THE POLL IS COMIN THROUGH, THE OUTCOME IS CRITICAL — WU-TANG CLAN — Artist Poll — Results

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fuck yes

17 ballots total. Non voters with an opinion always welcome.

Gonna start with the sub polls:

–Fav Clan Member
–Albums

Bear with me as my results posting will most likely be a little sporadic.

bring the pain

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poor U god

surprised anyone rates Masta Killa over him

i do! only cos masta killa releases some pretty decent solo stuff

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I remember No Said Date being good but points off for having the worst verses on actual Wu albums

fair

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feels kinda low for INS cos he has some of the most memorable wu verses, but his solo stuff is badddd

The group is so stacked, it's gonna be a whole parade of TOO LOWs until we get to number 1

Deck is an easy person to overlook considering his lack of solo standouts

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RIP

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was actually a tie with this next one but this one had more 2nd place votes, neither had any 1st place votes

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Meth was my number 2, though I will admit a lot of the reason why is extramusical stuff.

what's his best acting job?

i remember him in the wire and the wackness

definitely the wire, but he killed it in the deuce this year as well

everyone except U-God TOO LOW lol

i don't even remember how i voted. my ranking might be worse rofl

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Meth is SO good in the Deuce

Xp

im gonna have to check that out.

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^ Nice. I've been quietly looking forward to this. Had to concede that my listening has been too Ghostface-centric to submit a fair ballot, but I'll certainly be reading with interest...

great graphics Spottie! Surprised ODB was so low, he was my #1

amen. graphics more than worth the wait. so stoked for this rollout

great graphics idd and woohoo poll is on!

Lol @ ghostface eagle pic

Yeah the graphics are great, nice work. GZA seems low but otherwise no real surprises here. I voted RZA #1, kind of biased as I'd been re-reading the Wu-Tang Manual just before voting and was swayed by how much he'd put into creating the mythology as well as the sound and feel of the records.

Thanks everyone. Album countdown coming up next. I'll be doing the top 18.

RZA - Bobby Digital in Stereo
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3 votes 9 points

thats #18 btw.

Def my least favorite first wave wu release. i had such high expectations for it.

#17 Ol' Dirty Bastard — Ni**a Please
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4 votes 11 points

hadnt listened to this in a long time and had a hard time getting through it. lots of vile stuff on there. production is all over the place.

#16 Ghostface Killah — Bulletproof Wallets
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3 votes 13 points

Wallets is p slapdash, feels like a collection of outtakes, but there are some really good tracks on it

yeah it ended up climbing my rankings a bit.

It's a lot of fun, but feels lightweight compared to a lot of other Ghost releases

#15 Wu-Tang Clan — Iron Flag
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3 votes 17 points

Iron Flag has aged really well imo.

their "pop" record, I guess, but I love it.

when i bought the cd i got the clean version on accident, so that's what i know, got all the little record scratches and sound fx memorized. was kinda weird hearing it with all the swears for the first time recently.

haha the first copy I got of 36 Chambers was also a clean version purchased by accident. Shame on a NUH!

the beginning of Rules on my copy just starts with the horns straight to the drop, no rza intro. much better that way.

iron flag has definitely aged well!

btw sorry i couldn't get a vote in but i'm trying to pop in here a lil

Surprised ODB was so low, he was my #1

yea he'd be higher up for me too

odb possibly has my favorite verse on any wu album "here i go / deep type flow..."

yeah his delivery is so great on that.

#14 Raekwon — Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II
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5 votes 19 points

great album, much better as a whole than the sum of its parts

yeah this was better than it should have been for sure.

benefits from all the songs being fairly short imo, all killer no filler

also avoided sounding pastiche.

#13 Gravediggaz — 6 Feet Deep
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8 votes 23 points

never really liked this as much as I expected to, it's alternately too goofy and too gross

production is A++ though

never registered as gross to me. just straight up funny in the best way possible

#12 Method Man & Redman — Blackout!
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5 votes 28 points

^^ banger after banger

yeah pretty much perfect album.

This album needs to be polled separately

might be sacrilege but it may be my favorite from both artists

pretty big point jump for the next one. the next six were all really tightly scored.

#11 Method Man — Tical
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10 votes 51 points

this album is a subwoofer murderer

Release Yo Delf has been a staple on my workout/pump-up playlists for like 20 years.

might be sacrilege but it may be my favorite from both artists

― Spottie, Wednesday, November 15, 2017 3:59 PM (forty-seven minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

It's definitely my favorite by Meth. Blackout! 2 was unfairly overlooked, imo, even though it doesn't have the hit-to-miss ratio of the original, it has some jams,

yeah BO2 was pretty good!

#10 Ol' Dirty Bastard — Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version
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10 votes 59 points

this next one is TOO LOW

#9 Wu-Tang Clan — Wu-Tang Forever
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10 votes 60 points

waaaaaaht that is def too low

It's acutally tied with the next one but the next one had a first place vote and more voters(!). this run are all within a handful of points.

i def waited in a long line at Sam Goody for the midnight release of that one.

feel like thats a common story for that album tho

#8 Wu-Tang Clan — The W
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12 votes 60 points 1 first

Didn't expect that!

who put that as no. 1 lol

yeah that first place vote propelled it

#7 Ghostface Killah — Fishscale
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9 votes 61 points 1 first

last two are too high for me

yeah

otm, i never understood the amount of acclaim that fishscale gets. It has good moments for sure, but a good chunk of the rapping on it feels kind of enervated and lifeless to me, at least compared to the ghost albums that preceded it

it's good but yeah the preceding ones are all better imo (ok maybe not Wallets)

#6 Ghostface Killah — The Pretty Toney Album
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7 votes 64 points

not a lot of votes but those that did ranked this high (myself included).

Fishscale was very high on my ballot, propelled by the Dilla and DOOM beats, plus Shakey Dog, Kilo, The Chanp to start it off

the w over wutang forever is nuts

your vote would've saved it lol

:(

fuuuck... guys I’m the #1 for The W but only bc I assumed it would be unfairly overlooked. If I’d known there would only be 17 ballots I would have voted Forever easy.

I broke the Wu poll ;_;

Both of the last 2 woulda been higher if I’d voted

haha it's more fun this way. unpredictable

I prefer “The W” to “36 chambers” even though the latter is more consistent

that's crazy talk

it's easily my least fav of their first 4

it's so disjointed. four standouts (gravel pit, cant go to sleep, hollow bones, jump off and I like the monument too) and the rest is just... ok

put pretty toney in my top 5 iirc, i love that whole damn sloppy emotional album

I don’t think it’s *better* than 36 Chambers

I'm interested in why you prefer it.

