Even years after their prime, the Wu-Tang Clan is still the greatest and most recognised rap group of all time. With 10 members with vastly distinct styles and flows, you would think that Wu-Tang would become a disjointed mess, but, somehow, the ability to have so many members make them so great and unique. And, from 1993 to 2000, the Clan did not have a single bad year from a music and/or branding standpoint. But, if I had to pick the best year in the group’s history, it would be 1995. In that year alone, the clan had 3 classic albums, and a myriad of features and remixes that are still considered classics to this day. And so, in this post, I want to give some short reviews and thoughts on some important Wu records in ‘95. But, in order to talk about what happened in 1995, I want to talk about how they got there.
Some Short Context
In 1993, the clan released their first group LP, Enter The Wu Tang (36 Chambers). The record became an instant classic, with hits like “Protect Ya Neck”, “Method Man”, and “C.R.E.A.M.” 36 Chambers made them an overnight sensation, as people couldn’t wait for what was next from the group. But, RZA was smart, he feeded off of this hype by giving each artist a solo career, but he didn’t want LOUD to sign all of them. So, when RZA signed the deal for the group, he only made LOUD own the rights to the “Wu-Tang Clan”, but not the member’s solo careers. LOUD managed to keep Raekwon, but all other members signed to different labels. First was Method Man, who signed to Def Jam and released his album Tical – which went platinum (even after an unfortunate RZA basement flood, which destroyed all the instrumentals for Tical and Inspectah Deck’s album) with the hit single “Bring The Pain”.
The “All I Need” Remixes
Even though “Bring The Pain” was a hit, RZA wanted another big single from Mef before the next big Wu record, so he teamed up with Mary J. Bige in order to remix “All I Need”. The first remix was the “Razor Sharp” one, while the second was by Diddy (😬). The Bad Boy remix became more popular, and it gave Meth another big hit to start out 1995 strong for the Wu.
“Return To The 36 Chambers”
After the success of Tical & “All I Need”, Ol’ Dirty Bastard released his album, Return To The 36 Chambers. The whole record is raw and uncut, with RZA’s beats sounding like it came out of an acid trip. Obviously, the highlight of this record is “Brooklyn Zoo”, a flurry of absolutely crazy ODB one-liners and showcasing his signature energy. The hook is a “Protect Ya Neck” interpolation that works perfectly as a chorus. The other big hit is “Shimmy Shimmy Ya”, which takes the piano line from “Knocks Me Off My Feet” and turns it into a club banger. The rest of the record has this grimy feel to it, with a heavy emphasis on dark pianos and bass, and ODB’s performance (especially his off-key singing) makes it either grimier or just plain funny as hell. Another Iconic part about this record is its album cover, which is ODB on a food stamp card. It has been parodied many times and was even interpreted by Tyler, The Creator on the cover of his album: Call Me If You Get Lost.
The Infamous Features
If I had to only keep one 1995 hip-hop album and delete the others forever, it would be Mobb Deep’s The Infamous. Every song and every beat is absolutely spectacular. And, even though they aren’t the stars of the show, Raekwon and Ghostface Killah are amazing features of “Right Back at You” and “Eye For An Eye”. I love the back-and-forth between Rae and Ghost on “Right Back at You” that perfectly sets up Big Noyd’s verse, and Raekwon has arguably the best verse on “Eye For An Eye”, having the elusive honor of rapping better than Nas, who also delivers a legendary 16 (I also love the underrated remix that features Ghostface).
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx
The next Wu member to drop a solo record was Raekwon with Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, a record derived as a mix between the luxury NY gangsters from The Godfather and the street hustling that Raekwon actually went through. One song that really contributes to this theme is “Knowledge God”, which is definitely inspired by Nas’s “One Love”, as Rae writes to his homies who are locked up in prison. Unlike “One Love”, the beat is a lot more hardcore, with some strings coming in during the chorus. The singles are superb though – “Criminology” is a great exploration of the criminal mindset, as Rae and Ghost spit some of the best verses (debatably THE BEST) of their career. “Heaven & Hell” has the duo trade lines back and forth about living in the ghetto, while “Ice Cream” is a love song, comparing womens’ races to ice cream flavors, with some contributions from Cappodonna & Method Man. Lastly out of the singles bunch, “Incarcerated Scarfaces” has Raekwon seemingly rap until he’s out of breath over some amazing drums from RZA. The highlights aren’t only the singles though: “Ice Water” has Rae, Tony, & Cap deliver great lyrical verses. But, the crown jewel of the record is “Verbal Intercourse”, as Nas drops one of the best verses in hip-hop history, which tells the story of corruption in the hood and from law enforcement.
