I listened to this playlist this afternoon – I have no clue about Hip Hop/Rap etc but there’s something about quality in any genre that tends to stand out. Great playlist
What Bingo said. Cuban Linx next, assuming you’re already familiar with 36 Chambers, which is – push come to shove – my favourite record of all time by anyone. Tical is great and Meth Vs Chef makes it worth the price of admission alone.
I’m terribly fond of Dirty’s “Return To The 36 Chambers”, a sprawling hot mess though it is. Much more Dirty than Nigga Please, even though NP has Got Your Money on it and is thus automatically worth owning.
I actually like Rae’s new one too, The Wild, although it definitely falls into “deep cut” categorisation. Not essential, but I just love to hear Raekwon do his thing, the cuddly little spherical gangsta shortarse that he is.
I’m listening to Liquid Swords right now for the first time in a few months, thanks to this thread. I’m just addicted to the GZA’s voice and flow, that nasal tone of his and his ridiculous way with a rhyme. For me, that’s why LS is the best solo Wu: you can never have enough GZA.
36 Chambers is also a recent discovery, both were prompted by seeing RZA on the Soundbreaking documentary series (the episode on sampling/rap production)
I have to confess I find the Wu Tang/Affilitated Wu Tang discography a little daunting!
I will definitely try Raekwon next, and Method Man.
Honourable mentions to Deck for the first verse of Protect Ya Neck, U-God for the INCREDIBLE first verse of Chessboxin. Oh and poor old Masta Killa for killing it at the end of Chessboxin, his only appearance on the first record.
That was a great episode wasn’t it. I tried to get the wife to watch it (she hates hip hop), but didn’t quite manage it! It was a good series anyway, but that was the best episode. Another great series you should check out is Hip Hop Evolution. It’s on Netflix and covers the first 15 years or so of hip hop. I think plans are afoot for a follow up series. It’s presented by a rapper I’d never heard of, called Shad, but I’ve since got hold of a couple of his albums and they’re ace.
With regard to your original question, many of the best have already been mentioned above, but I also like Ghostface Killah’s Supreme Clientele and Fishscale. There’s also a good album in Method Man’s Tical 2000 if you edit out the skits. A better one is Blackout! that Method Man did with Redman.
We’ve already had the obvious answers, but the RZA Hits compilation wouldn’t be a bad place to start investigating some more Wu stuff.
After that we’re getting into deep cuts, and it is a sprawling catalogue. Two I like that haven’t been mentioned yet and aren’t on Bingo’s excellent playlist:
Another Raekwon cut, “House Of Flying Daggers” from Only Built For Cuban Linx II
and this ABSOLUTE BANGER from the Wu Chronicles album, with U-God in full effect on the first verse
Yes, the celebrated “Wu-Tang In The Live Lounge” compilation featuring Katie Melua breathily singing “bring the motherfuckin’ ruckus” over stately fingerpicking, accompanied by a single viola – well worth owning.
It’s how you can tell they’re real, rather than fictional, songs.
Perhaps Richard Thompson has done a live version of Protect Ya Neck, accompanied only by acoustic guitar, accordion and the smug laughter of his audience?
That version served to illustrate that it was actually quite a good song and thus confounded his audience’s prejudices.
Britney’s hit version never gave me any impression other than it was just a bit of disposable fluff.
It was rather clever of RT to notice that the chord sequence lent itself to a medieval-style interpretation but it was done here just for a lark and it’s hardly among his very finest moments.
See, now, that’s the kind of comment that really grinds my gears – the idea that it takes some bearded dullard with an acoustic guitar to reveal the hidden depths of a “disposable” pop song and make it palatable to an audience of chinstrokers.
Dullard, bore, tedious fucker – you can take your pick.
Sorry if you find the idea of a middle-aged man NOT jizzing himself at the very mention of Richard Thompson some kind of AW heresy, but quite frankly I wouldn’t piss on one of his records if it was on fire.
PS Actually, I won’t fuck off, if its all the same to you.
The problem wasn’t with the song, it was with the prejudices of whatever shit-for-brains bore couldn’t hear that Oops was a banger long before an acoustic guitarist gutted it.