Oh by “last 2” I meant W and Fishscale, never really got into Pretty Toney the way other people seemed to. Felt like it was a step down both lyrically and beatwise. I realize this is not a popular take.

W is just so grimy and weird, I dunno. A lot of it has to do with timing, too; between the time I first thought I was going to buy 36 Chambers and when I actually did was about 5 years, by which point it had accrued such mythos that it could never live up to what I had imagined it to be.

that makes sense

#5 Ghostface Killah — Ironman
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14 votes 108 points

^^ amazing album, RZA's masterpiece

yeah front to back

#3 GZA — Liquid Swords
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15 votes 151 points

lol whoops skipped one

HERE is #4

#4 Ghostface Killah — Supreme Clientele
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11 votes 114 points 3 firsts

4 ghost albums in a row

Supreme clientele is my number one. Gloriously soulful word salad

man for a few months there Liquid Swords just owned me

the lone wolf and cub samples alone...

that said, there's at least one track on Ironman that had a shot at #1 on my ballot

#2 Raekwon — Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...
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15 votes 167 points 6 firsts

#1 Wu-Tang Clan — Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers
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15 votes 174 points 4 firsts

not much between the top 2, which seems fair. Cuban Linx is the Wu solo album I go back to most, but I voted 36 Chambers as my #1, on the unimaginative basis that it's where it all began

hardly surprising, but a beautiful top 5

I felt unqualified to vote in this and yet it turns out I own 12 of the top 13 albums on CD. Think I'm just daunted by the sheer volume of high quality material. Looking forward to the tracks rollout: next week's listening sorted!

Highly recommend the reconstructed version of the pre-release Bulletproof Wallets someone put together: http://claaa7.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/gfk-raekwon-bulletproof-wallets-c7.html

Just boarded a plane for a last minute biz trip. Should have some time (and my computer available) to start the track rollout tonight, hopefully.

what up fellow OB4CL #1 voters

Epic Records managed to fuck up the album quite heavily, switching the track sequencing, and completely deleting some of the highlights like "The Sun" (which Coles recently revealed had to be deleted since RZA couldn't find the original record he had sampled)

lol. too bad tho, because that song is incredible and would've def improved the album

Iirc there was a whole archive on unreleased ghostface stuff going around, it wasn't just bulletproof wallets that had stuff cut.

One of my fav wu details is how many album covers are Rae and or ghost just casually hanging out

looking at shoes, buying cereal

so Black Shampoo will be the Sway of this poll, right?

the Sway is gonna be from Pretty Toney Album if I had to guess

Good guess but i have no idea what the consensus track is there (i did put one up p high)

This catalogue is so vast and sprawling that we might have a rollout full of Sways or a weirdly consensus-y one

mostly just bumping for lols tbh... i don't think it's giving away too much to say Black Shampoo didn't quite make my cut

also huh
http://www.vulture.com/2017/11/bjrk-says-her-lost-wu-tang-clan-collaboration-was-magic.html

Was there a different thread for the songs or has it not happened yet

He sold the tracks rollout to Shkreli iirc

ended up out of town for a while then i came back and it was thanksgiving. monday-friday this week for the trax. i'm doing the top 72.

Let's do this.

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Wu-Tang Clan - Visionz Points: 55 Votes: 3

^^ all about Rae's verse

I didn't vote--too much of their expansive catalogue that I don't know--but I'd like to listen along. Is anyone planning on getting a Spotify playlist going?

Rae and Meth both did great work on this.

Spotify link here: https://open.spotify.com/user/theshipment/playlist/3KfR4hNcUIXTjo3JQiQA9V

cool, thanks

youtube links embedded in the song titles

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#71 Ghostface Killah - Fish (f. Raekwon & Cappadonna) Points: 56 Votes: 2

^^ voted very highly for this.

one of my favorite RZA productions, he beats Preemo at his own game

yea i swear Apollo Brown ripped this beat wholesale to build his entire career on

another great Rae verse

great job withthe poll images!

^^ agreed, nice job spottie

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#70 Wu-Tang Clan - Impossible Points: 57 Votes: 2

ty xps

Kind of a minor song but some classic ghostface storytelling

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#69 Ghostface Killah - The Forest Points: 58 Votes: 3

I put this one pretty high on my ballot. love the concept and delivery. alchemist beat moves too

He said, "What great big heat you have"
He replied, "Fuck my gun I'll eat you fast"
He said, "What great big teeth you have"
"Mothafu- you better look at all the beef you have"

Def a top 5 ghost track for me

ghostface verse on "impossible" is nuts

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#68 Ghostface Killah - 260 Points: 58 Votes: 3

You ready? We got the E&J and the machete

Good one. Also a nice example of a minimalist RZA production - as far as I can hear it's just a straight four-bar loop from the intro to Al Green's "You Oughta Be With Me," no other instruments or embellishments added.

yup. a blueprint for the minimalist new york scene that was hot a few years back ie ka and roc marciano

didn't end up voting for any of these results so far, but all good stuff. I think w "Impossible" I left it off cuz I don't love the Tekitha hook or the beat, really.

yeah never liked that hook

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#67 Ghostface Killah - R.A.G.U. Points: 59 Votes: 2

glad this poll is rolling, great stuff so far!

can I ask what program you used to do the cool graphics?

mostly adobe indesign + a little preliminary photoshop work

cool, thanks!

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#66 Wu-Tang Clan - Rules Points: 62 Votes: 3

I had this p high. Post-9/11 banger

All the chopped vocal samples at the beginning are killer (also v Preemo)

otm has that preemo bounce. meth's verse is classic

one of the tragedies of the war on terror is that they could've just sent in the Wu and avoided a lot of bloodshed

Deck's verse is great too. "Stop hearts like cholesterol/let's brawl"

yah for sure. his flow fits perfect on that

rules was a late cut from my ballot, all the iron flag singles are dope imo

both of those ironman tracks were late cuts from my ballot too. Ironman isn't as perfectly cohesive an album like OB4CL and LS, but it's so packed with great tracks I listen to it more than any of the other first wave releases at this point.

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#65 Ghostface Killah - Cherchez La Ghost Points: 62 Votes: 4

the sample does a lot of the heavy lifting on this one, but I love Dr Buzzard and I love Ghost, so this is always a fun interlude on Supreme Clientele

I heard this *before* I heard the Dr. Buzzard song so I was very "wtf" @ this one on first listen - like, "why is he giving Tommy Matolla shit? Is he beefing with ...Mariah?"

haha

cherchez is both kind of a banger and weirdly muted, and i go back and forth on whether i actually like it. ghost's opening couplet is so great, but u-god's verse is kind of bad imo

xp, oh yeah i definitely didn't hear the dr. buzzard before i first heard SC, but I also had no idea who Tommy Mottola was either, so I just felt the vibe

I love “Cherchez” but Ghostface only raps for about 20 seconds on it - he’s a bit player on his own hit. The female singer whose Dr. Buzzard lift takes up most of the running time doesn’t even get a “featuring” credit.

