My Top 101 Wu-Tang songs (Generals only)
So here it is. After a long time of compiling this list I've come up with my top 101 Wu songs. Criteria for the list is this. Must be songs featuring generals. Fam on the songs are ok but not if the songs are by them. Soundtrack songs are O.K. as well, as long as the feature performer is a general. Mixtapes and Underground are out. Major releases only. Basically any album featuring Wu-tang or the generals (no compilations like the blackout or Put it on the line.) Just the meat and potatoes.
Most albums are included in this list...sorry U-god fans, no Mr. Xcitement.
I'm gonna start backwards from 101 and do ten at a time reviewing each song. Feel free to blast my choices and offer possible omissions as I am sure I missed something.
Keep in mind this was NOT easy. I counted about 140 classic status songs by the Wu so dropping 40 was extremely difficult.
Also remember this list is not concrete and will never be so as long as there are Wu Tang fans out there to debate and new Wu Tang releases to add to the equation. Let's all hope the new releases of 8 Diagams and OB4CL2 will add plenty of new entries.
"heres a compiled version for all yall ADD niggaz outhere..
props to rock for doin this, only tru love for wu & real hip hop itself will allow ones time & effort for such a report. nuff respect son. -Tekunique"
101. Wu Banga 101 - Supreme Clientele - 2003
100. Live from New York - Immobilarity - 1999
99. Silverbacks - No Said Date - 2004
98. Brooklyn Babies - Digital Bullet - 2001
97. Tragedy - Rhyme and Reason Soundtrack - 1997
96. NYC Everything - Bobby Digital in Stereo - 1998
95. For Heaven's Sake- Wu Tang Forever - 1998
94. Rumble - Golden Arms Redemption - 1999
93. Secret Rivals- No Said Date - 2004
92. Bizarre - Golden Arms Redemption - 1999
91. No Said Date- No Said Date - 2004
90. Auto Bio - Legend of a Liquid Sword - 2002
89. Tearz -Enter the 36 Chambers - 1993
88. Love Jones - Bobby Digital in Stereo - 1998
87. Iron God Chamber - Made in Brooklyn - 2006
86. Sweet Love - Tical 2000 : Judgement day - 1998
85. Presidential M.C. - 4/21 the day after... - 2006
84. Luminal - Legend of a Liquid Sword - 2002
83. Amplified Sample - Beneath the Surface - 1999
82. Sparring Minds - Legend of a Liquid Sword - 2002
81. Unspoken Word - Bobby Digital in Stereo - 1998
80. Glaciers of Ice- Only built for Cuban Linx - 1994
79. Breaker Breaker - Beneath the Surface - 1999
78. Child's Play - Supreme Clientelle - 2000
77. The Sun - Hidden Darts - 2007 (bulletproof wallets leftover)
76. Afterparty - Tical 0 : The Prequel - 2004
75. All I want is mine - The Resident Patient - 2006
74. Winter Warz- Ironman - 1996
73. Maxine - Bulletproof Wallets - 2001
72. Hollow Bones - The W - 2000
71. School - No Said Date - 2004
70. Hyperdermix - Uncontrolled Substance - 1999
69. Got Ya Money - Nigga Please - 1999
68. Ice Water - Only built for Cuban Linx - 1994
67. Duel of the iron mic - Liquid Swords - 1995
66. Whatever - No Said Date - 2004
65. Kilo - Fishscale - 2006
64. Malcolm - Supreme Clientelle - 2000
63. Investigative Reports - Liquid Swords - 1995
62. Bring Da Ruckus - Enter the 36 Chambers - 1993
61. Severe Punishment - Wu Tang Forever - 1997
60. Underwater - Fishscale - 2006
59. Snakes - Return to the 36 Chambers : The Dirty Version - 1995
58. Mr. Sandman - Tical - 1993
57. Labels - Liquid Swords - 1995
56. Criminology - Only built for Cuban Linx - 1994
55. Cher Chez La Ghost - Supreme Clientelle - 2000
54. Buck 50 - Supreme clientelle - 2000
53. Shame on a Nigga - Enter the 36 Chambers - 1993
52. All That I Got is You - Ironman - 1996
51. Careful (click click) - The W - 2000
50. Run (ft. Jadakiss) - The Pretty Tony Album - 2004
49. Cold World - Liquid Swords - 1995
48. Shakey Dog - Fishscale - 2006
47. Rainy Dayz - Only built for Cuban Linx - 1994
46. Box in Hand - Ironman - 1996
45. Wildflower - Ironman - 1996
44. Clan in da front - Enter the 36 Chambers - 1993
43. Liquid Swords - Liquid Swords - 1995
42. My Lovin' is Digi - Bobby Digital in Stereo - 1998
41. Street Opera - More Fish - 2006
40. Reunited - Wu Tang Forever - 1997
39. Biscuits (feat, trife) - The Pretty Tony Album - 2004
38. Nutmeg - Supreme Clientelle - 2000
37. Wu Tang Clan ain't nuttin' to fuck wit - Enter the 36 Chambers - 1993
36. Datona 500 - Ironman - 1996
35. Holla - The Pretty Tony Album - 2004
34. Ice Cream - Only built for Cuban linx - 1994
33. 9 Milli Bros. - Fishscale - 2006
32. Hellz Wind Staff - Wu Tang Forever - 1997
31. Big Girl - Fishscale - 2006
30. Spazzola - Tical 2000 - 1998
29. A Day to God is 1000 Years - Birth of a Prince - 2003
28. Rec Room - Uncontrolled Substance - 1999
27. M.E.T.H.O.D. Man - Enter the 36 Chambers - 1993
26. Shadowboxin' - Liquid Swords - 1995
25. Shimmy Shimmy Ya - Return to the 36 Chambers - 1995
24. Suspect Chin Music - Tical 2000 - 1998
23. I Can't go to Sleep - The W - 2000
22. Mighty Healthy - Supreme Clientelle - 2000
21. Third World - Soul Assassins Volume 1 - 1997
20. Dangerous Ground - Tical 2000 - 1998
19. Heaterz - Wu Tang Forever - 1997
18. Verbal Intercourse - Only Built for Cuban Linx - 1994
17. Release Yo Delf - Tical - 1993
16. Cuttin' Headz - Return to the 36 Chambers - 1995
15. Fish - Ironman - 1996
14. Bring the Pain - Tical - 1993
13. Triumph - Wu Tang Forever - 1997
12. All I Need (remix) puff daddy mix - Single - 1994
11. Guillotine (Swords) - Only Built for Cuban Linx - 1995
10. Vendetta - The Movement - 2003
9. Brooklyn Zoo - Return to the 36 Chambers : The Dirty Version - 1995
8. 4th Chamber - Liquid Swords - 1995
7. Protect Ya Neck - Enter the 36 Chambers - 1993
6. Killah Hills 10304 - Liquid Swords - 1995
5. Da Mystery of Chessboxin'- Enter the 36 Chambers - 1993
4. Wu-Gambinos - Only Built for Cuban Linx - 1995
3. Gravel Pit - The W - 2000
2. Iron Flag/The Glock - Iron flag - 2001
1. C.R.E.A.M. (Cash rules everything around me) - Enter the 36 Chambers - 1993
101. Wu Banga 101 - Supreme Clientele - 2000
Mathematics used a Gladys Knight sample combined with a piano loop to form one of the best beats on the whole SC album. GZA opens strong, backed up by the sample and throws in some marvellous lyrics. Ghost shows off some of his storytelling skills, followed by Rae, Cappadonna and Masta Killa.
fav line-
„too advanced, Digi' stance, made the CD enhanced
I move with the speed and strength of ants
Identical in form with the Beez they swarm
Hold up the cold current appear warm
My first verbal brawl, started on some yes yes y'all
to the beat y'all, break your windshield, your jeep stall”
**Special thanks to Illegitimate Devil for this review**
100. Live from New York - Immobilarity - 1999
Anybody a huge fan of Immobilarity? Sorry to say this is the only offering from that album on my list. Piano loop is classic. Lyrics fire. Hook is the only thing that brings this song down at all.
fav line - "Came through bangin nuthin but Wu The crowd blitzed'em"
99. Silverbacks - No Said Date - 2004
I must admit, this one flew under my radar, but as I sit here and listen to deck
and masta absolutely murder this track, I feel completely ignorant. Wu sounds
abound in this very metaphorical track.
fav line-"Please warn him of his ways and actions
Before I blast him
Then the homicide was justified when I arrive
Black tints on the glass with the stockin' cap mask
It's all official, steel pistol style whip you, to the gristle
While my team be stompin' you out after the whistle"
98. Brooklyn Babies - Digital Bullet - 2001
An incredibly original beat that speeds up and slows down almost like a tide, fans voted to add this track to the list which was vacant of a Digital Bullet track since the departure of La Rhumba. Masta once again shines on another member's solo, and the video is incredibly grimey and city-like.
fav lines-"A Brooklyn baby, I was bron up in King's County
Inside the womb seven months before the Queen found me"
I can't believe I just caught that, his ol' earth was 7 months prego before she knew!
97. Tragedy - Rhyme and Reason Soundtrack - 1997
The fans of the corp voted this their favorite Soundtrack song in the Wu catalog. An interpolation of the Eurythmics drives the chorus while a classic Kung fu Video accompanies the song. Rza's verses are excellent on this song.
fav lines- "Yo yo assassination vaccination poor education
infatuation with Satan with global nataion taxation
Fiberoptic microscopic biological germ
Mad Cow burger on the market, Captain a nigga starship"
"Heavy thoughts can't be held down by the laws of gravity"
96. NYC Everything - Bobby Digital in Stereo - 1998
Rza's omages to life as a child shine through in this little ditty. The beat is outrageous. Like cookies that were made wrong but taste phenominal anyway. Sick verses both by Mef and Rza here.
fav lines-
"I'm like Larry when the Fish-burn, I burn rubber
Cuz I'm not an easy lover
To the midnight, butt naked wit a knife
Ask my alien likes, I've been crazy all my life"
95. For Heaven's Sake - Wu Tang Forever - 1997
A new edition to the countdown from the multiplatinum album Wu-Tang Forever, For Heaven's sake combines the all too familiar sped up chipmunk sample, with an expansive orchestral production, and extremely hard production. A true classic in terms of artistic merit.
fav lines-
"Seeds of MC's at these fake ass industry niggaz
feed off, the chrome mic tend to squeeze off
and spray, an array of shots
that travel downwind, just respect pyrhiffic pen
as I send, the minds of the weak
To rise and take power I blew tower-ing over the land
as we stand, expanding our CREAM
A dollar to every grain of sand
Let the mind use the physical as planned"
94. Rumble - Golden Arms Redemption - 1999
U- God fans rejoice! The second U-god solo to hit the top 101 is an amped up
group effort that was the theme song for the Wu-Tang playstation game Shaolin Style. Huge lyrical output by Mef and Deck especially.
fav verse- "Aiyyo yo
I spit bars
Travellin tremendous speed measurin far
Been bustin satellites circlin Mars
Verbal onslaught, bring forth physical force
Of a hundred wild niggas piled in a Trojan Horse
Thought method, set it on generic mic ethic
Professional neck shit, left foes beheaded
This music, is mind control like computer chips
Been doin this for numerous years, refuse to lose it
Wit turbo tactics, manuever like a trained soldier
Hall of Fame flame thrower, take game, it's game over
Ayatollah, high roller nine totter
Mind controller, 2009 time folder
My coalition, bring the demolition
Wu-blade decision, slate the competition, wit no intermission
Spittin hazardous darts, up front like Rosa Parks
Makin million men march"
93. Secret Rivals - No Said Date - 2004
First time I heard this I was like WHAAAAAA? Now its like a video game I can't put down. The beat - well - indescribable? The lyrics especially mefs are superb. No hook necessary. There's already so much going on. Great ORIGINAL track.
fav line - "The power, like Tyson
When nothing else work, start biting"
92. Bizarre - Golden Arms Redemption - 1999
Beat is absolutely fantastic, composed of funk guitar, hard percussion and the
voice sample "sooooo bizarre yea", it is addicting. The lyrics are way above
average from baby U and for once a great hook from Golden Arms. This is one of the few Wu tracks to become a commercially successful hit on hot 97 NY.
fav verse-"Now, here come the rhythm, style that's moist
Now, it's up from the Hell with the olive oil voice
Now hurry my hurt, bury dirt deep within
Against witty rap war startin, robbin in the wind
Great blue skies and the great red birds
From the pitch black city with the long link verbs
Golden Arms song truly to restore the Earth's beauty
Grant me a beast, stamp kill me with the jury
When I tone a capell, Hell has beauty
A force has awakened, breath-takin vengeance
Midnight power plant, seekin the menace
My wrestlin vest, lyric fresh, dry bone
My appetite distruction is official cyclones
Thai poems, my throne
One shot fill, bigger homes, bigger stones
It's on now!!!"
91. No Said Date - No Said Date - 2004
The fans spoke loudly when voting this a classic. A sped up sample of Outkast's "skew it on the barbie" drives this track which is like the tag line for most of the Wu's releases, including the album of said title, said to be in the works for ten years. When is the Cure droppin Rza? "No Said Date" was his only reply.
fav lines-"Ain't enough ink for the thoughts I think
They travel so rapid, it's hard to grasp it
No assumption, Kay Slay get the shit thumpin'
Darts stay lethal, blaze one for the people
They travelled so far to witness
The killin' of a mastermind line-for-line
Half-time, center stage, 50 yard line
Long time, man for dead
Should've been, put one in his head
Before the poison spread to the body
Partly done, 'nough said... "
90. Auto Bio - Legend of a Liquid Sword - 2002
Bells and strings unite in a fantastic beat, combined with gzas visceral lyrics this is one whale of a tune. I really like it when realism is mixed in on the album as well as fantasy. This gives the artist more perspective and this song emphasizes that.
fav line - "They say I rhyme like the bank that stop
Cause M.C.'s be more shook then the dice that drop
Especially if I'm rollin', then the point is definitely proven
Cause with the GZA holdin', that keep a nigga movin' "
89. Tearz - Enter the 36 Chambers - 1993
The Wu proved they were more than just a tough exterior with this conscious heartbreaking melody. Rza's verse is particularly standout, expressing emotion rarely heard on hip hop tracks. A sample of After Laughter Comes Tears drives the chorus.The corp vote winner for july.
fav line- "I ran frantically, then I dropped down to his feet
I saw the blood, all over, the hot concrete
I picked him up, then I held him by his head
His eyes shut, that's when I knew he was...
Aw man! How do I say goodbye?
