit. So, we felt like we was just striving to get recognized in the game as those dudes that really repped the streets hard. And basically let n*ggas know: We will be rich in the next year - I guarantee you that.

RZA: The theme of the album is two guys that had enough of the negative life and was ready to move on, but had one more sting to pull off. They're tired of doing what they doing, but they're trying to make this last quarter million. That's a lot of money in the streets. We gonna retire and see our grandbabies and get our lives together. Being that Rae and Ghost was two opposite guys as far as neighborhoods was concerned, I used John Woo's The Killer. (In that movie) you got Chow Yun Fat (playing the role of Ah Jong) and Danny Lee (Inspector Lee). They have to become partners to work shit out. Mostly everything (of the spoken interludes) is from The Killer on that album, that or personal talking. I met John Woo that same year. He sent me a letter. He was honored that we did it. I felt confident we could settle anything that came up. You can usually settle that shit. It's part of the budget, man. But John Woo didn't want nothing, never no money for that. We actually became friends. He took me and Ghost to lunch and dinner many times. He gave me a lot of mentoring in film.

METHOD MAN: In RZA, you got a guy that watched karate flicks most of his childhood. He has that type of mind; his imagination is crazy. So when he put those (early Wu) albums together, he was like a kid in a candy store - like, Now I can finally make my own karate movies. So when the solo albums dropped, mine took up where Wu-Tang left off, so it was good for me to come then. Dirty's still had the kung fu element, but it was more twisted; it was like screwed music because it was seen through Dirty's eyes this time. When Raekwon's album came, since he was on some mobster shit, that's how the n*gga structured his album. Every gangster movie he could find, every quote - it's like the way he put that album together.

 

02: Knuckleheadz

RAEKWON: That's a track where we runnin' around. We doing what we do, getting paper. We smackin' n*ggas up. The beat just had us feeling like, Who the knucklehead wanting respect?! That was just one of them tracks where we felt like we just got finished robbing a bank and we got hohme and broke that money up. See this knucklehead n*gga try to get slick with that paper; "One for you, two for me". It's like "What are you stupid? Tom-and-Jerryin' me, n*gga?"

RZA: My idea was besides them rapping the verses, afte they talking all this brotherhood shiht, they splitting the money up and he cheating them. The idea is that U-God gets killed in "Knuckleheadz." It's like a movie. One dies, two others go on. To me, the album is a movie and shit. You get to hear U-God come in. After that song, I had to give Rae a few back-to-back solo joints.

U-GOD: I was like two days out of prison. I just came out the penitentiary. Id' just come home on Wu-Tang's debut album Enter the Wu-Tang, 36 Chambers, too. I did two years in prison. I came home on paorle - work release right before the first album was done. That's why I'm only on two songs on the first album. Then I got violated. Knucklehead cats out in the world, you know how we d o. So I got violated for another eight more months. Then I came back home and got on Rae and Ghost's album. When I did my verse for Knuckleheadz, it was a come up time, everybody trying to come up and get into the game. I ain't get a chance to do my vocals over. When I did that, I got locked up again.

 

03: Knowledge God

RAEKWON: Knowledge God was a serious story that I wrote. It's like I'm sitting down and writing a letter, but it folded out into the crime scene of what he was gonna do. I was talking about going to go hit up a real n*gga, a store owner like Mike Lavonia - them n*ggas that be having money in the hood and they be trying to stay out of the way of the tough guys. But at the same time, he still hold his ground because he got business out here in these streets. He's thinking, I"m not gonna be intimidated by yall young boys, but at the same time I know some of yall young boys might be scheming. That's where that character came from. In them ealry '80's, cocaine was a rich n*gga high. So if you was doing that back in the day and you had knowledge of self, you was a sharp n*gga to us, cause that was the sign of the times then. But nobody neve r said nothing about it. The sniffing at the start of the song just happened. That was a part of the take. When I did it, it wasn't like we knew that was gonna be ba part of the track.... I just did it on some (makes sniffing sound). You know , a n*gga don't gotta yell to hear the mic. A n*gga could do another sound to hear the mic. So that happened to come out. I felt when I was sitting down writing that drug pararphernalia rhyme, that I could've been a sn*gga on it like that at that time. We could have really been getting skied up, going to get this n*gga after that. So, it matched perfectly. But that wasn't like we was sniffin' coke in the studio or no shit.

 

04: Criminology

RZA: That was me trying to produce like a DJ, produce a breakbeat. Ghost actually asked me to make one of those beats. You listen to old DJ tapes. That's how I made that song, and he wanted hihs shit to sound like a breakbeat. He had a rhyme that he knew was going to change the game - that was the verse that got him recognized. Cypess Hill's DJ Muggs called up and was like "Yo, he killed that shit. He ripped that shit" Form that point on, he's the co-star. He wins Best Supporting Actor. Rae got nominated, maybe won or didn't - but Ghost definetly wins.

GHOSTFACE KILLAH: I wrote that verse in San Francisco. We used to carry the beat machine around a lot. We was out there a good two weeks, so RZA was making beats all day. I heard that beat and I loved that track. The year was '95. Hip hop was still hip hop, and we was going in. I don't know if I was drunk when I wrote that, but I know when I went in the booth, I had a battery in my back, fucking with the Ballantine Ale. I recorded a lot of my shit on Ballantine.

 

05: Incarcerated Scarfaces:

RAEKWON: The way RZA had it poppin' back thenn, we would come into his spot. It was like dudes would come in on their own time and create stuff. I remember I just came in, and the beat was just pumpin'. I wrote the hook - that was the first thing I did. I think one of my mans just got hit with some heavy time around that time. I had a lot of n*ggas up there, too. So it was like. Yo, this one gotta be for them n*ggas right here. This right here will be just fo them n*ggas in jail. It won't be for nobody else. I just wrote it out real quick. I did three verses on that, so Ghost didn't have to come in and really do anything to it.

RZA: I wasn't making that beat for Rae. I was finished with Rae. I like having 13 tracks. I don't like having 18. I was making it for GZA probably. He was next. But then Rae heard that beat, grabbed his pen and paper, and started writing. Two hours later, it was written.

 

06: Rainy Dayz

RAEKWON: When we wrote "Rainy Dayz", I think we was already out of the country. We was in Barbados, by the water. Some joints we had the beats to we went out of town with. And that one specifically, we wrote by the water. Had that good villa right off the ocean and shit. Three, four in the morning. wind is blowing, curtains is blowing, and we just really got a chance to put it down. I think I wrote mine out there. We just basically gave you some action on how n*ggas in the hood think. Like how a n*gga lady think - they don't act like they there to try to bring you back from doing what you gotta do, but they try to get you caught up. We was like, This is gonna be perfect for the struggling girl who can't understand her man and he a thorough n*gga. We wanted to put a girl from the movie in the skit, at the start of the song, when she said "I sing for him and he isisn't here". He ain't here, bitch , cause he makin' money! He trying to put some food on the table.

RZA: This is one of my favorites, if not my favorite track. It stayed on the grill for a long time. That's what we called it back then. I didn't take a song off until I was satisfied. I generally like to do 'em, mix 'em, put 'em away. This was too emotional and too real fo me, too close to my personal situation. This was the life we was living, just talking and rapping and hoping. Record royalties take too long to come. We had a platinum album, but we waiting on the check to come fast, like babies wanting they food.

BLUE RASPBERRY: I was on the microphone, singing thaht old song by Barbra Streisand and Donna Summe (No More Tears (Enough is Enough)), that sings "It's raining, it's pouring, my love life is boring me to tears." I was just singing that, and so then RZA started playing a track. So that's where "It's raining, he's changing" came from. That's the kind of mind state it put me in. .I got a little stumped in middle, so it's like, "No sunlight, more gunfights." When I said "No sunlight," RZA brought in the "More gunfights" which brought me intno a whole other realm of the song, where I could go ahead and complete it.

 

07: Guillotine (Swordz)

RAEKWON: To me, that was a "Symphony" track. Meth had a piece of that beat on his album that was used as a skit. Cause that's how RZA is. Sometimes he'd mix other shit in and give you a piece of something but not really act like it's gonna be assigned to that. He'll see if somebody like it and use it for filler or whatever. I had told RZA awhile ago after he did that. "Yo, I want that beat." We was the first to be talking that Cristal shit. I know that for a fact. I never even heard of Cristal before that. Back then we would go do dinners and shit with Loud Record President Steve Rifkind and them up at the label. And our mission would be like, when we sit at the table, we want the best fuckin' wine they go in the building .We might have asked for something else. We might have asked for some Mo or something and they didn't have it. So we was like "What the fuck is the next best thing, Steve?" And Steve's like "Give 'em the next best thing" They came out with Cristal. Me and Ghost liked thhe bottle, and the name on the bottle was Louie Roederer. I was like, I'm Lou Diamond, Louie Roederer. Me and Ghost is loving how fruity the bottle looked. It cost more than the muthafuckin' other , so we was like, Cristal, n*gga! That's our new shit!