What’s even weirder is that I didn’t know the Dr. Buzzard song when I first heard “Cherchez LaGhost,” but the Tommy Mottola reference still made perfect sense. Mottola was the head of Ghostface’s record company at the time, and I assumed “he lost his lady” was about the divorce with Mariah. I was more confused to hear the same lines on the original 1976 song once I got around to it.

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#64 Wu-Tang Clan - The M.G.M. Points: 63 Votes: 3

I voted for the MGM. love how rae and ghost pass it back and forth

Mottola was the head of Ghostface’s record company at the time, and I assumed “he lost his lady” was about the divorce with Mariah. I was more confused to hear the same lines on the original 1976 song once I got around to it.

yeah I went through the same process. It just seemed like a weirdly specific callout to me at the time, like why would he give enough of a fuck about Motolla/Mariah to make a song out of it, it seemed uncharacteristic.

didn't vote for MGM but yeah good storytelling on that one

love the mgm, i feel like i could listen to hours and hours of rae/ghost story raps

i kinda love u-god's verse on cherchez

aw i love the mgm

i'm very sorry i didn't vote

it's cool brad, join us in the rollout!

i remember listening to it on repeat in college bc i was just amazed at rae and ghost

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Wu-Tang Clan - Let My Ni**as Live (f.Nas)

#63 Points: 66 Votes: 3

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#62 Killah Priest - B.I.B.L.E. Points: 69 Votes: 4

late cut from my ballot

love that song although was always confused as to why it was hanging out at the end of liquid swords

I really wanted to get (Killah) Priest on the album. And when I did, he said he could cover the whole track, so we let him do it. It’s incredible to me, man. Some people still tell me that that it’s their favorite song off the album. I mean, it’s a really deep song. He broke down lots of things: preachers, ministries, churches, details, and a lot of insight on a lot of stuff. “The earth’s already in space, your bible I embrace, a difficult task I had to take…” The song’s just perfect and ends the record out brilliantly.

... ok gza, makes sense

i actually heard heavy mental before liquid swords so when i finally got around to it it was weird for me. gza otm. one of my fav wu tracks

great sub bass too. and that little vocal sample.

song would have fit really well on ATLiens

Killah Priest shoulda been an official member. Feel like he and GZA coulda had a Rae/Ghost type of camaraderie on records. The few tracks they did together were all awesome.
.

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#61 Wu-Tang Clan - Clan in Da Front Points: 70 Votes: 3

im guessing every 36 chambers song is gonna make it (except maybe 7th Chamber pt. 2?)

great song. it takes a little too long to start, so I don't return to it as much outside of the album context, but it's an awesome showcase for the genius

bonus points for inspiring the poll title lol

i love the intro, helped me in remembering who was all in the group and all the others i needed to check out hah.

use of the thelonius piano sample is inspired

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#60 Ghostface Killah - Mighty Healthy Points: 70 Votes: 3

song is ok, Ghost gets off some great lines and beat catches the ear

the "Woodrow the Basehead" interlude that follows is one of my favorites tho

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#59 Wu-Tang Clan - As High As Wu-Tang Get Points: 74 Votes: 5

voted for this, a highlight of the album. GZA's verse is insane, so dense.

love the warbling bassline

TOO LOW

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#58 Ghostface Killah - Maxine Points: 75 Votes: 3

Some very vivid details on this one

yeh gave this a really high vote. prime ghost

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#57 GZA - Living in the world today Points: 77 Votes: 4

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#56 Wu-Tang Clan - Uzi (pinky ring) Points: 78 Votes: 4

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#55 Ghostface Killah - Assassination Day Points: 80 Votes: 4

pinky ring aka u-god's finest moment

hilarious ghost verse and great hook too--regretting not voting for this one.

god i love pinky ring

not sure why i didnt vote for it. I love so many songs on iron flag.

Ispectah's verse is another classic

New York, New York, legendary rhyme boss
Code name Charlie Horse, bust with blind force
I smash set it and wreck for cash credit or check
You crash-tests can't measure the threat
I dance on a nigga like my name's Zab Judah
Rap barracuda, three XL kahuna

yup yup

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#54 Wu-Tang Clan - Cash Still Rules/Scary Hours (Still Don't Nothing Move But The Money) Points: 80 Votes: 3

Assassination Day beat is simple and perfectly eery. wu forever is full of album cuts like it. all continuing to build the wu ora.

got my words mixed up. cash still rules as well tho.

in a funny way their catalog is so dense I kinda can't see myself complaining about anything that places, these are all good (even the ones I didn't vote for)

assassination day was top 5 for me, no lie, but i'm a sucker for a solid rza verse. feels of a piece with "4th chamber" and "a better tomorrow"

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#53 Ghostface Killah - Tooken Back (f. Jackie-O) Points: 81 Votes: 4

my highest ranked song from Pretty Toney

Jackie-O is great on this track, I just love everything about it

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#52 Ghostface Killah - Kilo Points: 82 Votes: 4

yeah tooken back was in my top 20

lol @ kilo image

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#51 GZA - Swordsmen Points: 84 Votes: 4

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#50 Raekwon - Rainy Dayz Points: 87 Votes: 3

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#49 Raekwon - Guillotine (Swordz) Points: 92 Votes: 5

just wanna say these images are all so good

Guillotine (Swordz) has my personal favorite Deck verse

so good

With voltage of a eel, truth that I reveal
Will crush the amateurs who scream they keep it real
Caesar black down, hoodied up in fatigues
Part time minor leagues receive third degrees
Attack like a wolf pack once I pull back
The God-U and bust through like a fullback

thx brad

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#48 Ghostface Killah - Be Easy Points: 92 Votes: 4

too high, never understood the love for a song where ghost raps about pranking his enemies by switching filling their champagne bottles with his urine

i like the boogeyman line though

this one never really stuck with me. not one of my favorite pete rock productions.

btw I'm going to attempt to get down to 36 today so i can do the final 36 chambers tracks thurs/fri

good times fightin w deej about this song

link?

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#47 Method Man - All I Need also the All I Need Remix w Mary J Blige Points: 97 Votes: 4

thread where deej going off on fishscale fans

lol yes.

looks like im in agreement with deej

im not really sure which version of All I Need I like the most. there's two remixes I think then the original.