It's alway the good ones who have to die
Memories in the corner of my mind
Flashbacks, I was laughin all the time
I taught him, all about the bees and birds
But I wish I had a chance to sing these three words"
88. Love Jones - Bobby Digital in Stereo - 1998
One of the most comfortable songs in Wu's collection, this is a powerful love song. The highest notes on the piano are utilized perfectly on the sample loop. The hook is well soothing I guess. If you could get a massage from a song this would be the one.
fav line - "Behold as I shape and mold your formless globe
into a perfect O, and breathe the breath of life into your nose
With the fragrance of a fresh pink rose
and stroll into your eyes, the windows to your soul"
87. Iron God Chamber - Made in Brooklyn - 2006
Enough of that soft shit, lets get grimey! U-god, Rza, Mef, and Masta all spit fire. Beat is dirtier and hotter than an old fryolator. No hook necessary.
fav line - "Oscar the Grouch, kid, jumping out the trashcan"
86. Sweet Love - Tical 2000 : Judgement day - 1998
Another Misogynistic masterpiece by the clan. Good mix of sounds on the production shouldn't fit but do. Hook is dynamite by capp. Lyrics are grimey.
best lyric tie mef and street
fav line - "Whattup, went to beat it up, Im not the one to eat it up
But the type to hit it raw dawg and seed it up"
85. Presidential M.C. - 4/21 the day after... - 2006
Only offering from 4/21 on my list is an example of the perfect meld of lyric/hook/beat. It all fits perfectly like the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle. Rza sounds crazy with his monotonistic verse but it works just fine. Hook is great.
best verse - mef
fav line - "So let's move on, until the day we laying in the casket
With them suits on, and I'm so cool that hell is only luke warm
Been too strong, for too, long, I'll probably die
With my boots on, and on my way to cash a coochie coupon"
84. Luminal - Legend of a Liquid Sword - 2002
How bout takin' a trip through the mind of a serial killer? Did anyone think an accordian could ever sound evil? I didn't until I heard this...
fav line - "Specific offers of horrific torture
That left crime scenes, that retired law enforcers"
83. Amplified Sample - Beneath the Surface - 1999
Unusual echo on his voice during the hook mixed with synthesizers and sound effects equals a gritty track that is very underrated. Gza almost never fails to shine lyrically in his descriptiveness and storytelling ability. This track is proof he can be as vague or as sharp as he wants to be and it doesn't matter. You still have to listen. Its a lyrical landscape that spans time itself.
fav line- " Through ignorance and misplaced trust your world's crushed"
82. Sparring Minds - Legend of a Liquid Sword - 2002
Once again deck at his best lyrically. Beat is like a warning to get the fuck indoors and hide the kids. no hook necessary.
fav line - " Insane flower, vein blower
Aim and it's game over
You know the name, flame-thrower"
"from the cold dirt, rock and ore, raps galore
watch a river flow backwards, when we storm the shore"
81. Unspoken Word - Bobby Digital in Stereo - 1998
What can you say about these lyrics? People will dissect them for years to come. Nothing incredible as far as beat or hook, but god damn what lyrics!
lyrics - "Yo, yo it's the unspoken word
You not heard, get your brains open
Controlled emotions freewill
as the same token
Keep a sword tucked sharp inside your personal
We can bust a shot or we can bust a verse or two
Word's on the street Dunn Dunn Bobby's goin Digital
Hoverin the city inside the Wonder Woman's invisible jet
Clouded by the Meth we move undetected
in secret society sects, NARC's radar
suspected us to be a cumulus cloud, ejectin lightning
Strikin like a wild knuckle fight, in New Brighton
A million strands of spider webs weaved to make my vest
The energy compacted deep within, my inner chest
One touch of my eagle claw clutch, rips your guts
Brass head kill you fast with a rapid, head bust
Ninjas spyin, the ammo flyin, the steel iron
Blow a nigga neck from his head, like dandelions
My team is a magazine of M-16's
But we calmly, defeat your army, by blowin steam
Noisy as a thousand barkin dogs, rap's sweat hogs
Welcome back to the catalogue, hip-hop cyborg
Bobby Digital, keyboard clogged bitch you analog
We blowin smoke creatin Scooby Doo fogs
Escape cell block eight's my tape on the rocks
Sean Connery, calmly bombin MC's, who stuck on my phenomenon
Word up, no hurry up, for the merrier
You worry Duck, you get touched by the razor cut
You feel the flurry huh, don't worry yo
You get cut by the razor, yo, yo, yo yo
The Wu rag tied around your head, like a doo rag
Carry large black guns in small school bags
Funeral date, will be engraved on the wall, in roman numerals
The Looney Tune niggaz I be rollin with, be screwin you
Quick to make a nigga shit in his pants, with one glance
Laid back like a fat Huffy bike, on the kickstands
My Clan'll make the most hardrock chump turn to glass
and shatter, leave no traces of your matter
You kids playin hot feet, wait til you go to sleep I pull your teeth
I'm vegetarian BITCH, I don't need the beef
So how I spell relief? Ruler Z, Arm Leg Leg Arm Head
B.O.B.B.Y.
You don't qualify
You don't have supply
It's a natural high
It's Bobby Digital, word you can't ridicule
We see a snake in the garden, we get rid of you
(Bobby you be on that bullshit) ALL THE TIME
(With them big words and shit) I FREE Y'ALL NIGGAZ MINDS
(What the fuck you think you are some king or somethin
Motherfucker you ain't shit, high profilin)
Yo, yo, my enemies of the Killa Bee Clan's founds their peers
Buried for a thousand years, or drowned in tears
My unpredictable lyrics straight, and spine tingling
like slime from a baby's mouth, bitch niggaz you be lingerin
Bobby bobs panties from bitches with big asses
(Bobby you be buggin!) Girl my mind flashes
My seeds be royal, niggaz sweat muslim oil
My Earth gave birth to the fertile crescent soil
No time for fragile planet for small wombs
My dick bust a universe, my nuts weigh a moon, stay in tune
Champagne thoughts with Bud Light money, blunts dipped in honey
Digital, make the gloomiest day feel sunny
Slang slides slashes for him plan record upon the Lord
Confuse you like a forty-eight track mixboard
Milli phaser blast a hole in your back the size of moon craters
These anti-crucified on my Technic crossfader
Fuck the bloodshed, you be leakin your soul
Physical mental emotion we will control
Infinite darts I apply to your back, like horse brandin
I clear a thousand men with a jaw of an assbone, black Samson
It's Bobby Digital, word you can't ridicule
See a snake in the garden, we get rid of you
Slimy savages, against the Digital
Fuck you Analog, the shit is critical
Bobby Digital, word you can't ridicule
See a snake in the garden, we get rid of you
You slimy savages, shit is gettin critical
Fuck you Analog niggaz we be Digital
Bobby Digital
Word up fuck that (Bobby Digital!)
80. Glaciers of Ice - Only built for Cuban Linx - 1994
This track has a raw & grimey sound. Lyrically, Rae, Ghost & especially Masta Killa shine hard on it. Masta's verse was eyeopening, as he was the unknown member of the clan up to this point. I miss that hype energy Ghost used to bring, especially on this joint. Every aspect of the track fits perfectly from blue's singing to 60 sec's harmonizing.
fav line GHOST
"To all my house bitches, Starks will be home soon
I'm on tour chill, catch you Ninety-Six in June
But until then my ten-man team be safe
Chill on the whips to settle this, we can all get laced
Take a boat cruise, sip daquiris and max swimmin pools
Fly jewels Wally shoes blow stacks relax kid
black kids got a cravin for grapes until we get back
I'm packed leave the Mac that you're with
but whatever, I gotta hit other sides of the Earth
Spread Wu-ness, foolish, civilization's cursed
But luckily I'm born to be wild and aure-al
Move crowds collect twenty thou and then we out
Heavy convoys my crew keep pretty boys paranoid
Blow like a steroid pat Dan's they're Akyroid
My seeds growin his seeds marry his seeds
That's how we keep Wu-Tang money all up in the family"
Special thanks to **tImE** for this review
79. Breaker Breaker - Beneath the Surface - 1999
Superb strings and lyrics with a unique hook sung over a CB radio makes this a very memorable gza song.
fav line - "strictly excell at what is excellence with grace"
78. Child's Play - Supreme Clientelle - 2000
The last few lines of this song are worth the price of admission. Brings back so many memories. While the long note that is played thruout can be annoying at first, after a while it totally becomes blocked out.
fav line - "Those were the days, made faces in school plays
Paper trays, city wide test, made half a days
Shooting puppy water, might hump the pillow, dick a inch taller
Stapleton bum nigga, I'll pop her cherry for her
Fresh air fun, here's dunn, alphabets, berets
Jellies, bubble yum, soda tongue, too young to cum
Then engage him with them candy rings
Eh yo, I hit that shit, got jealous when she kissed Rob
I broked her chicko's sticks"
77. The Sun - Hidden Darts - 2007 (bulletproof wallets leftover)
How could a song this happy and sunny be made by the Wu? Slick Rick that's how. Ghost once again shows he isn't afraid to destroy the shackles that bind most artists to a boring collection of mediocrity. He spits in the face of those who say he can't do this or that. The result? Originality. A diverse collection of tracks that will keep his fans happy for years to come, and grow an even wider fan base.
fav line- "Yo, the son could never be pussy, He always come out
He'll sit right there, even if you pull your gun out"
76. Afterparty - Tical 0 : The Prequel - 2004
Yes, a song from the prequel made the list. I had to do it. "Wu tang the best rap group of all time" Well goddamnit somebody had to say it! Glad it was ghost. Beat is Phenominal. Ghost fills in the roll of redman admirably bouncing off Mefs lyrics back and forth. Lyrics are visual as hell. Have I been there? I think I have!
fav line - "Half a box of cereal gone, my milk's warm
Mad strong, this is John John, pro and con phenomenon
Stretch with a morning yawn, party 'til the break of dawn
Ladies throw your faces on, sing it when the break come on"
tical 0 honerable mentions - The motto 113
What's happenin' 140
75. All I want is mine - The Resident Patient - 2006
The only song from resident patient to make the list (hon mention A lil story 119) The beat is sick. the hook is sick. And decks voice has changed like he's sick?
fav line "My conscience beggin' me chills, steady we build
I ask, is it back to the cracks after the raps
Where I'm from, used to be fun, soon'll become
A deathtrap, mental setback, forget that"
74. Winter Warz- Ironman - 1996
During the apex of Wu-Tang dominance in hip hop, comes a posse cut
featuring U-God, Ghostface, Raekwon, Masta Killa and the unofficial 10th member,
Cappadonna. Winter Warz was first heard on Don't Be a Menace soundtrack and eventually
became one of the many classic tracks on Ironman.
Ghost's debut, the 5th Wu-solo release, is an instant classic called "Ironman."
All over NY's Hot 97, back when hardcore hip hop actually got mad airplay, Warz was at
the forefront of mainstream hip hop radio. This was sorta unreal considering this
track is well over 4mins. (A no-no in commercial radio) Wu tracks were always long
especially posse cuts like this.
U-God sets shit off with heat then torches passed thru Generals
settin up Cappadonna's RIDICULOUS verse. You know you recite his
verse when you hear it in your cars, party, concert or at the crib.
Cappa wouldnt stop ! Making his debut on Rae's Cuban Link, lots of
heads were forced to take serious notice with his verse on Winter Warz.
"Cut you like a blunt & Re-construct ya design, I know you wanna diss
me, but I can read ya mind..cuz you weak in the knees like SWV,
tryin to get a title like Wu Killa Bee...."
Just one of many sick lines in his verse. Not that Ghost's & Masta's
verses were off point, they just let Cap shine on this one.
Rae doin the hook was a nice change and RZA's production with the
hight pitches sample thruout the track resembles the sound of bees
swarming. THE ONLY song played during the end credits of Dont Be a Menace
without any edits, it plays straight thru and ends with the last of the
credits. Wu Posse cuts aint the same unless RZA is behind the production.
Another classic in the chamber from the clan in the days when they were
unstoppable.
Very special thanks to Tekunique for this review
73. Maxine - Bulletproof Wallets - 2001
Storytelling at its best once again from the RAGU brothers. Beat with armstrong trumpets is fondu hot. A wawa is utilized here too, giving it a bit of a seventies feel. And the ending hook is one of the best the Wu has ever done.
fav lines - "This is Pam Jerkins mother house the same shit go on in her brother house"
"All, all, all in together now
We getting fresh getting right for the weather now
And if we fall in the game, yo that's never now
Come to my projects and we'll air you out"
72. Hollow Bones - The W - 2000
Guitar and tamborine mixed with a voice sample and not much else. So simple yet so effective. But that isn't even close to the best part. Deck and Ghort rip some of their finest verses with ghosts voice inflections carrying a lot of weight.
fav line - "Outside the check cashing, flashing
Dipped in fashion
Five cherry-faced fagots tried to cash in
They keep laughing, Ghost you get ya face bashed in
Who gave you these priveledges son? why you maxing?
And we..
Feigning to take those move slow
I'm hearing how you broke Rob's nose
And I heard you keep a banging hammer
Golden brass diamonds embroideries
That was stolen that you haven't reported g"
71. School- No Said Date - 2004
This selection from no said date drops a fierce amount of knowledge especially by Rza. I love any song where the beat transitions flawlessly and this is no exception. The two beats have absolutely no relationship to one another but rather to the MCs spitting on them. A brilliant idea.
At this point I would just like to honorably mention the song masta killa(104) which just barely didn't make the cut. No said date is one of my favorite albums, but it works better as a whole than song by song.
70. Hyperdermix - Uncontrolled Substance - 1999
A surrealistic trip through the mind of deck. Pink floyd would be proud. Eerie ambient sounds flood the soundscape. The lyrics are typical of deck, hard, raw, and on point. This track slowly rose through the ranks over the years growing like a fungus on me.
fav line - " Dope man supply fire to wax push your wigs back
Hit ya like a tall cat make ya relapse
Never before have ya ever heard this level of raw
My metaphors touch down like the hammer of Thor"
69. Got Ya Money - Nigga Please - 1999
Commercial? Who gives a shit! Neptunes hooked dirty up here. Hook by Kelis - FIRE!!! While dirty's lyrics on this song (or the rest of the album for that matter) don't come close to anything he did on Enter the 36 or Return, he commands attention with his inflections and style. And the video is gonzo.
fav line - "You can call me Dirty, and then lift up yo' skirt
And you want some of this Dirty, god made Dirt and Dirt bust yo' ass"
that line is soooo dirty. no rhyme necessary
68. Ice Water - Only built for Cuban Linx - 1994
The first of many tracks from the Raekwon classic album is an example of originality at it's best. A grower track that offers no consolations. It is what it is. Raw beats + raw lyrics = fire.
fav line - Check out the rap kingpin, the black jesus
I know a few niggas sniff coke and cause seizures"
67. Duel of the iron mic - Liquid Swords - 1995
The first of many offerings on my list from liquid swords. Piano loop, hook by dirty, and lyrics all on point. The most telling thing is the Movie sample in the end which sort of prophesizes the fall of Wu Tang, even if unintentional.
best lyric - gza
fav line - " The liquid soluble that made up the chemistry
A gaseous element, that burned down your ministry
Herbal vapors, and biblical papers
Smokin Exodus, every square yard is plush"
66. Whatever - No Said Date - 2004
Great great hook. Some of Street's and Masta's finest work on the mic. Great sample usage too.
fav line - "This ain't a side show, you can die slow
There's no I in team, we all ride... yo!