RZA: For that beat right there, a very open beat, not too heavy on production. This is me trying to imitate the sound Isaac Hayes did on "Do You Thing". That da-na-na...na-na, I found a way to imitate that shit. When you plug the Yahama VL7 (keyboard) up to a MPC (sampler), because of the note cutoff of the MPC, it cause the notes to stutter, cause it don't link up perfect. I heard it and I could reproduce it, but only with those two machines. I had the prototype from Yahama cause I didn't want nobody else to get it.

GZA: I don't know why I onlyl got on one track. Maybe cause it was just a Rae and Ghost album - it was featuring Ghost, and I think he was probably pleased with me just getting on one. Just to fill in a slot.

 

08: Can It Be All So Simple (Remix)

RAEKWON: The remix came from when we used to do shows when Enter the Wu-Tang dropped. Me and Ghost used to come out to that part of the beat in the middle of the show. RZA did a little bit of magic to it and touched it and twirled it, and Ghost basically was talking about how he got shot back in the days when he was out of town. He started going into his story rhyme shit. Back then a lot of n*ggas we knew was in and out of different states and cities, andn you know shit could happen. So when he wrote, that I guess he was going back to the time when he got popped: "Emergency trauma Black teen headed for surgery." It was like he was just describing the moment.

 

09: Shark Niggas (Biters)

RAEKWON: It was one of them skits where we was looking at our competition. And when Ghost is saying whatever he was saying, we kinda knew who he was talking about, but it wasn't llike we trying to start a beef. It's just sometimes, when you get in the boothh and you start saying what you wanna say, it just happened. Back then we was feeling good. The liquor's mamking a n*gga feel stronger. We know we coming up with a good album. And we letting it be known, listen : Blah blah blah blah blah. And that's all we did.

RZA: This was the end of the first side. That's how we thought of it right then. We was letting n*ggas know, we know what we was doing, knew what we had in our hand. Don't sound like none of my crew. Eventually, n*ggas did bite. If they would of have it in that year, they would have gotten fucked up. We was enforcing, we was fucking n*ggas the fuck up. You grow up out of your meanness. Hip hop had only one rule: no biting. We knew that everybody was already jumping on it already. You had a few n*ggas trying to clone our shit, already had a few fake Meth's popping up. Fuck that, we gonna see you. At one point, a n*gga would kill you if you sounded like them.

GHOSTFACE KILLAH: I didn't want n*ggas to sound like me. Basically, we was just wilding, starting a lot of trouble. We was airing out at that time. I'm not here to fuck around and start throwing out names. But at that time, nigas knew what was going on and who n*ggas was talking about. You know how Wu came through. At that time, it was on for anybody. We came into the game, like Fuck everybody. Niggas can't touch this, whatever, whatever. That was our mind-frame back then. We ran all that shit - jails, streets, Brooklyn House, Rikers Island and Up North - Wu-Tang was what was up. So we was just them two n*ggas bugging out off of that shit. God bless the dead, I love BIG. He's a fucking icon. Even when I seen him out in Cali, I wanted to tell son, Yo, let's go ahead and make this record together because I matured through the years, and at the same time, I recognized good music. We shook hands on some peace shit, but that was all, cause they was on their way leaving out. A day or two later, n*ggas aired him out. I felt bad like damn, the n*ggas aired out one of my New York n*ggas.

 

10: Ice Water

RAEKWON: Everybody knew Cap from the hood. We knew Cap could rhyme, and I think he was getting hot at that time, too. Me and Ghost had already dropped our part, so we needed hhim to come up there and do his thing. He slid right in between, and he do what he do. Cappa knocked GZA out, and knocked everybody else who had rhymed over that track out. He knocked n*ggas out on the strength of the rhyme was phat; but also, when he said certain names that was from the hood, everybody went crazy. So he kinda won with a landslide. But GZA came sharp. So GZA felt robbed a little bit. He had to go back home, "Whatever, yo." We even laugh about that shit to this day. Like, a n*gga robbed GZA. But Cap won. Funny shit.

RZA: On side A, you had U-God come on the sting with them. In my mind, in the movie, he's killed already. Now there's a new n*gga coming in, with a whole new flow and shit. Cappadonna, he's hardly been to the basement. He was in jail but he still sounded good, still had it in him. I let him know. "You can pop in how Green Hornet did". And Big Un - he's in jail for life, a thorough ass n*gga, a real street n*gga. We let him do the talking between the second and third verses. He confirmed Ghost and Rae's association from the streets. He was from Stapleton with Ghost... So he's immortalized now. Music and film, it kkeeps you there forever.

INSPECTAH DECK: That's my shit. When I do shows, I come out and freestyle to that. Niggas be going crazy. That beat is RZA on his weed high. I think RZA smoked weed that day. Heh don't normally smoke. When we smoke, he don't fuck with us. He might take a pull or two, then comes with that crazy shit.

U-GOD: Cappa did eight years in prison. Cappa came home. I'm the one that came and got Cappa out of his bed when Rae and them n*ggas were recording. He didn't even wanna come, cause he was bitter. When you in jail and you come home and cats you grew up with his doing it withhout you, of course you gonna feel bitter. I got him out his fuckin' bed, slapped off all that bitterness and brung him down to the studio. Rae's carpet fell out. Cappa taught me how to rhyme! I used to be his beatbox.

 

11: Glaciers of Ice

RAEKWON: The opening skit was something me and Ghost really wanted to stress, because around that time we was really buying Clarks left and right. We had bumped into a Chinese n*gga who could dye shit. That was Ghost's man. And we was just runnin' back and forth to that n*gga every time we was into shoes hard. We wanted to wear Clarks because the shits was comfortable and nobody in the game was fuckin' with 'em. So you know, we'd be going to dye shit, ,and that's where Ghost came up with the idea to slice 'em. I was the solid-color n*gga, he was the striped n*gga. We started coming up with different flavors. So he was letting n*ggas know, "I wanna get a pair of Clarks like, I'm a murder 'em!" When I rhymed to "Glaciers", it wasn't even to that beat. It was the drum part of that beat I rhymed to. That day, when I went home, I didn't like my rhyme. Everybody else kept stressing that they liked my rhyme. But I didn't. RZA was like "Don't worry about it. Go home, get some rest, you tired, you buggin'". I was like fuck that, when I come back tomorow, I'm changing that shit. When I came back, it was likethe shit was a whole new different beat with the drums under it. He made Blue Raspberry hit certain notes. He'd have her scream, go crazy. That shit's nothing but an AK festival with all the screaming. I took it like he had a shooting range with a bunch of Iraq n*ggas just having a festival.

BLUE RASPBERRY: One night, I was just at the studio and I was playing around on the microphone, singing Patti LaBelle's "Over the Rainbow." I was with no music, no nothing. I was sitting there, just singing. And when I got to the end like "Why then, oh why c-a-a-n't I?" RZA recorded it. And that's where he put it in "Glaciers of Ice."

RZA: The Clarks skit is totally how Ghost is. He recorded the skit - I think we was in the car. I had a portable DAT. I made everybody get oen, cause no telling where you gonna be at when an idea hits. Put it under your bed with your bitch, whatever.

GHOSTFACE KILLAH: We was in the car one day, driving around with the DAT machine with a microphone. and we just started talking shit about how we're gonna do it this summer with the Clarks. The dying was something I was doing already. I'm an inventor. Niggas can't fuck with me when it comes to style. Only n*gga that is right there with me is probably Slick Rick. Other than that, I'm boss.

 

12: Verbal Intercourse

RAEKWON: We got in the studio, RZA played the beat. Nas was liking it, and he was trying different rhymes to it. We would sit there, and he'd say some of his shit. But he didn't really know which rhyme he wanted to say. and I was there, being like his little coach. And I was like, "That it son", he was like "that's it?", I was like "Nigga, that's it!" But he had already went through 3 or 4 rhymes, and he couldn't really see which one he wanted it to be. But I heard it. Once it camem out his mouth, I was like, That's it. Our main focus was just to make sure that he get his nut off and do what he gotta do. When he did his thing, I wrote something real quick, just to get this shhit really looking like something. Ghost just put the cherry on the top. No hook, cause we didn't care about hooks like that. All we had was the "RZA, Chef, Ghost and Nas" which is more or less an introductory hook. Not really a hook.