*Edit: rather intemperate reply but like @ruff-diamond, my gears get ground by the idea that an acoustic guitar reveals anything about a song. Is lazy, Radio 1 Live Lounge thinking.
If you view this video out of context then you miss the good humour and intent of the performance.
RT (who is not a bearded dullard but rather a hugely talented musician and magnificent songwriter with, admittedly, a marmite voice) explains his position here: https://imgur.com/a/RAVKi
(Note that he says “I am unqualified to sing 98% of the material here, but me having a go could be considered part of the fun”.)
The complete show is great and well worth watching.
My knowledge of rap/hip-hop is by no means unsurpassable and I have no particular interest in the glorification of sex and money that occasionally comes with it; but I love the poetic side of the genre’s lyricists.
Liquid Swords remains my favourite record in the entire pantheon of the Wu, but the rest of their 90s output is essentially a goldmine for the most part.
The group’s debut Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers (1993) is the best showcase of the collective’s talents on the whole, so if you somehow haven’t heard that yet put it at the top of your list before you delve into any more solo projects. Listening through 36 Chambers is a great way of familiarising yourself with each of individual member and their various quirks but it’s also musically absolutely stellar and still holds up to this day. It has the vibe of a literal chamber-full of emcees each desperately trying to outperform one another and in turn they bring out the best in their abilities and keep the album from ever being boring – as if RZA’s great productions and haunting piano loops weren’t doing that already. I get the sense that the group got a bit full of themselves by the time Wu-Tang Forever (1997) dropped so that integral vibe is never really captured on record again past their classic debut. Not every cut follows the same formula, however, there’s more introspective stuff like what you’ve been hearing on Liquid Swords such as career-highlight ‘Can It Be All So Simple’ or ‘Tearz’ or the endlessly referenced ‘C.R.E.A.M.’ to be discovered on their debut. It’s an essential album for any hip-hop listener.
As for where to go from there… I always felt ODB’s album ‘Return to 36 Chambers’ was a pretty overlooked one; it’s easily the weirdest album any Wu-Tang member would ever come out with. ODB is completely unhinged, sometimes to the detriment of the album, but never to its weirdness. It houses what is likely my favourite Wu-Tang track of them all, ‘Cuttin Headz’, a brazen lo-fi “duet” between ODB and RZA carried by one of the oddest piano melodies I’ve ever heard.
I don’t think it’s controversial to claim that Ghostface Killah has the most consistent solo output of any member, especially when most of the group passed their prime while he somehow managed to continue putting out solid releases. His best work takes the form of Ironman (1989), Supreme Clientele (2000) and Fishscale (2006).
To be honest, though, you’ll probably find your own path through their vast discography if you use their debut as a jumping off point.
Wu-Tang were one of many revered groups to sadly fall victim to the damaging and slightly embarrassing “bling era” of the new millennium so I’d avoid most of their 2000-2010 stuff excluding the aforementioned Ghostface LPs.
n tha dark, whoz ass can peep his wild lil’ face?
in tha dark, whoz ass can reach him?
he hides like a cold-ass lil child. Y’all KNOW dat shit, muthafucka! dat schmoooove muthafucka hides like a cold-ass lil child.
keeps his wild lil’ finger on tha trigger
you know his schmoooove ass can’t stand tha day
shoot up tha lights, n’ you can put dat on yo’ toast. blast up tha lights
Keep tha blind down on tha window
ah, keep tha wild-ass bullshit on tha inside
just watchin tha dark. just watchin tha dark
ah he might laugh but you won’t peep him
as tha pimpin’ muthafucka thundaz all up in tha night
shoot up tha lights, n’ you can put dat on yo’ toast. blast up tha lights
In tha darknizz tha shadows move
in tha darknizz tha game is real
real as a gun. I aint talkin’ bout chicken n’ gravy biatch. real as a gun
as da thug watches tha lightz of tha hood
and he moves all up in tha night
shoot up tha lights, n’ you can put dat on yo’ toast. blast up tha lights
shoot up tha lights, n’ you can put dat on yo’ toast. ah, blast up tha lights
Bingo Little says
It’s absolutely amazing, isn’t it? Bought it week of release and was blown away.
