Again, RZA produced the album, creating a dense, dirty sonic collage. Tical became a big hit in early , as did Meth 's duet with Mary J. Out of all the solo albums, it was the one that sounded the most like Enter the Wu-Tang, although it did have a more pronounced comic bent, due to Ol' Dirty 's maniacal vocals.
Tales from the Hood, a movie soundtrack featuring Inspectah Deck 's first solo track, appeared in May. Later that October, he released his own solo debut, the critically acclaimed, '70s soul-flavored Ironman; the record was the first released on RZA 's new Epic subsidiary, Razor Sharp Records.
Hugely anticipated, the album entered the charts at number one -- selling over , copies in its first week alone -- and quickly spawned the hit single "Triumph. The group toured extensively in support of the album, getting into a few minor scuffles with the law along the way. 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.
However, the real year for Wu-related side projects proved to be In August, Killarmy issued their second album, Dirty Weaponry. Also in , Ol' Dirty Bastard began a long and bizarre saga of erratic behavior and run-ins with police that found him making headlines with alarming and ridiculous regularity.
In February he interrupted Shawn Colvin 's acceptance speech at the Grammy Awards to protest the Clan's loss in the Best Rap Album category; shortly thereafter, he announced he was changing his name to Big Baby Jesus , an idea that never picked up steam.
This was only the beginning -- over the next year and a half, ODB would be arrested for a litany of offenses that included assault, shoplifting, making terrorist threats, wearing body armor after being convicted of a felony, possessing cocaine, and missing countless court dates.
Plus, in early , the whole Clan fell under suspicion of masterminding a gun-running operation between Staten Island and Steubenville, Ohio -- charges that were never proven to have any validity. In the midst of this legal sideshow, the Clan kicked off a second round of solo projects in late June saw the release of an excellent singles compilation, RZA Hits, which covered the first Wu-Tang album and the first round of solo albums ; the very next week, GZA 's second album, Beneath the Surface, was released.
Finally, Ghostface Killah issued his well-received sophomore set, Supreme Clientele, in January However, this second round of Wu-Tang solo albums didn't attract as much attention, either critically or commercially. But the Wu franchise was suffering from inconsistency, overexposure they'd spawned a clothing line, a video game, a comic book, and more , and a flood of musical product that even diehards found difficult to keep up with.
Their once-distinctive sound was becoming commonplace and diluted, not just through the collective's own releases but also RZA 's many imitators; plus, by this time, Timbaland had taken over the mantle of hip-hop's most cutting-edge producer.
Other than that, the Clan reconvened for a new album and were mostly quiet during much of -- aside from Ol' Dirty Bastard , who unfortunately continued to spiral out of control. He spent some time in a California jail for violating the terms of his probation, but appeared to be on the right track when suddenly, in October -- with just two months of rehab to go -- he escaped the California facility and spent a month on the run from the law.
Fans were shocked when ODB turned up on-stage at the New York record-release party for the Clan's new album, The W, which was released with considerably less fanfare in November A leaner, more focused collection, The W featured only one track from ODB and pictured Cappadonna as a full-fledged member of the group though he remained unnamed on their official contract with Loud.
ODB managed to exit the club after his surprise performance but was soon captured by police in Philadelphia and extradited to New York to face charges of cocaine possession. In April , he cut a deal with prosecutors that resulted in a sentence of two to four years in state prison, bringing his outlaw saga to a sad end. This time, though, there was no full round of solo projects in between Wu albums; the full group minus ODB assembled for its fourth album, Iron Flag, which was released in December , just one year after its predecessor.
Despite a lot of activity for the various solo projects, Wu-Tang released only a live album, 's Disciples of the 36 Chambers, during the subsequent five years. That document was one of the last places to hear Ol' Dirty Bastard , who died of a heart attack in November In early , in anticipation for the Clan's upcoming album, 8 Diagrams, Nature Sounds issued the Mathematics -compiled Unreleased, a collection of new remixes and hard-to-find, previously unreleased songs from the group and some of its friends.
It wasn't until the end of the year, however -- after a couple of delays and some criticism from Raekwon and Ghostface directed at RZA regarding the overall sound of the record -- that 8 Diagrams came out.
This album also has timeless classics, but unlike the Wu's LP album, it managed to earn significant commercial success after it sold , copies in its first week. Between and , the crew continued intermittently delivering new albums, with each of them including memorable tracks.
Throughout the course of their career, Wu-Tang has dropped plenty of music as a group, so which songs stand out as the best? Their group catalog is deep and varied, but most people already have a good idea of the top Today, XXL takes a look at the 25 of the most essential Wu-Tang Clan songs the clique released as a group and ranks them all.
Check out the list below.
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