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#46 GZA - Cold World (f. Inspectah Deck) Points: 97 Votes: 4

tbf to deej, alfred's opinions are fucking ridiculous on that thread

also yeah "be easy" is.... eh

"cold world," however! hellooooooo

the hook is so unsettling. perfectly so.

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#45 Ghostface Killah - Iron Maiden Points: 102 Votes: 6 Firsts:

feel like i played "iron maiden" and "daytona 500" every day for a month my sophomore year of college

the diffuse bass in this song = a+

also cap's verse is great

Be Easy and Cold World were both late cuts

never understood the love for a song where ghost raps about pranking his enemies by switching filling their champagne bottles with his urine

come on, this is self-evident to me lol

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#44 Wu-Tang Clan - Tearz Points: 103 Votes: 4 Firsts: 1

our first first placer

not mine, but don't really begrudge anybody for placing it that high

feel like i played "iron maiden" and "daytona 500" every day for a month my sophomore year of college

― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Wednesday, November 29, 2017 2:31 PM (thirty-three minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

add 260 in there for me

didnt vote for Tearz but it is great

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#43 Ghostface Killah - Walking Through the Darkness (f. Tekitha) Points: 105 Votes: 4

Ooha-ooha! yo, Ooha-ooha! uh-huh, yeah, Ooha-ooha! Ooha-ooha

song cracks me up and i love it

Ha! Let's get druuunnnnk! Ha!
Let's get drunk and hiiiiiiiIIIIIIGH yeahhhh!

love the ghost-as-businessman trope of the first verse

tearz was my #1, way tooooo low.

it's the song that best encapsulates what makes the early wu so special, with that grimy organ and the haunting laughs, and an aggressive, abrasive, and genuinely moving tale from the RZA (Ghost's verse is great too, if a little dated).

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#42 Ghostface Killah - Whip You With a Strap Points: 111 Votes: 4

MAMA HIT ME FOR NO REASON

agree that RZA's story is great on Tearz but his delivery (as usual imo) grates a little, it sounds more hectoring than sorrowful

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#41 Raekwon - Ice Cream (f. Method Man) Points: 113 Votes: 7

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#40 Ghostface Killah - Shakey Dog (Fishscale track) Points: 118 Votes: 5

man, "walking through the darkness" is so good

love shakey dog

rainy dayz way too low!

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#39 Wu-Tang Clan - It's Yourz Points: 125 Votes: 5

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#38 Wu-Tang Clan - Careful (Click Click) Points: 125 Votes: 6 Firsts: 1

sorry i exported these three at the wrong size

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#37 Gravediggaz - 1-800 Suicide Points: 126 Votes: 6

Rae's verse on It's Yourz >>>

this is so great, thanks Spottie! Lots of stuff to be catching up on as well, the Wu really is the gift that keeps on giving

1-800-Suicide is an incredible beat, and it was somehow only the second-best Wu-Tang related ephemera in The Leftovers Season 3

(yes this is the original audio)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzSiViTYleU

first time I'm gonna say: too high

How long has it been since you listened to that album, shakes?

a year or two

but c'mon that track is not better than Tearz or Shakey Dog

maybe not but I think voters probably wanted to mix up there ballot with non wu/ghost tracks a bit. i love this song but it's not my fav on the album.

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#36 Method Man - Release Yo' Delf Points: 130 Votes: 5

1-800-Suicide is an incredible beat, and it was somehow only the second-best Wu-Tang related ephemera in The Leftovers Season 3

― voodoo chili, Thursday, November 30, 2017 8:36 AM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

loved this when it came on

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#35 Wu-Tang Clan - Protect Ya Neck (The Jump off) Points: 131 Votes: 6

this was the other wu-tang song in the leftovers season 3!

ha, that's right.

It's been fun watching the music videos for a lot of these, had honestly never seen a fair share of them, didn't even know they existed. The Click Click video is hilarious. The U God scene where he's getting shot at lmao his reaction is priceless. Of course someone already gif'd it:
https://giphy.com/gifs/5xtDarKkDpATky13O48/html5

https://media.giphy.com/media/5xtDarKkDpATky13O48/giphy.gif

hahahaha I have def never seen that

so good.

ugh i hate gyphy, anyway here is the link to click click on
https://giphy.com/gifs/5xtDarKkDpATky13O48/html5

lmao

Is there any way that ever got shown on MTV? The entire video is gun violence! And are they shooting an LL Cool J stand-in?

Obviously MTV not the only outlet for Wu-Tang videos, or even necessarily the primary one, but iirc they used to blur out guns, right?

Obviously I had never seen that, but I’m glad I have now

whole video is incredible. got a whole new appreciation of the song now. one of RZAs weirdest productions.

not sure i was done watching mtv by 2001. cant imagine the song got much traction either, it's not radio friendly at all.

the hook almost sounds like a child's singalong song or something, especially at the end when ghost starts whispering the hook then ugod takes it "something in the hall went.... *whispers* click click... the boxcutter went... click click... something in the hall went.... *whispers* click click... the boxcutter went... click click... something in the slum went rapumpapum pummm".

lol i'm def gonna try and sing it to my kids tonight.

Love U Gods verse on It's Yourz

Super Freak physique, like Raphael Saadiq

Love U Gods verse on It's Yourz

― competitive shooter - - - - (Spottie), Thursday, November 30, 2017 11:29 AM (ten minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

otm, his pinky ring verse is also quite good. I say this as as someone who was criticizing him upthread, but i think his reputation as the worst clan member has led him to actually be a little underrated. I don't rep him hard or anything (he was #8 on my ballot), but he's not that bad by, say, '96 (Black Jesus, from Ironman, is his best moment imo). From Forever through Iron Flag, he puts together some really good verses, even if he still lags behind his groupmates.

worst rapper in the clan is like being the worst player on an all-star team. you're still pretty good.

It's Yourz ended up surprisingly high on my ballot, I ended up listening to it over and over in September, I love the way the drum track keeps switching up, and every verse save the RZA's, is outstanding

ive been called into some meetings for awhile so not sure when i can get back to the rundown. hopefully in a few hours.

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#34 Ghostface Killah - Buck 50 Points: 137 Votes: 5

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#33 Ghostface Killah - Apollo Kids Points: 137 Votes: 4

Feel like someone on ILM called U God the best one-verse mc ever

I love the way the drum track keeps switching up,

Just had flashbacks of drumming along to it, was one of my favorite simple beats to go aggro on.

lol I expected genius to win this

Since the face been revealed game got real

Feel like someone on ILM called U God the best one-verse mc ever

― YouTube_-_funy_cats.flv (Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved), Thursday, November 30, 2017

...