Which other Wu records have you heard? I’m assuming 36 Chambers?
I’d go for either Tical or Only Built 4 Cuban Linx next – probably the latter if you enjoyed Liquid Swords.
Alternatively, here’s my patented best of the Wu Spotify playlist…
Lemonhope says
I listened to this playlist this afternoon – I have no clue about Hip Hop/Rap etc but there’s something about quality in any genre that tends to stand out. Great playlist
Bingo Little says
Cheers!
JustB says
What Bingo said. Cuban Linx next, assuming you’re already familiar with 36 Chambers, which is – push come to shove – my favourite record of all time by anyone. Tical is great and Meth Vs Chef makes it worth the price of admission alone.
I’m terribly fond of Dirty’s “Return To The 36 Chambers”, a sprawling hot mess though it is. Much more Dirty than Nigga Please, even though NP has Got Your Money on it and is thus automatically worth owning.
I actually like Rae’s new one too, The Wild, although it definitely falls into “deep cut” categorisation. Not essential, but I just love to hear Raekwon do his thing, the cuddly little spherical gangsta shortarse that he is.
JustB says
I’m listening to Liquid Swords right now for the first time in a few months, thanks to this thread. I’m just addicted to the GZA’s voice and flow, that nasal tone of his and his ridiculous way with a rhyme. For me, that’s why LS is the best solo Wu: you can never have enough GZA.
ruff-diamond says
I always had the impression that ODB was the Flavor Flav of the Wu Tang Clan, and therefore not worth taking seriously. Am I wrong to assume this?
Bingo Little says
Yep. He was ace.
Hawkfall says
Flavor Flav not worth taking seriously?
Sir you will take that back immediately!
ruff-diamond says
Yes, what was I thinking…
Kid Dynamite says
Did someone say Got Your Money?
ruff-diamond says
36 Chambers is also a recent discovery, both were prompted by seeing RZA on the Soundbreaking documentary series (the episode on sampling/rap production)
I have to confess I find the Wu Tang/Affilitated Wu Tang discography a little daunting!
I will definitely try Raekwon next, and Method Man.
JustB says
My favourite Wu MCs in descending order:
GZA
Rae
Meth
Ghost
Dirty
Honourable mentions to Deck for the first verse of Protect Ya Neck, U-God for the INCREDIBLE first verse of Chessboxin. Oh and poor old Masta Killa for killing it at the end of Chessboxin, his only appearance on the first record.
Paul Wad says
That was a great episode wasn’t it. I tried to get the wife to watch it (she hates hip hop), but didn’t quite manage it! It was a good series anyway, but that was the best episode. Another great series you should check out is Hip Hop Evolution. It’s on Netflix and covers the first 15 years or so of hip hop. I think plans are afoot for a follow up series. It’s presented by a rapper I’d never heard of, called Shad, but I’ve since got hold of a couple of his albums and they’re ace.
With regard to your original question, many of the best have already been mentioned above, but I also like Ghostface Killah’s Supreme Clientele and Fishscale. There’s also a good album in Method Man’s Tical 2000 if you edit out the skits. A better one is Blackout! that Method Man did with Redman.
Kid Dynamite says
We’ve already had the obvious answers, but the RZA Hits compilation wouldn’t be a bad place to start investigating some more Wu stuff.
After that we’re getting into deep cuts, and it is a sprawling catalogue. Two I like that haven’t been mentioned yet and aren’t on Bingo’s excellent playlist:
Another Raekwon cut, “House Of Flying Daggers” from Only Built For Cuban Linx II
and this ABSOLUTE BANGER from the Wu Chronicles album, with U-God in full effect on the first verse
ruff-diamond says
Question – are any of these albums available in dreary acoustic “stripped down” format, preferably played at half speed?
JustB says
Yes, the celebrated “Wu-Tang In The Live Lounge” compilation featuring Katie Melua breathily singing “bring the motherfuckin’ ruckus” over stately fingerpicking, accompanied by a single viola – well worth owning.
