#mnr: divine wu mathematics, part 2 shaolin's sharpest swords

MNR: Divine Wu Mathematics, Part II: Shaolin’s Sharpest Swords

After ingesting the magnitude of the long needed Wu Tang Clan documentary Of Mics and Men, it was impossible for me not to stroll down memory lane. I’m 40 and some change. I remember the first time I ever heard Protect Ya Neck, months before their classic debut album hit record store shelves. I was blessed with the opportunity to watch the Clan blossom from virtual unknowns (RZA & GZA included) to the top group in all of hip hop. I can accurately gauge the impact of each project, something impossible to do if you didn’t live it. Sure, you can pull up a Wikipedia article and read the summary. You can look at individual reviews in retrospect. But if you weren’t around when singles dropped on the radio airwaves (from Hot 97 to your local station), when Uncle Ralph Video Music Box, BET Rap City, and MTV Raps dropped the visuals, smoked back to back to back reefa L’s in your folk Cutlass to it, or been at the function when the DJ dropped the needle, you don’t know shit about impact. All you know is what you read or someone told you. You’re not qualified. Simple and plain. Having said all that, I’m going to state my top 3 Wu solo efforts with an honorable mention included. Sit back and twist you a Wood to it. Leggo. 

Honorable Mention: Return To The 36 Chambers, Ol’ Dirty Bastard 
Elektra, 1995
Dirty’s solo debut is in my estimation a definite Top 5 Wu solo project, and the most unique (sorta redundant) release from the Wu discography. Dirty rapped a bit, he sang a bit. But he was undeniably Ason throughout. I mean, who but Dirty would openly speak about catching gonorrhea...and then catching it again? The lone two singles from the project are both hip hop classics, both in song and video. Brooklyn Zoo was the lead single and my favorite song from Ol’ Dirt Dog. The hook was A-1 and his lyrics were pure fury. The video was gutter x 100, and the ad lib edits were actually as enjoyable as the unedited album version...”You can suck my [click, click]”. To this day I can’t forget him digging in his nose and putting a booger on the project hallway wall. That’s some true project shit, word to Jeff Houses (Eastside stand the fuck up). Shimmy Shimmy Ya was undeniably Dirty, with the Jheri curl teeny weenie afro wig and all. MTV couldn’t get enough of it, to the point that they insisted on editing his “Ooh baby I like it raw” lyrics because they felt it leaned toward overt promiscuity at a time when the HIV/AIDS epidemic was still hovering around its unfortunate height. Dirty insisted that he was only referring to his musical style but MTV was like fuck that. It didn’t matter at the end of the day. The impromptu Kurt Loder MTV News Break spotlight only pushed more sales and made Dirty a legend amongst teenage pilgrims. Raw Hide was probably the showstopper of the album with memorable verses from Dirty, Meth, and Rae. Dirty’s Intro to his verse was bananas. So were the rest of his bars. He managed to steal the show even though he was alongside two of the Wu’s sharpest swords. Drunk Game was a pleasant surprise, a rose that emerged from a Brooklyn gutter. The project was crazy front to back, a certified classic. And who could ever forget the ICONIC album cover?

