Enter The Wu Tang (36 Chambers) - Wu-Tang Clan > Reviews > The Statement Of Intent

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Awesome power; perfect rapping
Disadvantages:	Ciao is not a rap - friendly place

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

For seasoned rap observers like myself the glory days of this particular genre of music was the three year period 1988 to 1991. This was the birth if "gangsta" rap and the mellow, polar opposite "DAISY Age" murmurings of De La Soul and PM Dawn. Then Ice Cube left NWA and went solo, NWA split up, Dr Dre discovered Snoop Dogg, and the pioneers of rap in the late 80s failed to find their voice and repsond successfully to the poppier direction in which rap was heading.

Then in 1993, from New York, came a crew of eight random individuals so effective as solo units and incendiary and explosive as a group, that rap music took a long overdue slap on the arse upon their very arrival. They were the Wu-Tang Clan and lined us thus: The RZA (pronounced Rizza), Method Man, U-God, Rebel INS, Shallah Raekwon, Ghostface Killer, Ol' Dirty Bastard and The GZA (pronounced Jizza). On the next album they would be joined full time by Inspecktah Deck and on a part-time basis by a rapper named Cappadonna. The next ten years would see their members dying of a heart attack, releasing fantastic solo albums and scoring the Kill Bill movies.

This album was their debut and the opening BRING DA RUCKUS was their statement of intent on this their statement of intent album! The beats are explosive, and the sign of The RZA's fascination with old 70s kung fu movies soundtracks and samples rings through. The album is split into two sections namely Shaolin Sword and Wu-Tang Sword. Method Man and Ol Dirty Bastard are in incediary form with some great rapping and rhyming and this track, with its sparse and almost tinny production sets the explosive theme of the album.

SHAME ON A NIGGA is next and The RZA's production is more thoughtful and carefully planned. It's quite bassy, so opposite to the tinny soundscapes of the last track. Suring Raekwon's verse, there's some weird sampled piano that fits in nicely with the groove of the song. This more poppy than the first cut on the album but was never going to be released as single because of the title.

CLAN IN DA FRONT is four and a half minutes of pure freestyle rapping with each member of the band (except the musician, producer and most talented member - The RZA) setpping up to the mic and rocking it. The beats are back to furious and the bass once again mixed down to provide stomping, sharp-edged beats.

Next come two fantastic six minute epics, namely WU-TANG: 7TH CHAMBER and CAN IT ALL BE SO SIMPLE. The latter is their poppiest effort on this album. It samples an old Gladys Knight number and is a stroke of genius mixing together Knight's smooth, 1970s soul vocals with some roughcut 90s rapping and beats. The former track is stark and underproduced, but is a good indication of what the Wu-Tang Clan were trying to achieve with this album. Whilst peaceful rap groups like De La Soul and the Digable Planets were successful in trying to play down the harshness and machismo of gangsta rap, the music had got staid and predictable. The Clan were instrumental in stoking up the furore surrounding the music and making it confontational again.

And so to the Wu-Tang Sword section of the album. Generally it's more of the same with tracks like CREAM and TEARZ once again showing off their poppier side, but again with the nature of the lyrics and the subject matter, they were never going to appear on CD:UK.

DA MYSTERY OF CHESSBOXIN' is a harsh beat allied to clipped hi hats and percussion with Raekwon stealing the show and using boxing metaphors to describe the reality of street life. WU-TANG AIN'T NOTHIN' TO FUCK WITH revisits the earlier ferocity of Bring Da Ruckus and remains the confrontational high point of this album.

Tracklisting:
1. Bring Da Ruckus
2. Shame On A Nigga
3. Clan In Da Front
4. Wu Tang: 7th Chamber
5. Can It Be All So Simple
6. Da Mystery Of Chessboxin'
7. Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nothin' To Fuck With
8. Cream
9. Method Man
10. Protect Ya Neck
11. Tearz
12.Wu-Tang: 7th Chamber Part 2

Overall, I find Ciao rather hostile to hip hop which is a shame because the same aggression and attitude that you would in artists such as Guns N Roses and Linkin Park and The Used are all too apparent within this album. If you're willing to dip into hip hop away from the current crop of millionaires who brag about their dicks and bank balances and fancy learning some harsh life lessons from a motley ragbag of rap mercenaries, I would recommend this album wholeheartedly.