Today marks the 15^th anniversary of the Wu-Tang Clan’s debut album Enter the 36 Chambers, a seminal moment in Hip-Hop and music. 1993 wasn’t a bleak period for Hip Hop. Talented MC’s like Dr. Dre, Nas, Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. were dropping critically acclaimed and commercially successful albums and rap itself was becoming a global force. Whether or not the industry needed the atomic jolt it got from 36 Chambers is debatable but after New York City cousins Robert Diggs (RZA), Gary Grice (GZA) and Russell Jones (Old Dirty Bastard) gathered up the rest of the Clan the fuse was lit and the Wu bomb was set to explode.

I’d like to try your Wu-Tang style, let’s begin

GZA and RZA

And so the sword chopped. Raw, stark, unorthodox and dusted 36 Chambers took chances at every sharp corner and rolled 7’s again and again. Behind RZA’s master sound plan that included piano fragments inspired by Thelonious Monk, dirty urban drum beats and distorted percussions, string arrangements and kung-fu dubs the Wu had the gritty terrain they needed to spit their tales of inner city life in comic book style.

Hard talk of drug dealing, gun shots and sex were nothing new to rap but with each Clan member adopting an alter-ego that was part street life and part mythical super hero the flavor was a refreshing bite from the tired gangsta rap trend that had many questioning the validity of the claims being made. Wu Tang bypassed the background check by creating their own reality and daring anyone to compromise their vision. Along with the three cousins the Wu featured Method Man, Inspecta Deck, Ghostface Killah, Masta Killa, U-God and Raekwon. 

I’m like a sniper, hyper off the ginseng root

Method Man

Rap didn’t need saving in 1993 but music did. Alternative rock had peaked and was only months away from Kurt Cobain’s suicide. Pop bands like Green Day and Rancid had revised the style of punk but couldn’t channel the anger and fury that fueled the Sex Pistols and The Clash over a decade earlier. The music was good but predictable and if a real punk salvo was going to be fired it wouldn’t be through rock. With turntables blazing, black hoodies bopping, Dutch spliffs smoking, chess pieces moving and lyrics tight enough to tie a tourniquet the Wu smashed through and made music that was relevant, ingenious and dangerous. 36 Chambers didn’t ask you to enter, it dared you.

When I struck I had on Tim’s and a black mask

Ghost told you to enter

Right from the start with “Bring Da Ruckus” it was clear that the dimension the Wu worked in was unlike anything rap had heard before. The beats were raw, like aluminum siding and oil drums being whacked with hammers, the sparse string arrangements lent a classical though spooky atmosphere and the versatile flow of Meth, Ghost, ODB, GZA and Deck spun a wicked web though the concrete and steel nightscape. The Clan could get rowdy (Ain’t Nothin’ Ta Fuck Wit), real (C.R.E.A.M.) and reflective (Tearz) with the same vivid lyrical flow, basement beats and off-minor keys. Where other rappers boxed in rhymes to conform the Wu played jazz with their verse and created vocal tempos to match the mood.

Ow, be like wow with my style

Old Dirty Bastard

The Wu fancied their clan a swarm of killer bees and during the intro for “Clan In Da Front” it’s obvious this seemingly haphazard attack is a fiercely focused incursion into the labyrinth of Hip Hop. RZA had a plan to change the game and 36 Chambers was his Trojan horse sneaking in a SWAT team of skilled MC’s ready to influence the rap game from every angle. Prior to Wu-Tang’s second album, 1997’s Wu-Tang Forever solo albums were released by GZA, Meth, Ghost, Raekwon and ODB, all to critical acclaim with GZA’s Liquid Swords and Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx garnering the most attention. The Wu was a hybrid band with the ability to “form like Voltron” and concentrate their power or fly solo and diversify.

Can it be that it was all so simple then

Wu Forever

In 2007 the Wu released 8 Diagrams. The band had to deal with the death of ODB, the internal dissension of Raekwon and U-God, and the act of balancing Wu-Tang with the rising success of Ghostface and Meth as solo artists. The album was a solid Wu Tang effort but it reinforced beliefs that the RZA sound is running out of inspiration. Rumors continue to float that the Wu’s days are numbered and the plan RZA masterminded will be folded up and used for students of the music industry as a blueprint for creative rebellion.

If it is chapter one is a captivating tale of several Staten Island locals who went on a lyrical high road through the 36 Chambers and produced a masterpiece.