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.
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Concrete Jungle
Wu-Tang Clan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Wu-Tang Clan's song Concrete Jungle is a commentary on life in the inner city. The metaphor of a jungle is used to describe the harsh reality of the concrete jungle which is the inner city of America. The song seems to be an attempt to capture the feelings of poverty, struggle, and survival in this environment.
The chorus of the song, "In the jungle, we gotta rumble with the bees/wee, Ain't nothin sweet, we gotta eat" speaks to the struggle that people in the inner city face. The bees/wee represent the people who prey on the vulnerable in the streets, forcing them to fight back in order to survive. This is a harsh reality that many people face in America's inner cities.
The verses of the song tell a story of survival and struggle. The lyrics speak to the injustice that people in the inner city face, such as AIDS, poverty, and violence. The artists share their experiences of living in the concrete jungle, facing danger and fighting to survive.
Overall, the song is an insightful commentary on the harsh realities of living in America's inner cities.
Line by Line Meaning
(Chorus x4)
In the concrete jungle, survival is tough and we must fight for our place, there is no space for weakness.
Yo, we come from starvin days, runnin up in Dr. J's
We come from a difficult past, where we had to hustle to survive.
Under the sunshine, movin as one mind, the genuine
To make it in this tough jungle, we must come together and move as one entity.
On the mic device, my crew get nice, shoot dice
My crew excels at rhyming and are also skilled at gambling.
F**k opinions, I'm hittin to the nights endin
I don't care about what others think, I'm working hard all the way through the night to achieve my goals.
Beyond college, street knowledge, got to eat knowledge
Street smarts are more important for survival than formal education.
Here in this jungle, jungle, jungle ?
In this concrete jungle, it's every man for himself and we must fight for our place.
I need a bulldozer or crane, that stains like in vain
I need strong tools to achieve my goals, not weak ones that won't work.
Before you step to me, you should of called off Ceaser's father
Before challenging me, you should have thought of the consequences.
(Chorus x4)
In this concrete jungle, we must fight and work hard to survive and make a name for ourselves.
Contributed by Joseph L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
wwashing3
this song is truly a classic
Ser Arthur Dayne
I got back home from my 1st year of College in May 2000, and a day or two later I picked up my buddy to hang out (you know, consume malted hops and bong resin while chasing skirts...) and he brought this CD with him , popped it into the stereo, and put this song on first. I refused to give it back. Bumped this shit all Summer. About blew out the speakers jamming to this... some hard, pipe-hittin shit right here boi !
simon luxford
sick beats and freestyling loved it play it 3 times a day <***<
Brian T.
real talk, this is one of my favorite wu tang albums of all time
Brian T.
Long live the Wu Tang Clan!!
itzalexplox
These lyrics and beat are so real but surreal at the same time, this is hip-hip not just abc rhymes.
Alcides Angeles
it's so sad that money dictates what's good music these days cause this track kills everything that's out right now!
kingpolo88
i remember i didnt even know this album had droped.i heard cappadonna 97 mentality and went looking for an album that this was on because back then wu didnt do mixtapes.one of the gods told me he had it and lent it to me.man whole summer i bumped this out my window.every body asked me who was that i was listning to.
Claudião
os caras são foda
Ermen Berrios
Thank You You Tube for this and being able to download good music and then to blast in my car instead of the Garbage which ppl call Rap nowadays....Nowhere near competes!!