There is hip-hop, and then there is this masterpiece of the highest degree. In my opinion, this is the greatest album in the genre's history due to how aggressive, raw, and just flat out enjoyable it is above almost all other hip-hop. There are a select few albums I'd put on about the same level as this gem (Fugees-The Score, Viktor Vaughn Vaudeville Villain) but 36 Chambers gets the edge for how important it was to the development of hip-hop as a whole. It literally changed the game and, at the time, defied categorization. It wasn't jazz rap, gangsta rap, conscious rap, or even traditional old school rap, it was just...a new sound for hip-hop entirely that came out of left field to ensnare everyone who would listen to its greatness, and I'm one of those people. In fact, this was the album that got the ball rolling for me when it came to hip-hop; it turned me from a jaded rap-hating rocker into to a fan of music well outside the rock spectrum.
At the time I discovered the Wu, I was convinced that any and all rap totally sucked and none of it was worth listening to, lest I hated my ears, which of course I didn't. I will admit that I secretly liked the Beastie Boys since I was a kid, but they were played heavily on the rock stations here in San Diego and many of their songs featured heavy metal guitars, so I decided that they didn't count. While ignoring those three jewish rappers, I openly expressed my disdain for hip-hop while, consequently, pissing off many of my peers in the process. I even drew pictures of rappers being crushed by leather heavy metal boots and constantly wrote "rap sucks" in my notebooks. It was then that my uncle, a big influence on me as a person, recommended the Wu-Tang Clan to me early in my high school years, and him being my uncle, I took his advice and checked them out with a new interest in hip-hop wondering "hey, maybe I'll really like this!" so I started at their debut album and pressed play, and...I was not totally converted on the spot. I liked what I heard for sure, but there was no revelation of "Oh! I get it now!" It took many years to become the hip-hop fan I am today, but I credit this album as the catalyst for that evolution, and for that I am grateful.
So, all these years later, what do I think about this album? What exactly makes it a 10? This album is pushed into the pantheon of hip-hop because the sum of its parts gives it the force to make it that far. This album provides strength in numbers, and that number is 9, which is seriously the number of fucking rappers on this thing: The RZA, The GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Inspectah Deck, U God, Ghostface Killah, The Method Man, Raekwon the Chef and the Masta Killa (and, yes, I have that memorized, in order.) And what distinguishes this album and adds to it's greatness is the fact that each rapper brings their own unique style and personality to the shaolin temple altar of their own creation, so there is very little blending in between the MCs on this thing, which is refreshing given how many of them are on here. the RZA, producer and "the Abbot" of the Clan, delivers his verses in a rat-ta-tat stutter and sounds completely enraged at times. the GZA, also known as the Genius, lives up to his name because of how cunning he is and is often regarded as the sharpest lyricist in the Clan. The Inspectah I see as the unsung hero of the group, he has the clearest and most enunciated voice out of all the Wu brothers, and when it comes to lyricism he's right up there with the GZA. U God is the Bass of the group with his deep, gravelly voice while the Masta Killa, a member as equally underrated as the Inspectah, is the Tenor. Ghostface's voice is one of the easiest to tell apart due to it lying in the upper registers, and he specializes in delivering some pretty lethal battle rhymes while his often-times collaborator Raekwon crafts vivid descriptions of life in the projects on Staten Island, the place where the Clan calls home. The Method Man, arguably the most well-known member of the Clan due to his various movie and television appearances, raps in a distinct stoner drawl and was known for frequently varying up his style, especially on the badass track "Method Man" where he does just that every couple of bars. Unfortunately, he has since traded in that versatility in favor for an irritating and monotonous robotic flow, but I digress. And what about the Ol' Dirty Bastard? Let's just say that he's insane. So, when you combine all these personalities together in one group on one record, you're bound to end up with one hell of a potent brew on your hands, one that has the power to change things, and this was one of those brews.
But what are a group of wickedly talented MCs without great beats to back them up? What kind of album would that be? I'll tell you what; it would be a candle flame as opposed to a bonfire. A rap album that fails to back up the MCs with powerful instrumentals is, well, weak and unsatisfying. Good for the Clan that they have the RZA as their producer, one that has created a signature style that has spawned many copycats. On this album, the RZA took a popular hip-hop staple at the time and reworked it to his own taste to give the Clan it's unique flavor, and of course, I'm talking about piano samples. He basically took the most disjointed, minor key, and totally unlikely piano riffs he could find and paired them together to create a dark, menacing, and ominous canvas for the Clan to paint upon. In fact, those of you like me who favor heavy metal (the raw, aggressive kind) will have much to appreciate in many of the instrumentals on here, like "Bring Da Ruckus" "Method Man", "7th Chamber" and most of all, "Protect Ya Neck" which is up there with "Straight Outta Compton" as the "Angel of Death" of hip-hop. But there is variety on here, for example, look at the lighter sounds of "Can It Be All So Simple" and the tranquil piano on "C.R.E.A.M". So, when you have an album of fiery MCs, outstanding beats, and astute battle-rhyme lyricism, how can I not totally loose my shit over this thing?!
In short, this is the rocker's gateway into hip-hop and one of the most apparent standouts in the genre, in fact, I'd contest any list of "greatest hip-hop albums of all time" that doesn't feature this album in its top 5. Like Anthony Fantano said in his excellent review of the album, I can't guarantee you that this will be the album that converts you to the hip-hop side of things, but if you keep an open mind, you'll let the battle rhyming take over you and you'll go absolutely go nuts, possibly even doing backflips and breaking valuables scattered around your house in elation.
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