NAS: Rae would come out to Queensbridge, I would go to Staten Island. We'd just ride and hang out all night. We didn't call each other to work. We called each other to hang out. Somehow we wound up in the studio. RZA had a couple of beats ready. He played them for me. I got on both of them. The other one never came out. I was honored to be asked to be on the album. Raekwon was ahead of his time. I knew Rae was a classic artist and the album was going to be a music classic.

GHOSTFACE KILLAH: Nas banged it out in one night. He went first with his shit. We all came after. Son was fast. Nas had a couple verses. He spit one verse to us and then another, not on the mic. He just asked "How this sound?" and then we picked the one he spit. He still had the pen in his hand and all the other shit, but son got in there and just threw an ill crack verse. He was on fire.

 

13: Wisdom Body:

RAEKWON: In my eyes, Cuban Linx was always Ghost's album as well as it was mine. That's one thing about me. I already knew that me and him was a pair. So even through people felt like it was a Raekwon album, I looked at it like it was a Wu-Tang album, and this is me, and Ghost's departure right there, cause dudes don't really talk the street stuff like that. Or dudes talk it, but don't talk it the way we talk it. So when Ghost had put Wisdom Body up there on the album, I felt like, this track is definitely needed and it sound fly. I wasn't at the studio that day when he did it, but I knew that rhyyme he was gonna play, cause I remember RZA keep playing that beat over and over, like "Somebody gotta eat this." That's how RZA is. "Somebody gotta eat that. Whether you wanna eat it or not, somebody gotta eat that." And Ghost just ate it up alone.

RZA: This track was originally called "Fly Bitch Shit". At this time, Ghost became Tony Starks. On that song, Ghost came in and did that song one day I actually put it in the stash; it was Ghost by himself at first. Then Rae jumped on it. I was like, No, it's too personal to Ghost. It's a glitch in that performance, the way he did it the first time on ADAT. He never came with that same wetness of voice. He's more high-pitched when other producers work with him. His voice should be compressed on 90 MHZ and sloped down. I know that; other producers and engineers don't know that. I had nine compressors - one for each MC - thath I could just patch in.

GHOSTFACE KILLAH: You can hear the punches in there. There's a few punches in there right in the beginning when I say, "Check the bangin-gest". You can hear the shit switch up a little bit. RZA had to punch the other take in. Cause back then, since I was drinking, I'd slur a lot so I had to do a bunch of takes. You can hear that I'm a little bit drunk if you listen. That's why I punched in, because I fucked up one of my words. So, I just kept the beginning and put the other take in. That's the thing about these albums that we made earlier. We used to keep a lot of the fuckups. That's what made it raw. Everything ain't always gotta be too perfect.

 

14: Spot Rusherz

RZA: Spot Rusherz was another example of that zone. I wasn't really feeling the beat. I was done with Rae's album. Another time I was was making beats for GZA. Rae and me got a similarity. We workaholics; we dedicated to the cause. It's one of those things where he came in and aired it out. And to me, it saved the beat. I still don't like that beat. I still wanted to get it off the album. The two gun shots at the end: Just in case you got bored, I was bringing you right back.

 

15: Ice Cream

RZA: I gotta take total credit for the idea. I got this basement downstairs in my first nice apartment I had, in Mariner's Harbor in Staten Island. There's a line running from the basement to the production room on the second floor. I just zoned the fuck out one night and did the beat. Meth came over. I told him I got a crazy idea on this one. I wanna use girls' breasts as imaginary ice cream cones. I came up with the idea to make T-shirts to go with it. "Meth you gonna do the hook." It was the first song besides "You're All I Need to Get By" that we pressured him into. He didn't like being the pretty boy. He took those words I said "French vanilla", "butter pecan" - and put them in perfect order. It was really Wu-Tang's first reach out to women. Women wasn't even allowed into the studio. A woman wouldn't be allowed in the studio until '97. It's a distraction. It reminds me of the ingenuity of the mind I had ticking and making these songs and we thinking we can make t-shirts. We must've sold 20,000 t-shirts at the Wu-Wear store alone.

CAPPADONNA: Well, the first joint I did, the one that put me on the map was "Ice Cream" And we did that one like, that was the beginning, nobody ain't really had nothing. We had a lil' studio up on Clove Lake. RZA had an apartment over there, with the studio in the basement. That's the studio that got flooded out. They had a flood in there. But before the flood, I was out as a security guard up there at the time, and I had went in there and I heard "Ice Cream"; I had heard Rae's verse; I heard Ghost's verse on there. And I had made a joke about me getting on the track, and RZA took it seriously and was like "Yo, go ahead. Lace that."

 

16: Wu-Gambinos

RAEKWON: The Wu-Gambinos aliases come from how I used t o like that movie Once Upon a Time in America, with Robert De Niro and James Woods. I liked how these young little n*ggas grew up, from the ground up, not having nothing to start, but still was confused about how they treated each other. Andt he names came. You knonw, "Tony Starks" came from Iron Man. "Lou Diamond" came from me being infatuated with the diamond world. Back then I was wearing a lot of ice, was calling shit ice. But then I started giving some of my n*ggas in the crew names. Being that it's my album, I wanted n*ggas to know, You gotta have a certain a.k.a. when you're on this track. This is a Gambino track. Wu-Gambinos. I would call Masta Killa "Noodles" call GZA "Maximillian". Inside the movie, Noodles and Max was partners. I felt like GZA was like "Maximillian" because he was like the brains of the crew. He would say something real intellectual and smart, ,and I looked at him like a "Max". I called Deck "Rollie Fingers" cause of the way he roll blunts. So names just started fitting n*ggas. "Golden Arms", U-God. Then n*ggas just start making they own names up. "Bobby Steels" - RZA was on some real Black Panther, DJ, ill producer shit.

RZA: Now that these guys pulled they sting off, they got one more big sting. They gotta call the heavy hitters in on this one. It's Rae getting the rest of the team to make this thing official. Actually, that was the first one where everybody took on another name t o go along with the concept of the album. That was done intentionally. We was probably 11 songs into the album. "Everybody come with your Gambino name." My name was Bobby Steels when I was 12, 13, so I brought that back out. It was me and Ghost the last to lay our verses. Ghost goes last; everybody was up in the cut. True Master had to be the engineer to record me. I let n*ggas know I'm part of the sting. I'm coming forr that money, too. For me it was a chance to show n*ggas, because I hadn't been heard for a minute.

MASTA KILLA: That was all done in the same place. And it was a beautiful thing to see. Wu-Gambinos: You see Meth come in; he lays his verse. You see Deck come in; he lays his verse. RZA is there; he lays his verse. It's inspiring to just see other MCs come through. And not just MCs. This is your brother. This is your family. It's like the Jackson 5 and shit. They all in one room. It's going to be magical. RZA was the Beethoven of the whole shit. I think he orchestrated the whole shit. A lot of times brothers came and it was llike you came in and you rhymed; you could have left and you went wherever. When your album was completed, you came in to listen to what he stayed up putting his magic touches on things.

METHOD MAN: We were high, hanging out. It was always a relaxed atmosphere because we were so used to being there, sleeping on the floors and all that. So it was like being home, writing rhymes in your own house. You went from the floor to the booth. It took thhrere hours tops, just to put vocals on it. That was the first time we ever used our aliases, The Wu-Gambinos names. We were sitting there like, "My name gonna be this" and "My name gonna be that." People really thought my fuckin' name was Johnny Blaze. Raekwon started that. Rae always had that mobster mentality, always liked to watch gangster movies and read mob books and stuff like that, you know? So he pretty much knew the names of the cats and what they was about. He polished his whole style like that. Plus Staten Island is known for mobsters - that's where the Italians live. Not saying all Italians are mobsters, but you know, we ain't blind and shit.

 

17: Heaven & Hell

GHOSTFACE KILLAH: This was one of the first songs recorded fo Cuban Linx cause we made it for the Fresh soundtrack. Rae wrote all of it, and then we just broke it up. I just did it with him. So, I was right there. I was the co-singning like, I'm a say this part. There are a lot of things me and Rae do like that. I might write, and be like "Yo, here, son just say these parts." But on that one, he had did that. We recorded it the same day.

GZA: Some artists owrk together. I've thrown lines at brothers, and I've gotten lines from brothers. That's how we get down.

