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Another Thought
Process Edition:
As High as Wu-Tang Get
Written by: John Howard Jr.
Rapindustry.com
Disclaimer: This article is strictly based on MY opinion. I realize
that this may not be the feelings of you, the reader. You are entitled to
your opinion on this subject matter.
As Thanksgiving approaches us, many have a lot to be thankful for; shelter,
clothes, food, and most importantly good music! Shaolin’s finest, the
Wu-Tang Clan, are expected to drop their highly anticipated album, The 8 Diagrams,
on December 11th. The Clan’s steam has died down considerably over the
past decade and many of today’s younger generation of fans dismiss them
as “old-timers“, or “irrelevant.” One of the reasons is
probably because the sharp lyricism, and gritty, no-nonsense beats of Wu music
are a stark contrast to much of the “bubblegum rap” and Down South
music that dominate the airwaves today. However, the hip-hop culture has much
thank the Wu for, (as a collective and individually) that much of today’s
generation might not even realize or appreciate. So in the spirit of the holidays
, here are 23 reasons why we should be thankful for the Wu-Tang Clan. Why
23? Because it’s a number for greats.
1. All true hip-hop heads should give thanks to Enter the Wu-Tang:
36 Chambers. The Wu burst on the scene with a 9-man group that brought back
the gritty, urban sound of the East coast to the forefront of the hip-hop
scene when everyone was bumping Dre and Snoop. 36 Chambers was so raw and
gritty that it sounded like it was recorded in a basement (it actually was)
and it included classic cuts such as “C.R.E.A.M.,” “Protect
Ya Neck,” “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthin to Fuck Wit‘”.
2. Movie heads and kung-fu fans should give thanks to The RZA for providing
the kick-ass score for Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill series . The RZA
produced the score (not the soundtrack for the movie), for Tarantino’s
kung-fu action flick, as Uma Thurman slashed and smashed through countless
ninjas, trailer park trash, and other baddies before she finished off Bill
in the finale.
3. Wannabe gangsters, rappers who spit about the drug game, and true
hip-hop heads give thanks to Raekwon and Ghostface for giving birth to Only
Built for Cuban Linx.
4. Rappers with clothing lines should give thanks to the Wu. Before
Roc-a-wear, Applebottom, or Sean John, Wu-Wear was the first clothing line
endorsed, inspired, and funded solely by a hip-hop artists or group. Russell
Simmons broke into the clothing industry with Phat Farm and LL was rockin’
Kangol hats all the time, but Wu-Tang endorsed and funded their gritty, urban,
wear. Sure, there were Public Enemy t-shirts with the PE logo, but Wu-Wear
was a nationwide phenomenon with kids everywhere rockin shirts, jeans, hats,
and everything else with the Wu-tang emblem on it.
5. Thanks to U-God and Method Man: for giving us a funny ass scene
of them arguing on the bus in The Show. Were all arguments in the group this
hilarious? We can only imagine.
6. Give thanks to Ghostface Killah, one of the most consistent MCs
of all time. Ghost has released four critically acclaimed albums with Ironman,
Supreme Clientele, The Pretty Toney Album, and Fishscale all without sacrificing
his rugged underground appeal. Also, with tracks such as “Impossible“,
“Malcolm“, and “All that I Got Is You“, you can rank Ghost
up there along with Nas, Slick Rick, Scarface and Jay-Z as the one of the
greatest storytellers in hip hop history.
7. Hip hop artists should give thanks to the Wu for some bangin collaborations.
over the years the years, various members have recorded with everyone from
Ras Kass to Foxy Brown. A few of the most memorable features include include:
Meth with Mary J. Blige: “You’re All I Need,” Outkast featuring
Raekwon: Skew-on the Bar-b, Ghostface featuring Mary J. Blige: “All that
I got Is You.” Gangstarr featuring Inspectah Deck, Above the Clouds,
ODB wilin’ out with Mariah Carey, “Fantasy“, ..the list goes
on. It is also interesting to note that Meth is one of the few artists in
the game who has recorded with Biggie and 2Pac while they were both still
alive.
8. Everyone under the age of forty should thank the Wu for some of
the assorted slang we use today. Words such as “ice” for diamonds,
“cream” for money, and “cris” for cristal originated from
Rae and Ghost.
9. Steve Rifkand should give thanks for the “jumpstart” they
provided for Loud Records. After signing the Wu Tang Clan and releasing Enter
the 36 Chambers in 1993, the success of the album along with the overall “hardcore”
gritty persona of Loud, attracted future stars such as Mobb Deep, Xzibit,
and Big Punisher
10. You scream, I scream, we all scream for “Icecream!” All
lustful ass males (and women) give thanks to Raekwon for his “Icecream”
video, which brought on a completely new definition on eye candy. The Chef,
along with Ghostface, Cappadonna, and Meth on the hook served up a tasty array
of Butter Pecan Ricans, French Vanillas, Chocolate Deluxes, and Caramel Sundaes
11. All those rappers out there who are about their business should
give thanks to the Clan for their unprecedented contract deal with Loud Records
in 1993. the Clan was able to negotiate the signing of the group under Loud
Records, but their contract also gave each of the nine members the option
of signing and recording albums with another record label as well. This resulted
in Method Man signing with Def Jam, Ol’Dirty Bastard with Elektra, Ghostface
with Epic, etc.
