Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group that consists of: RZA, GZA/Genius, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group. They were formed in (and are associated with) the New York City borough of Staten Island (referred to by members as "Shaolin"), though Masta Killa and GZA are from Brooklyn and Inspectah Deck is from the Bronx. Read Full BioWu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group that consists of: RZA, GZA/Genius, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group. They were formed in (and are associated with) the New York City borough of Staten Island (referred to by members as "Shaolin"), though Masta Killa and GZA are from Brooklyn and Inspectah Deck is from the Bronx. They have gone on to become multi-platinum record producers, Grammy winners, TV and film stars, screenwriters, product spokespersons, business owners and, most recently, major motion picture composers. The Clan featured nine MCs until the death of Ol' Dirty Bastard in 2004. One of the most critically and commercially successful hip hop groups of all time, Wu-Tang Clan shot to fame through their uncompromising brand of hardcore rap music. Since their debut, they have introduced or launched the careers of numerous other artists and groups, and already in 1994 there were credited to be over 300 Wu-Tang Clan affiliates, known as the Wu-Tang Killa Bees, consisting of rappers, producers, and record label CEOs.
The founders of the Wu-Tang Clan were RZA, GZA, and Ol' Dirty Bastard, who had previously formed the group Force of the Imperial Master (later known as All In Together Now after the release of a popular single by that name). The group attracted the attention of some notable figures in the industry, including Biz Markie, but did not manage to secure a record deal. After the crew dissolved, GZA and RZA (then known as Prince Rakeem) embarked on their solo careers with Cold Chillin' Records and Tommy Boy Records respectively, but to little success. Their frustration with the workings of the hip hop music industry would provide the main inspiration to Wu-Tang Clan's revolutionary business plan. According to The Wu-Tang Manual, at the group's inception, RZA promised the members that if he had total control of the Wu-Tang empire, it would conquer the hip hop world within a dynastic cycle, after which he would relinquish his total control.
Wu-Tang Clan was gradually assembled in late 1992 from friends and accomplices from around Staten Island, New York, with RZA as the de-facto leader and the group's main producer. Two of the cousins, GZA (pronounced Jizza) and RZA (pronounced Rizza), created their new Wu-Tang aliases by mimicking the sound that the words "genius" and "razor" would make when scratched on a turntable.
"Wu-Tang" comes from the name of the Taoist holy mountain Wu Dang in northwest Hubei Province in central China; it was also the site of the Ming Dynasty Purple Imperial City built during the reign of the Yongle Emperor in the early 15th century. RZA and Ol' Dirty Bastard adopted the name for the group after seeing the kung fu film Shaolin and Wu Tang, which features a school of warriors trained in Wu-Tang style. The group's debut album loosely adopted a Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang theme, dividing the album into Shaolin and Wu-Tang sections and using dialogue excerpts as skits.
The group have also developed various backronyms for the name (as hip hop pioneers like KRS-One and Big Daddy Kane did with their names), including "We Usually Take All the Niggas' Garments," "Witty Unpredictable Talent and Natural Game" and "Wisdom, Universe, Truth, Allah, Nation, and God".
Method Man has also mentioned that the "Wu" is the sound a sword makes when cutting through the air, and "Tang" is the sound it makes against a shield.
The Clan first became known to hip hop fans, and to major record labels, in 1993 (see 1993 in music) following the release of the independent single "Protect Ya Neck", which immediately gave the group a sizeable underground following. Though there was some difficulty in finding a record label that would sign Wu-Tang Clan while still allowing each member to record solo albums with other labels, Loud/RCA finally agreed, releasing their debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), in late 1993. This album was popular and critically-acclaimed, though it took some time to gain momentum. Though hip hop had long had a gritty texture, the surreal aggression and minimalist production of 36 Chambers nevertheless had a huge impact on the genre, and was to prove massively influential over the next decade. By the beginning of the 21st century, the album had become a regular fixture on "Best Albums of the 90s" lists as well as a frequent choice for "Best Albums of All Time" lists. The success of Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) established the group as a creative and influential force in early 1990s hip hop, allowing GZA, RZA, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa to negotiate solo contracts.