Three: Supreme Clientele, Ghostface Killah
Epic, 2000 
Ghost went against the grain on his sophomore solo release. There was no sharing of the album cover with Rae and Cappadonna, though both blessed the project with fireworks. This time Ghost graced the cover on his doley, just him and his microphone. But that wasn’t the only noticeable difference on Supreme. Unlike its predecessors Only Built 4 Cuban Linx and Ironman (where he graced the album cover and ran 1 & 1A alongside Rae) Supreme wasn’t a project based around cocaine kingpin and organized crime narratives. Supreme was equally as gutter, but this time out Ghost chose to usurp the drug dealer talk for even more layered and descriptive lyrics about everyday street life. His verbal paintbrush provided the listener with ultra descriptive lyrics that brought his plethora of characters to life on each track. Wu Banga 101 was one of the project’s best efforts, spawning lyrics like “Slapped the pastor. Didn’t know pop had asthma. He pulled out his blue bible, change fell out his coat. 3 condoms, 2 dice, 1 bag of dope. Oh, Rev ain’t right. His church ain’t right. Deacon is a pimp, tell by his eyes. Mrs. Parks said Brother Starks meet you at the number spot. Heard you got red tops out, and I want a lot...” Every single track was amazing, with Nutmeg, One, Apollo Kids, Mighty Healthy, Buck 50, Malcolm, and showstopper Cherchez la Ghost managing to stand even taller. Supreme Clientele had descriptive bars for days and is still as solid a listen almost a couple decades later. I’ve got a couple homies who consider it to be not only the sharpest Wu sword, but their favorite album of all time. It’s hard to disagree on either. 

Two: Liquid Swords, GZA 
Geffen Records, 1995
I wouldn’t be completely candid if I didn’t admit that not only did it come down to minutes before I began to piece this blog together that I chose to place this project at number two, but it’s also my favorite Wu solo release. I’ve gone back and forth for damn near a quarter century over the best Wu solo release. It’s hard not to place Liquid Swords at the top of this and any Wu list. It’s quite frankly a perfect album. Wu’s sharpest sword, the Genius, took his time alongside RZA in crafting absolute perfection. Its Shogun Assassin excerpts were the most eerie of any of the old Kung Fu movies used on Wu albums, perfectly befitting of a scientifically calculated dark project. GZA wrote his lyrics at the level of a PhD, the quintessential hood scholar. His delivery was calm and monotone, yet each bar hit like Manny Pacquiao versus Homer Simpson. He worked Labels to perfection, not only incorporating almost every record label known to Black music, but pieced them together in synchronous and logical fashion. Shadowboxin’ had one of Meth’s best verses of all time and did extensive damage on speakers around the world. 4th Chamber was flawIess. Cold World flipped Stevie Wonder’s Rocket Love hook to perfection. I Gotcha Back summed up 90s Brooklyn ghetto life unlike any other track I’ve ever heard. “You know your town is dangerous when you see the strangest kid come home from doing a bid and nothing changes. What is the meaning of crime? Is it criminals robbing innocent motherfuckers every time?” Marinate on that. 

One: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx (The Purple Tape), Raekwon the Chef
RCA Loud, 1995 
To me, Only Built runs neck and neck with Liquid Swords for the best of the Wu best, but I had to refer to my own damn words to determine the number one project. Both albums are classic in every way. But at the end of the day, it comes down to impact. Liquid Swords hit like a ton of bricks, but The Purple Tape literally had NYC and the rap universe on smash summer ‘95. Flex dem spun so many records off the album you damn near had most of the fruit without going to your local record store. Every car stereo, home stereo, boom box, and CD/tape player had Only Built on deck. Everything on the project rocked, but Criminology, Rainy Dayz, the Can It Be remix, Ice Water, Glaciers of Ice, Wu Gambinos, and Heaven or Hell were standouts. Then there were the standouts amongst the standouts. Verbal Intercourse was the first Wu song to feature an “outsider,” as Rae contracted Nas Escobar to set shit off. “Through the lights, camera, and action, glamor, glitter and gold...” Ice Cream was the fucking shit in every conceivable aspect of the shit, from the track to the lyrics to the VIDEO. It shut everything down and forced you to label every cutie from around the way with an ice cream flavor. And then there’s the showstopper, Incarcerated Scarfaces. “Nigga I seen it, like a 27” Zenith. Believe it.” And who could ever forget the Shark Niggas (Bitters) interlude? Only Rae and Ghost could shut shit down like they shut shit down. And neither BIG nor Puff said shit. That album deserved 6 Mics. To this day, it’s mentioned alongside the best albums of all time, and deservedly so. 

Wu Tang forever. 

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