 

18: North Star (Jewels)

RAEKWON: "North Star" was a track I really, really wanted on my album. It was a track that I felt a vibe of it was motion picture-like. I was havin a vision of that song: I could just see a little kid looking out the window, just eating a $100,000 Bar. He coulda been on the seventh floor, eighth floor. And just looking out the window, just looking at these n*ggas out there in the street doing they thing. How they eat, how they get money. Back in them days, n*ggas would run up to cars and stick they drugs in the window to make n*ggas buy 'em and whatever. So that beat always reminded me of some slow, theatrical trouble that's to take place. The inspiration that Popa Wu was saying, he was more or less giving a documentary of me with the words he was saying. He was talking about me like "Yo, just keep your head up, man. Don't let nothing get you down." Just trying to really inspire me from being an OG's point of view. And in the hood, OGs is legends to us.

RZA: "Fly Bitch Shit" and "North Star" was one song, but I separated them out. The idea is Rae did everything he had to do. Eveything is over now. The job is over. Mission is over, it's a perfect closing t the album. Popa Wu was a very smart mentor in the younger days to me and ODB. I formed Wu-Tang Clan. Everybody had dibs and dabs of street knowledge, knowledge of self, I brought him in to be a mentor to these men like, I love them and you the only person I know that have the intelligence to keep them in sync with knowledge. It's very poisonous unless they got proper guidance. He was the smartest man I'd ever met at a certain time in my life. After two years, they'd turned him into a Wu-Tang member. His name used to be Freedom Allah. He was Five Percent. He came Popa Wu after the experience, went from silk pants and buttom up shirts to fatigues.

 

UNDERSTANDING: Ghostface reveals the science behind a musical masterpiece

Rae was hot on the Wu Album, and when Loud decided to sign one of us solo, they wanted to carry Rae. I don't know really how that went down, but RZA made the deal with Steve Rifking and asked Rae, and they had the budget for the album. He was amped We decided to do the album together because our rhyme styles was comparable. We both talked a lot of street shit and liked the flossy and glossy shit. We already had the title. The chain we used to rock back in the days was Cuban links. So Rae came up with the theory, like a Cuban link is one of the roughest chains to break. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Real n*ggas, strong n*ggas. We wrote it in South Beach. It was just me and Rae down there for two or three weeks. It was recorded in the basement of RZA's old house in Staten Island. We had a lot of good luck in that room. We was in our prime. Back then I was punchin' a lot of rap n*ggas in their face, and n*ggas was getting beat up in the clubs. We were banned from everything. They wouldn't even let me in the Tunnel. Niggas was scared to death when I was out there wilding. I was fucking n*ggas up, robbing n*ggas, fucking a lot bitches, just doing dumb shit - and I'm rhyming. We was on it. We was going in at the time. We did everything. Rap n*ggas sniffed coke, too. Black n*ggas sniffed coke, too. Black n*ggas was street n*ggas. I was a dusthead. Rae didn't really like that high. We was young n*ggas getting a lot of shit poppin'. Talking shit about n*ggas, all types of shit. I used to drink a lot back then, which is why I sound so aggressive on a lot of shit. I was going through a lot of real internal shit during Cuban Linx. I was drinking my pain away every day. I used to drink before I wrote my rhymes and even before I went in the booth.. We tried to make every song a single, like how Rakim had "Eric B. is President", "My Melody" and all that - every song was basically banging. We wanted to do the same thing. It wasn't plots, like: Yo, you gotta rhyme about that. RZA came with a different sound. He started off the shit that's going on right now with the little voices in the background, old samples, and it was just fresh... It just happened that the beats made us talk a lot of shit. you might have a Scarface sample on Criminology, and Wu-Gambinos hahd a mafia feel with the violins. So, we were throwing a little mobster in our rhymes. I came up with all that "a.k.a. Tony Starks, a.k.a. Ironman...", Rae came after that with "Lex Diamonds." Then other Wu members came in. Now you hear all these other rap n*ggas with aliases. A lot of dudes started taking our shit, like Cristal and skits and "politickin". Even when we start rhyming, we be in the booth like, "Hey yo, hey yo, hey yo." Raekwon started that shit. He's the first n*gga I heard do that shit. That's the biggest shit n*ggas got now on the mic. We done took that to the highest peak. We bonded as a tight family, so n*ggas is starting to try and do that right now. Everybody thinking they have a strong family. We opened up the door for a lot of n*ggas. The shit was just crazy on how it came together. It was all meant because a lot of the shit, I don't even remembe. It was just how God worked it out.

 

MY PHILOSOPHY: RZA reveales the life behind the beats

We started working on Cuban Linx after Meth's album in '94. The way we had it planned, Meth was first, Dirty was second, then Rae and GZA. At that time, it was all my word on how it would go. We attracted the children and the women with Meth; attracted the wild, crazy people not really into philosophy with ODB. Then the real street n*ggas, the n*ggas we all were shying away from, we needed to hit them. Rae was an elder as far as MCing. Rae and Ghost together, those two right there were notorious kids from two different projects. At one point, they was rivals. Ghost is from Stapleton, Rae is from Park Hill. They kinda hooked up and seen that similarity in them, and that's how it went down. They didn't know each other as well as they knew me - it was my concept. Me and Ghost was living together; I lived in Stapleton in '91, '92. Me and Rae go back to second grade. Cuban Linx was an opportunity fo Rae and Ghost to give us the street side. When we did it, I said, "yo, it's gonna be a very dangerous album; it's gonna change the game. We gonna invite those demons, every negative stereotype, and deal with them. It's like the shit was lived; a lot of it was lived or experienced in one form or another. It's so natural, it don't feel like songs. It was a chance to show the world not only how New York livs but also how Shaolin preserved New York. An older generation was leaving and getting older. We're from the crack generation - that real gritty, rough project shit. We was on corners at 15, 16, doing shit you couldn't imagine. I was getting high at 11. We're street college guys - we call it criminologists. We had a certain kind of look: cables, Guccis, Bally, Polo. We went to Red Parrot, Latin Quarter. People would be like, who the fuck is those n*ggas? In my mind, we was what New York was about. This was the real shit that was happening. People in the projects live this life. We felt we was the shit rappers rapped about. I think Cuban Linx marked an era in hip hop personally. Cuban Linx to me solidifies it. Hip hop today is basically rapping about how tough you is in the strets, how you raking in the bitches and shit, how fly a n*gga is. We wasn't trying to be R&B'd out. I wasn't going out ike that. We was velour suits, gold fronts. Rakim was a great example, '86, to '87: a fly muthafucka, super cool, respected by corporate suits or n*ggas in the streets. I made most of the Cuban Linx beats first, eight of the tracks. I gave Rae & Ghost a tape of 10 beat, sent it to Florida. They had wanted to go to Barbados. But when they got to Barbados, the racism was so crazy. It was on some slave mentality. The Blacks was being treated like shit. They stopped back in Miami, and everything was recorded in my basement. No engineer, no assistant engineer. I did everything on that shit. The only two albums I did with nobody fucking with me was Linx and Liquid Swords. I was on a mission. To make all those early albums took three and a half years of my life. I didn't come outside, didn't have too many girl relations, didn't even enjoy the shit. I just stayed in the basement. Hours and hours and days and days. Turkey burgers and bluntes. I didn't know if it was working. But nobody could hear or say nothing, no comments, no touching the board when I leave. Everything was just how I wanted it.

 

Gonna go back & read this when i have more time later, lookin forward to it tho.

Anyone read the RZA's "Manual to the Wu" yet? Ive heard good things.

 

ps The RZA's a goddamn genius.

[The NZA]

So, that massive article on Raekwon the Chef was really informative on just how influential Rae & Ghostface were on the modern look of hip-hop, and a sea of biters, nevermind the genius of the RZA.

 

Not to be left out, AllHipHop.com gives a good article highlighting the Genius/the GZA.

 

GZA: Know the Legend

By Jarrod Miller-Dean

 

Over the years there have been many MC’s that have dropped albums with lyrical content of phenomenal feats. One of the secrets and main skills to being a true formidable MC is adaptation. Some can pull this of well and are accepted by fans. Others get mocked and criticized for losing sight of their original goals. In other words, they become forgotten memories. Only through true self-knowledge can one attain a higher state of being.

 

Fifteen years ago, Hip-Hop was introduced publicly to the Genius. This name was powerful on the mic, but when scratched on the turntable, The GZA, was even liver. In true honor of Hip-Hop Appreciation Week, AllHipHop.com wanted to look at the mind and accomplishments of a true survivor in his craft. Fifteen years deep, GZA stays motivated in his art to push it onward. Look at the past, future, and present as one.

 

AllHipHop.com: Because it’s Hip-Hop Appreciation Week, let’s take it back a bit. What was going through your mind during Words from the Genius?