“How High”
Def Jam was a record label full of cash cows, so when they needed a lead single for the soundtrack for the movie The Show, they needed a great collaboration. Enter Method Man & Redman. While Mef had a great few months with “Bring the Pain” & “All I Need”, Redman was achieving some success of his own with his sophomore album Dare Iz A Darkside, and the biggest record from it: “Can’t Wait”. The two connected and made the record “How High”, a track all about, you guessed it, weed. The original version is great, with the two trading 8’s like they were jazz musicians, but then Redman just takes over and goes insane at the end (“I breaks ‘em off proper/Ask Biggie Smalls ‘Who Shot Ya?’/funk doctor with the 12-gage mashburn” is so good). But, the song really gained prominence after the remix, which samples “Fly Robin Fly” by Silver Connection, but shortens most of Johnny Blaze and Reggie’s verses. I like both versions, as the original feels more hip-hop, but the remix has the better beat and hook. Mef and Red usually perform the remix live, so one can tell that they like that version better.
The “Fantasy” Remix
Mariah Carrey’s “Fantasy” is an undeniable classic. From the “Genius of Love” sample to the iconic music video, the song is one of those records that will stand the test of time for decades to come. But, what happens if you take a joyous love song, and add ODB to it (Funny enough, Mariah loved Wu so much she went behind the back of her label to put ODB on the song)? I know, it sounds stupid, but here’s the thing: it works, and really f**king well. ODB serves the role of a hypeman, giving one of those Jazzy Phizzle/Fatman Scoop intros in the beginning of the song. But, as you may notice, the instrumental is different too. Since this is a R&B remix from the 90s, Diddy has his hands all over this one (is there anything that he can stop putting his hands all over?). Instead of the blatant opening riff from “Genius of Love”, Diddy goes deeper into the sample (no surprise about him going deep into something) and finds another loop he likes. The hook also gets changed, as the anthemic chorus gets switched for what was the bridge in the original song. ODB also has a verse, where his opening line is, and I kid you not “Me and Mariah, go back like babies with pacifiers.” ODB, Mariah Carrey, and this remix are absolutely amazing.
Liquid Swords
If you are a fan of the Kung-Fu Flicks and Akira Kurosawa samurai movies that inspired Wu-Tang, this album is for you. There are multiple samples from those motion pictures, with some lyrically dense verses from the Genius himself. Even though I usually don’t like solo GZA tracks, this LP delivers some amazing ones: the title track, “Labels”, and “Living In The World Today”. And, even though the other members deliver some great verses (every feature dropped the verse of their life on “4th Chamber”), GZA consistently outshines all of them. Not to mention the spectacular beats that RZA produces; they sound equally hardcore and spiritual at the same time. Randomly, Killah Priest has the outro, “B.I.B.L.E.”, all to himself – which is so weird considering that the GZA album doesn’t even have him drop a verse on the last track. I like the song, but if “B.I.B.L.E.” was included towards the middle of the album, I think it would be better. Two other highlights of the record are “Shadowboxin’” and “Duel of The Iron Mic”, which not only include great verses form the genius (“picture bloodbaths in elevator shafts like these murderous lines tight from genuine craft” is a 10/10 opening line), but amazing verses from the other Wu members (Method Man drops the 16 of his life on “Shadowboxin’”). Overall, this record is easily my favorite one from the Clan, with every verse being a 9/10+ and beautiful production.
In conclusion, in 1995 the Wu-Tang Clan had an amazing run in terms of albums, features, and fashion (the first edition of Wu-wear dropped in 1995). While not only being made up of extraordinary lyricists, the clan’s in-house producer, RZA, cooked up some amazing beats. This year took the clan to new heights in terms of popularity, further cementing them as one of the greatest bands/groups to ever come out of music.
The Music In My Mind 
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