12. Kanye West should thank the RZA for laying down the template to
his production style. The RZA was stretching out old samples on songs from
the 70s. and laying them over his sicknstrumentals (i.e. Wu-Tang Forever’s
“For Heaven’s Sake” or “Cash Still Rules“) long before
Kanye was chopping up Chaka Khan for “Through the Wire” and Harold
Melvin for “This Can’t Be Life”.
13. True hip-hop heads should thank the Wu-Tang Clan for giving us
spirited arguments in the backyard about who is the best rapper in the group.
Is it the GZA? Deck? Nah, it has to be Ghost. The Clan was a 9-man group that
was thorough from top to bottom. Many groups nowadays hardly boast more then
two members who can hold your attention for longer then one verse. Everyone
has their own opinion about who is the illest lyricist in the group and it
is a heated debate that can spark up fans quoting lyrics from songs, arguments
about albums, etc. among a group of hip, hop heads anywhere at anytime.
14. Our eyes and ears should give thanks to “Triumph.” The
video had dazzling special effects with killa bees transforming into members
of the group and vice versa and each Clan member getting his time to shine.
This video had no eye candy, no flashy cars, no exotic locations, but it still
had you glued to the seat whenever it came on The song it self was the first
group effort by the Clan in four years and the lead single to the second album,
Wu-Tang Forever. The beat was hard, yet layered, and strangely symphonic.
Each Wu member spit venom and further provided fuel for debate on reason #11.
15. Redman should give thanks to Method Man for being someone he could
hang out with, act a fool on television, smoke, and drop some bangin’
ass joints. When he is not with Def Squad or dropping his own hot shit, the
Funk Doc has appeared on numerous Wu joints over the years. Together, they
have rocked with everyone from Missy to LL. With such good chemistry together
and demand from fans, Red and Meth eventually released their own album as
a duo in 1999, titled Blackout. .
16. Give thanks to Masta Killa for dropping No Said Date, one of the
tightest independent releases of the year for 2004. This album was very slept-on,
but the beats were hard and uncompromising, the lyrics were thoughtful and
sharp, and for the first time in many years, each Wu member appeared on a
solo disc.
17. Give thanks to the Wu for being a group that actually has a charisma
and personality as a collective. Groups such as *cough* the St. Lunatics or
DTP are mostly just run of the mill rappers with little background or identity
behind the crew. Not only did the Clan have some thorough music, but also
many of the themes in their music centered on kung-fu flicks, comic books,
5% teachings, Mafioso culture, old 70s flicks, and street narratives.
18. Thanks to GZA’s Liquid Swords album. Lyricism? Check. Content?
Check. Tight ass beats? Check. Stellar guest appearances from the Wu? Check.
A backpacker’s dream? Check.
19. Staten Island should thank the Wu for putting them on the map with
New York’s other four boroughs. With so many legends hailing from each
of the other four boroughs, Staten Island can claim the Wu as their flagship
artists. A few of the members came from different places such as The Bronx
and Brooklyn but collectively they represented SI and even nicknamed it “Shaolin”
.
20. Thank you! Oh yes, thank you to the Wu, for actually having relevant
skits/interludes on their albums! Artists of today tend to throw meaningless
skits on their albums to “take up space” or some shit that they
think it’s funny when it’s really not. The Wu had breaks between
songs that ranged from being entertaining, controversial, to downright funny.
Whether there was a creepy ass snippet from an old kung-fu movie (GZA’s
“Liquid Swords“), The Clan hatin’ on rappers not reppin’
hip hop right (Raekwon’s Shark Niggaz) or Meth and Rae snapping’
on each other (interlude from 36 Chambers) the Clan seldom off point with
their skits and interludes, providing a whole album worth of entertainment.
21. Jay-Z (Jay- Hova ), Nas (Nas Escobar), and Fabulous (William H.
Bonnie) among others should give thanks to the Wu for endorsing the “dual
persona” in hip-hop. each rapper in the Clan had a nickname with a “dual
persona” to fit their personality that they often used in their music.
Raekwon was a crime boss known as Lex Diamonds. Ghostface took the name of
the comic book hero Tony Starks and christened himself as Ironman. U-god took
the name of the kung-fu action hero Golden Arms. Method Man had too many aliases
such as Johnny Blaze, Hot Nikkels, the Ticallion Stallion, Johnny Storm, and…..you
get the picture.
22. The whole world should be thankful for Wu Tang Forever. Selling
over 7 million albums worldwide this is the Clan’s most successful record.
Personally, this is the last cd in recent memory besides Dr. Dre’s Chronic
2001 where everyone was excited when it dropped. . Released in 1997, (before
the dubious internet made downloading music the norm) people waited in lines
at stores to open up at 12am to cop the album, skipped school, and argued
over which disc was better. Reunited, Its Yourz, Impossible, Triumph, Bells
of War, are all classic tracks you can bump over and over. After Enter the
36 Chambers, and the various solo albums , Wu-Tang Forever, solidified the
Clan as legends and put them in the same breath as Public Enemy , A Tribe
Called Quest, and EPMD as one of the Greatest Groups of all time.
23. We should all give thanks to the man up above for giving us the
Ol’ Dirty Bastard. ODB was an ill MC who dropped the critically acclaimed
two Return to the 36 Chambers and Osiris. ODB is often remembered as being
a one-man show and a silly, crazy, character , but on the mic, he was a genius.
ODB dropped some ill verses on various Wu joints, and guest appearances outside
the group and gave the world some memorable moments. His infamous speech at
the Grammy night , picking up food stamps on MTV, were a riot, and he was
even a part-time superhero (saving a child from being trapped under a car)
Mad Love to Dirt McGirt. Rest in Peace
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