 

GZA: At the time, I was just trying to get an album done. It was my first deal. I had been shopping around for six or seven years at the time. It actually felt like forever. I was in a real lyrical mode and was just trying to get my music heard. I got on with Cold Chilln’ in 89’ or 90’. I went out on tour with Grand Daddy I.U., Masta Ace and Kid Capri. It felt good to kick it with them, but I never really felt like I was apart of the label’s family. I never felt a real connection with the label. It felt like they weren’t really interested in the album.

 

AllHipHop.com: You and RZA were the first Wu members to get signed to a record deal.

 

GZA: Yeah, I was signed to Cold Chilln’ in 1989 or 1990. RZA was signed to Tommy Boy around the same time. We both released some single and a few videos.

 

AllHipHop.com: That would be some serious Wu treasure if still available. I bet heads would be bidding in the $100’s for it on Ebay.

 

GZA: I’m still looking for the stuff myself. I would like to put together a video compilation or portfolio.

 

AllHipHop.com: Going way way back, let’s talk about All In Together Now.

 

GZA: The All In Together Now Crew was me [as] “The Genius”, RZA, “The Scientist.” and Dirty, “The Professor.” It was our group I the early to mid 80’s. I had a song called that. Me and Dirty performed it together. He was on the human beat-box, because he was ill at it. It was mostly just a few demos and routines. It was a long time ago. We were mad young. It was never laid on wax or anything. It was way before CD’s. There were a few tapes circulating around. Actually a cat was recently telling me that he had a copy of me and Dirt performing it in 85’ or 89’. I don’t think that you could find any of that unless you knew someone that had it.

 

AllHipHop.com: On Return to the Liquid Sword, there was no swearing. At the time, I heard that you felt that MC’s focused too much in profanity and less on their lyrical content. Do you still believe this?

 

GZA: It was something subconscious at the time. No, actually I was conscious of it, but that’s just the way that I write. Besides the album that I recently made with D.J. Muggs [of Cypress Hill], none of my tracks really have swearing on them. Don’t get me wrong, I swear in my everyday life all the time, and I may drop a “f**k” or a “n***a.” When I write, it’s just the way that it comes out. “I’m an obscene slang kicker/ With out an obscene sticker.”

 

Ya, know? Some times you do need to swear to make a point, but if you make a video and half of your lyrics are swearing, you loose a lot. It gets censored out and you miss half a sentence. It’s not really a good look. MC’s should practice that style of writing. You have to learn to adapt. As a child, you didn’t curse in front of your mother. You can say what you want, as long as it’s clever.

 

AllHipHop.com: What record label are you on right now?

 

GZA: I’m actually free-lance right now. Like I mentioned earlier, I just did an album with DJ Muggs on Universal. There is not release date yet. I’m working on a “mix-tape” album. It’s going to be coming out on the Babygrande label in August or September. I’m also working on a script.

 

AllHipHop.com: Over the years, Hip-Hop’s sound has changed drastically. How have you and the other Wu members survived in Hip-Hop so long?

 

GZA: By always being true to one’s self. You do what you know is right in your heart. You can change your style, but you must be yourself first. Lyrics used to come first, but today it seems like the beat comes before the lyrics. I always stuck to doing what I liked to do. You may not hear Wu on the radio all the time, but we’re all always writing or working on something. The fans stay loyal and true. I sometimes like to walk through the city and people are always stopping me and saying, “Yo, we need you guys back.” We were in Europe and the crowd was from the ages of 16 to 23. That means, somewhere, heads caught on. We still have a young crowd base though. It’s a great feeling to still be respected after all of these years.

 

AllHipHop.com: Not to say that Wu-Tang will never put out another album as a collective again, but you are all well established solo MC’s. Who do you think still carries the Wu torch?

 

GZA: I think that I do. When I say that, I mean my son, Justice. He has an album coming out later on this year. He makes a few appearances on my mixtape also. In the future, you should be on the look out for more releases from Wu affiliated members.

 

AllHipHop.com: Wu tracks have often had more than one meaning. When a person hears a track for the first time they may hear one thing, and then later on realize that it has a dual meaning.

 

GZA: Yeah, there is always more than 1 meaning. You have to look deep. They should be thought provoking. You shouldn’t make lyrics so complex that you need a thesaurus to understand them. They should be clear and intelligent. What one MC can say in 16 bars, I can say in four or six. I may only have 20 rhymes in my arsenal versus someone with 200, but he can’t handle them. Sometimes, less is more. Knowledge is key. Through that, we look, listen and observe. What we don’t say, can actually mean a lot more than if we were to speak. That is the key to good writing.

 

AllHipHop.com: Friends passing pause tapes has always been an important part of Hip-Hop. How do you feel about bootlegging music?

 

GZA: I think that it hurts more than it helps. Bootlegging has positives and negatives. It’s negative because it takes money away from your pocket. Me personally, I don’t by bootleg albums. I like to see the lyrics, the book jacket and the album art. If you buy a cd off the street and it’s scratched, you can’t go and get your money back. More than likely the guy is gone.

 

AllHipHop.com: And if he’s not, hell probably laugh at you for asking for your money back.

 

GZA: Exactly. If I buy an album from Tower Records and it’s scratched, I can go and exchange it or get my money back. More than likely the guy on the street will just give me another album and it probably is the same quality as the other. I sometimes just buy music and don’t even listen to it. I will give it to my son to listen to and he’ll tell me what he thinks of it.

 

AllHipHop.com: What about DVD’s? You’re a movie buff.

 

GZA: DVD’s are a different story. Sometimes, the movie isn’t available in the store. I can get something that I normally couldn’t get or before it comes to the states.

 

AllHipHop.com: Hit us off with new kung-fu flick that we should be on the look out for?

 

GZA: You have to ask RZA, but Ong Bok and Kung-fu Hustle were dope.

 

AllHipHop.com: Did you see Sin City?

 

GZA: Yeah, but I need to see it again. There was so much going on at once. The look was great and everything was dark. It wasn’t too comic booky, but it had a real dark comic vibe to it. The scenes and the actor were great. Who was that, Mickey Rourke? He looked just like his character from the comic. Nothing has ever been made on that level. I still want to see it again, just to catch the part that I missed.

 

AllHipHop.com: When I saw it I thought that RZA should have done the score.

 

GZA: I agree.

 

AllHipHop.com: Are you still affiliated with the Five Percent Nation of Islam?

 

GZA: I’ve learned a lot, but I’ve grown. First and for most, I am Self. People get categorized as a whole and that’s how people begin to perceive them. The Nation of Gods and Earths was just the first stop. I am still Justice. I learned mad lessons back in the day. I am a part of the Nation, but I wouldn’t say that I am a Five Percenter.

 

AllHopHop.com: What was the reunion show like? Was it like back in the old days?

 

GZA: Yeah, it was great. It was the first show that all 10 members [including Capadonna] had performed together on stage in a long time. The vibe and feeling were on point. Dirty was sounding amazing. Before the show, on the stage, and afterwards; cats were getting crazy. It’s a piece of history to carry in my pocket.

 

AllHipHop.com: You’re going on tour soon again, solo.

 

GZA: Yeah, I’m doing nine dates. I’m going to hit up New York City, Connecticut, and Maine…

 

AllHipHop.com: Maine doesn’t exactly seem like the Hip-Hop capital of the world.

 

GZA: Yeah, but there’s fans there. It’s big. I bet there are probably some astronauts in space banging a 50 Cent CD or something. Hip-Hop is universal.

[Reverend Jax]

From the JXA to Ghostface Nickel

 

Torrent from Wu Banga Vol 1

[The NZA]

why thank you jax....and me with a functional PC very possibly tomorrow.

 

Heard of it, but i gotta go look up a track listing....

[Reverend Jax]

Intro

What You In Fo'

Street Monopoly

Sword Play

Money To spend

Glory

Killa Hillz 31013

Respect Power

Win

Se Acabo Remix

Pain, Misery And Hunger

Box In Hand (Unreleased Version)

Iron Wire

When The Fat Lady Sings

The Ambush

Saga 2000

Degree Zero

It's Not A Game (RaizaBlade Reizablade Remix)

[The NZA]

Every damn day, i get no fewer than 4 PM's (2 from WhoDey) demanding more info on the Wu, so im doing all i can to keep up here, people.

Taken from here, this is a short outline of their history & odd side-notes up through 2002, lotta intersting deals, espeically if youre interested in ODB's long list of troubles (R.I.P. to the man whose father had no style).

 

 

Wu-Tang Clan

Days of the Wu

By Del F. Cowie

November 30, 2001

 

The influence of the Wu-Tang Clan on hip-hop cannot be dismissed lightly. The group revolutionised the sound and business of hip-hop in the early '90s, and their hybrid style that meshes insular street poetry with martial arts lore only deepens their mystique. Despite their ups and downs and waning influence, this Staten Island collective can still push the boundaries and their legacy as one of the most innovative and original groups the genre has ever produced will likely stand untested.

