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When it came time to record Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), RZA reportedly tapped up UMCs producer RNS and borrowed his Ensoniq sampler.
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The regular rumor has it that with certain members of the Clan otherwise inconvenienced for various reasons, some of the group’s management team stepped in to take their place.īefore the Wu-Tang Clan, Staten Island’s rap scene was focussed on the UMCs, a duo whose debut album, Fruits of Nature, peddled in post-De La Soul positivity. Only six members of the Wu-Tang Clan are pictured on it, and all are sporting stocking masks over their faces. The story behind the album’s iconic cover has also become one of hip-hop’s favorite ruses. Apparently, the building last sold for just under a quarter of a million dollars back in 2002. Google mapping 234 Morningstar Road today shows a squat domestic house next to a law office. Perusing the credits to the original vinyl release of “Protect Ya Neck” reveals the Wu were using a Staten Island address as the headquarters of Wu-Tang Records. As he put it in a 2010 interview, “I’m sitting in the house now that was built with the Wu-Tang money!” In the case of blues man Syl Johnson, whose “Different Strokes” ended up being part of the Clan’s funky fanfare on “Shame on a Nigga,” they paid handsomely enough to let him snaffle up some real estate. But that still didn’t stop the group (or its label, Loud) paying up to sample a chunk of classic soul or funk. You’ll hear the character’s name shouted out later on occasional Wu releases, and he also put in an appearance on a 1998 indie rap release by Shadez of Brooklyn under a new guise as Jackpot.Ī large part of the charm of Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) is its lo-fi sonic ambiance. According to the RZA though, he came close to offering a local Staten Island MC named Scotty Wotty an official place in the crew. Cappadonna became something of a semi-member but never secured water-tight Wu status. The official ranks of the Wu-Tang Clan number nine: RZA, GZA, Ghostface, Raekwon, U-God, Masta Killa, Inspectah Deck, Method Man and the now departed Ol’ Dirty Bastard. According to Yoram Vazan, the studio’s owner, the crew’s first single, “Protect Ya Neck,” cost $300 worth of studio time to complete. The Wu recorded their debut album at Firehouse Studios, which also facilitated rap hits from Audio Two, MC Lyte and Das-EFX.
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“Ghostface would throw on his big, oversized coat and just stack four or five cans in his coat pockets, and we’d walk out,” he told the Village Voice.
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ODB certainly mined a look you could kindly call “disheveled poverty chic.” According to 9th Prince, RZA’s younger brother, the low budget living was a true part of their life and Ghostface would frequently make shoplifting trips to the local store to help feed the Clan. The Clan’s early image involved the idea that they were a bunch of scrappy, striving artists from the slums of Shaolin. (The song also features RZA in his Prince Rakeem guise and he name-checks Raekwon.) Self-referentially, the bone passing saga continued when Masta Killa updated the song for 2006’s Made in Brooklyn. “Bring the Ruckus” is fleshed out with a (subsequently unclearable) sample and some alternate lyrical performances, while tracks that never made the final album include “Wu-Tang Master,” “Problemz” and “The Wu Is Comin’ Through.” Most intriguing though is “It’s All About Me,” which references De La Soul’s “Me Myself And I” and flows forth in an uncharacteristically lackadaisical manner.ĭuring “Clan In Da Front,” the GZA makes one of the album’s many references to weed when he implores, “Pass the bone, kid, pass the bone.” But beyond the blunt craving, the line also nods to the rapper’s prior unsuccessful career when he called himself the Genius and was signed to the Cold Chillin’ label “Pass the Bone” was a ruggedly chugging production that was left off his debut album, 1991’s Words From the Genius, but added to a 1994 re-release. The demo tape which begat Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) is a fascinating affair.