www.wutang-corp.com
The founders of the Wu-Tang Clan were RZA, GZA, and Ol' Dirty Bastard, who had previously formed the group Force of the Imperial Master (later known as All In Together Now after the release of a popular single by that name). The group attracted the attention of some notable figures in the industry, including Biz Markie, but did not manage to secure a record deal. After the crew dissolved, GZA and RZA (then known as Prince Rakeem) embarked on their solo careers with Cold Chillin' Records and Tommy Boy Records respectively, but to little success. Their frustration with the workings of the hip hop music industry would provide the main inspiration to Wu-Tang Clan's revolutionary business plan. According to The Wu-Tang Manual, at the group's inception, RZA promised the members that if he had total control of the Wu-Tang empire, it would conquer the hip hop world within a dynastic cycle, after which he would relinquish his total control.
Wu-Tang Clan was gradually assembled in late 1992 from friends and accomplices from around Staten Island, New York, with RZA as the de-facto leader and the group's main producer. Two of the cousins, GZA (pronounced Jizza) and RZA (pronounced Rizza), created their new Wu-Tang aliases by mimicking the sound that the words "genius" and "razor" would make when scratched on a turntable.
"Wu-Tang" comes from the name of the Taoist holy mountain Wu Dang in northwest Hubei Province in central China; it was also the site of the Ming Dynasty Purple Imperial City built during the reign of the Yongle Emperor in the early 15th century. RZA and Ol' Dirty Bastard adopted the name for the group after seeing the kung fu film Shaolin and Wu Tang, which features a school of warriors trained in Wu-Tang style. The group's debut album loosely adopted a Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang theme, dividing the album into Shaolin and Wu-Tang sections and using dialogue excerpts as skits.
The group have also developed various backronyms for the name (as hip hop pioneers like KRS-One and Big Daddy Kane did with their names), including "We Usually Take All the Niggas' Garments," "Witty Unpredictable Talent and Natural Game" and "Wisdom, Universe, Truth, Allah, Nation, and God".
Method Man has also mentioned that the "Wu" is the sound a sword makes when cutting through the air, and "Tang" is the sound it makes against a shield.
The Clan first became known to hip hop fans, and to major record labels, in 1993 (see 1993 in music) following the release of the independent single "Protect Ya Neck", which immediately gave the group a sizeable underground following. Though there was some difficulty in finding a record label that would sign Wu-Tang Clan while still allowing each member to record solo albums with other labels, Loud/RCA finally agreed, releasing their debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), in late 1993. This album was popular and critically-acclaimed, though it took some time to gain momentum. Though hip hop had long had a gritty texture, the surreal aggression and minimalist production of 36 Chambers nevertheless had a huge impact on the genre, and was to prove massively influential over the next decade. By the beginning of the 21st century, the album had become a regular fixture on "Best Albums of the 90s" lists as well as a frequent choice for "Best Albums of All Time" lists. The success of Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) established the group as a creative and influential force in early 1990s hip hop, allowing GZA, RZA, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa to negotiate solo contracts.
www.wutang-corp.com
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Wu-Tang Clan Lyrics
I ain't trying to be no D-boy
I love music, I'm a b-boy
Are you the undercover or the decoy
I'm heavy with the D, Trouble T Roy
A pit with no muzzle, about to bust your bubble like a tree lord
Too much marijuana got me p-noid
I'm killing instrumentals with that All So Simple Can It Be, boy
Shout to Lil Cease, B.I.G., boy
And Funk Doctor Spock, I mean Redman that's not Leonard Nimoy
88 keys on the keyboard
I'm down to catch wreck, take them first three letters out of record
It's Meth, you heard it through the wire I could be more
Or washed up like Sonny Black's body on the seashore
That's a problem, I could be yours
A monster without the mad scientist and Igor
I've heard it before, a third of these boys
Got murder raps and never even murdered before
Keep watch, lights out when the beat drop
Keeping the streets locked
I'm calling all G's from each block, from each block
Keep watch, lame niggas out there can kick rocks
Run these streets out here don't need cops
I'm calling all G's from each block, from each block
Codename Sensei, I live what my pen say
Game hall of fame, flow is MJ
Muy caliente, je m'apelle Rebel, capiche, comprende?