 

 

 

1978

 

Gary Grice aka the Genius aka the GZA learns how to rhyme in a Brooklyn junior high school, tapping on lunchroom tables for beats and battles fellow students. GZA aka Maxamillion aka Justice is the lyrical mentor of the Wu-Tang Clan and is the most respected figure within the group, known for his painfully meticulous approach to writing rhymes. He would pass his skills onto his cousins Robert Diggs (Prince Rakeem/RZA) and Russell Jones (Ol' Dirty Bastard).

 

1980s

 

The trio came up in hard conditions. RZA was one of ten children and his mother didn't even have a bank account until his success. The three moved constantly around New York when they were young, but when they got together they would hone their hip-hop skills, making up beats, rhymes and routines: at ODB's house, which had a turntable, keyboard and drum machine in the living room; in a neighbour's basement; or lyrically battling kids in different neighbourhoods. Ol' Dirty Bastard was known as the Specialist and was primarily a beatboxer, although Rza later taught him how to rhyme. RZA's moniker was the Scientist and he was an MC and DJ while the Genius/GZA was an MC. The changing of names and identities was a constant with the crew even before they became famous. GZA learned about the Five Percent Nation, a splinter group from the Nation of Islam, through a family friend now known as Poppa Wu, and shared the beliefs with his cousins. Those teachings prove to be very influential and GZA, RZA and ODB adopt the names Justice, Rakeem and Unique respectively. The trio form a group called All In Together Now named after one of their routines. On Saturday mornings the trio would watch Kung Fu specials on TV and every weekend the Genius/GZA would go to the cinema to watch martial arts movies, which had caught on since the demise of blaxploitation movies. The morals and discipline shown in the films and the relevance of films such as Shaolin and Wu-Tang were clearly very influential on the trio. The trio later applied the Wu-Tang sword style to their lyrical style, equating their tongues with swords, and they dubbed Staten Island their home base Shaolin. The influence of the martial arts movies grew so pervasive that in Staten Island towards the end of the decade, the word Wu-Tang came to symbolise anything that was considered cool and it was even a nickname for Olde English beer. RZA used the term to apply to the burgeoning crew of friends around the trio in Staten Island. Many lived in the Park Hill and Stapleton projects and attended school together. Crew members worked at a variety of odd jobs. Comic book fanatic Method Man worked at the Statue of Liberty, Ol' Dirty Bastard got his name working at a garage and the Genius worked at a nuts and bolts factory, while others hustled on the street. All In Together Now played dingy venues and emerging leader RZA taught the crew about the Five Percent Nation, which was already a noticeable element in hip-hop of this era. The group got together to hang out and rhyme on the street or to record at RZA's house.

 

1991

Genius and Prince Rakeem secure record deals with Cold Chillin' and Tommy Boy respectively. Genius signs with Cold Chillin' because it's the home of artists such as the popular Big Daddy Kane. However, his first single for the label was "Come Do Me" a throwaway R&B ditty that misrepresented his album Words From The Genius. Genius shops Method Man to the label execs, but they pass on him, and Genius's association with the label soon ends. Prince Rakeem releases a dubious single entitled "Ooh We Love You Rakeem," to lacklustre response. ODB, the other member of the original All In Together Now, is forced to move into a homeless shelter with his wife and child for six months.

 

 

1992

RZA is put on trial for attempted murder after shooting a man. RZA claims self-defence. He faces eight years in prison but is found not guilty. Tommy Boy Records decides they will not be releasing his album and turn their attention to House of Pain. Stung by the rejection yet determined to make the most of his narrow escape from jail, RZA incorporates the company Wu-Tang Productions and signs his crew of childhood friends to contracts. He tells the members to come to the studio with $100 and the best verse they had. The result of this recording session was "Protect Ya Neck." Not since the Juice Crew have there been so many MCs on a record - part of plan to showcase all the MCs. The song's menacing aura, the hunger of the MCs and the martial arts samples would become intrinsic ingredients of Wu-Tang Clan music to come. The original group members appearing on this track are Prince Rakeem/RZA, the Genius/GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Inspectah Deck/the Rebel INS, Shallah Raekwon the Chef, Ghostface Killah and U-God/Golden Arms.

 

1993

After the indie release of "Protect Ya Neck" creates some buzz, the single is distributed on Loud Records. The new release adds the single "Method Man," featuring Method Man and his distinctive rhyme style. With his husky voice and the sound of him sucking his saliva back due to a legitimate drooling problem, the charismatic Method Man instantly becomes the most popular member of the crew. The group signs with Loud Records and orchestrates a unique deal for hip-hop artists similar to type of deals brokered by George Clinton's P-Funk groups. All Wu releases are deemed to be 50 percent partnerships with Wu-Tang Productions and each Wu member with solo deal must contribute 20 percent of their earnings back to Wu-Tang Productions, a fund for all Wu members. Each member is allowed to sign deals with other labels. It becomes clear that this was RZA's plan all along and the impetus behind releasing "Protect Ya Neck." This becomes a prototype deal for the many rap collectives who attempt to emulate the Wu's in the coming years. The group records its debut album in a cramped New York studio. RZA plays his uniquely dusty and arcane beats for group members and the MCs who like the beat get to rhyme on each one; those who throw down the best verses stay on the track. This healthy competition leads to "Meth vs. Chef," which eventually surfaces on Method's album, because he and Raekwon were battling for who should have the track on their album. The group releases Enter The 36 Chambers in November. Reactions to RZA's off-kilter production and the raw style of the MCs are extreme, initially polarising hip-hop heads - some love it, others think the production was just plain bad.

 

 

1994

Sales of Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) are steady; when the group releases the melodic narrative single "C.R.E.A.M.," sales and interest increase. After a positive article appears in Rap Pages magazine, satellite member Masta Killa punches journalist Cheo H. Coker, because the group takes offence to the article's accompanying artwork - something the journalist had no input in. A flood hits RZA's studio in Staten Island, decimating many of the beats he had lined up for several Clan solo albums - approximately 15 beats per MC. Most immediately affected is Method Man's Tical. Many of the beats are redone very quickly, apparently affecting the album's sound quality. The first of Wu solo albums, Tical - Meth's own name for weed - is dark and foreboding. Other Wu affiliates start to appear; Shyheim the Rugged Child, a teenage MC who grew up close to the RZA, releases an album. Other affiliates such as Sunz of Man and Killarmy also emerge from a network of as many as 300 members. RZA also comes out as part of the Gravediggaz, a group put together by Prince Paul, composed of artists who were frustrated by their treatment by record labels. Prince Paul and Frukwan were former members of Stetsasonic and RZA and Poetic were former solo artists, all once signed to Tommy Boy. The group's debut album 6 Feet Deep is unfortunately misunderstood by the media; tagged "horrorcore," it's compared to other inferior groups dabbling in macabre imagery at the time. In Queens, ODB goes out to the store at two a.m. to get ice cream and notices people following him in a car. He flees but can't shake them, so he resorts to jumping a fence with three rottweilers on the other side. The owner comes outside and ODB crawls into the house through the doggy door. Inside, the owner calls the police at ODB's request. But ODB is so intimidated by the dogs that he jumps through the glass pane of a second-floor window, and suffers broken bones, cuts and bruises in the fall. Police who arrive on the scene claim he was under the influence of drugs. ODB is charged with burglary. The woman tries to drop the charges but police refuse because of Dirty's previous criminal record. While in hospital, Dirty starts to receive death threats. The day after checking himself out of hospital, ODB is held up in the street in Brooklyn. After turning to run, ODB is shot in the back and the bullet comes out through his stomach. Also this year, U-God's two-year-old son is caught in the crossfire of a gun battle as he plays outside his babysitter's house. He survives despite losing one of his kidneys.

