Production[]
Group leader RZA produced Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) by creating sonic collages from classic soul samples and clips from martial arts movies such as Shaolin and Wu Tang (1981). He complemented the rappers' performances with "lean, menacing beats that evoked their gritty, urban surroundings more effectively than their words," according to Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic. The use of soul samples and various esoteric clips, and the technique by which RZA employed them in his beats was unique and largely unprecedented in hip-hop. The gritty sound of Enter the Wu-Tang is due, at least in part, to the use of cheap equipment to produce the album.
Many critics argue that the minimalist means of production plays directly into the appealing "street" quality that makes the album a classic, including Ben Yew, who stated, "Because [RZA] didn't have the best mixing or recording equipment, the album is wrought with a 'dirty' quality—the drums have more bass and are more hard-hitting than they are crisp and clean; the samples have an eerie, almost haunting type of echo; and the vocals, because each member's voice is already aggressive and gritty, perfectly match the production." Although Ol' Dirty Bastard is given co-production credit on "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'" and Method Man is co-credited for "Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing ta F' Wit," critics and admirers universally credit RZA with developing a "dusty yet digital production style [that] helped legitimize the use of more diverse sample sources to the hardcore New York rap massive, breaking away from James Brown based beats and embracing a style that turned the Underdog theme into the menacing coda for a group of underground terrorists."
Lyrics[]
Enter the Wu-Tang ushered in a new standard for hip-hop at a time when hip hop music was dominated by the jazz-influenced styles of A Tribe Called Quest, the Afrocentric viewpoints of Public Enemy, and the rising popularity of West Coast gangsta rap. The album's explicit, humorous and free-associative lyrics have been credited for serving as a template for many subsequent hip hop records. Rolling Stone described the album as possessing an aesthetic that was "low on hype and production values [and] high on the idea that indigence is a central part of blackness." While the lyrical content on Enter the Wu-Tang generally varies from rapper to rapper, the basic themes are the same—urban life, martial arts movies, comic book references, and marijuana—and the setting is invariably the harsh environment of New York City. The lyrics have a universally dark tone and seem at times to be simply aggressive cries. AllMusic contributor Steve Huey praises the lyricists for their originality and caustic humor, stating "Some were outsized, theatrical personalities, others were cerebral storytellers and lyrical technicians, but each had his own distinctive style ... Every track on Enter the Wu-Tang is packed with fresh, inventive rhymes, which are filled with martial arts metaphors, pop culture references (everything from Voltron to Lucky Charms cereal commercials to Barbra Streisand's "The Way We Were"), bizarre threats of violence, and a truly twisted sense of humor."
With the exception of "Method Man" and GZA's "Clan in da Front", every song features multiple rappers contributing verses of varying lengths. The verses are essentially battle rhymes, mixed with humor and outsized tales of urban violence and drug use. There is some debate about whether the lyrics on 36 Chambers are properly classified as gangsta rap or something else entirely.
| # | Title | Producer(s) | Performer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bring Da Ruckus | RZA |
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| 2 | Shame on a N**** |
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| 3 | Clan In Da Front | ||
| 4 | Wu-Tang: 7th Chamber |
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| 5 | Can It All Be So Simple |
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| 6 | Da Mystery of Chessboxin' | RZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard |
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| 7 | Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuttin' Ta Fuck Wit' | RZA, Method Man |
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| 8 | C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me) | RZA |
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| 9 | Method Man |
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| 10 | Protect Ya Neck |
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| 11 | Tearz |
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| 12 | Wu-Tang: 7th Chamber Part II |
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| 13 | Method Man (Skunk Mix) | Chorus/verses: Method Man |
