Wu-Tang Clan: Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) [LOUD / RCA]

Why you'll love it

36 Chambers is one of the most influential rap albums ever made. RZA's grimy, kung-fu-sampling production and nine MCs battling for every bar changed East Coast hip hop for good.

This edition

• Single LP, 12 tracks
• Loud / RCA pressing
• Produced by RZA

About the album

It's hard to imagine a time before the Wu-Tang Clan, since most of the MCs who've passed through the group over the years (RZA, GZA, Method Man, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Masta Killa, U-God, Inspectah Deck, Cappadonna and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard among them) have gone on to become household names in their own right. Unsurprisingly, then, when the Staten Island ensemble's debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), landed on an unsuspecting planet in November of 1993 it blew a lot of minds right away.

Between RZA's crusty production, heavy on sped-up soul samples, blown-out beats and clips from obscure kung-fu movies, and the Wu's unique approach of tackling every tune like an all-in rap battle, this gleefully profane and violent slab of smoked-out street-life thuggery lit a much-needed fire under the East Coast hip-hop community and opened the door for similarly inclined artists such as Nas, the Notorious B.I.G. and Mobb Deep to come storming through, too. Moreover, chockablock with indelible tunes like "Bring da Ruckus," "C.R.E.A.M." and "Protect Ya Neck," Enter the Wu-Tang is simply an hour's worth of good, dirty fun. It hasn't aged a bit.

Also at Kops: more Wu-Tang Clan on vinyl · browse Hip Hop / R&B

Tracklist

Listen

On Loud / RCA, a reissue of the 1993 album.