The Masta brought the ceremony, this is my testament
Homicide Housing, that's what I represent"
65. Kilo - Fishscale - 2006
The first of five songs from ghostface's underrated album. The mix of funk guitar with odd percussion use of a razor chopping up coke on a mirror, creates a song as fascinating as it is unique. This song made Rolling Stone's list of top 100 songs of 2006 for a reason. The hook is addicting and the lyrics are extremely on point. Easily could have been a cut on OB4CL.
fav line - "Bricks, Tar caps, powder, cooked up crack
Phones is tapped over franklin's stacks
Kingpins put in bullpens, old connects get paro'
Break out of town when the Jakes take down the Pharoah
Reason, He was moving that peruvian white
blowing coolies into hoopties , slamming cuties and ice
big heavy pots over hot stoves
Mayonnaise jars of water with rocks in them got my whole projects out of order
A Kilo is a thousand grams
Beige, gold, brown, dirty, fluffy, tan, extract oil cut from cuban plants
The chemist is brolic, pyrex scholars
Professors at war over raw, killing partners for a million dollars"
64. Malcolm - Supreme Clientelle - 2000
Straight knowledge. Way underrated track. The classical piano sample works wonderfully with the background horn sample. Hook is dynamite.
fav line - "Nice like Van Halen , seen him at the tunnel with his skin peelin
Did two days thought he was jailin"
63. Investigative Reports - Liquid Swords - 1995
Oh U-god, why can't you do hooks like this all the time? Smoothly flowing beat with mind-boggling lyrics by Rae, Ghost, and Gza. Drug trafficking lyrics are rarely this good if ever.
fav line - " They used to heat up the cipher with a shot that was hyper
than your average JFK sniper
He just came home to spark it
Rolling like Kaufman, and lay that ass out like carpet
Stop the stuttering boy, save the planes for the five-oh
Then praise the God - chk-a-chk POW!
They be lick shots and premeditate to grab...
...and then they jet back to the lab
And then remain in Shaolin
An endangered island
Shorties lose blood by the gallon"
62. Bring Da Ruckus - Enter the 36 Chambers - 1993
The first of just about every track on 36 is probably underrated by me I admit, with incomparable lyrics and and an insanely hardcore beat. Hell if family guy quoted it, it must be a classic.
fav lines - "Ghostface, catch the blast of a hype verse
My glock bursts, leave in a hearse, I did worse
I come rough, tough like an elephant tusk
Ya head rush, fly like Egyptian musk"
"I rip it hardcore, like porno-flick bitches
I roll with groups of ghetto bastards with biscuits
Check it, my method on the microphone's bangin
Wu-Tang slang'll leave your headpiece hangin"
61. Severe Punishment - Wu Tang Forever - 1997
Dark dirty grimey twisted sick insane.... all the words you can think of ,but raw describes it best. This song brings out the inner evil in me. All 5 emcees who spit on this do so without reservations or holding back. No concessions no fluff, just raw.
fav lines - "Shit is copper, it ain't worth the mic stands
used by backup singers in Atlantic City bands"
"Fabulous establishment metabolism, Blackfoot Indian
Cherokee started out smaller than amphibian
Then grew to a physical body with five meridian"
60. Underwater - Fishscale - 2006
The beat with bubbles and flutes makes you feel like you are actually underwater. Add just about every allusion to being in, on, or underwater you can think of, and what you have is one insanely original track. Short but sweet once again from Ghost.
fav line-"I seen rubies, diamonds, smothered under octopus
Jellyfish sharks soar, aquaproof pocketbook
Pearls on the mermaid girls
Gucci belts that they rock for no reason from a different world"
59. Snakes - Return to the 36 Chambers : The Dirty Version - 1995
Voice sample is bananas. Lyrics are visual and raw. Dirty takes a backseat to his pals on this one, but its all good. Rza delivers an insane verse that induces chills. Avery visual masterpiece.
best verse -rza
fav line - "Indecent, heathen, juvenile delinquent
His weekends was frequently, locked inside the precinct"
58. Mr. Sandman - Tical - 1993
Shot up the countdown in August due to tremendous corp support. Another great voice sample for the hook, overlaps an absolutely filthy beat. Great verses by rza, deck, and mef. A huge standout track on Tical.
fav line - "My hazardous thoughts to cut the mic's life support short
Brains get stained like tablecloths when I let off
Powerful, poetry pushed past the point of no return
Leavin mics with third-degree burns"
57. Labels - Liquid Swords - 1995
Nobody ever did songs like this. This is Gza's incredible mind at work. The beat is dark and dirty. No hook necessary.
fav lines - "And if you ain't boned a mic you couldn't hurt a bee
That's like going to Venus driving a MERCURY"
" The CAPITOL of this rugged slang, is WU-TANG
Witty Unpredictable Talent And Natural Game"
56. Criminology - Only built for Cuban Linx - 1994
Do you remember the first time you heard this beat? I do. I taped the second half of the song off the radio and listened to it constantly until the single was released even though the quality of my recording was terrible. Sample of Scarface fits perfectly with the song and album, bells are infectious, verses are off the wall.
fav line- "Extravagant, RZA bake the track and it's militant
Then I react, like a convict, and start killin shit
It's manifested, the Gods work like appliances
Dealin in my cypher I revolve around sciences"
55. Cher Chez La Ghost - Supreme Clientelle - 2000
There aren't too many party joints in the Wu Tang collective, but this is one of the best. The end hook is the most addicting things ever, and Uey gets mad props for carrying this tune. If anything is wrong, it is too short. Another verse would have been nice but how can you complain really? Just play it again and again and again.....
fav line - "Swallow nine, model dimes from bahamas
Slim doo-doo makers stuffed inside pajamas"
54. Buck 50 - Supreme clientelle - 2000
Whistling beat mixed with a simple baseline and occasional guitar riffs. Simple and insanely addicting. The lyrics by ghost red and capp all fire. Mef adds a semi-hook to the mix. His ending hook is quotable as hell.
fav lines - "Tyco nightglow velvet pose, special effects
High-tech armors merc you at the shows
Supercalifragalisticexpialidocious
Dociousaliexpifragalisticcalisuper
Cancun, catch me in the room, eatin grouper.."
"Shoe fly shoo, Wally Don Clark crew
Fuck y'all wanna do? Crack a brew, smoke an L or two
And flip like (HUH)
Killin for the whole click is sick like (HUH)
You and your stank bitch eat a dick like (HUH)
Baby shake your shit, girl you're thick like (HUH)
Gettin rich like (HUH) Yeah.."
53. Shame on a Nigga - Enter the 36 Chambers - 1993
Has dirty ever been better and more sharp lyrically? Mef and Rae add fire to the mix with a crazy beat that is oh so dirty in many ways. This song was so good it was remade by System of a down. Crazy.
fav line- "I come with that ol' loco
Style from my vocal
Couldn't peep it with a pair of bi-focals"
52. All That I Got is You - Ironman - 1996
Hip hop or not, this is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. Mary is perfect. Ghost's lyrics are heartbreaking. I just wish there wasn't that rhetoric on the end or else it would be much higher.
fav line- "Sadly, daddy left me at the age of six
I didn't know nuttin but mommy neatly packed his shit
She cried, and grandma held the family down
I guess mommy wasn't strong enough, she just went down"
51. Careful (click click) - The W - 2000
Insanely grimey beat, grimey lyrics. The kind of song only a Wu-head would love. So underground it looks up at caskets.
fav line- "These are the bones, bones from the grave of Houdini
G-Deini, ronzoni noodles sprinkled on your embry'"
50. Run (ft. Jadakiss) - The Pretty Tony Album - 2004
A repetitive siren blended flawlessly with perfect percussion and one of the better guest appearences from Jada highlight this visual masterpiece about running from the cops. Anyone who has been chased by the Jakes can relate.
fav line- "Run! I will not get bagged on the rock
Run! I seen what happened to Un, they bad with they cops
Run! They am' shit, plan shit, destroy evidence
Get cassed, I'm not comin' home with no fifty six"
49. Cold World - Liquid Swords - 1995
Dark eerie string samples highlight this horrific rhymescape by the gza. He starts with another classic Kung fu sample and begins his verse with a fascinating parody of Twas the night before Christmas. From there the song molds itself into a street thugs anthem talking about jackings, selling, shooting cops and stashing cash. Deck is there again typically dropping fire to this liquid swords counterpart. I was so sure after hearing decks verses on this and forever that deck would become the biggest hip hop star in the world.
fav line- "It was the night before New Year's, and all through the fuckin projects
Not a handgun was silent, not even a Tec
Outside as I'm stuck, by enemies who put fear
and blasted on the spot before the pigs were dere"
48. Shakey Dog - Fishscale - 2006
This is visualization through words at its finest. One of ghosts greatest attributes is his unbelievable attention to detail. What you have here is ghost on the way to a spot with someone in the car that he doesn't really trust. He passes an old lady on the way and stops to point out that shes a killer. What description! Armstrong trumpets once again highlight the beat which is great but outshined by ghost's verbals.
fav line-"Straight ahead is the doorway, see that lady that lady with the shopping cart
She keep a shottie cocked in the hallway
Damn she look pretty old Ghost, she work for Kevin, she 'bout seventy seven
She paid her dues when she smoked his brother in law at his bosses' wedding"
47. Rainy Dayz - Only built for Cuban Linx - 1994
I never liked this song when I first heard it. Then one day (stoned probably) I could not stop listening to it. Blue raspberry's voice was less annoying to me. The sounds like squeeling birds were all blocked out. The lyrics all made sense. I was hooked. I haven't stopped listening. Now, whenever I have a bad day, I pop this in.
fav line- "We can pull a heist, snatch ice, or rock mics
But this rap shit, got me wanna clack back the latch
How it goes Leon, pesos made from scratch
but in due time, soon to get mine like Bugsy
Heavy on the wrist, Polo mock socks and rugbies"
46. Box in Hand - Ironman - 1996
Almost sounds like a premiere track the way it's mixed. Mef's flow is absolutely on point. Pianos and synthesizes highlight the beat with scratches utilized perfectly.
fav line- "From this PLO extortion to the one
The next chamber, you fuckin with the star spangler
To the dawn's early light with this head-banger
Boogie, represent this shit fully
Like I'm constantly at war with the town bully
Who want that pressure, about to get smacked silly
Like a fat bitch in Spandex, free Willy!"
45. Wildflower - Ironman - 1996
The introduction to ghost's misogynistic ways is revealed in this instant classic. The beat in the forefront is simple. 2 notes repeated throughout the song. The background is where it hooks you in. That and ghost's unforgiving slap-in-yo-face lyrics. Short but incredibly sweet. Exact opposite of a love letter.
fav line- "I got jerked, gave away my pussy, that shit hurt
It feel like somebody died or shot your old Earth
But fuck it, I fucked you on a chair with three legs
Broken tables, had you screamin while you was bitin on my cables
Whistlin to the washing machine, I threw it on spin
If your pussy dry, spit on my dick and put it in"
44. Clan in da front - Enter the 36 Chambers - 1993
We start with an introduction to the clan by rza over buzzing bees and a beat that will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Then enter an off key piano loop that shouldn't work, but does instantly. Gza then proceeds to "battle" an unknown opponent (maybe the entire industry itself?) His lyrics are razor sharp as he points out and the beat is untouchable. Chock full of excellent baseball metaphors.
fav line- "You become so Pat as my style increases
What's that in your pants ahhh human feces!
Throw your shitty drawers in the hamper
Next time come strapped with a fuckin Pamper"
43. Liquid Swords - Liquid Swords - 1995
I can imagine this being the first song that many late coming Wu fans like skaters ever heard. And what a song to introduce you right? Start with probably the most recognizable kung fu movie sample (shogun assassin) in the entire catalog and add a deliriously dreary beat mixed with fire by Gza on the mic and you have new lifelong fans.
fav lines- "I don't waste ink, nigga I think
I drop megaton BOMBS more faster than you blink
Cause rhyme thoughts travel at a tremendous speed
Clouds of smoke, of natural blends of weed
Only under one circumstance is if I'm blunted
Turn that shit up, my clan in da front want it"
"I'm on a Mission, that niggaz say is Impossible
But when I swing my swords they all choppable
I be the body dropper, the heartbeat stopper
Child educator, plus head amputator
Cause niggaz styles are old like Mark 5 sneakers
Lyrics are weak, like clock radio speakers"
42. My Lovin' is Digi - Bobby Digital in Stereo - 1998
My friend who hates hip hop like a passion loves this song. I asked him why he liked this song and his response was that the beat wasn't as repetitive and wasn't typical of most hip hop tunes. It has changes, a brilliant vocal accompaniment and Rza's verses are impassioned and full of feeling. I wholeheartedly agree. You can tell Rza gave a lot of himself to this song.
fav line-"Back scratchin, eyes squintin, Dusk to Dawn
Quentin Tarantino type porn, like Lewinsky-Bill Clinton
Suck it down with no commercial,
good Power Universal Self Savior Y
B.O.B.B.Y.!"
41. Street Opera - More Fish - 2006
Like father, like son. Ghost trades verses with his son (sun god) in this truly addicting song. Are they the new little Wayne and Birdman? Probably not, but this offering is just a glimpse into their lives, something that most hip hop artists want or are encouraged to keep hidden. The voice sample here is bananas. I can't get it out of my head. And the third verse where they bounce off each other ala Mef/Red is classic.
fav line- "It's all entertainment (And all my niggas made it)
We hard body like Wu-Tang and Iron Maiden
(I keep the iron blazing, hands hurt
Like a bitch when she putting braids in, I think it's so amazing)
We ran trains for hours, up in the Days Inn
Hood rats and crack motels, we seen baking"
40. Reunited - Wu Tang Forever - 1997
Elegant string samples mashed together with "It's Wu muthafuckas. Wu Tang Muthafuckas" Rza's verse is dynamite. What a way to indroduce a phenominal album.
fav line-"Yo, yo, The Riddler, funny bone tickler, freak Caligula
Bigger dick sex enigma pistol fertilize your stigma
Stinkbox, order from pink dot
MC's get stuck on ink blots as I plug to the sinkbox
Wu-Tang Incorp. take your brain on spacewalk
Talk strange like B-jork, great hero Jim Thorpe
How can I put it? Life is like video footage
Hard to edit, directors, that never understood it
I'm too impulsive, my deadly corrosive dosage
attack when you least notice through explosive postage
I don't play, the rap souflee sautee for the day
Ruler Zig-Zag-Zig A, Leg Leg Arm Head
Spread like plague, we drink Hennessee by the jig
I got the golden egg plus the goose
Eighty proof, Absolut, mixed with cranberry fruit juice
Ginseng boost, I got yo' neck in a noose
Keep my money wrinkled, the rap star twinkle killer instinct
sixteen bar nickle sell more copies than Kinko
Grow like a fetus with no hands and feet to complete us
and we return like Jesus, when the whole world need us"
39. Biscuits (feat, trife) - The Pretty Tony Album - 2004
With an incredibly strong hook once again sung off tone (works perfectly) and horn samples that are oh so Wu-tang, Ghost once again provides an instant classic for his fans.
fav line- "We gon' -- we gon' get our money
If he front, they gon' read about the rocks in his tummy
Mouth was red, socks was bloody, fuck all the talkin'
Safety off and shit, crept out, "What up money? Freeze!"