Son I'm touching 'em up, trust I'm like
Justin Tuck how they ducking the rush
Trying to break bad, you catch a bad break
Like I own a bake shop how I stack cakes
Greatness was nothing, Deck the next Nike ad
Wifey bad and my life got 'em slightly mad
Cause I shine like chrome in July
Soldier I opened your eyes, noticed the lies
DEA say I'm drugging 'em
I get you leaning hard, I get the fiends to nod, I mean they loving 'em
All hail your highness, terrific win
Put a so-called beast in his place, Pacific Rim
Keep watch, lights out when the beat drop
Keeping the streets locked
I'm calling all G's from each block, from each block
Keep watch, lame niggas out there can kick rocks
Run these streets out here don't need cops
I'm calling all G's from each block, from each block
Foul ass police, crooked ass friends
I don't give a fuck yo, the drama never ends
I'm a project nigga, I don't care about the Benz
Plus I had a lot of chicks, you can have those bitches
But I murder your bloodclot if you touch my riches
Yeah crazy ass skipper, I be in the slums, nigga
Fuck where I come from I'm a quiet gangster nigga
First I get you comfortable, then I start shanking niggas
Park Hill code is don't violate the family
Brother to brother it's no snakes in the amnesty
I come through wilding on some Wu-Tang Can It Be
Googly-eyed nigga, chop his face in the ministry
Never scared to do the time, fuck the penitentiary
Leave a bunch of dead niggas, don't forget to mention me
The angel of rap, the un-ordinary light
Already did what I was gonna do before you even got the mic
We left a large solar cloud distinguished by size
Interaction with the wise and civilized
The mind caused matter to fall into a center
A great deal of heat that'll radiate within ya
From out of this collision
The central cord became thick enough to trap its own light and bring vision
Each drop full of Hip Hop energy
Balanced on all sides such great symmetry
The bars unlocked the power of the stars
The mirror in the telescope pinpoint the Gods
From a distance, acting as a guiding coach
Analyze the board, universal approach
Retune the soul to a certain pitch
Changing the frequency frequently, hitting a certain switch
The love is paramount, the connect is brotherly
Respect for the intellect and broad discovery
Keep watch, lights out when the beat drop
Keeping the streets locked
I'm calling all G's from each block, from each block
Keep watch, lame niggas out there can kick rocks
Run these streets out here don't need cops
I'm calling all G's from each block, from each block
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: RONALD MAURICE BEAN, BETTYE JEAN BARNES CRUTCHER, GARY E. GRICE, DARRYL ROBERT HILL, JASON S. HUNTER, NATHANIEL PETERSON, DAVID PORTER, CLIFFORD SMITH, RONNIE WILLIAMS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on specific lyrics, highlight them
Kmk14
Gza's verse was sick, enjoy the lyrics!
[Verse 4 - GZA:]
We left a large solar cloud distinguished by size
Interaction with the wise and civilized
The mind caused matter to fall into a center
A great deal of heat that'll radiate within ya
From out of this collision
The central cord became thick enough to trap its own light and bring vision
Each drop full of Hip Hop energy
Balanced on all sides such great symmetry
The bars unlocked the power of the stars
The mirror in the telescope pinpoint the Gods
From a distance, acting as a guiding coach
Analyze the board, universal approach
Retune the soul to a certain pitch
Changing the frequency frequently, hitting a certain switch
The love is paramount, the connect is brotherly
Respect for the intellect and broad discovery
GTD784
"The Mind Cause Matter to fall into a sinner, a great deal of heat that radiate with in ya..come out of this collision central core became thick enough traps its own light and bring vision" yo GZA always on that high science.
VengefulBatz
"Tryinna break bad, you catcha bad break."
That's my shit.
DJ DEMEY
+batmanlooksgood Deck the man
Dimitar Kirchev
GZA just killed it at the end. Perfect song. IMO the best from the album. Respect.
Rhys Peregrine
Didn't like the hook at first but I do now. Tis good, like.
ghie gmecha seg
SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN TEKITHA TO SING THE HOOK..
Dimitar Kirchev
5 years since I first heard it...."The love is paramount, the connect is brotherly. Respect for the intellect and broad discovery". - GZA
TrillLaFreak
"Lights out when the beat drops"
Joeltze Official
Best track on the album!!
james taylor
gza goes deep with the wordplay.....dope overall