 

 

1995

Ol' Dirty Bastard's solo album Return To The 36 Chambers features his maniacal improvisational style and off-key singing. ODB does many of his recordings in one take. Just before the record is released, Ol' Dirty allows MTV to follow him travelling in a limo to pick up food stamps, probably in reference to the welfare card on his album cover. Method Man's profile rises with the remix of his "All I Need" duet with Mary J. Blige, though he despises his new found "heartthrob" status. The song eventually wins him a Grammy. His duet with Redman, "How High," is also a hit, solidifying Method Man as Wu's most visible and popular member. Raekwon the Chef's Only Built For Cuban Linx, a concept about about a drug dealer's life that features RZA's best beats to date, becomes the most critically acclaimed Wu solo project yet. Lavish living and the crime underworld are referenced throughout. The mystique of the Wu-Tang Clan is deepened by the adoption of crime boss aliases and the crew name Wu-Gambinos. The album introduces a flurry of words to the rap lexicon; many artists imitate its materialism without the Wu's complexity. It features Ghostface Killah, who until now had covered his face in every public appearance, and Nas, the first non-Clan MC to appear on a Wu-related album. The Genius releases Liquid Swords, a dense, highly visual record filled with vivid narratives from the Clan's mentor and is notable for "Labels," a vicious diss to the record industry. Expanding corporate ventures include the Wu-Wear clothing line, launched by group executive producer Power, on Staten Island; a manicure shop called Wu Nails opens up next door, run by the RZA's sister Sophia.

 

1996

With the help of his brother, RZA buys five acres of land surrounded by cornfields in central New Jersey. The house, dubbed Wu Mansion, provides a recording environment away from the distractions of New York. The house contains stacks of kung fu videos, an elaborate chess board (a GZA obsession), and a state of the art mixing board. Ghostface Killah capitalises on the buzz of his appearance on Raekwon's album with his solo Ironman, a black superhero concept album that is much more soulful than previous Wu albums, featuring '70s soul group the Delfonics and Ghost's infectious verve. ODB interrupts a performance by the Roots. He was initially welcomed by the band, but when he wouldn't leave the stage and give up the mic, a scuffle breaks out between ODB and Roots lead MC Black Thought. ODB announces that he is changing his name to Osirus, a name taken from Egyptian royalty.

 

1997

For the second Wu-Tang Clan album, RZA wants to release an album called The 8th Diagram, inspired by the film The Eight Diagram Polefighters, an kung fu classic. He wants to pursue a opera concept, incorporating some of the new wrinkles to his production, but Clan members are unreceptive. They record Wu Tang Forever instead. The album was one of the most anticipated hip-hop records ever, reaching number one on charts world-wide. The double CD lacks the cohesion of previous Wu-Tang releases, and despite strong sales, die-hard Wu fans are disappointed by the amount of album filler. The group goes on the road with Rage Against the Machine but their participation does not last long. Several key Clan members are missing from many shows and the crew rarely perform all together, a frequent problem for the Wu over the years. Eventually the Clan drops out, citing internal conflicts. ODB's wife has him arrested for failure to pay child support for three of his 13 children. Ghostface Killah travels to Africa on a spiritually life-changing trip. On his return, Ghostface is arrested by police for weapons possession; he fails to appear in court after suffering a bout with malaria.

 

 

1998

Wu releases are largely devoid of RZA's production, but the Clan remains in the news thanks to Ol' Dirty Bastard. While in a studio with associates in Brooklyn, ODB hears a car accident and they lift a car to free a four-year old girl trapped underneath. Ol' Dirty visits the hospital to check on the girl without identifying himself to the child's family. Days later, at the Grammy awards, ODB is miffed when Wu-Tang Clan lose the Best Rap Album Grammy to Puff Daddy. As Shawn Colvin walks on stage to accept her award for Song of the Year, ODB rushes onto the stage and grabs the microphone to say, "I went and bought an outfit today because I figured Wu-Tang was gonna win. Puff Daddy is good, but Wu-Tang is for the children." Soon after, ODB announces he is changing his name again, this time to Big Baby Jesus. A couple of months later ODB wakes up at a cousin's house to find a .45 revolver pointed at his head. He is robbed of money and jewellery and is shot in the back, suffering an exit wound through his arm. Six hours after he is admitted to the hospital, ODB checks himself out, setting off the fire alarm as he leaves through a rear exit. Three days later, ODB is arrested for shoplifting when he allegedly tries on a pair of $50 Nikes and walks out of the store wearing them. Later this year, ODB is ejected from a club and arrested for making terrorist threats to bouncers outside House of Blues in West Hollywood. A week later, ODB is ejected from a Berlin, Germany hotel for "lewd behaviour" after apparently hanging out on the balcony nude. ODB is also a featured artist on the hit single "Ghetto Superstar" with Pras and Mya, a collaboration that came about because he stumbled into the wrong studio. Cappadonna, the official tenth member of the Clan, who first appeared on Raekwon's album, releases The Pillage. Wu affiliates Killah Priest, Sunz of Man, and Killarmy release records that only the capture the interest of die-hard fans. RZA releases his solo album under yet another alias, Bobby Digital, a flashy character based on his youth, while Method Man releases his long-awaited sophomore record Tical 2000: Judgement Day, almost a year late. Reaction to both records are mixed and the musical impregnability of the Wu is questioned.

 

 

1999

ODB is pulled over by four plainclothes police officers for driving erratically without his headlights on. When he gets out of the car, officers allege that when they identify themselves he starts shooting at them. ODB maintains he was only holding a cell phone. The police claim to return fire and ODB gets back into his truck and drives away. The truck is hit by eight bullets, but none of the passengers are hit. ODB is arrested and charged with attempted murder; charges are dropped a month later due to a lack of evidence that ODB ever fired shots. ODB announces that he is filing a lawsuit against the police department for the incident. Soon after ODB is arrested for wearing a bullet proof vest; he drinks chocolate milk throughout his court proceedings. Less than two weeks later, ODB is arrested for possession of crack cocaine after police ask him to move his double-parked vehicle. When the drugs are discovered he asks the police officer to "Make the rocks disappear." By now, ODB has accumulated a series of missed court dates and warrants are issued in several cities. On more than one occasion he shows up at the wrong court due to mixed up dates. After being arrested for crack and marijuana possession again later in the year, ODB enters rehab just ahead of the release of his second album N****a Please and is later credited for time served when he is sentenced to rehab for a year. Ghostface Killah goes to prison for a 1995 robbery charge instead of fighting it in court, delaying the release of his second album. Raekwon follows up his classic debut album with Immobilarity, which does not feature Ghostface or RZA in any visible role, and it is met with a thoroughly underwhelming response. Genius releases his third solo album, the solid Beneath The Surface, recorded in only four weeks and featuring a crisper, cleaner production style from RZA proteges than Liquid Swords had. Inspectah Deck's Uncontrolled Substance is released, but buzz around him as the Wu's most underrated lyricist has already subsided. U-God also releases his first project, Redemption, to indifferent reception. RZA releases RZA Hits, a compilation of Wu-Tang hits, and Wu-Chronicles, a collection of collaborations, B-sides and unreleased tracks from Wu-affiliated artists. The flurry of mediocre solo albums leads many to believe the Wu is on the decline. Method Man remains as popular as ever, and is invited to appear on Jay-Z's Hard Knock Life Tour with Redman. The duo record their Blackout! album while on the road, and release it later in the year. Raekwon, Method Man and Power appear in James Toback's film Black and White. A new video game, Wu-Tang Shaolin Style, features every member of the group with their own distinctive fighting style.

 

2000

Ghostface Killah's Supreme Clientele is the first Wu-Tang release in some time that features RZA in a hands-on role; it's the best-received Wu release since Wu-Tang Forever. "Cherchez Le Ghost," featuring U-God, becomes a bonafide pop hit. RZA records and releases the score to the Jim Jarmusch film Ghost Dog: The Way of The Samurai, in which he has a brief cameo. GZA, who has directed several videos for himself and other Wu-affiliated groups, reveals he is working on a Wu documentary. A Village Voice cover story exposes Cappadonna's manager Michael Caruso's dodgy past as a government informer who brought down high-flying New York club owners, suggesting that he also informing on the Wu-Tang Clan, who are being investigated for gunrunning by the FBI. He is fired. Work on a third Wu-Tang Clan album begins. The W is recorded in L.A. to avoid distractions and the entire Clan stays in a house formerly owned by Warren Beatty. The album has a leaner, less obtuse feel than Wu-Tang Forever and is a return to their earlier form. ODB escapes custody while being transported from a rehab centre to an L.A. court and is considered a fugitive. At a record release party for The W, ODB, his face hidden by an orange parka, isn't recognised until he's introduced to the crowd. With police officers present outside, ODB performs briefly and then flees, fearing capture. Six days later ODB causes a commotion signing autographs in a McDonalds in South Philadelphia. Unaware of who is causing the ruckus, the manager calls the police. When the cops arrive, ODB mistakes them for fans until they draw their guns. ODB flees the restaurant but is stopped while trying to start his vehicle. After presenting a fake ID, he admits who he really is and is arrested.