Don't move, turn around, act like James Brown
And get down! Get slapped with the put down
Wasn't you the same clown? Uptown, yappin'
I keep big Shirley on my side, so What's Happenin'?"
38. Nutmeg - Supreme Clientelle - 2000
The slang rap king never fails to surprise and awe his fans. Nutmeg is just another in a long list of songs that need to be broken down and analyzed for their meaning. The ending hook demands to be shouted right along with.
fav lines- "Check out the rap kingpin, summertime fine jewelry drippin
Face in the box, I seen your ear twitchin
As soon as I drove off, Cap' came to me with three sawed-offs
Give one to Rae', let's season they broth
Lightning rod fever heaters, knock-kneeder Sheeba for hiva
Diva got rocked from the receiver bleeder"
"BROOKLYN!
I know, I know, I know, I know
QUEENS!
I know, I know, I know, I know
SHAOLIN!
I know, I know, I know, I know
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know
BRONX!
I know, I know, I know, I know
JERSEY!
I know, I know, I know
LONG ISLAND!
I know, I know, I know, I know
I know, I know, I know, BREAK IT DOWN!"
37. Wu Tang Clan ain't nuttin' to fuck wit - Enter the 36 Chambers - 1993
Amped. That's the word that comes to mind when describing this classic. A beat with fingersnap percussion, the typical synthesized instruments that scream Wu Tang and the "tiger-style" voice sample. Its all great and all Wu Tang. Rza provides some of his finest work here.
fav line- "I be tossin, enforcin, my style is awesome
I'm causin more Family Feud's than Richard Dawson
And the survey said -- ya dead
Fatal Flying Guillotine chops off your fuckin head
MZA who was that? Aiyyo, the Wu is back
Makin niggaz go BO BO!, like on Super Cat
Me fear no-one, oh no, here come
The Wu-Tang shogun, killer to the eardrum!"
36. Datona 500 - Ironman - 1996
Hey let's take a sample from saturday night fever and rap over it. Who else but the Wu could pull that off? Extra props on the speed racer video for this song. Rae, capp and ghost all come extremey strong with the vocals.
fav line- "Kiss the pyramid experiment with high explosive
I slapbox with Jesus, lick shots at Joseph
Zoomin like binoculars, the rap blacksmith
Money's Rolex, with sparkles, Chef ragtop is spotless"
35. Holla - The Pretty Tony Album - 2004
Fuck a sample! Let's just rhyme over the whole damn song! Ghost has always showed an incredible love for the R+B/soul sounds of the 50's, 60's and 70's and here he believes the song is too great, too important to break up into samples. He's right and it works on so many levels especially with a slight alteration to the hook. Could he repeat this performance or even improve on it? Read on....
fav line- "When I walk through any function
You bet your ass that the 4/5'll cook, fuck your wack looks
Fuck platinum, fuck, let me show ya'll crooks
This is legit rap, I.R.S. can suck my books"
34. Ice Cream - Only built for Cuban linx - 1994
A simple repetitive piano harmony that is so addicting Wu heads male and female alike fiend for it. Solid lyrics and a hook that can't be touched. Mefs ending hook is quotable all by itself.
fav line- "Wu-Tang in the cut, for real niggaz what?
It's the after party and bitches want to fuck
Watch these rap niggaz get all up in your guts
French-vanilla, butter-pecan, chocolate-deluxe
Even caramel sundaes is gettin touched
And scooped in my ice cream truck, Wu tears it up
Ice cold bitches melt down when in the clutch
They want they titties sucked, ice cream"
33. 9 Milli Bros. - Fishscale - 2006
This song gives me hope. The hope that the new OB4CL2 and 8 diagrams will be this good. It's new and it shot up to the top of my list instantly. The beat is indescribably good with a conglomeration of different sounds coming together and all the generals as well as Cappadonna bodyslam you with their verbals. Even dirty (R.I.P.) is heard briefly with a line that I absolutely love.
fav lines-"Y'all be nice to the crackheads, everybody listen up
I shot one of my bitches, the hoe ain't trick enough"
"Leave your head like a Shaolin monk with 6 dots"
"My whole crew's fresh out the bars
Diggler, AKA the Cab Driver
Drop him off in the middle of fire"
"you see I love Lucy cuz she Lawless
Exactly like that 1-0-3-0-4 is"
"We got a history, full of lightning victories
Conceptual breakthrough it ain't no mystery
Long vision, from giants in every way
Rap czars, magnificent flows for every day
From the East to the ville, from the West to the hills
Incredible rhymes, encouraging skill
From rat packs, the smallest crews were enormous
They hit 'em fast, with an effortless performance
MCs start fleeing in flocks
Especially those that's more sensitive to heat and shock"
32. Hellz Wind Staff - Wu Tang Forever - 1997
Jingle bells, and woodwind accompaniment along with accoustic guitar as well as voice overs. A lot to digest? Sure, but it works brilliantly along with verses dropped by almost all the generals as well as a great verse by streetlife. What is that last Ghost line? No clue but I love it.
fav lines-"A new year is dawning, new crews is forming
Rival gangs warring blood steadily pouring
The streets are deep Son every day is like a rerun
So I reach out and try to teach one
But eighty-five percent uncivilized content
No tolerance so a lifetime is spent
behind a cage bent smoked out on a park bench
Killer instinct slave rap niggaz get lynched"
"Rough cut raw doses, the unexplainable
Hot rock lava, gringo throw the flows iglasa"
31. Big Girl - Fishscale - 2006
If Holla was a blueprint, this is the complete finished package. The songs are so similar so what makes this better? The passion ghost brings to the table. This is a plea to 2 junkies to kick their habit and make a life for themselves. Hip hop rarely rises to the occasion to bring a song that has meaning as well as a message.
fav lines- "Yea, it was them cute pretty bitches that was smelling like coke
They kept going [egh egh] like they had shit in they throats"
"You got the right conversation, education, and looks
With the right intelligence to stay away from them crooks
Baby get on your feet, be an acocuntant, doctor, lawyer or nurses's aid
Computer wizard, you about to get paid..."
30. Spazzola - Tical 2000 - 1998
A hard note on the bottom spectrum of the piano followed by high piano notes highlight yet another simple but effective offering. The hook is ridiculous. Decks lyrics are some of his very finest and streetlife comes strong once again. Mefs flow is dark and disturbing like a dusted serial killer. This is an underground classic. Anybody know what that sound is at the end? Is it a car being flipped over or a crowbar trying to pry a window open?
fav lines- "And it's time for some grid...
...iron rap, action-packed grudge match
Tough act to follow, hard copy novel
Throw you off the Verrazano"
"Sight beyond sight, late night, city light
Tight like a virgin, mergin with my A-Alikes
Splurgin, dirty to the grain, no detergent
Filthy, innocent until I'm proven guilty
Submergin, deeper in the lecture I'm servin
Truth or consequences, life or death sentence
I'm hurtin, your person, I'm certain, it's curtains"
"Yo, I bring chaos to blocks like the riots in Watts
Rapid fire shots ripple through Kevlar, 9 Glocks
Technique of rhyme pop machine gun ammo
Sporadic flow buckled a foe, intro to outro
Calico, throw verse, but slide my dough first
I make thousands in the club with no shirts, go bezerk
From the Shao' borough, whylin out on the furlow
Commando, styles thorough, solo inferno
It burns slow, thermonuclear degrees
Heads are underseas down to the youngest seeds
Wannabes clone, they light like summer breeze
Hundred G's for the Garden, them fans stampede
for the top cats, hit the mic like the iron-palm blast
Equipped to perform the task
S-I-N-Y, and what, head or gut
The head rush, will cause your cerebellum to bust"
29. A Day to God is 1000 Years - Birth of a Prince - 2003
Bronze comes correct with this fantastic beat consisting of flutes and accoustic guitar. Rza drops an incredible amount of knowledge (some call it cliche but I don't know what theyre talking about) The title alone is incredibly thought provoking as are the lyrics.
fav lines- "Yo, yo, the A-1 sauce, the Divine Force
My mind blind force is known to blow time off course
Even, if I rode around the world on a blind horse
Strapped down, I'd still get my point across"
"I be the fatal flyin', I'm like NATO flyin'
Over your country and droppin' down forty tons of iron
Filled with explosives, your chance is hopeless
We have your head poppin' up like the blowfish"
"The runaway train with no track
I got the heart of Faye Dunaway whippin' that child with the coatrack"
^^^ Mommie dearest omage
"My verbal heart symphony will strike the epiphany"
"then excel, to be masters of your circumference
First, by obtainin' mastery of your common sense
This supreme wisdom clears a man's vision
You can see it through the lies and the fantism
Of the equivocal, two-faced political individual
Who's only out for residual, fabricatin' lies
To eradicate the wise
But we come to civilize and gravitate to the skies
Of the heavenly celestial sphere
Trust me, son, it's there, in between your ears"
28. Rec Room - Uncontrolled Substance - 1999
I wish the whole Uncontrolled Substance album was as good as this. This is a Wu beat. If someone ever asks you what the Wu Tang sound is, play this for them. Hook is infectious, Deck comes extremely stong with his lyrics. The horns and buzzing beez are a staple of Wu music.
fav line- "Lounge in the barracks with blue and cappadonna
Spiderman identity peter parker
Crowd pleaser register off the meter
Vocal street sweeper bucks shots through the speaker
Pleasure seekers, 50 thou' in the stands
True fans get it hot like jamaica sands
Conquer land, wide like a eagle wingspan
Clansman stabbin the track with both hands
Not a lost soul who falls for fool's gold
I shine like a diamond in the true state of coal"
27. M.E.T.H.O.D. Man - Enter the 36 Chambers - 1993
Let's intro one of the hardest lyrically sharp songs ever with a hilarious ode to torture. Then we can let Mef off the leash so he can lyrically destroy what is essentially a really simple beat. Three piano notes repeated followed by an off tune chord. Brilliant.
fav line-"I got, fat bags of skunk
I got, White Owl blunts
And I'm about to go get lifted
Yes I'm about to go get lifted
I got, myself a forty
I got, myself a shorty
And I'm about to go and stick it
Yes I'm about to go and stick it"
26. Shadowboxin' - Liquid Swords - 1995
Repetitive loop of accoustic guitar and an "oh man" is simple yet extremely effective especially when high farenheit lyrics of Mef and Gza are added to the mix. Liquid Swords is an unceasing dark album and this song is the epitome of that darkness.
fav line- " I slayed MC's back in the rec room era
My style broke motherfuckin backs like Ken Patera
Most rap niggaz came loud but unheard
Once I pulled out, round em off to the nearest third"
25. Shimmy Shimmy Ya - Return to the 36 Chambers - 1995
A song so shouded in controversy and so beloved by the general music community, not just hip hop, this is a masterpiece. Was Dirty talking about his lyrics when he said I like it raw? Who knows for sure. I'm sure he was aware of the double meaning and wanted it to be so. But conservative right wing politicians jumped on it anyway as an example of why hip hop music is bad for children. Thank you! You just sold another 500,000 copies of dirty's album. Ingenius also is the second verse which is just the 1st and 3rd verses played backward. How many of you tried to dissect those lyrics? I'm pretty thick because I did!
fav line-" Lyrics get hard, quick cement to the ground!
For any MC in any 52 states,
I gets psycho killerrrr Norman Bates!
My producer slam, my flow is like bam!
Jump on stage, and then I dun-daaaah! "
24. Suspect Chin Music - Tical 2000 - 1998
Tical 2000 was a bad album as a whole package I admit. But if you break it down into its bare elements, drop the senseless skits and some of the filler, what remains are some true gems. Suspect chin music is an opal gem. Dark and twisted, it's shine comes in underground form. An ode to those "fake" emcees who seem to be running rampant these days like sewer rats. Today the song means much more than it ever did when hip hop was strong. The dying hip hop world needs a wake-up call. This is it. Buzzing sounds dominate the forefront as well as off tune strings in the background. This is streets best work in my opinion bouncing off Mefs verses ala Red. Underground classic.
fav lines- "I live by the street code never owe
never love a hoe, never flash the dough
cause you never know who friend or foe"
"Million dollar ice on your wrist don't make you thug
cause a bitch is sucking your dick on your skit you ain't thug
bandanas and bad grammar don't make you thug
sucker for love catching slugs nigga"
"Microphone is in a choke hold
losin' control bringing drama by the boatload
it takes drama
in the pillage now of cappadonna
my split persona hit their village and their baby mama
y'all niggas playing with this money while we stay hungry
and kept it pudgy it won't make me have to crash, dummy
before its over
you should keep your chain tucked in
and should never run your mouth with a suspect chin"
23. I Can't go to Sleep - The W - 2000
Elegant orchestrated string samples, a vibrato piano synthesizer, rock guitar riffs, and Isaac Hayes singing on the track..... None of this should work. It all does flawlessly. Add to it all the knowledge in the song itself, and what you have is one of the most important songs the Wu has ever done.
fav lines-"Stop at the cheeba spot, then pass the leak spot
So past y'all niggaz again, you took a cheap shot
Not knowin FUCKIN WITH ME, you get your meat chopped
YOU THOUGHT WE FELL ON OUR FACE? YOU NEED TO BE STOPPED
CALL ON THE CHARIOTS, CALL ON AN AMBULANCE
YOU BETTER SMILE MY NIGGA, YOU ON CANDID CAM"
"I can't go to sleep, I can't shut my eyes
They shot the father at his mom's building seven times
They shot Malcolm in the chest front of his little seeds
Jesse watched, as they shot King on the balcony
Exported Marcus, Garvey cause he tried to spark us
with the knowledge of ourselves, and our forefathers
Ohh Jacqueline you heard the rifle shots cracklin
Her husband head in her hair, you tried to put it back in
AMERICA'S WATCHIN, BLOOD STAINED INK BLOTCHES
MEDGAR TOOK ONE TO THE SKULL FOR INTERGRATING COLLEGE
WHAT'S THE SCIENCE? SOMEBODY? THIS IS TRICK KNOWLEDGE
THEY TRY TO KEEP US ENSLAVED AND STILL SCRAPE FOR DOLLARS"
22. Mighty Healthy - Supreme Clientelle - 2000
I'm still trying to figure out this song. Ghost's slang rap is so tough to decipher, which is also why the replay value of songs like this is so huge. I know all the words, but don't know what they all mean. Maybe it will take another 10-20 years? Who knows, but one things for sure, I will still love this tune. With a beat composed of bells and hard hard base hits. It's as sweet as it is hard. True art is the ability to bring conflicting sounds together and have it work. This is true art.