It’s how you can tell they’re real, rather than fictional, songs.
ruff-diamond says
Perhaps Richard Thompson has done a live version of Protect Ya Neck, accompanied only by acoustic guitar, accordion and the smug laughter of his audience?
davebigpicture says
It’s possible. After all, he covered Britney.
ruff-diamond says
and don’t we all wish he hadn’t…..
count jim moriarty says
No we don’t.
I’ll stick with RT, you stick with the old hippety-hoppity and we’ll all be happy.
ruff-diamond says
It’s purely awful, especially the smug knowing laughter from the audience and band members at the beginning. Twats.
count jim moriarty says
See my comment above.
I hold hip-hop in equal contempt. We have different tastes. Nothing wrong with that.
Mike_H says
That version served to illustrate that it was actually quite a good song and thus confounded his audience’s prejudices.
Britney’s hit version never gave me any impression other than it was just a bit of disposable fluff.
It was rather clever of RT to notice that the chord sequence lent itself to a medieval-style interpretation but it was done here just for a lark and it’s hardly among his very finest moments.
ruff-diamond says
See, now, that’s the kind of comment that really grinds my gears – the idea that it takes some bearded dullard with an acoustic guitar to reveal the hidden depths of a “disposable” pop song and make it palatable to an audience of chinstrokers.
Mike_H says
A bearded dullard?
Audience of chinstrokers?
You appear to have grown a truly mighty hump there.
Ha!
ruff-diamond says
Dullard, bore, tedious fucker – you can take your pick.
Sorry if you find the idea of a middle-aged man NOT jizzing himself at the very mention of Richard Thompson some kind of AW heresy, but quite frankly I wouldn’t piss on one of his records if it was on fire.
PS Actually, I won’t fuck off, if its all the same to you.
JustB says
The problem wasn’t with the song, it was with the prejudices of whatever shit-for-brains bore couldn’t hear that Oops was a banger long before an acoustic guitarist gutted it.
*Edit: rather intemperate reply but like @ruff-diamond, my gears get ground by the idea that an acoustic guitar reveals anything about a song. Is lazy, Radio 1 Live Lounge thinking.
minibreakfast says
Yeah, what a bunch of poo poo heads.
Soz am a bit tiddly.
But I agree with Ruff n Bob.
fentonsteve says
Speaking on behalf of myself and Moosey, Britney looked much better in her video than RT did in his.
Bingo Little says
Sure did…
Peanuts Molloy says
If you view this video out of context then you miss the good humour and intent of the performance.
RT (who is not a bearded dullard but rather a hugely talented musician and magnificent songwriter with, admittedly, a marmite voice) explains his position here: https://imgur.com/a/RAVKi
(Note that he says “I am unqualified to sing 98% of the material here, but me having a go could be considered part of the fun”.)
The complete show is great and well worth watching.
ruff-diamond says
*sigh*
Peanuts Molloy says
I’m impressed. You managed to read my post and the attachments in 2 minutes. Well done.
ruff-diamond says
I am familiar with his work, thank you.
Mike_H says
My redacted f*** off above was meant with a smile but then removed as I thought it might be taken the wrong way.
Whatever…
Bingo Little says
Yes, there is. Recorded by Star Wars Kid himself.
ruff-diamond says
Jesus fucking Christ on a bike….
Sour Crout says
When I had time to make stuff like this . BTW_ Cuban Linx is your next move
Kid Dynamite says
http://www.complex.com/music/2011/08/the-100-best-wu-tang-clan-songs/
Tony Japanese says
My knowledge of rap/hip-hop is by no means unsurpassable and I have no particular interest in the glorification of sex and money that occasionally comes with it; but I love the poetic side of the genre’s lyricists.
troutmaskreplicant says
Liquid Swords remains my favourite record in the entire pantheon of the Wu, but the rest of their 90s output is essentially a goldmine for the most part.