 

 

2001

Method Man marries his long-time girlfriend, the inspiration behind his biggest hit "All I Need." He films a movie with Redman about two weed-smoking students called How High (due out in December) and works on his third album, a prequel to his first album Tical. ODB is put on suicide watch after it's reported he may have hurt himself while in custody and he wears bandages on his wrist in court. He is eventually sentenced to two-to-four years for crack possession and two years for violating probation when fleeing rehab, to be served concurrently. ODB was in the studio while on the run and will release The Trials and Tribulations of Russell Jones in early 2002. The Dirty Story, a best of ODB compilation from his former label Elektra, is released in the fall. The RZA had planned to record a joint album with ODB before he was caught, but instead releases his second Bobby Digital album, Digital Bullet, which is much stronger yet more overlooked. He works on RZA Goes To Europe, an album featuring an array of European hip-hop artists. RZA produces a solo album for Masta Killa, the only Wu-Tang member yet to release a full-length album, due next year. Ghostface Killah and Raekwon's plans to release a Cuban Linx Part II while recording in Miami results in two new solo records. Ghostface Killah releases Bulletproof Wallets at the end of the year, while Raekwon will issue R.A.G.U. early in 2002. Cappadonna releases his second album The Yin and Yang with minimal first tier Wu-Tang participation. The release of a Greatest Hits compilation by Cappadonna, one of the less regarded members of the group, fuels rumours about whether he is still in the group, a rumour fuelled by the fact that he does not appear in the promotional photo for the new Wu-Tang album, tentatively titled, Iron Flag, due at the end of the year.

 

Obviously, Rae's "R.A.G.U." didnt make it out in that form, neither did RZA's ambitous "The 8th Diagram", which is a shame. I dont entirely agree with the writer's feelings on early RZA production, but learned a lot, including that bad flood where he lost a lot of his work, that mustve been rough. I agree that Cappadonna's prolly not within the inner cirlce anymore, either.

 

On a side-note: anyone ever heard Remedy, guy did a song about the holocaust called "Never Again"? He's this jewish MC who's down with the clan, did tracks like "a muslim and a jew" with the RZA, pretty interesting shit.

[Reverend Jax]

Ja snatch up that torrent I tossed your way?

[The NZA]

Actually, i did - the Wu has officially taken over my PC, with an impressive 4.8 gigs (over 1,500 tracks) of solo projects, freestyles, and various chamber music b-sides, much of which im enjoying to the point of temporarily vetoing any non-wu music. So yes, your disc was cool shit: mostly up & comers that were alright, but definitely enough solid tracks to warrant the download, thanks again for that.

 

When i arise again later tonight, its RZA interview time.

[The NZA]

This year's musical integrity has been saved.

 

Wu-Tang Clan Connect Like Voltron On New Solo Projects

Monday - June 13, 2005

by Carl Chery 

 

With a posthumous Old Dirty Bastard release soon to drop, The Wu Tang Clan is prepping releases by Ghostface, Raekwon, GZA/Genius and Method Man for this year.

 

First up, Ghost is almost done with his 5th solo LP. To date, 18 songs have been completed and the record features production from MF Doom, Pete Rock, Nottz, Louis Parker and Wisemen. The RZA is also set to contribute tracks to the album. Word is the CD features a cut with every Wu Tang Clan member including vocals from the late ODB. Another song features Ghost alongside his son, Sun God. The album will be released under Island Def Jam and is tentatively scheduled to hit stores this September. The Wallaby champ is also slated to drop volume 2 of his 718 compilation through Koch Records later this year.

 

Meanwhile, Raekwon is presently working on the ten year anniversary sequel to his 1995 classic, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. According to the Wu's site, Wutangcorp.com, a song entitled "Baggage Handlers" featuring Busta Rhymes and rumored to be produced by RZA recently leaked on the Internet. Both Rae and RZA denied the rumor. While details are still safely guarded, it has been confirmed that Dr. Dre produced two songs for Cuban Linx 2 and RZA is slated to produce a bulk of the LP. In the meantime, Rae recently recorded songs for Jagged Edge, Lil Jon and 8Ball and MJG's albums.

 

After a brief hiatus, GZA revealed that he finished laying vocals for his untitled full-length collaboration with Cypress Hill's DJ Muggs. According to Wutangcorp, the set will feature about 12, 13 songs. The Genius is also prepping the release of a mixtape through Babygrande Records slated for this October. The mix CD will feature several Wu guest appearances and at least four new solo Genius songs.

 

Elsewhere, the RZA, who has recently announced he's forming a Wu Tang Latino, has been working extensively on Method Man's fourth solo release.

 

Lastly, the Wu-Tang Revealed DVD has been postponed due to "time restrictions" and the lengthy editing process. New footage is scheduled to be added to the final version. The release date has yet to be confirmed.

[The NZA]

DJ Muggs of the legendary group Cypress Hill and The Wu-Tang's own Gza are prepping to release their collabo project, DJ Muggs vs. Gza: Grandmasters.

 

DJ Muggs vs. Gza: Grandmasters is set to be released on October 25th on Angeles Records. The album includes 11 tracks featuring the Genius on the mic and the Soul Assassin behind the boards.

advertisement Falk AdSolution

 

"We've talked about collaborating since we worked together on the first Soul

Assassins record back in 1997," remarks GZA. "And we're both grandmasters

at what we do," referring to the album's title.

 

Gza, best known as one of Wu-Tang Clan's founding members and for his classic solo effort Liquid Swords, is also currently writing a book.

 

DJ Muggs of the Soul Assassins Crew and Cypress Hill is also on his grind with his syndicated radio show, Mash Up Radio. The show is featured on both Eminem's Sirius satellite radio station, Shade 45 and on public radio. He will also headline the Lalapolooza World Stage with the Mash Up Circus.

 

Muggs is also making a name for himself as being the go to guy for mash-up versions of records. He is almost finished recording an original mash-up album that features The Alchemist, Mobb Deep, rock group The Transplants, and the Gza, among others. Muggs also plans to release a mash-up version of the Grandmasters project.

 

DJ Muggs vs. Gza: Grandmasters hits stores October 25th.

[The NZA]

Wu-Tang is working with Talib Kweli, so that's nothin but good.

 

Daily Hip-Hop News:

Wu-Tang, Mos Def, Redman and De La Soul Rock The Bells

Monday - May 22, 2006 by Carl Chery

Wu-Tang Clan

 

Mos Def, Talib Kweli, the Wu-Tang Clan, Redman and De La Soul are scheduled to perform at the 2006 Rock the Bells Concert in San Bernardino, Calif (August 5).

 

A follow-up show may take place in Northern California the next day (August 6). Underground standouts like Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Immortal Technique, Murs, Supernatural, Planet Asia, Aesop Rock and Living Legends will also be on the bill. Wu-Tang is slated to pay tribute to the late Ol' Dirty Bastard during their set. ODB made his final show appearance with the clan at Rock the Bells two years ago.

 

In addition to live shows, the event will also showcase B-Boys, live art presentations, DJ and emcee battles and a 20-minute screening of a Rock the Bells documentary featuring footage of the 2004 festival. The movie is scheduled to hit theaters later this year. Supernatural will also attempt to break the world record for longest freestyle rap during the event. Canadian rapper D.O. presently holds the Guinness Book of World Record with an 8 hours and 45 minutes freestyle.

 

Tickets for the show are on sale now. The Rock the Bells U.S. tour will kick off this fall with tours to follow in Europe and Japan this winter.

 

In related news, Talib Kweli is slated to release his Warner Music Group debut, Eardrum later this summer. "Listen," a cut off the LP produced by Kwame, recently leaked onto the internet.

 

 

Also - Method Man has a new album comin out later this year, 2 singles have already linked & can be found in torrents all over - "Yah Mean" with Fat Joe & Styles P, and even bettter, "Say" with Lauryn Hill samples on the hook...good shit, im really exicted by his upcoming album now.

[MusicManiac]

[The NZA]

...i lose you somehwere? lemme know, i adore this shit.

Method Man is talkin some cool shit on this "say" track, im really hopin for a girmy album like Tical or Judgement Day.

[the division of joy]

the Rza is easily the best of the whole lot, mostly because of his work on ghost dog; the way of the samurai... he's one of the few members that didnt really go off and rap about themselves after their dissolution...

[The NZA]

there's still a union, but they work as solo artists when therye not on a group thing.

 

RZA's genius, for that OST and his tarentino work, but much as i love him - his book, the Wu-Tang manual, was cool shit - i have a hard time with his soli shit: The Prince, Bobby Digital etc. I gotta try it again sometime, but i just dont enjoy it like Meth, ODB, Masta Killah, GZA etc solo albums.

[the division of joy]

i like him but it can be hard to get into at times, depending on my mood really... and do you like the ghost dog film....