Wu Tang

Emerging in 1993, when Dr. Dre's G-funk had overtaken the hip-hop world, the Staten Island, NY-based Wu-Tang Clan proved to be the most revolutionary rap group of the mid-'90s. All nine members work under a number of pseudonyms, but they are best known as RZA, Genius/GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, U-God, Inspectah Deck and Masta Killa instead of releasing one album after another, the Clan was designed to overtake the record industry in as profitable a fashion as possible -- the idea was to establish the Wu-Tang as a force with their debut album and then spin off into as many side projects as possible.
Their first assault to rap industry trough the hard-hitting "Protect Ya Neck" appeared on their own independent label and became an underground hit. Soon, the record labels were offering them lucrative contracts. The group held out until they landed a deal that would allow each member to record solo albums for whatever label they chose -- in essence, each rapper was a free agent. Loud/RCA agreed to the deal, and the band's debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), appeared in November of 1993. Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) was both critically acclaimed and commercially successful; although its financial success wasn't immediate, it was the result of a slow build. "C.R.E.A.M." released in early 1994, was the single that put them over the top
Although he wasn't one of the two founding members -- Genius/GZA and Ol' Dirty Bastard were the first -- the vision of the Wu-Tang Clan is undoubtedly due to the musical skills of RZA. Under his direction, the group -- through its own efforts and the solo projects, all of which he produced or co-produced -- created a hazy, surreal, and menacing soundscape out of hardcore beats, eerie piano riffs, and minimal samples. Over these surrealistic backing tracks, the MCs rapped hard, updating the old-school attack with vicious violence, martial arts imagery, and a welcome warped humor.
After this success the second step was to release solo albums. The first Wu-Tang member to become a major solo star was Method Man. In November 1994, he released Tical, the first official Wu-Tang solo album. Again, RZA produced the album, creating a dense, dirty sonic collage. Ol' Dirty Bastard followed Method Man's breakthrough success with Return to the 36 Chambers, which appeared in March 1995 on Elektra Records. Later in 1995, the two most critically acclaimed Wu-Tang records appeared: Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx and Genius/GZA's Liquid Swords. Raekwon released his album on Loud/RCA in August 1995; the record featured extensive contributions -- a total of 12 songs -- from Ghostface Killah, his greatest exposure yet. Ghostface solo album came out with the critically acclaimed, '70s soul-flavored, Ironman; the record was the first released on RZA's new Epic subsidiary, Razor Sharp Records.
The Wu-Tang Clan finally reconvened and returned with their second album, the double-CD Wu-Tang Forever, in June of 1997. Hugely anticipated, the album entered the charts at number one -- selling over 600,000 copies in its first week alone -- and quickly spawned the hit single "Triumph"
In the meantime, the next phase of the Wu-Tang plan started to take shape: unearthing new associates and spinning the resulting stable of talent into a brand-name franchise. In 1998 Killarmy, Sunz of Man, Cappadonna and Killah Priest released their debut albums.
In the same year the Clan kicked off a second round of solo projects. This time around, RZA curtailed his activities somewhat, making appearances but often leaving the majority of the production duties to his protégés. Still, he released his own solo debut, the soundtrack-styled RZA as Bobby Digital in Stereo, in November of 1998 on V2; the same month, Method Man's second album, Tical 2000: Judgement Day, debuted at number two on the charts. June 1999 Genius/GZA's second album, Beneath the Surface. September brought plenty of new Wu product: Ol' Dirty Bastard's Nigga Please, released while the rapper was in rehab; Method Man's acclaimed duo album with Redman, Blackout!; and the first-ever solo album by Inspectah Deck, Uncontrolled Substance, which appeared on Relativity. Another Wu member made his solo debut in October, when U-God issued Golden Arms Redemption on Priority; Raekwon returned the following month with Immobilarity. Finally, Ghostface Killah issued his well-received sophomore set, Supreme Clientele, in January 2000.
However, this second round of Wu-Tang solo albums didn't attract as much attention, either critically or commercially. True, Method Man remained a popular solo star (and, to a lesser degree, so did ODB), and reviews were highly positive for Ghostface Killah (and, to a lesser degree, Genius/GZA).
In 2000 the group reconvened to make a new album: minus Ol' Dirty Bastard who was incarcerated in California for violating the terms of his probation. Almost finished with his rehab, Ol' Dirty Bastard escaped suddenly and spent one month on the run as a fugitive before showing up onstage at the record release party for The W, the group's new album. Ol' Dirty Bastard managed to escape the club, but was captured by Philadelphia police and sent to New York to face charges of cocaine possession. In April, 2001, he was sentenced to two to four years in prison. The W itself was mostly well-received by critics, particularly for RZA's production, and also gave the group a hit single with the uptempo Gravel Pit (which was supported by an extravagant faux-prehistoric Flintstones-inspired video). 2001 saw the release of Digital Bullet (the second RZA album released as Bobby Digital), Bulletproof Wallets (Ghostface Killah) and The Yin and the Yang (Cappadonna). The group's latest album (as a group) was 2001 Iron Flag, made without the participation of the still-incarcerated Ol' Dirty Bastard, and which received mixed but mostly positive reviews.
After GZA released Legend of the Liquid Sword in late 2002, the following two years saw a spate of new solo releases, including new works by Cappadonna (The Struggle), Method Man (Tical 0: The Prequel), Raekwon (The Lex Diamonds Story), Ghostface Killah (who, in his new contract with Def Jam Records, changed his pseudonym to simply Ghostface, and released The Pretty Toney Album), Inspectah Deck (The Movement), Masta Killa (No Said Date) and Wu-Element producer Mathematics (Love, Hell & Right). Ghostface's The Pretty Toney Album was critically acclaimed in the mainstream press, appearing on many prestigious end-of-year "best of 2005" lists, and Masta Killa's independently released No Said Date was well-received by the group's hardcore fanbase and hip hop enthusiasts in general for its unpretentious, back-to-basics approach and in-house production. However, the albums by Raekwon, Deck and Method Man received mixed reviews which were generally lukewarm at best.
New albums are planned for 2005 from both Method Man (who early in the year announced a new RZA-helmed LP), and Raekwon (who plans to release the long-delayed sequel to his 1995 debut Only Built 4 Cuban Linx).

Tuesday you listened:

Wu Tang Clan: Protect Ya Neck

Raekwon: Ice Cream

Wu Tang: Triumph

Inspectah Deck: REC Room

Wu Tang: Gravel Pit

Ol' Dirty Bastard: Shimmy Shimmy Ya

Cappadonna: Everything is Everything