The group’s debut Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers (1993) is the best showcase of the collective’s talents on the whole, so if you somehow haven’t heard that yet put it at the top of your list before you delve into any more solo projects. Listening through 36 Chambers is a great way of familiarising yourself with each of individual member and their various quirks but it’s also musically absolutely stellar and still holds up to this day. It has the vibe of a literal chamber-full of emcees each desperately trying to outperform one another and in turn they bring out the best in their abilities and keep the album from ever being boring – as if RZA’s great productions and haunting piano loops weren’t doing that already. I get the sense that the group got a bit full of themselves by the time Wu-Tang Forever (1997) dropped so that integral vibe is never really captured on record again past their classic debut. Not every cut follows the same formula, however, there’s more introspective stuff like what you’ve been hearing on Liquid Swords such as career-highlight ‘Can It Be All So Simple’ or ‘Tearz’ or the endlessly referenced ‘C.R.E.A.M.’ to be discovered on their debut. It’s an essential album for any hip-hop listener.
As for where to go from there… I always felt ODB’s album ‘Return to 36 Chambers’ was a pretty overlooked one; it’s easily the weirdest album any Wu-Tang member would ever come out with. ODB is completely unhinged, sometimes to the detriment of the album, but never to its weirdness. It houses what is likely my favourite Wu-Tang track of them all, ‘Cuttin Headz’, a brazen lo-fi “duet” between ODB and RZA carried by one of the oddest piano melodies I’ve ever heard.
I don’t think it’s controversial to claim that Ghostface Killah has the most consistent solo output of any member, especially when most of the group passed their prime while he somehow managed to continue putting out solid releases. His best work takes the form of Ironman (1989), Supreme Clientele (2000) and Fishscale (2006).
To be honest, though, you’ll probably find your own path through their vast discography if you use their debut as a jumping off point.
Wu-Tang were one of many revered groups to sadly fall victim to the damaging and slightly embarrassing “bling era” of the new millennium so I’d avoid most of their 2000-2010 stuff excluding the aforementioned Ghostface LPs.
Hawkfall says
BTW there’s a cafe in Perth, Australia called Toastface Grillah.
http://www.toastfacegrillah.com/
troutmaskreplicant says
That is just fantastic. If only they named their menu items after GFK/Wu-related things!
ruff-diamond says
Thanks for the recommendations – I now have Raekwon and Method Man queued up, and I think I’ll follow those with some ODB. After that – we shall see!
Moose the Mooche says
I can’t believe it took this long for a thread on the Wu Tang Clan to become dominated by an argument about Richard Thompson.
Riddle me this: would this ever happen the other way round?
fentonsteve says
What would RT’s Wu name be, do you think?
JustB says
Beray Botherah
Moose the Mooche says
Ol Beardy Bastard
minibreakfast says
According to the Wu Tang Name Generator it’s “Unlucky Knight”.
Bingo Little says
Yo, we form like Voltron, and Unlucky Knight? He the beret.
Muthafucka gon’ recognise tha chord structure and deliver a medieval-style interpretation on yo ass.
Moose the Mooche says
n tha dark, whoz ass can peep his wild lil’ face?
in tha dark, whoz ass can reach him?
he hides like a cold-ass lil child. Y’all KNOW dat shit, muthafucka! dat schmoooove muthafucka hides like a cold-ass lil child.
keeps his wild lil’ finger on tha trigger
you know his schmoooove ass can’t stand tha day
shoot up tha lights, n’ you can put dat on yo’ toast. blast up tha lights
Keep tha blind down on tha window
ah, keep tha wild-ass bullshit on tha inside
just watchin tha dark. just watchin tha dark
ah he might laugh but you won’t peep him
as tha pimpin’ muthafucka thundaz all up in tha night
shoot up tha lights, n’ you can put dat on yo’ toast. blast up tha lights
In tha darknizz tha shadows move
in tha darknizz tha game is real
real as a gun. I aint talkin’ bout chicken n’ gravy biatch. real as a gun
as da thug watches tha lightz of tha hood
and he moves all up in tha night
shoot up tha lights, n’ you can put dat on yo’ toast. blast up tha lights
shoot up tha lights, n’ you can put dat on yo’ toast. ah, blast up tha lights