Enter the 36 Chambers: My Lifelong Obsession with the Wu-Tang Clan

[The Questyen]

Favorite Wu-Tang group members in order:

1. GZA/Genius
2. RZA
3. Ghostface Killah
4. U-God
5. Inspectah Deck
6. Masta Killa
7. Raekwon
8. Method Man
9. Ol' Dirty Bastard

Top Ten Favorite Wu-Tang Solo Albums:

1. GZA/Genius - Liquid Swords
2. Ghostface Killah - Ironman
3. Raekwon - Only Built for Cuban Linx
4. Masta Killa - No Said Date
5. Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele
6. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
7. GZA/Genius - Grandmasters
8. Ghostface Killah - More Fish
9. Inspectah Deck - Uncontrolled Substance
10. GZA/Genius - Pro Tools

[S. Earl]

Well done Questyen. It was a pleasure to read through these and get reacquainted on some works I forgot about and also tipped off to others I should check out.

[The Questyen]

Well done Questyen. It was a pleasure to read through these and get reacquainted on some works I forgot about and also tipped off to others I should check out.

Thanks a bunch! Glad to see someone else is reading it.

[EMAnderson]

Nice!  I guess next up is the MAn With the Iron Fists STRK?

[The Questyen]

78. The Man with The Iron Fists - "Soundtrack"

This soundtrack was released in October 2012. Production by RZA, Frank Dukes, Fuzzy Womack, The Black Keys, Kanye West, Boogz & Tapez, Bob Perry, BadBadNotGood, S1, Steven James Brown, Corinne Bailey Rae, Issac Hayes & David Porter.   

Track Listing:
1. "The Baddest Man Alive" by The Black Keys and RZA
2. "Blackout" by Ghostface Killah, M.O.P. & Pharoahe Monch
3. "White Dress" by Kanye West
4. "I Forgot to be Your Lover" by The Revelations & Tre Williams
5. "Got Your Way (Sex is a Weapon) by Idle Warship (Talib Kweli & Res)
6. "Rivers of Blood by Wu-Tang Clan & Kool G Rap (listed as Wu-Tang Clan but actually only Raekwon, U-God & Ghostface Killah)
7. "Built for This" by Method Man, Freddie Gibbs & Streetlife
8. "The Archer" by Killa Sin
9. "Just Blowin' in the Wind" by RZA & Flatbush Zombies
10. "Chains" by Corinne Bailey Rae
11. "Tick, Tock" by Pusha T, Raekwon, Joell Ortiz & Danny Brown
12. "Green is the Mountain" by Frances Yip
13. "Six Directions of Boxing" by Wu-Tang Clan (U-God, Ghostface Killah, GZA, Masta Killa, Cappadonna & Inspectah Deck)
14. "Your Good Thing (Is About to Come to an End)" by Mable John
15. "I Go Hard" by Ghostface Killah, Boy Jones & Wiz Khalifa
16. "Bust Shots" by Sheek Louch, Ghostface Killah & Inspectah Deck (bonus digital track)

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/bWo-dZoG4H0&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/bWo-dZoG4H0&rel=1</a>

It's been almost a year and a half since the last Wu-related album "Legendary Weapons" came out so I've been anticipating this soundtrack (and the movie) hard.  It starts out with one of the best tracks on the album "The Baddest Man Alive". I have no prior musical knowledge of The Black Keys except that the internet loves them so I was surprised by how right "The Baddest Man Alive" feels. The RZA verses are servicable and elicited a few funny lines but I think the song would have been even better with a stronger MC on it. But that's just a small nit-pick. "White Dress" is a strong Kanye West song and "Just Blowin' in the Wind" brings interesting production with another group I have no prior knowledge of (Flatbush Zombies) and a stronger RZA verse then the opener. "Rivers of Blood" feels like a classic Wu-Tang track and Kool G Rap fits in with Ghostface and Raekwon perfectly. The bonus track "Bust Shots" gives me hope for the Wu-Block album the next Wu releated release that comes out next month.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/S6FGXCmNCHw&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/S6FGXCmNCHw&rel=1</a>

The rest of the album is filled with six "ok but not great" gangster songs, and five tracks that while not bad are not anything I would ever listen to again. "I Forgot to be Your Lover" brought back a memory of high school and something that would have been on the Jason's Lyric soundtrack. So overall it's a solid album. Not on the level as the last release "Legendary Weapons" but a huge step up from most of the RZA soundtrack releases.