U-God: Dud or Greatest One-Verse MC of All Time?
― rogermexico (rogermexico), Monday, October 24, 2005 11:52 AM (twelve years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Oh wait, that turns out to be a trick question: the Greatest One-Verse MC Of All Time is Deck.
― rogermexico (rogermexico), Monday, October 24, 2005

dang... good memory

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#32 Wu-Tang Clan - Reunited Points: 138 Votes: 5

Think this is too low. For years this was my fav of Forever.

the violin is so good

GZAs verse wrecks

I splash the paint on the wall, it formed the mural
He took a look, saw the manifestation of it, was plural
Rhymin while impaired, dart hit your garment
Pierced your internal, streamlined compartments

important update for those of you not following the US politics thread:

The feds want Martin Shkreli to fork over the

The feds want Martin Shkreli to fork over the https://twitter.com/stewartbishop/status/936622249431445509 million Wu-Tang Clan Album. pic.twitter.com/5QLWcJgDP7

— Stewart Bishop (@stewartbishop) December 1, 2017

Might be my fav ODB verse too

THE INDIAN THAT SOLD MANHATTAN TO THE WHITE MAN MY GRANDFATHER
STEP UP GET KNOCKED RIGHT THE FUCK OUT

yeah great stuff from odb. perfeclty delivered opening couplet too

someone high up in the FBI is a wu fan obv

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#31 Ghostface Killah - Daytona 500 Points: 141 Votes: 7

too low

one of those songs that, via its bob james sample, seem to crack open a musical world for me

also my god "reunited" should be top ten

yeah def thought these both would be locks for top 15-20

reunited! double lp! world excited!

carolla motorolla holda

yeah these are both top 10 material imo

re: Apollo Kids - that's def a highlight of SC, I have a very distinct memory of going to the Virgin Megastore on Market (RIP) and the listening station had this in there so I was skipping around the album and when I hit Apollo Kids I was like "hoooooly shit I HAVE to get this", was totally surprised that Ghost had stepped up after the other generally disappointing second-round solo albums

STEP UP GET KNOCKED RIGHT THE FUCK OUT

― JoeStork, Friday, December 1, 2017 9:52 AM (twelve minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

otm

RUNNIN ROUND LIKE A PLANE ABOUT TO CRASH

oh i missed that "apollo kids" had placed. enormous song

reunited was #2 on my ballot. about as perfect as it gets. got me thinking back to that first spin of Forever, when you just had no idea what to expect... reunited damn near blew my head off.

maybe my favorite RZA verse and that's saying something

reunited was #2 on my ballot. about as perfect as it gets. got me thinking back to that first spin of Forever, when you just had no idea what to expect... reunited damn near blew my head off.

― Larry Elleison (rogermexico.), Friday, December 1, 2017 10:12 AM (seven minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah shit was so hype

I got the vinyl the day that came out, took it to my friends' house that a turntable/mixer setup and was kinda unimpressed after the long Poppa Wu intro and then Reunited came on and it was like BOOM

http://i64.tinypic.com/x4iuz9.jpg
#30 Raekwon - Verbal Intercourse (f. Nas & Ghostface Killah) Points: 143 Votes: 5

This is .... not better than the preceding two tracks imo

might be able to say that about every song still to place

song is known more for it's Nas verse so I didnt vote for it. great track tho

its

I got the vinyl the day that came out, took it to my friends' house that a turntable/mixer setup and was kinda unimpressed after the long Poppa Wu intro and then Reunited came on and it was like BOOM

― Οὖτις, Friday, December 1, 2017

totally. true confessions tho... wu revolution has grown on me a ton

hard to believe it's been 20 years since THIS IS NINETEEN NINETY-SEVEN

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#29 Ghostface Killah - All That I Got Is You Points: 144 Votes: 5 Firsts: 1

okay this is WAY too fucking low!!

wu revolution has grown on me a ton

yeah me too tbh but at the time I just wanted straight bangers right out the gate

(that was my #1 btw why becuz I am a sap)

listening to this on the way to work this morning and, man, the storytelling in that really makes me take stock of things when i think life is rough. just unbelievably touching.

there's no toilet paper, use the newspaper

might be the first song that ever made me cry, at least that i can remember anyway. my #2

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#28 Ghostface Killah - Run (f. Jadakiss) Points: 145 Votes: 6 Firsts:

My #1 track! (from Enter The Magical Mystery Chambers)

https://youtu.be/Ex4IKMMRDWQ

1st one I've never heard! I kinda dropped out during that pretty toney/bulletproof wallets era. None of the bits I heard grabbed me.

this didn't get any #1 votes, i just double-checked your ballot and it wasnt on there!

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#27 Ghostface Killah - Winter Warz Points: 153 Votes: 7

this one never grabbed me as much as it did other people, evidently

RUN!!!!!!

whaaat winter warz is so good

run is also amazing and intense as hell, voted for it in my top ten

I love how Cap made a new video for his verse (his crowning achievement?) on this a few years back.

cappadonna is so, so good on winter warz, a peak he never came close to matching

^^ cap's verse is the main reason why i love the song so much

Discombumberate your technique and your scheme lol

Run is great, a highlight of the album.

xp

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#26 GZA - Duel of the Iron Mic Points: 153 Votes: 7

re cap on "winter warz":

like a porcupine, i part backs like a spine
gut you like a blunt and reconstruct your design

http://i68.tinypic.com/otm99c.jpg
#25 Ol' Dirty Bastard - Brooklyn Zoo Points: 165 Votes: 9

I be that whiskey in your liver

Chicago Tribune‏Verified account
@chicagotribune
Follow Follow @chicagotribune
More
A young buck sellin' drugs and such who never had much,
Trying to get a clutch at what he could not touch.
The court played him short, now he faces incarceration,
Pacin', going up state’s his destination.

12:27 PM - 1 Dec 2017

this didn't get any #1 votes, i just double-checked your ballot and it wasnt on there!