fav lines- all of em'
"Both hands clusty, chillin' wit my man Rusty low down
Blew off the burner kinda dusty
The world can't touch Ghost, purple tape Rae co-host
Monty Hall expo, intellect you red pro
Son triflin fuck, wildflower on the cyclin
Pick up the brew thought I was Michael an'
Mics are writin' pool, now, I'm into Iron Duals
Turn-ons the Earth's whoopee, she out of law school
In hale break beats of hell A-Alikes propel parallel
Duracell night, you flash a burnt cell
Snap out of CandyLand, kids the old rumor is
blacks become immune to shit, we never did like
eati' dead birds chose the pharmacy over herbs
Men marryin men, ill they got the herbs pulsar
Scissor hand wig vanished in the winter
Livin' off land you god damn right I fuck fans king me
Check checkmate props like the micro chip founder
Neck to neck stocks with Bill Gates now
When we hug these mics we get busy
Come and have a good time with G-O-D
Make you snap your fingers or wiggle
Scream, shout, laugh and just giggle
Shake that body, party that body
Don't fuck with Ghost you'll feel sorry
That's word, I'm not the herb
Understand what I'm sayin' sayin'
Hit mics like Ted Koppel, rifle expert
Let off the Eiffel, burn a flag in the grass it's spiteful
Ringleader set it off, rap Derek Jeter
Culprit, prince of the game wish you could see us
We lay low glitter wax full bangles
Priceless rolls, lay around the God get tangled
Woolly hair, eyes firey red, feet made of brass
Twelve men, following me, it be the God staff
Move, every script's like Miramax
Smash the big boy totalled it, will shot fear effects
Son beamin' wifee on the beach, sippin' Zima
Wu 'binos, to latinos, we bust Selena
Over night, God schedules, fed ex
Pretty soloette velvet nice DNA scroll genetics
Too hot, to handle one thought scramblin the mandolin
Hundred game Wilt Chamberlain, smack em, say when
He rollin up, face wrinkled up, hands is on his nuts
Yo kid stop frontin' on the ground before you get touched
It's Canada Dry sess, obsessed with Allah's sun
We want rye, we want it so bad we might cry"
21. Third World - Soul Assassins Volume 1 - 1997
This song is the opposite of the silver lining. It is entropy. The natural tendency for the universe to gravitate toward chaos. In the beginning you have a happy melody and what follows is a warlike chaotic beat brought by Muggs who does a terrific job of imitating the Wu sound. Rza's verse is unbelievably ingenius with him rhyming to himself over a walkie-talkie.
I apologize to those I mislead, this is the "soundtrack" song I promised, even though this album is not a soundtrack.
fav line- "Check the mic lines for wire-taps
...we're under attack, man your stations, take aim, proceed...
Fire back, all hands on deck
Cadet, Vets, insert cassette
Tracks snap heads like berettes
Catch web sites like Internet
...team, I'm detecting vehicles approaching from the East...
Pass me the infra-red binoculars Captain so I can see
Sound the alarm
Call for the suicidal kamikaze ninjas with the bombs
Flashes of neon, all we saw was flying arms
Anytime I come by, alumni cut short their air supply
Send 'em back like George McFly
I be holdin' this
Travel ground like a motorist
Poisonous gas released from my track is odorless and tasteless
Like Ghost is Face-less
Which allowed the God to bring it back, it be the hundred cases
MCs heads weave like trees in a breeze to rhymes like these
Underwater flow strikes like torpedos
You'll get plugged more than Del Rio
Played short like De Vito
Split the fuck up like Mike Jakatito
Sword cut sharper than concorde needles
Call my second private
...tell em Righteous importing messages to Cypress...
I heard your crew assisted on the island with Dr. Titus
Any chance of releasing the new deadly virus?
To infiltrate the Western States
Its time to pump out more rap tapes
And use the Wu-Tang symbol to communicate
RZA over and out....."
With 20 selections left the pieces should be coming more clear.
The honorable mentions
102 Knuckleheadz
103 Movas and Shakas
104 Masta Killa
105 Maria
106 Wu Tang 7th Chamber
107 Theodore
108 Protect ya neck (the jump off)
109 Street Corner
110 Illusory Protection
111 DTD
112 Cobra Clutch
113 The Motto
114 Ghost is back
115 Walking through the Darkness
116 Little Ghetto Boys
117 Murda Goons
118 The Forrest
119 A lil story
120 Strawberry
121 The Glide
122 I gotcha back
123 La Rhumba
124 Judgement Day
125 Publicity
126 S.O.S.
127 Can it be all so simple
128 Jury
129 420
130 Killa Beez
131 Once upon a time
132 Camay
133 Stimulation
134 Musketeers of pig alley
135 Poisonous Darts
136 Shell Shock
137 Exploitation of mistakes
138 Fame
139 Back in the Game
140 What's Happenin'
141 Swordsman
142 Impossible
143 Grits
144 Night the City Cried
145 City High
146 Chi Kung
147 That Nigga
148 A Better Tomorrow
149 Must be BOBBY
150 Iron Maiden
20. Dangerous Ground - Tical 2000 - 1998
So many quotables in one song over a beat that is so simple a ten year old could have composed it by accident. Fantastic verses and semi-hooks all around. And once again street brings some of his finest work to Tical 2000.
fav lines- "Dangerous ground
Tre pound seven spin around for my bredren the clouds come down
War and peace, I take it to the street
Land sharp on my lawn chop the thumbs off a thief"
"Symbolic thrill like god he shocked it
Like a finger in a light socket, too good to be forgotten
In the rotten apple
I kick dirt on the sand castle
Check the flavor all natural"
"Mind detect mind
A P.L.O. da startin line
Deep Space Nine
Designed for knuckleheads who bust guns and throw signs
Let's converse snatch the tap from your purse
Body-surf on the verse head first"
"Synchronize minds combine thoughts that motivate
Dont' perpetrate pass the blunt let it circulate "
"Blaze one with Jonathon, part man part fly
Handle my B-I camouflauge like G.I.
Fat like Joe, a day in the life
Your money or your life that's the life
Everybody can't afford ice in the struggle
Tryin to eat right another day another hustle hustle hustle"
19. Heaterz - Wu Tang Forever - 1997
An epic epic beat. The most surprising thing is the unbelievably strong lyrics by both u-god and cappadonna (who's lyrics are visual like ghost) who carry the end of the song. All on board ride the beat so well. Again no hook neccessary. The beat is a hook itself.
fav lines-"Yo this is MC wizardry, killa bee invasion
Men of respect, blessed with wisdom of the ancients
My words are blatant, lacerate necks for statements
are launched like lead projectiles, straight out the basement"
"The Jeffrey Dahmer Notre Damer sing the song the strongest
Brute force bullethole straight through your chorus"
"Last night, I took a trip down to Crown Heights
Fast life, females are trife, stay tight
I detect that parasite, satellite
RZA beat makes me wanna fight get hyped, come to do shows
My slang sound write secretary type
Backflip on the mic, I'm the poor black man
workin hard for the grand, I understand clear
Don't fear, peep my new gear it's different from yours
My style drop like jaws, you see me on tours
Don't you wait to say peace, the kid from the street
put my technology on the track, just then the core attack
Wu article CappaFive, CD attack
but my talk stage live killa beehive
Bermuda my life angle, rectangle gold fronts
Bring the gold dangle, never make me throw darts
Check out my arts, when I release my smarts
Hot like Pop Tarts, aim me at the charts"
18. Verbal Intercourse - Only Built for Cuban Linx - 1994
The greatest guest performance on any Wu Tang song ever is barely
even an argument. Nas brings a presence to this song that many others
who have followed have tried but failed to exceed. He belongs here, on
this album, on this song. The beat is an enigma filled with ambient
sounds and a whispering woman voice sample. The melody is a hook in
and of itself. Is it a harmonica? A clarinet? I'm not too sure but what
I am sure of is that it is FIRE!!!!!!!!!! The title alone is one of
the greatest metaphors ever.
fav lines- "Through the lights cameras and action, glamour glitters and gold
I unfold the scroll, plant seeds to stampede the globe
When Im deceased, by then the beast arise like yeast
To conquer peace leaving savages to roam in the streets
Live on the run, police paying me to give in my gun
Trick my wisdom, with the system that imprisoned my son
Smoke a gold leaf I hold heat, nonchalantly
Im grungy, but things I do is real it never haunts me
While, funny style niggaz roll in the pile
Rooster heads profile on a bus to rikers isle
Holdin weed inside they pussy with they minds on the
Pretty things in life, props is a true thugs wife
Its like a cycle, niggaz come home, somell go in
Do a bullet, come back, do the same shit again
From the womb to the tomb, presume the unpredictable
Guns salute life, rapidly, thats the ritual"
17. Release Yo Delf - Tical - 1993
An absolutely amped up song. Armstrong trumpets a-blazin'. A hard hittin' baseline. One of the most recognizable hooks ever. And oh yeah Mef with the insane verses. One of the greatest party anthems of all time. Arguably the best in the Wu catalog.
best lines-"Shit's gettin deep in here, I mean thick
Niggaz lookin all in my face like they want dick
It's about to hit the fan, hit the flo'
That's all I can stands, and I can't stands no mo'
What is it? Niggaz think they bigga
Cause they got the finga on the trigga of a pistol
They don't know I'm wicked, when I start to kick it
With the raw sound, wash it down with a Mystic"
"Throw your hands in the sky
And wave em from side to side
And if you're ready to spark up the Meth-Tical
Let me hear you say stim-uli"
16. Cuttin' Headz - Return to the 36 Chambers - 1995
The back and forth between Rza and Dirty here is untouchable even by Mef/Red standards. The "stop tryin to foul me /or sayin that were lousy" line describes Wu to a "T" with the general music public. Rza's explanation of the "robbie" name is powerful. And I didn't even mention the beat.....What a piano loop! Truly dirty's best work on the mic.
fav lines-" What the fuck they expect?
I don't know
I don't care
I won't fall
I won't stare at a ho, less I know that I'm going to the mo-
T-t-tel, cause I'm lousy, technique is drowsy
Stop tryin to foul me
Sayin that we're lousy
But I'm a tyrant, defiant, walkin New York Giant
President of the Wu
But I'm also a client "
" Rhymes is rugged like burnt buildings in Harlem
The Ol Dirty Bastard from the Temple of Shaolin
Dirty to the brain like drops of acid rain
Clang, clang, clang, rhymes pluckin at your brain
So take a sip from the cup of death
And when you're shaking my right hand, I'll stab you with the left
(Whirr whirr whirrr!) Red alert! Red alert!
Ason comin straight from the dirt "
" Gettin laid, takin heads, that's my hobby
Punch a brother in the face who call me Robbie
I be the RZA, call me that cuz-I
Never liked the name I recieved from my poppa
Dirty deluxe, yo, I'm huntin for ducks
Snatchin devils up by the hair, then cut his head off"
15. Fish - Ironman - 1996
Quotables galore, a hard hitting beat, and a memorable movie quote in the beginning highlight this very underrated classic from Ironman. The piano notes hit so hard it's like the keys are being slammed and the horns supply ample back-up to the melody. Perhaps this was meant to be on Cuban Linx? It feels like it with the drug references all over the place. Still I'm glad the Ironman saved it for himself.
fav lines-"We eat fish, tossed salads and make rap ballads
The biochemical slang lord'll throw the arrows in the dope fiend"
"and then I still never go down
Until the last round I shine,
when RZA do his thing motherfucka, I'ma do mine"
"They still gettin' this paper scraper
Fake haters from Jamaica, wizards be passin like Lakers
And if you comin' from Lex, Lewis, Rich Liberace
Fetus style and block your goals like hockey...."
14. Bring the Pain - Tical - 1993
A hodgepodge of sounds combine from a humming to high piano notes to synthesizers to Mef's scream of terror. It fits together like a pile of lincoln logs and it all works. Where many songs in the catalog are simple this one is as complex as it is good. Mef destroys the mic once again proving why he is one of the greatest. If All I Need is the heart of Tical, Bring the pain is the Mind.
fav lines-" I'm not the King
But niggaz is decaf I stick em for the CREAM"
"I'm sick, insane, crazy, Drivin Miss Daisy
Out her fuckin mind now I got mine I'm Swayze"
"Brothers want to hang with the Meth bring the rope
the only way you hang is by the neck nigga poke
off the set comin to your projects
Take it as a threat, better yet it's a promise"
"Check it cause I think not when this hip-hops like proper
Rhymes be the proof while I'm drinkin 90 proof
Huh vodka, no OJ, no straw
When you give it to me aiy, give it to me raw"
13. Triumph - Wu Tang Forever - 1997
You could make an argument that Triumph is the best song the Wu ever did. If you knew absolutely nothing about Wu Tang! I'm not here to bash it as a great song, because it is, but rather to give a reason why it not the best and why it hurt more than helped Wu Tang. Ever ask someone if they like Wu Tang and their first response is Triumph? I fucking hate that! Triumph was the at the forefront of Wu popularity and got a million plays on MTV. The Wu fanbase grew exponentially during this time. But semi-fans of the group insist its the only thing that exists by the Wu. It makes me wanna puke. I had someone over my house the other day and I had a Wu-mix going with songs from the 36 chambers til today. He conveniently seemed to know every song off Wu Tang Forever and could recite all the words but knew absolutely nothing new and nothing off 36 Chambers!!!??! Why? It's a sad chapter in the Wu Tang legacy I feel, and why Triumph is at number 13 (an unlucky number) instead of the top 5. If you feel me on this point at all please post your comments.
fav lines-"I bomb atomically, Socrates' philosophies
and hypotheses can't define how I be droppin these
mockeries, lyrically perform armed robbery
Flee with the lottery, possibly they spotted me"
"It's court adjourned, for the bad seed from bad sperm
Herb got my wig fried like a bad perm, what the blood
clot, we smoke pot, and blow spots
You wanna think twice, I think not"
"Olympic torch flaming, we burn so sweet
The thrill of victory, the agony, defeat
We crush slow, flaming deluxe slow
For, judgement day cometh, conquer, it's war
Allow us to escape, hell glow spinning bomb
Pocket full of shells out the sky, Golden Arms"
"Watch for the wooden soldiers, C-cypher punks couldn't hold us
A thousand men rushing in, not one nigga was sober
Perpendicular to the square, we stand bold like flare
Escape from your dragon's lair, in particular
My beats travel like a vortex, through your spine
to the top of your cerebral cortex
Make you feel like you bust a nut from raw sex
Enter through your right ventricle clog up your bloodstream
or terminal, like Grand Central Station
Program fat baselines, on Novation
Getting drunk like a fuck I'm duckin five-year probation"
"War of the masses, the outcome, disaterous
Many of the victim family save they ashes
A million names on walls engraved in plaques
Those who went back, received penalties for their acts"
"Light is provided through sparks of energy
from the mind that travels in rhyme form
Giving sight to the blind
The dumb are mostly intrigued by the drum
Death only one can save shell from
This relentless attack of the track spares none"
12. All I Need (remix) puff daddy mix - Single - 1994
I never like a remix unless it adds something new to the table, and this is far beyond it's predecessor on Tical. The verses are basically the same with some tweaking, but Mary J. Blige's vocals are real attraction here beautifully melding R + B soul with raw hip hop beats and lyrics creating a symbiosis and a new genre in music. Ever copied, ever beloved by all fans of music worldwide this is the best love song Wu has ever done. And probably the best puffy mix of anything.....
