Sunday, April 02, 2006

Introduction to Wu-Tang & Ghostface (Killah)

Amanda, this is for you...

Here is the mix that introduced me to the Wu-Tang Clan (just this past summer!). It was made for me by Boomer, one of the fine gentlemen over at Hyde Park Records. I swear, that place saved me from even deeper depression than I did experience during the summer. Here's hoping for a better one in '06...

Wu-Tang Clan: Ain't Nothin' To Fuck With

1. Bring Da Ruckus
2. Da Mystery of Chessboxin'
3. C.R.E.A.M.
4. Iron Maiden (Ghostface)
5. Daytona 500 (Ghostface)
6. Tical (Method Man)
7. Release Yo' Delf (Method Man)
8. Shimmy Shimmy Ya (Ol' Dirty Bastard)
9. Baby C'mon (ODB)
10. The Stomp (ODB)
11. Liquid Swords (GZA/Genius)
12. Cold World (GZA/Genius)
13. Knuckleheadz (Raekwon)
14. Criminology (Raekwon)
15. Reunited
16. Triumph

The first 3 are from the first Clan album, and the last 2 are from the second, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) and Forever, respectively. Of course, the names in parentheses are the names of the Wu members upon whose records (solo debuts all, except in GZA's case, where Liquid Swords was his second album but first to come out after the Wu-Tang was formed and released their debut) the songs appear. I included some of this information in the iTunes tags, but whatever. So, yeah, if any of those songs tickle your fancy, you'll know who to get into next.

As far as the other members go, Inspectah Deck is great on Clan songs (he provides the opening verse on "Reunited), and I have yet to really explore his solo stuff, although I've heard it's less strong. U-God has the deep, robotic voice, and apparently has really shitty solo output. Also very good on group records, though. Masta Killa is kind of forgettable except for the fact that almost all of his verses contain some permutation of his own name (e.g. "looks like the work of a master"). Even he has a hot verse or two, though. RZA is the one who sounds like he has marbles in his mouth and a sore throat. He's actually my 3rd favorite Wu MC, after Ghostface and Method Man, respectively.

The "concept" behind this mix is that it encompasses all the biggest singles from the first two group records as well as the solo records released between them, which all came out during a period of about 4 years, between '93 and '97. So basically, this is the first generation of Wu releases, where everything is of pretty much only the highest quality. After this, things become more uneven, except for Ghostface, who is pretty much always on point.

So I've included some of my favorite songs from his later releases. Supreme Clientele is his sophomore album and widely acknowledged best (although I'm not COMPLETELY sure I agree, but probably). "Cherchez LaGhost" was the big single from the album, and "One" is just insane. "Run" is from Pretty Toney, which came out in 2004 and is his most recent before Fishscale, the new one (and fifth total, Fishscale, that is. I'm totally skipping Bulletproof Wallets, his third and least known to me and also kind of recognized as his worst). It's [larry david voice] pretty... pretty... pretty... pretty RAW. [/larry] The last 3 Ghost tracks are from his newest one, Fishscale. "The Champ" and "Be Easy" are my current favorites, but I also included "Whip You With A Strap" to show his more sensitive side. He's got the widest range of them all, and "Strap" is a pretty funny and real song. Brings back memories. Don't worry, I'm okay now. :-)

Cherchez LaGhost (from Supreme Clientele)

One (from Supreme Clientele)

Run (feat. Jadakiss) (from The Pretty Toney Album)

The Champ (from Fishscale)

Be Easy (feat. Trife) (from Fishscale)

Whip You With A Strap (from Fishscale)

Enjoy!

P.S. Please let me know if you have problems with any of this stuff, as I've been having a bit of trouble with StuffIt (mostly in getting it to actually compress things as opposed to just saving folders as .zip files).

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