― competitive shooter - - - - (Spottie), Friday, December 1, 2017

aw... sorry that was unclear. it's def not #1 on my ballot. just meant it was the one track from Magical Mystery Chambers that really worked for me

lol i was about to do a full recount

all these tracks rule, but I feel like Swordsman could have placed higher, such a menacing banger of a beat and gza the genius lyrics

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#24 Wu-Tang Clan - Method Man Points: 171 Votes: 7

whole song is like one punchline after another

Excited 2 see where Torture falls on thee list

now that I think about it we should've had a skit sub-poll

woulda been good

love this song but didnt feel the need to vote for it for whatever reason. figured it would be better represented tbf

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#23 Raekwon - Knowledge God Points: 174 Votes: 6

too low

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#22 Raekwon - Criminology Points: 177 Votes: 6

well p much all my top 10 has placed now lol

http://i64.tinypic.com/2vlmejs.jpg
#21 Wu-Tang Clan - Gravel Pit Points: 183 Votes: 8

idk why ppl love this song so much - too high!

it's fun!

classic video too

lol I've never seen that video - was that some Flintstones movie tie-in thing or something

their 2nd biggest streamer on Spotify atm, CREAM comfortably #1

lifted from Wiki so not sure how accurate but this is p funny stuff

The music video, directed by Joseph Kahn, features the Wu-Tang Clan arguing in their time machine, and in argument accidentally sending themselves back to "2,000,000 BC", which bears strong resemblance to the representation of the Stone Age in The Flintstones. The "gravel pit" is a large, fancy pit made from stone and bones. The "pit", apparently a casino, contains a fountain, stone age cars, dancing women - including the actress Tamala Jones, credited as "Crystal Diamonds" - and large dinosaurs. It appears to be ruled by the Wu-Tang Clan (with the exception of Ol' Dirty Bastard, who was incarcerated at the time - he "appears" as a pair of enchained arms hanging out of a makeshift jail cell), who now have "stone age" personas and clothing. At the end of the video "Bo Rockhard" (Bokeem Woodbine), a rival ninja challenges the Wu-Tang ninjas, RZA leads ninjas and fights off a horde of rival ninjas attacking the pit. The track's opening soundbite (as well as many found on the album) comes from the movie Short Eyes.

Each Wu-Tang member adopts a different name in the video. RZA becomes "Bobby Boulders", Meth is "Joe Quarry", Ol' Dirty Bastard becomes "Ol' Dirty Blocks", Ghostface is renamed "Frank Stoney", Raekwon is "Lex Rockhead", and U-God is "Stonefingers".

Gravel Pit was really fun to dance to at college parties

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#20 Method Man & Redman - Da Rockwilder Points: 186 Votes: 8

ya Gravel Pit 1st on list I actively dislike

rockwilder one of the best songs ever made

didnt know gravel pit was so divisive

I like Rockwilder okay, but it always represented that shift away from sample-based music to fully digital production so it sorta rubs me the wrong way

Lol that explains the Bobby Boulders thing in the intro. Fun song imo

rockwilder def felt like a wu outlier at the time. album has aged really well imo.

this song is okay but come on now

Red didn’t like the beat, that’s why the record’s so short. When I first heard it, I was like, ‘Fuck that!’ Wrote my verse right there and spit on it and I was like, ‘You know what? We gon’ call this shit ‘Rockwilder’ after you, my nigga.’ That’s how much I love this beat.

Method Man's biggest track on Spotify for people interested in songs that weren't a bands biggest hit, but have gone on to be their legacy song and biggest iTunes seller

nice

“When we first started performing the record at shows, we used to have to do it twice, sometimes three times. If we came to perform at somebody else’s shit and that record came on, we shut it down!”

i love it as a hype record.

def, great great energy

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#19 Ghostface Killah - One Points: 189 Votes: 8

^Would've been top 5 for me if I'd voted

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#18 Raekwon - Glaciers Of Ice Points: 199 Votes: 8 Firsts: 1

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#17 Wu-Tang Clan - Wu-tang Clan Ain't Nuthing Ta F' Wit Points: 206 Votes: 10

Thought that would be a top ten for sure

FInal 16 tomorrow.

Knowledge God would have been my number one. Hoped it was secretly everyone's favorite

I see that my favorite SC tracks differ from everyone else's, apparently

glaciers of ice was my number three, just straight fire throughout, best rae/ghost interplay on cuban linx

also, masta killa's greatest moment

not in terms of trading bars or anything, but their chemistry on the intro is so infectious, and the beat is absurd

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#16 Wu-Tang Clan - Can It Be All So Simple Points: 209 Votes: 8

http://i65.tinypic.com/erapv5.jpg
#15 Method Man - Bring The Pain Points: 239 Votes: 10

Can It All Be So Simple is so understated but I still love it. Always thought that bass(?) sound was super weird.

surprised at Bring the Pain being this high

same. not sure i'd put it on my top 5 off that album

def not actually.

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#14 Ol' Dirty Bastard - Got Your Money (f. Kelis) Points: 241 Votes: 10

Bring the Pain, Rockwilder and Gravel Pit all placing so high makes me think a lot of folks really rate these uptempo Meth-centric party jams but idk that's just not really what I want from Wu-Tang tbh

was wondering if Got Your Money was going to show up, what a monster single this was

yeah this song was huge.

Bring the Pain, Rockwilder and Gravel Pit all placing so high makes me think a lot of folks really rate these uptempo Meth-centric party jams but idk that's just not really what I want from Wu-Tang tbh

Not sure I'd put Bring The Pain in that same group.

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#13 Ghostface Killah - Nutmeg Points: 241 Votes: 9 Firsts: 1

Nutmeg isn't my top 5 SC songs ha.

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#12 Wu-Tang Clan - I Can't Go to Sleep (f. Isaac Hayes) Points: 242 Votes: 9 Firsts: 1

idg how Nutmeg and One and Cherchez La Ghost all place high and Saturday Nite gets shut out

I Can't Go to Sleep is incredible

Saturday Nite always seemed like an interlude it's so short.

I voted for One tho

I Can't Go to Sleep is great, also put me on to Isaac Hayes. Was so pumped when I listened to hot buttereed soul the first time based on this track and found the source of like 20 tracks I loved that sampled Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic as well.

nutmeg is so brilliant

Scientific, my hand kissed it, robotic let's think optimistic
You probably missed it, watch me dolly dick it
Scotty, watty, cop it to me, big microphone hippie
Hit Poughkeepsie crispy chicken, verbs throw up a stone Richie

quite the way to open an album

ghost and rza really sell it on i cant go to sleep

yeah, when rza breaks down it's super affecting

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#11 Wu-Tang Clan - Triumph Points: 269 Votes: 9 Firsts: 2

no top ten on this is a travesty

every single rap fan ever knows deck's verse.

this was my number two, shocked that this wasn't in the top ten.

left off like 8 ballots!

wtf i was expecting this to be no. 1

my own fault i guess

yaeh i thought this would be on every ballot.

i bomb atomically, socrates' philosophies and hypotheses
can't define how i be dropping these mockeries
lyrically perform armed robbery
flee with the lottery, possibly they spotted me

Never had seen video for I Can't Go to Sleep. Such a great performance by Ghost.

yeah the video is great

Bring the Pain, Rockwilder and Gravel Pit all placing so high makes me think a lot of folks really rate these uptempo Meth-centric party jams but idk that's just not really what I want from Wu-Tang tbh

I like Bring the Pain much more than the other two. It doesn't seem of a piece with them.