fav lyric- "I'm your Mister, you my Mrs. with hugs and kisses
Valentine cards and birthday wishes? Please
Be on another level of planning, of understanding
the bond between man and woman, and child
The highest elevation, cuz we above
All that romance crap, just show your love"
11. Guillotine (Swords) - Only Built for Cuban Linx - 1995
Top 5 definitely all time in terms of lyrical output. This track has a simple string section in the forefront with a key string in the background which sounds so much like a bee it's scary. Kung fu movie samples for hooks. The whole thing is simple and complex all at the same time. Inspectah, Ghost and Gza all bring some of their finest material here. And also telling is the fact that all the performers come with their signature styles, even if the styles clash with one another creating a "swordfight" if you will....
fav lines- "Poisonous paragraphs, smash ya phonograph
in half, it be the Inspectah Deck on the warpath
First class leavin mics with a cast
Causin ruckus like the aftermath when guns blast
Run fast, here comes the verbal assaulta
Rhymes runnin wild like a child in a walker
I scored from the inner slums abroad
And my thoughts are razor sharp I sliced the mic from the cord
First they criticize, but now they have become
mentally paralyzed with hits that I devise
Now I testify, the rest is I, Rebel INS
Ya highness, blessed to electrify
with voltage of an eel, truth that I reveal'll
crush the amateurs who screamed to keep it real
Caesar black down hoodied up and fatigues
Part time minor leagues receive third degrees
Attack like a wolf pack, once I pull back
the God-U, and bust through like a fullback"
"Yo, you fourteen carat gold slum computer wizard
Tappin inside my rap vein causes blizzards
Do I like the kills for ice trife like botta digits
Gorillas injected with strength of eighty midgets
The Earth spins ruins, rap exotic blends
Let my peeps in, niggaz gaspin swallowin aspirins
What a dosage, you overdosed in rap
High explosives my post-its hypnotize with hypnosis
I sell goods, my whole Clan is on the run like Natural Born Killers
Record-breaking the album Thriller
Now access the jig who has bombs and rocket launchers
Float like dope killer bees is what I sponsor
Ya entrepeneur, pens and gear like shakespeare
When I fuck I grab hair, collect drawers as souveneirs
Fuck yeah, my crew down German beers
My career is based on guns, throwin cats in wheelchairs
Etcetera, damage any lame ass competitor
Who try to front, get broken and passed like leathers
Whatever hot hardheads get shattered like mirrors
Beretta shots splatter your goose, scatter ya feathers
Say never poetry chumps crumbs deal with graphic
Blew my family overseas in mansions
If rap was crack, fully packed I be tour cats
Tax the kingpin of the rap drug traffickin
Village niggaz get slapped in Manhattan
for rappin, big Ghost steps off laffin"
"The nigga don't get mad, I got mad styles of my own
And it's shown when my hands grip the chrome microphone
Verbally I catch bodies with cordless shotties
Intriguin emcees, I keep em trained like potties
I bomb facts, my sword is an axe
to split backs invisible, like dope fiend tracks
Sky's the limit, niggaz are timid, and nobody knows
How we move like wolfs in sheep clothes
Producin data, microchips or software
Undaground and off air, the Land of the Lost
Notorious henchman from the North
Strikin niggaz where the Mason-Dixon line crossed"
10. Vendetta - The Movement - 2003
Track 12 - Producer - Ayatollah Virtually ignored in all reviews critical and fan based alike, this powerful song chronicles deck's struggles with his own label and the music industry in general. The beat hits you immediately with a chorus that demands attention. When I hear the beat I picture a defeated but not beaten Deck riding back into town ala Clint Eastwood's man without a name. It sort of feels like a blend of the Wu-Tang style with spaghetti western. What follows lyrically is an empassioned warning to fans and haters alike, Deck ain't goin nowhere, you can't keep him down, don't even try. The 3 different hooks are a huge highlight to this song, hell it's hard enough to write one good hook, but 3??
The first is really interesting as he parodies the Star Spangled Banner inserting himself into the role of "the flag" which survived Fort McHenry despite heavy bombing during the War of 1812. I also think there is an interesting juxtaposition of himself "the rebel" trying to belong to this union of music but is unwanted, while the rebels during the civil war 40 years later were trying to not belong to the union. The second hook is like a recruitment to all the emcees who were slighted by the industry. Look they can't move units anymore lets join forces and do it ourselves. The third and final hook essentially outlines what Deck's "movement" was all about, he wants the underground artists such as himself slighted by the industry to mass up and destroy those newcomers who are just in the game for a buck, with no love for the game at all. All around a fantastic song both lyrically and beatwise, incredibly important in the Wu catalog for the artists in the clan who were virtually ignored and spit on by A+Rs, Labels, and a dumb deaf and blind industry whose only concern is the almighty dollar and not the art. This is all heart.
fav lines-"Ya'll done fucked up, lettin' me live, something's got to give
I'm positive, you're gonna all pay homage"
"You hear the rockets red glare? The bombs burstin' in air?
Gave proof through the night, that I stood through the fight
Yeah, the Rebel's still here, what?"
"Ya'll better rock ya'll hoodies
And hold your girl tight, before we pop that pussy
It be so real, I don't need no deal
My mass appeal make a marvel out how he so ill"
"Roll with the live dozen, got all eyes buzzin'
With strong rhymes cousin, been a long time comin'"
"To all my real M.C.'s, the ones without a deal M.C.'s
The ones who kick the real life music
Let's link, them niggas can't move no more units"
"For life I'll be underground, their first thought
Was yo, "How did he survive with no commercial support?"
Damn right, I miss the corporate politics and tricks
Where the SoundScan is rigged and contracts are fixed
I sit in the pit where the grime exist
Legendary, they still lovin' my rhymes from 9-6
Now I'm back, that's my word as I reveal this shit
By choice or by force, ya'll gonna feel this shit, ya hear?"
"Yo, this is all out war, I'm callin' on all outlaws
Son, they new to the art, ain't true to the heart
Who's down for the cause, huh?"
9. Brooklyn Zoo - Return to the 36 Chambers : The Dirty Version - 1995
Track 4 - producers - Ol' Dirty Bastard and True Master
Arguably the best thing True Master has ever done artistically. Break down the off key piano chords and the baseline into just themselves and what do have? Zero. Nothing. Something that is unlistenable. Put them together and what you have is an eclectic melody that wraps around you like the arms of an octupus and sucks you in. New math : 0+0 = 5 star status, and that's just the beat. Add Dirty's crazy lyrics, voice inflections and eerie background noise and it may even exceed the classic status to a plane even higher if possible. The lyrics are bananas, the hook instantly quotable and beloved by true fans of the Wu. If you really want to know who is Dirty? Listen to this song. It encompasses the man himself in all his glory.
fav lines- "I'm the one-man army Ason,
I've never been tooken out,
I keep M.C.'s lookin' out,
I drop science like girls be droppin' babies,
Enough to make a nigga go cra-a-azy,"
"Ason, I keep planets in orbit,
While I be comin' with deeper and more shit"
"Now you know nuthin', before you knew a whole fuckin' lot,
Your ass don't wanna get shot,
Alot of M.C.'s came through my showdown,
To watch me put your fuckin' ass lo-o-ow down"
""Introducin', yo fuck that nigga's name,"
My hip-hop drops on your head like ra-a-ain,"
8. 4th Chamber - Liquid Swords - 1995
Track 7 - producer - The RZA
This track destroyed the boundaries of music altogether. I know the hardest of hardcore metal fans who love this. I know skaters who have made this their personal mantra. I know chicks who are die hard pop Britney Spears fans who get down to this. Rza creates a dark and disturbing atmosphere filled with screeching synthesizers and metal guitar chord strikes, while Gza, Ghostface, RZA, and Killah Priest massacre the vocals. Rza's verse is incredible by itself with a warlike subject being concluded by "protons electrons always cause explosions" an acronym for "peace". There's just too much to be said about a track like this and I could never do it justice.
fav lines-"My Memorex performed tape decks, my own phone sex
Watch out for Haiti bitches, I heard they throw hex"
"Cuz I be duckin crazy spades
The kid hold white shit, like blacks rock ashy legs
Why is the sky blue? Why is water wet?
Why did Judas rat to Romans while Jesus slept? "
"I ran the Dark Ages, Constantine and great Henry the Eighth
Built with Ghengis Khan, the wreck suede wiley Don"
"I'm lively, my dome piece, is like buildin stones in Greece
my poems are deep from ancient thrones I speak
I'm overwhelmed, as my mind, roams the realm
My eye's the vision, memory is the film"
"I leave em split, like ass cheeks and ragged pussy lips"
"Aiyyo, camoflouge chameleon, ninjas scalin your buildin
No time to grab the gun they already got your wife and children
A hit was sent, from the President, to rage your residence
Because you had secret evidence, and documents
On how they raped the continents, and it's the prominent
dominant Islamic, Asiatic black hebrew
The year two thousand and two, the battle's filled with the Wu
Six million devils just died from the Bubonic Flu
Or the Ebola Virus, under the reign of King Cyrus
You can see the weakness of a man right through his iris
Un-loyal snakes get thrown in boilin lakes
of hot oil, it boils your skin, chickenheads gettin slim
like Olive Oyl, only plant the seed deep inside fertile soil
Fortified with essential, vitamin and mineral
use the sky for a blanket, stuffin clouds inside my pillow
Rollin with the Lands, the tribe's a hundred and forty four thousand chosen
Protons Electrons Always Cause Explosions"
"It ain't hard to see, my seeds need God-degree
I got mouths to feed, unnecessary beef is more cows to breed"
"I learned much from such with cons who run scams
Veterans got the game spiced like hams
And from that, sons are born and guns are drawn
Clips are fully loaded, and then blood floods the lawn"
"RZA shaped the track, niggaz caught razor bumps
Scarred tryin to figure who invented
this unprecented, opium-scented, dark-tinted
Now watch me blow him out his shoes without clues
Cuz I won't hesitate to detonate, I'm short fused"
7. Protect Ya Neck - Enter the 36 Chambers - 1993
Track 10 - producer - The RZA
The one that started it all. The Wu sold thousands of copies of this single out of the trunks of their cars on route to becoming one of the most influential music groups, not just hip hop, that the world has ever seen. So many sounds abound here using several different samples effectively from synthesized piano low notes, to breezy high strings to slamming sound effects to cover up the vulgarities like the old batman TV series 'biffs' and 'pows' during a fight scene. All of the 9 generals with the exception of Masta Killa who was conspicuously absent (jail perhaps???) bring thermonuclear heat to the verses which once again require no hook (just a brief interlude) at all, a testament to the rawness of the music itself. Gza's final verse is a fuck you letter to his former label Cold Chillin' records who mismanaged and misused him. This song is as important to the entire Wu-Tang legacy as it is great, far exceeding the song triumph in terms of said importance.
fav lines- "I smoke on the mic like smokin Joe Frazier
The hell raiser, raisin hell with the flavor
Terrorize the jam like troops in Pakistan
Swingin through your town like your neighborhood Spiderman"
"Roughneck, Inspectah Deck's on the set
The rebel, I make more noise than heavy metal"
"Rae got it goin on pal, call me the rap assassinater
Rhymes rugged and built like Schwarzenegger"
"But I do, true, can I get a "suuuuuuuuu"
Nuff respect due to the one-six-ooh
I mean 0h, yo check out the flow
like the Hudson or PCP when I'm dustin
Niggaz off because I'm hot like sauce
The smoke from the lyrical blunt makes me *cough*"
"First things first man you're fuckin with the worst
I'll be stickin pins in your head like a fuckin nurse"
"The Ol Dirty Bastard is dirty and stinkin
Ason, Unique rollin with the night of the creeps
Niggaz be rollin with a stash
ain't sayin cash, bite my style I'll bite your motherfuckin ass!"
"For cryin out loud my style is wild so book me
Not long is how long that this rhyme took me"
"Yo chill with the feedback black we don't need that
It's ten o'clock hoe, where the fuck's your seed at"
"ten times ten men committin mad sin
Turn the other cheek and I'll break your fuckin chin"
"Crazy flamboyant for the rap enjoyment
My clan increase like black unemployment"
"The Wu is too slammin for these Cold Killin labels
Some ain't had hits since I seen Aunt Mabel
Be doin artists in like Cain did Abel
Now they money's gettin stuck to the gum under the table
That's what ya get when ya misuse what I invent
Your empire falls and ya lose every cent
For tryin to blow up a scrub
Now that thought was just as bright as a 20-watt light bulb
Should of pumped it when I rocked it
Niggaz so stingy they got short arms and deep pockets
This goes on in some companies
With majors they're scared to death to pump these
First of all, who's your A&R
A mountain climber who plays an electric guitar
But he don't know the meaning of dope
When he's lookin for a suit and tie rap
that's cleaner than a bar of soap
And I'm the dirtiest thing in sight
Matter of fact bring out the girls and let's have a mud fight"
6. Killah Hills 10304 - Liquid Swords - 1995
Track 9 - producer - The RZA
Possibly the greatest yarn ever laid to wax. An incredibly vivid account of the "life of a drug dealer" details the higher end soldiers in the drug distribution industry, something that is so shrouded in secret, no movie (not even scarface) has come as close to telling like it is. After a 1:25 introduction which is some of the finest skit usage the Wu has ever done, the beat once again turns to high screeching synthesizers and bells, and a back base beat that is the clever subconscious hook of the song similar to that whistle in "Express Yourself" by NWA used to lure the listener in. Most amazing to me in this song is the prophetic nature of the GZA when talking about the terroristic aspect of the drug industry. Two years removed from the first attack on the World Trade Center and the Genius has clearly done his homework. The line "and my man Muhammad from Afghanistan, grew up in Iran, the nigga runs a neighborhood news stand, a wild middle eastern bomb specialist, initiated at eleven to be a terrorist" gives me serious chills when I hear it. This is six years pre-9-11! The metaphors and similes are as on point as can be, intelligently blending word play with story weaving. A tyrant lyrically in terms of GZA's catalog as well as the entire Wu catalog.
fav lines- the whole song, there isn't a line I don't like.
