Mind you, I don’t mean the end of the Wu-Tang Clan, because, you know, Wu-Tang is forever.
If Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) was the beginning, Wu-Tang Forever was the beginning of the end. Singles: “Triumph”, “It’s Yourz”, “Reunited” Meth’s style-over-substance rhymes has been criticised from the day one, but on Tical, it was to his favour, making the album one of the grimiest party albums and best Wu-Tang Clan albums of all time. RZA knew exactly where Meth’s strength laid, which is why the producer tailored the beats to match his style – layering the hazy drum breaks with offbeat keys to provide Meth with the best platform to spring his liquid hot bars. While Meth has never had same vivid storytelling abilities or classic verses or one-of-a-kind character like some of his Wu brothers – namely Raekwon, Ghostface, Deck and Ol’ Dirty – he more than makes up for it with his amazing flow and voice. Which leads us to Tical, the Wu’s first solo album. Even before the group had dropped their debut and with only “Method Man” making the rounds on the radio, Def Jam head honcho, Lyor Cohen, was already getting ready to sign Meth. Singles: Singles: “Bring the Pain”, “Release Yo’ Delf”, “I’ll Be There for You / You’re All I Need to Get By”Īs the most charismatic and natural born star on Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), there was no doubt Method Man was going to be the breakout member of the Wu. But factoring in that it was a sequel to the ’95 classic and Raekwon still managed to deliver the goods definitely makes it one of the best Wu-Tang Clan albums of all time. One its own, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt. He also had some help from his Wu brothers, all of whom (except for U-God) appear on the album to show love and drop some of their best verses of recent years – Meth and Deck in particular body their parts.Īnd of course Ghostface plays the supporting role to perfection again, appearing on 7 of the 22 cuts and gifting us with another one of his unforgettable stories again on “Gihad.” Dre, J Dilla, Pete Rock, Marley Marl, Erick Sermon, The Alchemist and of course the RZA – to recreate the epic, criminal backdrop for his vivid, drug tales. He got in the studio with some of the best hip-hop producers of all time – Dr. It would have been like Nas trying to make an Illmatic II – make no mistake, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… is up there with Illmatic as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time.īut Rae did it. You can’t blame Rae, just think about the pressure he must have been feeling. After 14 years of keeping hip-hop heads waiting and in between dropping a couple of mediocre solo albums, Rae finally delivered what we were all waiting for – a worthy sequel to The Purple Tape. Singles: Singles: “New Wu”, “House of Flying Daggers”, “Walk Wit Me”, “Have Mercy”, “Catalina” So remember, don’t sleep on Iron Flag, it’s one of the best Wu-Tang Clan albums of all time, no doubt about it. Those gritty soul samples and menacing loops still remained, although they were somewhat refreshed, while the obligatory Wu posse cut “Uzi (Pinky Ring)” is still burning to this day. Still, don’t think the Wu switched it up too much. RZA even pulled in some outside help from Trackmasters and Flavor Flav to liven and modernise things up a little for listeners.
Straight off the bat, the album’s opener – “In the Hood” – kicks things off with some much needed energy with Masta Killa, Inspectah Deck and Streetlife all bodying their verses. While the previous Wu album, The W, definitely had some joints, it sounded like The Abbott was getting a little tired of that murky, gully shit he helped create. After changing the game with his lo-fi signature sound – twisted soul samples over basement drums – RZA was in a bit of a funk when the 2000s arrived. Singles: “Uzi (Pinky Ring)”, “Back in the Game”, “Rules”ĭon’t sleep on Iron Flag. So let’s get into it, from their game-changing 1993 debut to Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… and Liquid Swords, to Wu-Tang Forever and Supreme Clientele, we’re counting down the top 10 best Wu-Tang Clan albums of all time.
Unlike other hip-hop crews, like say the Hit Squad, early Wu solo albums felt exactly the same as group albums – they were all produced exclusively by RZA and other Wu members would show up to drop multiple deadly verses on each album. Not only because of their incredible group albums, which includes classics like the genre-shifting Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) and the monster Wu-Tang Forever, but also because of the solo albums. The Wu-Tan Clan is the greatest hip-hop group of all time.