Highlights: "The Baddest Man Alive", "Rivers of Blood, "White Dress", "Just Blowin' in the Wind", "Bust Shots"

Review: B

[The Questyen]

79. Wu-Block

Wu-Block is an collaborative album (released in November 2012) made up of the Wu-Tang and D-Block (formerly The Lox) camps. It was spearheaded by Ghostface Killah and Sheek Louch which shows because this is basically a Ghost and Sheek album. They appear together on every track but one with all the other rappers feeling like guest stars. The other features are Raekwon, Jadakiss, Styles P, Cappadonna, Method Man, Masta Killa, GZA, Erkyah Badu and Inspectah Deck. Production is handled by a number of producers most notably Frank Dukes, Erick Sermon, Red Spyda and Termanology.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/vKlcXxSU854&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/vKlcXxSU854&rel=1</a>

The first single for this album was released in June called "Union Square" and it wasn't very impressive so I didn't expect too much from this album but it looks like they felt the same way because that song doesn't even appear on the Wu-Block album. As mentioned before this is basically a Ghostface and Sheek album fortunately they fit well together and their verses are for the most part the strongest. These two can do gangster tales in their sleep and that's for better or worse what this album entails. "Different Time Zones" rides a nice beat and has a solid performance by Inspectah Deck. "Drivin' Round" the only real exception to that "gangsta" formula is anchored by a nice GZA verse but is let down by a bad Erkyah Badu hook and mediocre verses by Sheek and Masta Killa. "Been Robbed" the best track on Wu-Block and it features Ghost and Sheek having fun and joking around (with a great hook sample) which makes for a nice change from the seriousness of the rest of the album. So overall the rapping is fantastic although the subject matter is generic. Most of the hooks are pretty lackluster also which mars the otherwise good quality production.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/Pyk7PRYXfXE&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/Pyk7PRYXfXE&rel=1</a>

Highlights: "Been Robbed", "Bust Shots", "Pour tha Martini", "Different Time Zones"

Review: B

[Brian G]

Being a NYC kid, I listened to a lot of Wu Tang growing up. I still consider myself a fan.

I recently started going through a lot of my old video games and replaying them. I came across the Wu tang fighting game on PS1.

Obviously the game has a killer soundtrack, but a lot of the mechanics were impressive for its time. I'm more of a 2D-fighting game fan, but you can tell how much this game influenced later 3D fighters. I think a lot of the creators went on to work on the Mortal Kombat (Deadly Alliance, Deception, Armageddon) games.

Anyway here's a clip:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/DIOCgruTkdY&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/DIOCgruTkdY&rel=1</a>

Apparently they even made a Wu controller:

[The Questyen]

I had that game and that controller back when they came out. I didn't think as highly of the game as you do. I thought it was pretty terrible. There's a good Giant Bomb video about it: http://www.giantbomb.com/time-trotters-wu-tang-shaolin-style/17-5972/

[Brian G]

I had that game and that controller back when they came out. I didn't think as highly of the game as you do. I thought it was pretty terrible. There's a good Giant Bomb video about it: http://www.giantbomb.com/time-trotters-wu-tang-shaolin-style/17-5972/

Hah my praise came off a little higher than it should've. The game is extremely flawed. I was just surprised by how many of the mechanics went into future 3D fighting games. It did set up the frame work for those MK games which were pretty successful.

That being said, I hate most 3D fighters.

[The Questyen]

I'll have updates soon since I've got the new Masta Killa album and Raekwon released a new mixtape this week. Inspectah Deck also has a new album coming out with 7L & Esoteric in a couple weeks. The Wu-Tang has been busy!

[The Questyen]

80. Masta Killa - "Selling My Soul"

Masta Killa released his third solo album in December 2012. It features guest appearances by Kurupt and Ol' Dirty Bastard (not really). Production is handled by 9th Wonder, Masta Killa, Mathematics, Inspectah Deck, Mediate Soul, P.F. Cuttin', Dash, Koolade and Blackinati.

Where to start? Ok, first off Masta Killa is one of the most mellow rappers I've ever heard so putting out an album with equally mellow production and basically no guests means this album will put you to sleep in a hurry. "No Said Date" his first and best album worked so well because it mixed his soft delivery with great beats and guest spots that complemented him. Here the only guest star is Kurupt who is on two songs in a row, he reuses lines he's said in the past and raps his typical misogynist nonsense the complete opposite of the theme Masta Killa has going for the album. The production besides "Food" which was done by 9th Wonder is forgettable. "R U Listening" uses the same beat as "Crack Spot Stories" off the Wu-Block album and it's used to much greater effect on that album. "Wise Words" uses the beat from 2Pac's "Keep Ya Head Up" and is basically a spoken word of Masta Killa talking about that song which is about as boring as it sounds. The lamest part of this album though is that it was advertised as "featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard" and what that consists of is on the song "Dirty Soul" we have Masta Killa for the first part of the song just name off all the soul artists he likes and the second part he raps in Ol' Dirty Bastard's style with a ODB sample occasionally cutting in. To use a dead artists name to sell your product and then that artist not actually being featured is pretty despicable.

Highlights: "Soul and Substance", "Food"

Lowlights: "Wise Words", "Part 2", "Divine Glory", "Dirty Soul"

Review: D