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#10 GZA - 4th Chamber Points: 301 Votes: 11

the perfect opening monologue intro into beat drop

thought this would be top 5 as well lol

I remember thinking Triumph was such an odd pick for a single (this was before I'd even heard anything else from the album), and expecting it to not do well, but then being pleasantly surprised when even some the non hiphop heads in my college social circle started rocking it.

i remember it being a big deal that it was such a big track despite not having a hook.

thing thumps on a good system too. the boom boom boom boom boooooom bass is so relentless

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#9 Wu-Tang Clan - Da Mystery Of Chessboxin’ Points: 301 Votes: 10 Firsts: 2

my #1

every verse on chessboxin is classic

ODB set up ghost so well there's no way he coulda failed his verse.

I didn't put Triumph on my ballot - it's great and everything but the beat is a little plodding and there's so much stuff I like more. Def an odd choice for a single.

xp

xp best rap tag team handover ever?

great verse from Masta Killa too

xp best rap tag team handover ever?

― Thomas NAGL (Neil S), Tuesday, December 5, 2017 11:10 AM (five minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/RespectfulHollowIndianpangolin-size_restricted.gif

ODB references Jim Kelly. Used to be so confused why so many rappers referenced a white Buffalo Bills QB haha.

and some of them seemed to think he was a placekicker or punter

lol

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#8 Wu-Tang Clan - Protect Ya Neck Points: 304 Votes: 10

rap music's memorable banalities

http://i64.tinypic.com/mrcjns.jpg
#7 GZA - Shadowboxin’ Points: 326 Votes: 13

protect ya neck obviously classic, nearly every line is memorable, but i think i prefer the calculated menace and bombast of triumph to the unhinged energy of PYN. both in my top 12

da mystery of chessboxin was in my top 10, my fav on the debut after tearz. my fav ghost verse on the album and prob my fav ODB verse ever (possibly besides one song that's probably coming up)

lookin like a bunch of stuff I voted for isn't gonna place at all :(

i like shadowboxin but dont think it's better than 4th chamber

gonna rollout one more then i have a meeting and will resume the final 5 in an hour or so

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#6 Raekwon - Incarcerated Scarfaces Points: 359 Votes: 12 Firsts: 1

so still to come = CREAM, Shimmy Shimmy Ya, Liquid Swords, what else?

I had to pick and choose from OB4CL and left Incarcerated Scarfaces off, but it's amazing obviously.

Shame on a N's gotta place, right?

"...cause RZA to charge niggas 20 G's a session" *studio drop-in noise=RZA saying oh hello there motherfuckers*

I wonder how many rappers regret name dropping trump in their old songs

This is the thread for posting random Trump references in rap songs

lol i will be posting in there

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#5 GZA - Liquid Swords Points: 369 Votes: 12

huh never knew that was rated so highly. always viewed it mainly as setting the stage for rest of the album.

same, really figured 4th Chamber would be the runaway winner of Liquid Swords

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#4 Wu-Tang Clan - Bring Da Ruckus Points: 379 Votes: 13

lol @ knuckle sandwich

the song "liquid swords" can't help but fail to live up to the spoken-word intro

i was gonna say the case for liquid swords is made 100% on the stone classicness of the Lone Wolf and Cub bit

which is A) cool on its own and B) cool bc oh shit they stepped over from kung fu to samurai movies *mind blown* and C) cool bc it's Lone Wolf and Cub god bless these nerrrrds

i didn't vote it high, but i couldn't argue with that

Liquid Swords was my highest ranked track from the album, what can I say

Ruckus is perfect representative of what I love about RZA productions. Always liked his quote (which I can never find online) about how before there was jazz rap or soul rap or funk rap (meaning the backing track) but with Wu "you couldn't say it was nothin other than hip hop".

xpost nothing you got to say it is prime GZA on a mission...

I am bummed that more tracks from Pretty Toney and OBFCL2 didn't make it, but I guess we had to make room for all the canonical stuff

more xposts i get that completely but tbh one of the things i love about wu tang is how well their best ensemble tracks illuminate hip-hop's jazz dna -- differently-gifted soloists improvising over the same changes in, uh, witty and unpredictable ways

http://i66.tinypic.com/11jch9i.jpg #3 Raekwon - Runaway Love (f. J Biebz & Ye) Points: 423 Votes: 17

oh you

damn, you missed my #1 vote for runaway love?

will have to do a recount

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#3 Wu-Tang Clan - Shame on a Nigga Points: 383 Votes: 13

amazing song, glad it placed so high

the combat grunts really set the tone for the chaotic aggressiveness of Dirty's hook/verses

yeah song's got bounce

my first favorite wu tang song

mine too

was meth the first rapper to do the whoops i miss-pronounced it thing in a rap song?

the head from the shoulders, I'm better
than my compeda, you mean competitor, whadeva!
Let's get together

idk but if he was, wayne owes him at least a dollar

final two:

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#2 Ol' Dirty Bastard - Shimmy Shimmy Ya Points: 426 Votes: 14 Firsts: 1

http://i64.tinypic.com/2gweu6r.jpg
#1 Wu-Tang Clan - C.R.E.A.M. Points: 496 Votes: 16 Firsts: 3

My number 2 at number 1

what I've learned here is that RZA was right about cocker spaniel dogs

shimmy shimmy ya and shame on a n** are of a piece in my mind, crazy to see them place right next to each other and so high.

C.R.E.A.M. is undeniably great, though it's rarely the wu banga I return to the most, prob cause i memorized both verses when i was 15

same

aww i guess wu revolution won't place after all

Good job, everyone, great poll!

I didn't vote because I felt insufficiently familiar with post-90s Wu-tang, but now kind of wish I had. Would've been really tough for me to rank all my favorite Cuban Linx tracks.

There's almost no post-90s tracks on this list!

things I ranked (in some cases in my top 10) that didn't place at all:
For Heaven's Sake (really surprised at this one)
Hollow Bones
Saturday Nite
10 Bricks
What the Blood Clot
The Sun
Save Me Dear
Motherless Child
Guest House
It's Over
Be This Way
Fire
Tical

those are all good

xxp

True. For some reason, I thought ILM was way more into some of the more recent albums.

Ghost's peak is arguably post-90s. but you can't really say the same for any of the other acts.

def not. OBFCL2 was good but there's not many (if any) songs I'd rank higher than the highlights of the first one.

not to harp on the point, but was I the only voter for For Heaven's Sake? That sped-up vocal sample - which actually changes key! - blew my mind when I first heard it, and seems like a really influential production (at the very least just on Kanye). I know he wasn't the first to do it (there's a similar sped-up vocal loop on one of UMCs' tracks, which were a tangential precursor to Wu) but that always really stood out to me as pretty outside-the-box production. Plus the low end distorted bass, the whole thing is banging.