"
Killah hills 10304
Restaurants on a stake-out
So order the food to take out
Chaos, outside a spark steakhouse
Maintain the power, I feel the deal's gone sour
Nigga Mr. Wedding, late a fuckin half hour
And his man who bought land from Tony Starks
While he was contractin bricklayin jobs in city parks
he's a loan shark, interest rates a grand to a finger
In a garment district, got it sewn like Singer
Cause all that talk blasphemy this kid after me
for the heist, in a Burlington Coat Factory
Fuck it, he turned states on my nigga Castro his copilot
who used to fly white sacks of blow on this remote
area, we label Dead Man's Island
Two hundred miles South from Thailand
Right off the docks, I got luxurious custom made yachts
Burial plots, for my niggaz hit with fatal shots
There's no need for us to spray up the scene
I use less men, more powerful shit for my team
Like my man Muhammad from Afghanistan
Grew up in Iran, the nigga runs a neighborhood newsstand
A wild Middle Eastern, bomb specialist
Initiated, at eleven to be a terrorist
He set bombs in bottles of champagne
And when niggaz popped the cork, niggaz lost half they brains
Like this ex-worker, tried to smuggle a half a key
in his left leg, even underwent surgery
They say his pirate limp gave him away
As the feds rushed him, comin through U.S. Customs
Now look whose on the witness stand singin, a well known soprano
A smash hit from Sammy Gravano
here's the plan minimum for the hit, two hundred grand
Half time at the game blastin niggaz out the stands
The sharp-shooters hit the prosecutor, judges are sent
Photographs of they wives takin baths
Along with briefcase filled with one point five, that's the bribe
Take it or commit suicide
First rule, anyone who schemes on the gold in Syria
I want they small intestines ripped from the interior
I got a price for those jewels, ship em freight cargo
Don't forget to launder the cream through Wells Fargo
Reconstruct those processin plants for the call of Costa Rica
Four hundred barrels of ether
Two hundred pounds of reefer
and fifty immigrants with fake Visas
Life of a drug dealer
Killah hills, 10304
The saga continues"
For the top 5, I wanted the 5 songs that I felt encompassed the entire Wu tang legacy as well as told the story. 5 songs that were not only great but divulged who is Wu Tang in terms of their importance. 5 songs that a new fan could look to as a guideline. This was incredibly hard. Over the years many many songs have shuffled in and out of my top 5 (except one which is my #1) so deciding from the entire catalog required a ton of thought. I could have done as crass suggested and just completely ignored everything after forever, but what kind of fan would I be then? One of those who insists Wu has fallen off? I don't think so. I refuse to believe that. I hear those haters and my ears and mind are closed to such blasphemy. The Wu is fucking forever. Even when they are all gone living in retirement homes years from now the legacy still remains. And they aren't done yet, a magic switch was NOT turned off after Forever came out. They are still here. Get used to it.
5. Da Mystery of Chessboxin'- Enter the 36 Chambers - 1993
Track 6 - producer - The RZA
Sometimes you don't need much to get the attention of millions of people. Indeed this is the case with chessboxin'. A simplistic video full of men in pantyhose ski masks, and a 4 bar dagger to the heart by U-God (THE BEST AND MOST IMPORTANT THING HE HAS EVER DONE PERIOD) and the world was hooked. "My hip hop will rock and shock the nation like the emancipation proclamation" is one of the sweetest and most intelligent, thought provoking and attention getting things ever laid to wax, and that's just one line! Move forward to Deck's verse, and we have a man vexed due to his environment and he's not gonna take it! You come sweatin', stressin', contestin' and you get a samurai sword in your belly. If you're fake? Well how does a chalk body outline sound? Those two lines rhyme so well, Dr. Suess just rolled over in his grave and died again. Raekwon has no forgiveness for commercialism (the Wu mantra) and those who want to try to test his meddle should just walk on by. His crew goes after not just you, but your father gets a courtesy hit too! Move forward to verse four and Dirty comes incredibly correct with the dirty style he invented and nobody else has ever come close to reproducing. "Jacques Cousteau could never get this low" is a brilliant omage to the greatest deep sea diver whose popularity in the world of oceanography rivals that of Michael Jordan in the world of basketball. Thought provoking? I saw a thread on the forum just weeks ago asking who is/was Jacques Cousteau? All thanks to this song.... Dirty also explains what it takes to "Enter the Wu Tang". You just have to replicate his style and the style of his brethren. Okay that's impossible, nobody's getting in! Advancing to Ghost's verse with proper introduction by Dirty, the masked wonder brings a new meaning to verbal threat. Indeed even fans who feel Ghost has fallen off and become commercial can't deny that this is some of his finest work. I hear all the time "Why can't Ghost be more like he was on Chessboxin'?" His inflections and flow are at their apex here, I admit, bringing an intensity that recently he has tried to revive, but retrieving perfection isn't easy friends. The last verse by Masta is what I fiended for while waiting ever-patiently for No Said Date to be released. His poetry on the mic all flows together so smoothly that one wonders if he is ever gonna stop to take a breath. He keeps going like the Energizer bunny showing a rare side to his game and finishing the lyrics by issuing an open challenge to all emcees before laying the caveat that they will walk away limping from the mic if they try. Again, some of HIS finest work as well.
Mef provides the hook which is a call to arms to his brothers who respond in kind to his shout outs. Everybody has at one point or another rose up right along with Mef to shout these words. Fantastic hook.
The beat which is composed mainly of snare raps and base hits melds perfectly with the Chinese mandolin string sample, but the real attraction here is the "ooooh ah ooooh ah" hummimg rhythmically in unison to the melody. Actually much more can be said about this beat, but I don't want to overshadow the lyrics which are priceless and paramount to the success of this song as well as the Wu.
fav lines-"Raw I'ma give it to ya, with no trivia
Raw like cocaine straight from Bolivia
My hip-hop will rock and shock the nation
like the Emancipation Proclamation"
"so if you wanna come sweatin, stressin contestin
you'll catch a sharp sword to the midsection
Don't talk the talk, if you can't walk the walk
Phony niggaz are outlined in chalk
A man vexed, is what the projects made me
Rebel to the grain there's no way to barricade me"
"I got beef wit commercial-ass niggaz with gold teeth
lampin in a Lexus eatin beef
Straight up and down don't even bother
I got fourty niggaz up in here now, who kill niggaz fathers"
"My peoples are you with me where you at?
In the front, in the back killa-bees on attack
my peoples are you with me where you at?
Smokin meth hittin caps on the block with the gats"
"Here I go, deep type flow
Jacque Cousteau could never get this low"
"The law, in order to enter the Wu-Tang
You must bring the Ol' Dirty Bastard type slang
Represent the GZA, Abbott, RZA, Shaquan, Inspectah Deck
Dirty Hoe gettin low wit his flow
Introducin, the Ghost..face.. Killah!!
No one could get illa"
"When I struck I had on Timbs and a black mask
Remember that shit? I know you don't remember jack
That night yo I wuz hittin like a spiked bat"
"Never shot thugs, I'm runnin with thugs that flood mugs
So grab your eight plus one, start flippin and trippin
Niggaz is jettin I'm lickin off son"
"Homicide's illegal and death is the penalty
What justifies the homicide, when he dies?
In his own iniquity it's the
Master of the Mantis Rapture comin at cha
We have an APB on an MC Killer
Looks like the work of a Master
Evidence indicates that's it's stature
Merciless like a terrorist hard to capture
The flow, changes like a chameleon
Plays like a friend, and stabs you like a dagger
This technique attacks the immune system
Disguised like a lie paralyzin the victim
You scream, as it enters your bloodstream
Erupts your brain from the pain these thoughts contain
Movin on a nigga with the speed of a centipede
and injure - ANY MOTHERFUCKIN CONTENDER"
4. Wu-Gambinos - Only Built for Cuban Linx - 1995
Track 16 - producer - The RZA
The best song on any solo effort by the clan is in fact a group effort. The Wu are never better than when in the booth together slamming off each others styles like a sword fight. After Mef introduces us to hook that resonates for days pointing out a closeness between his brothers ("Wu roll together as one, I call my brother Sun cause he shine like one") he dives right in to his verse with absolutely brilliant metaphors and similes galore. In the end he details how he feels like a man trapped, and backed into a corner, the lone sheriff in an old west town ready to explode. He's paid all his dues except one, and he's ready to accept his fate. In the 3rd verse Rza can't be stopped as he brings some of the quickest and most intelligent flow he has ever spit. I love trying to attempt to sing along but I just can't keep up. He's like the micromachines guy on speed. In verse 4 Masta once again provides some of his finer work. When utilized correctly he's the perfect addition to any Wu song, and his utilization is perfect here. The finale exposes Ghost's slang rap in small doses, a hint of whats to come in the future from the Wallaby Clark don. In the end he verbally jabs at an unsuccessful robbery attempt on brinks armor saying "Them flower heads must have been stupid
Tell me how the fuck black niggaz get caught wit all that loot kid
That's jet money, undaground money
Submarines and rings too bad you fucked up dummies"
An interesting way indeed to end a song chock full of drug, wild west, and mafioso references.
The intro is once again a drug movie reference (as the whole album is like a drug movie) and what follows is the climax of said movie. Synthesized strings are heard absolutly blaring over a simple piano loop and hard snare hits with a bass line that pounds especially when played in an automobile (the perfect amphitheater for this album). As good as the lyrics are, this beat is head shattering.
fav lines-"Scriptures hit the body like sawed off shotties
Like my hair knotty and my nosepiece snotty
Fuck a nigga hottie, that whole pussy probably
Burn like the deserts of Mogabi, for real"
"It's the two holster, shit shot smoker
Wanted dead or alive, bounty on the poster
Wild in the West, a student of my culture
And life is the test, hold up
Let a nigga catch his breath, we still payin dues
And the last one is death, back to the essence
With that shit you stressin, this rap profession
Now peep Tical, the son of the Shaolin
Isle plus my style, Criminology pays
The last times and days, Johnny fuckin Blaze"
"Solid gold crown be shinin and blindin like some diamonds
I be pioneerin the style in the cloud with silver linings
Double breasted, bullet proof vested, well protected
The heart the rib cage the chest and solar plexus
Castin stones, crackin two-hundred and six bones
And watch yo' ass get blown to a sea of fire and brimstone"
"The grand exquisite imperial wizard oh is it
The Ryzarector come to pay your ass a visit
Local bio-chemical, universal giant, the black general
Lickin shots to Davy Crockett on the bicentennial
Happen millenium two thousand microchips two shots of penicillin
goes up your adrenalin son it's time for boutin
It's a mileage resemblin niggaz who like followin
Trapped inside your projects like a genie inside the bottle"
"Niggaz couldn't stand my heat, it's unbearable
My wisdom fucks up your respiratorial
Systems are fractured by the killa tactics
Style is ragged and thoughts are mad jagged
Enter the entity, my vicinity
Is three hundred and sixty degrees of humidity
Represent the school of hard knocks and glocks my
Clan is hoss and got mad moss for blocks so
Feel the force of impact from the iron side of
The gat as I attack the track
From the blind side of the pack, Starks pass the chrome
Watch a nigga get blown out his muthafuckin dome
piece, deceased, laid to rest"
"Full moons make me howl like a wolf outta breath
Sold only new vocal cords I heard Genius on Gef"
"The laser beam vocalist does well at symphonies
Bad days, watch me snatch ice right outta Tiffany's
Remember them kids that came off with 8 million
Robbed the Brinks and I labelled in royal pavillions
Them flower heads must have been stupid
Tell me how the fuck black niggaz get caught wit all that loot kid
That's jet money, undaground money
Submarines and rings too bad you fucked up dummies"
That's all for today guys, I really want to put some serious time and effort in writing the top 3. I'm moving winter warz up a couple of spots for you pneumatic. If others co-sign it will move up further. Keep posting and dialing in with your opinions all. Thanks again.
3. Gravel Pit - The W - 2000
Track 12 - producer - The RZA
Never has a Wu-tang song sparked such controversy and debate, internally amongst its hardest of hardcore fans. I am of the opinion that any song or form of media that invokes an emotion, whether good or bad, is great. Did the Wu sell out? Did they cave in to external pressures, the pressure to be a hit making machine? Did they go back on their promise to never bow to commercialism? I believe that the answer to those questions is up to the fans to decide.
Just about everything on here is an expansion of who they are and what they could do. I think a lot of where the whole controversy started could be traced back to RZA's decision to use a hi-hat on the beat which almost forces his lyricists to do double-time on the mic, something which made them work even harder than they were normally used to. The result is a more polished less raw sound than fans had become accustomed to on Wu-Tang Forever and 36 Chambers. Personally, I think its better to be over-polished, than under, like the sloppy "conditioner" is. But where the sound of the beat and lyrics may suggest commercial concession the lyrics themselves suggest otherwise. Mef eloquently states in his verse "Can't stand niggas that floss too much, Can't stand Bentleys they cost too much", a line that encompasses Mef's feelings from the very beginning of his career on hip hop artists who flaunt their money, but don't use it wisely, and bring nothing of artistic value to the mic. If Ghost is conceding to commercialism in the second verse, why would he drop so much of his signature slang rap that the general music listening public knows nothing about? Only Wu-heads bother to digest his lyrics so they had to be for them right? The first two verses don't come close to telling the whole story like U-God's does. He details a spiraling circle of jealousy ,then biting, then hating that goes on with the Wu. First comes envious emcees who try to mimic their style and the same emcees are coming back around after the fact blasting Wu saying they can't move a crowd? Well this song is a crowd mover. There, U-God "Grabbed the mic with no excuses". Happy? Some are some aren't and that's more than okay. All families need a shake up now and then to get the blood fired up.
With the oh so familiar Armstrong trumpets introducing the song you know its Wu right away. The hook does what it's supposed to snaring the listener in and almost forcing a sing along. Flutes mix with the hi-hat and snare raps perfectly creating a groove that is incredibly addicting. The music world thought so too, as it flew to the top of the 106 + Park music countdown to become #1 two weeks in a row. This was another reason it was blasted amongst Wu-Tang's hardcore fans, as 106 + Park's audience is primarily a mainsteam one. However I feel the decision to put the song on the countdown was mainly due to the video itself, which is so far outside the box compared to the one-dimensional cliche'ed videos that were flooding the airwaves at the times. Extravagant set-pieces and wardrobes highlighted a live-action flintstone-esque video which showcased the T.V. watching, lighter side of the Wu Tang personality. A sharp contrast from the lyrics which suggest something much darker. While the real fans would hear and see the entire picture, the dumb would mostly be intrigued by the drum. And indeed they were.......Love it or hate it this is a great song.
fav lines-"Follow me, Wu-Tang gotta be
The best thing since Starks in Clark Wallabees"
"pass the blunt
My nigga don't front
You had it for a minute but it seem like a month"
"The world's greatest, Las Vegas, paid as rock
Skin painted on my face look ageless
Perfect combos, Ghost bang out condos
Jeff from Hamo, ex three bangos
Bancos, stank hoes in plain clothes
Change those, bang those, same old, same old"
"Admire the greats, on fire wit a heart of hate
Bitter shark, every part I take, heavy darts that quake
It's okay, all fakes, get caught by the dropkicks
You know the thrill, yes it's Park Hill
Yo we hit 'em with the hot grits...
