Wu-Tang Clan – Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) [Yellow Vinyl LP]

Wu-Tang Clan – Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) [Yellow Vinyl LP]

Details

• Format: Vinyl LP, Album, Limited Edition, Stereo
• Catalogue Number: 190758 83381
• Barcode: 190758833811
• Genre: Hip-Hop / East Coast Hip-Hop / Hardcore Hip-Hop
• Label: Sony Music
• Originally Released: 9 November 1993
• Reissue Released: 2018
• Vinyl Colour: Translucent Yellow
• Condition: New & Sealed

Description

Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) is the debut studio album by Wu-Tang Clan — The RZA (Prince Rakeem), The GZA (The Genius), Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Ol' Dirty Bastard and Masta Killa — released on 9 November 1993 on Loud Records and RCA Records, and one of the most influential and celebrated albums in the history of hip-hop. Recorded and mixed entirely at Firehouse Studio in New York City and mastered at The Hit Factory in New York, the album was produced, arranged and mixed by The RZA — then 23 years old — on a budget that by major label standards was negligible, using sampled kung fu film dialogue, soul and jazz samples, and a drum machine aesthetic that had more in common with the lo-fi underground than with the polished sound then dominant in mainstream rap. Its release transformed the landscape of East Coast hip-hop: the nine-member collective's interlocking lyrical style, the density of their wordplay, the cinematic violence and humour of their imagery, and RZA's immediately distinctive production — built around Shaolin & Wu Tang (1981) and other Hong Kong martial arts films — established a template that influenced virtually every major New York hip-hop artist of the subsequent decade, from Biggie Smalls and Jay-Z to Nas and Mobb Deep. It appears on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and is consistently rated among the greatest hip-hop albums ever made.

The album introduced a mode of collaborative rap performance that had no real precedent in commercial hip-hop: rather than a conventional lead rapper with guests, all nine members appear across the record with roughly equal prominence, each with a distinctly developed lyrical persona and delivery. Method Man — who had already attracted attention before the album's release — delivers the title track of Side B's standout solo piece, demonstrating a melodic flow and charisma that made him the group's most immediate breakout; he was the only member to receive his own solo track on the album. Raekwon and Ghostface Killah — whose chemistry across their verses throughout the record anticipates their landmark 1995 collaboration Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... — are among the album's most consistently compelling presences. Ol' Dirty Bastard's wholly idiosyncratic delivery remains unlike anything before or since in hip-hop. The GZA's economical, precise lyricism stands in contrast to the more exuberant styles around him. RZA's own verses — alongside his total control of the production — mark him simultaneously as the group's most important creative force and one of its most distinctive MCs.

The album opens with "Bring Da Ruckus" — RZA's manifesto, establishing the group's aesthetic in under four and a half minutes with a sample from Ten Tigers of Kwangtung (1979) and a lyrical density that rewards repeated close listening. "C.R.E.A.M." (Cash Rules Everything Around Me) — built around a sample from The Charmels' "As Long as I've Got You" (1967) — is the album's most emotionally direct track, Raekwon and Inspectah Deck narrating cycles of poverty and street life with a clarity and detail that transcends the conventions of the genre. "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'" brings together six members across a kinetic, seven-voice performance of considerable collective force. "Can It Be All So Simple" draws on Gladys Knight & the Pips' "The Way We Were / Try to Remember" for a nostalgic, reflective piece entirely unlike the album's harder material. The closing "Wu-Tang: 7th Chamber – Part II" reprises the first side's most explosive collective track with an extended remix — a structural decision that frames the album's range within a single compositional gesture.

This 2018 UK limited edition on Sony Music is pressed on translucent yellow vinyl with red labels — limited to 1,500 copies worldwide. Includes a digital download code insert. Made in the EU. Housed in a single sleeve faithfully reproducing the original 1993 artwork. Please note: "Conclusion" (1:02) is listed on both the sleeve and the labels as the final track on Side B, but the track is not present on the physical recording. This is a known issue with this pressing — confirmed across multiple collector sources — and is not a defect specific to individual copies.

Tracklist

Side A (Shaolin Sword)

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. Protect Ya Neck (Intermission)

Side B (Wu-Tang Sword)

1. Da Mystery of Chessboxin'
2. Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing Ta F' Wit
3. C.R.E.A.M.
4. Method Man
5. Tearz
6. Wu-Tang: 7th Chamber – Part II
7. ~~Conclusion~~ (listed on sleeve and labels but not present on the recording)

Credits

• The RZA – Producer, Arranger, Mixer, Vocals
• The GZA – Vocals
• Method Man – Vocals
• Raekwon – Vocals
• Ghostface Killah – Vocals
• Inspectah Deck – Vocals
• U-God – Vocals
• Ol' Dirty Bastard – Vocals
• Masta Killa – Vocals
• Mitchell Diggs, Oliver Grant, Theodore Michael – Executive Producers
• Label – Sony Music