On the go, check the flow, sayin Wu don't rock shit...
Stop quick, hold the gossip, stop sweatin my pockets
I hear the hot shit"
2. Iron Flag/The Glock - Iron flag - 2001
Track 11 - producer - The RZA
At a time when the world was dark and needed a boost both mentally and musically, the Wu rushed to released Iron Flag to it's fans. The result was an off-balance album with ebb and flow problems that wasn't highly regarded by fans or critics. Underneath all the problems however is a musical diamond in the rough. Even if unintentional, the decision to put both these two 3 minute songs on the same track was ingenious. It's a Yin and Yang battle between the opposite sides of the Wu Tang spectrum of music. One largely dark and underground, the other as above as can be. If you love the more ear-friendly Wu sound you love Iron Flag and if you love the dirty underground sounds the Wu bring you love the glock. The biggest of fans think they are both 5 star tracks and truly they are.
Iron flag is one of the greatest hip hop beats I've ever heard. You are intro'ed into the song greeted by Raekwon and the all familiar sped up "oh man" as well as scrathes, and those scratches eventually expose 3 words "iron flag brothers". That's your hook and that's all you need. Cause the strings destroy the shit! The strings are beautiful and when weaved to the percussion create a complexity that demands to be heard over and over and over.....
Yada Yada Yada perfect beat whatever? right? how bout these lyrics! Raekwon comes with some mind blowing ridiculous slang, some of his best material in quite some time. "Color glocks splitters just listen there's UFO visitors, Fly paintings remainin, reclinin pro-comissioner, One boot off he Rudolph, know he hyped flew off, Hibernatin, dead in the makin, ear-rake him, gear-rake him" I had to listen to those lines like 50 times just to figure out what it is he's saying and now that I've figured it out I have absolutely no clue what it means. But its great! His flow is incredibly on point. Masta's verse is seamlessly transitioned from Rae's with no hook in between. "Devestatin shockwaves strikin the nation, Newsflash, warn the people, assassination, The hour of detonation, pure untampered or mixed in any form, In any form mixed untampered it's pure, Dissect each line of the rhyme, Find my ingredients and nutrients, Teach patience and obedience before movement" His poetic flow at its best, he destroys the track as well. After a brief interlude of Raekwon's hook Deck comes in with the third verse that lays waste to the track. His flow, voice inflections, and intensity are all at very high levels. This is one of my favorite verses he has ever done.
"Aiyyo you know the half, some get respect, most we show the path
They quoted tracks while we spoke math, blowin fast
Expose the craft, first picks chosen in the draft
I don't flash, hoes love me cause I hold a stash
Known to blast, paramedics couldn't close the gash
Floatin past in an alley with the oak dash
Show the cash, watch it blow in half, it's no fair
They goin mad, check their tape recorders and their notepads
Crabs wanna play me close and grab
Can't believe you on the canvas, I'm just throwin jabs
Where the powers you supposed to have, hand in your soldier rag
You posin bad, show your ass son, you won't last
With heavy weights that elevate the whole mass
Compose a smash, rollin grass at Ghost lab"
After Deck's verse the scratch "drink to your new life" is added to the iron flag brothers scratch in the outro which fades the song into its dark counterpart The Glock.
The Glock is like a military march set to wax, a rallying cry between brothers. It is also a warning to all who feel the Clan may be vulnerable as this song cleverly exposes all possible vulnerabilities the clan may have from Ghost's classic line "I fuck the shit out of Patricia Drummonds, Looked out the window when her man was comin" to Masta's hard hitting "You niggaz thought somethin was sweet, cause we rollin with the seeds today" each verse being accompanied by the caveat "GOOD THING WE BROUGHT THE GLOCK", the samurai sword of the modern urban world. Dark, eerie sounds accompany the slow march percussion and echoes put on the lyrics make it sound like they are talking from a cave. An underground masterpiece.
These songs invoke thoughts from Sun Tzu's The Art of War to Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket. An extraordinary blend of thoughts and sounds. True art.
With 2 five star songs on 1 track I ask you......How could it NOT be ranked this high?
1. C.R.E.A.M. (Cash rules everything around me) - Enter the 36 Chambers - 1993
Track 8 - producer - The RZA
Arguably the best song (a classic among classics) on arguably the greatest hip hop album of all time, CREAM not only symbolizes the dream of inner city youth trapped in a dark world, but symbolically became the dream itself. The popularity of Wu-Tang Clan's second single, skyrocketed the group from underground obscurity to mainstream smash and vaulted the Clan and Hip-Hop music as a whole to a new renaissance. The terrible nightmare described in the eloquent words of Raekwon And Inspectah Deck was a thing of the past and the dream they had strived for was upon them.
A sample of "As long as I've got you" by the Charmells does the heavy lifting on the beat which is composed of low piano notes on a repeating loop, soulful horns, and humming "ooohooohooh"s and "yeaheaheah"s. RZA's decision to take all the best parts of the song, deconstruct them, and then rebuild them from the ground up payed huge dividends and bridged the gap between young and old musically as a more soulful sound was created. This sound resonates for days if not years amongst its most avid of fans. Perfection.
As impactual as the music is, it pales in comparison to the lyrics which are incredibly powerful. Raekwon weaves a story vivid and full of feeling, describing the decisions good and bad that led him to where he is today. He is unbelievably personal revealing parts of his youth that most would just assume keep to themselves. This is my favorite Raekwon verse. Perfection.
Inspectah Deck's verse is quite possibly the single best Hip-Hop verse I've ever heard. It is both a concession and a struggle to the dark world that he was created in. At times he sounds distraught, beaten, and ready to give up. At the climax he shrugs off all that plagues him as he comes to the realization "it gots to be accepted, That what? That life is hectic", a realization that many in the world have trouble accepting, much less shrugging off. It is both heartbreaking as well as disturbing, an eye-opening venture into a world not seen by outsiders. Perfection.
With lyrics that beg to be learned and repeated and a hook sung by a gritty-voiced Method man this song has ultimate replay value and mind blowing appeal.
"Wu started a lot of slangs and this is the first one that circulated globally and til this day used by countless MCs let alone the masses on the regular." - Tekunique
It cracked many top 100 hip hop singles of all time lists as well as the billboard hot 100 singles charts. It spans time, age and gender. Massive appeal. Perfection.
"I grew up on the crime side, the New York Times side
Staying alive was no jive
At second hands, moms bounced on old men
So then we moved to Shaolin land
A young youth, yo rockin the gold tooth, 'Lo goose
Only way, I begin to gee off was drug loot
And let's start it like this son, rollin with this one
And that one, pullin out gats for fun
But it was just a dream for the teen, who was a fiend
Started smokin woolies at sixteen
And running up in gates, and doing hits for high stakes
Making my way on fire escapes
No question I would speed, for cracks and weed
The combination made my eyes bleed
No question I would flow off, and try to get the dough all
Sticking up white boys in ball courts
My life got no better, same damn 'Lo sweater
Times is ruff and tuff like leather
Figured out I went the wrong route
So I got with a sick ass click and went all out
Catchin keys from across seas
Rollin in MPV's, every week we made forty G's
Yo nigga respect mine, or anger the tech nine
Ch-chick-POW! Move from the gate now"
'It's been twenty-two long hard years of still strugglin
Survival got me buggin, but I'm alive on arrival
I peep at the shape of the streets
And stay awake to the ways of the world cause shit is deep
A man with a dream with plans to make C.R.E.A.M.
Which failed; I went to jail at the age of 15
A young buck sellin drugs and such who never had much
Trying to get a clutch at what I could not... could not...
The court played me short, now I face incarceration
Pacin -- going up state's my destination
Handcuffed in back of a bus, forty of us
Life as a shorty shouldn't be so ruff
But as the world turns I learned life is hell
Living in the world no different from a cell
Everyday I escape from Jakes givin chase, sellin base
Smokin bones in the staircase
Though I don't know why I chose to smoke sess
I guess that's the time when I'm not depressed
But I'm still depressed, and I ask what's it worth?
Ready to give up so I seek the Old Earth
Who explained working hard may help you maintain
to learn to overcome the heartaches and pain
We got stickup kids, corrupt cops, and crack rocks
and stray shots, all on the block that stays hot
Leave it up to me while I be living proof
To kick the truth to the young black youth
But shorty's running wild smokin sess drinkin beer
And ain't trying to hear what I'm kickin in his ear
Neglected, but now, but yo, it gots to be accepted
That what? That life is hectic"
heres a compiled version for all yall ADD niggaz outhere..
props to rock for doin this, only tru love for wu & real hip hop itself will allow ones time & effort for such a report. nuff respect son.
101. Wu Banga 101 - Supreme Clientele - 2003
100. Live from New York - Immobilarity - 1999
99. Silverbacks - No Said Date - 2004
98. Brooklyn Babies - Digital Bullet - 2001
97. Tragedy - Rhyme and Reason Soundtrack - 1997
96. NYC Everything- Bobby Digital in Stereo - 1998
95. For Heaven's Sake- Wu Tang Forever - 1998
94. Rumble - Golden Arms Redemption - 1999
93. Secret Rivals- No Said Date - 2004
92. Bizarre - Golden Arms Redemption - 1999
91. No Said Date- No Said Date - 2004
90. Auto Bio - Legend of a Liquid Sword - 2002
89. Tearz -Enter the 36 Chambers - 1993
88. Love Jones - Bobby Digital in Stereo - 1998
87. Iron God Chamber - Made in Brooklyn - 2006
86. Sweet Love - Tical 2000 : Judgement day - 1998
85. Presidential M.C. - 4/21 the day after... - 2006
84. Luminal - Legend of a Liquid Sword - 2002
83. Amplified Sample - Beneath the Surface - 1999
82. Sparring Minds - Legend of a Liquid Sword - 2002
81. Unspoken Word - Bobby Digital in Stereo - 1998
80. Glaciers of Ice- Only built for Cuban Linx - 1994
79. Breaker Breaker - Beneath the Surface - 1999
78. Child's Play - Supreme Clientelle - 2000
77. The Sun - Hidden Darts - 2007 (bulletproof wallets leftover)
76. Afterparty - Tical 0 : The Prequel - 2004
75. All I want is mine - The Resident Patient - 2006
74. Winter Warz- Ironman - 1996
73. Maxine - Bulletproof Wallets - 2001
72. Hollow Bones - The W - 2000
71. School - No Said Date - 2004
70. Hyperdermix - Uncontrolled Substance - 1999
69. Got Ya Money - Nigga Please - 1999
68. Ice Water - Only built for Cuban Linx - 1994
67. Duel of the iron mic - Liquid Swords - 1995
66. Whatever - No Said Date - 2004
65. Kilo - Fishscale - 2006
64. Malcolm - Supreme Clientelle - 2000
63. Investigative Reports - Liquid Swords - 1995
62. Bring Da Ruckus - Enter the 36 Chambers - 1993
61. Severe Punishment - Wu Tang Forever - 1997
60. Underwater - Fishscale - 2006
59. Snakes - Return to the 36 Chambers : The Dirty Version - 1995
58. Mr. Sandman - Tical - 1993
57. Labels - Liquid Swords - 1995
56. Criminology - Only built for Cuban Linx - 1994
55. Cher Chez La Ghost - Supreme Clientelle - 2000
54. Buck 50 - Supreme clientelle - 2000
53. Shame on a Nigga - Enter the 36 Chambers - 1993
52. All That I Got is You - Ironman - 1996
51. Careful (click click) - The W - 2000
50. Run (ft. Jadakiss) - The Pretty Tony Album - 2004
49. Cold World - Liquid Swords - 1995
48. Shakey Dog - Fishscale - 2006
47. Rainy Dayz - Only built for Cuban Linx - 1994
46. Box in Hand - Ironman - 1996
45. Wildflower - Ironman - 1996
44. Clan in da front - Enter the 36 Chambers - 1993
43. Liquid Swords - Liquid Swords - 1995
42. My Lovin' is Digi - Bobby Digital in Stereo - 1998
41. Street Opera - More Fish - 2006
40. Reunited - Wu Tang Forever - 1997
39. Biscuits (feat, trife) - The Pretty Tony Album - 2004
38. Nutmeg - Supreme Clientelle - 2000
37. Wu Tang Clan ain't nuttin' to fuck wit - Enter the 36 Chambers - 1993
36. Datona 500 - Ironman - 1996
35. Holla - The Pretty Tony Album - 2004
34. Ice Cream - Only built for Cuban linx - 1994
33. 9 Milli Bros. - Fishscale - 2006
32. Hellz Wind Staff - Wu Tang Forever - 1997
31. Big Girl - Fishscale - 2006
30. Spazzola - Tical 2000 - 1998
29. A Day to God is 1000 Years - Birth of a Prince - 2003
28. Rec Room - Uncontrolled Substance - 1999
27. M.E.T.H.O.D. Man - Enter the 36 Chambers - 1993
26. Shadowboxin' - Liquid Swords - 1995
25. Shimmy Shimmy Ya - Return to the 36 Chambers - 1995
24. Suspect Chin Music - Tical 2000 - 1998
23. I Can't go to Sleep - The W - 2000
22. Mighty Healthy - Supreme Clientelle - 2000
21. Third World - Soul Assassins Volume 1 - 1997
20. Dangerous Ground - Tical 2000 - 1998
19. Heaterz - Wu Tang Forever - 1997
18. Verbal Intercourse - Only Built for Cuban Linx - 1994
17. Release Yo Delf - Tical - 1993
16. Cuttin' Headz - Return to the 36 Chambers - 1995
15. Fish - Ironman - 1996
14. Bring the Pain - Tical - 1993
13. Triumph - Wu Tang Forever - 1997
12. All I Need (remix) puff daddy mix - Single - 1994
11. Guillotine (Swords) - Only Built for Cuban Linx - 1995
10. Vendetta - The Movement - 2003
9. Brooklyn Zoo - Return to the 36 Chambers : The Dirty Version - 1995
8. 4th Chamber - Liquid Swords - 1995
7. Protect Ya Neck - Enter the 36 Chambers - 1993
6. Killah Hills 10304 - Liquid Swords - 1995
5. Da Mystery of Chessboxin'- Enter the 36 Chambers - 1993
4. Wu-Gambinos - Only Built for Cuban Linx - 1995
3. Gravel Pit - The W - 2000
2. Iron Flag/The Glock - Iron flag - 2001
1. C.R.E.A.M. (Cash rules everything around me) - Enter the 36 Chambers - 1993
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Tonearm_Terrorwrist
it's an incredible track...
Bookmarks