Just have to say I saw ODB at a V*ce Party right after he got out of jail and he was like 2 hours late and Brooklyn Zoo was opening for him and mugging and being really panicky at the same time and then Dirty shows up after multiple rumors of him not showing up and he goes

“Sorry y’all I know you know I ain’t been around for a minute so let’s do this...

ONE

TWO

THREE

OHHHH BABY I LIKE IT RAAAAAAAAAAAW”

And the place went as insane as I’ve ever seen a crowd go

Also remember someone on ILM saying that the beginning of CREAM sounds like an old steam engine getting up to speed, which is a lovely image imo

oh man "for heaven's sake" didn't place? shakey otm

the calm bomb keep your arms distant

afaik this is the first song to use the sped up vocal sample trick
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTSFsxRLiZM

This isn't a coincidence, since UMCs producer loaned RZA a bunch of gear (including his Ensoniq sampler) when they were recording 36 Chambers. There's also a couple wu-tang references in UMCs' lyrics (incl in the above link), which is interesting cuz they predate any proper Wu releases by a few years. Staten Island reprazent, I guess.

not to harp on the point, but was I the only voter for For Heaven's Sake? That sped-up vocal sample - which actually changes key! - blew my mind when I first heard it, and seems like a really influential production (at the very least just on Kanye).

The T.A. for some "intro to American music" or some such course played this in class as an example of call-and-response (iirc) shortly after Forever came out. Thought that was so cool, mainly cause I did not expect that coming from her at all. She was German! And seemingly sorta preppy.

not to harp on the point, but was I the only voter for For Heaven's Sake?

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, December 5, 2017

I can confirm that you were not

OBFCL2 was good but there's not many (if any) songs I'd rank higher than the highlights of the first one.

idk, some days this is my favorite Ghost verse:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhnzXGLIRRU

Would have voted for "For Heaven's Sake" if I'd participated. I didn't vote because outside of the main group albums I mostly just knew Ghost's oeuvre (though I guess that was the case for several of the small number who did vote!). I also had no idea what order to put my favorites in. I really only got into Wu in the early 2000s so other than "C.R.E.A.M." I have no sentimental attachment to the debut or the first run of solo albums. I like OB4CL2 as much as any of those records, except maybe Ironman. Other songs I would've voted for that didn't place:

Malcolm
One Blood Under W
Babies (still think this is a classic track and nobody fucking ever mentions it)
Iron Flag
House of Flying Daggers
Hollow Bones
Rushing Elephants
The Heart Gently Weeps
Sonny's Missing
Gihad

Results in the tracks poll mostly OTM though. Pleasantly surprised by how much love The W ended up getting. Thanks for the countdown, Spottie!

i can't go to sleep is my fave

but the miami connection image for bring the ruckus is my fave image

that movie rules, you guys

Babies is great

Full list up through 125

#1 Points: 496 Wu-Tang Clan - C.R.E.A.M.
#2 Points: 426 Ol' Dirty Bastard - Shimmy Shimmy Ya
#3 Points: 383 Wu-Tang Clan - Shame on a Nigga
#4 Points: 379 Wu-Tang Clan - Bring Da Ruckus
#5 Points: 369 GZA - Liquid Swords
#6 Points: 359 Raekwon - Incarcerated Scarfaces
#7 Points: 326 GZA - Shadowboxin’
#8 Points: 304 Wu-Tang Clan - Protect Ya Neck
#9 Points: 301 Wu-Tang Clan - Da Mystery Of Chessboxin’
#10 Points: 301 GZA - 4th Chamber
#11 Points: 269 Wu-Tang Clan - Triumph
#12 Points: 242 Wu-Tang Clan - I Can't Go to Sleep (f. Isaac Hayes)
#13 Points: 241 Ghostface Killah - Nutmeg
#14 Points: 241 Ol' Dirty Bastard - Got Your Money (f. Kelis)
#15 Points: 239 Method Man - Bring The Pain
#16 Points: 209 Wu-Tang Clan - Can It Be All So Simple
#17 Points: 206 Wu-Tang Clan - Wu-tang Clan Ain't Nuthing Ta F' Wit
#18 Points: 199 Raekwon - Glaciers Of Ice
#19 Points: 189 Ghostface Killah - One
#20 Points: 186 Method Man & Redman - Da Rockwilder
#21 Points: 183 Wu-Tang Clan - Gravel Pit
#22 Points: 177 Raekwon - Criminology
#23 Points: 174 Raekwon - Knowledge God
#24 Points: 171 Wu-Tang Clan - Method Man
#25 Points: 165 Ol' Dirty Bastard - Brooklyn Zoo
#26 Points: 153 GZA - Duel of the Iron Mic
#27 Points: 153 Ghostface Killah - Winter Warz
#28 Points: 145 Ghostface Killah - Run
#29 Points: 144 Ghostface Killah - All That I Got Is You
#30 Points: 143 Raekwon - Verbal Intercourse (f. Nas & Ghostface Killah)
#31 Points: 141 Ghostface Killah - Daytona 500
#32 Points: 138 Wu-Tang Clan - Reunited
#33 Points: 137 Ghostface Killah - Apollo Kids
#34 Points: 137 Ghostface Killah - Buck 50
#35 Points: 131 Wu-Tang Clan - Protect Ya Neck (The Jump off)
#36 Points: 130 Method Man - Release Yo' Delf
#37 Points: 126 Gravediggaz - 1-800 Suicide
#38 Points: 125 Wu-Tang Clan - Careful (Click Click)
#39 Points: 125 Wu-Tang Clan - It's Yourz
#40 Points: 118 Ghostface Killah - Shakey Dog (Fishscale track)
#41 Points: 113 Raekwon - Ice Cream (f. Method Man)
#42 Points: 111 Ghostface Killah - Whip You With a Strap
#43 Points: 105 Ghostface Killah - Walking Through the Darkness
#44 Points: 103 Wu-Tang Clan - Tearz
#45 Points: 102 Ghostface Killah - Iron Maiden
#46 Points: 97 GZA - Cold World (f. Inspectah Deck)
#47 Points: 97 Method Man - All I Need
#48 Points: 92 Ghostface Killah - Be Easy
#49 Points: 92 Raekwon - Guillotine (Swordz)
#50 Points: 87 Raekwon - Rainy Dayz
#51 Points: 84 GZA - Swordsmen
#52 Points: 82 Ghostface Killah - Kilo
#53 Points: 81 Ghostface Killah - Tooken Back (f. Jackie-O)
#54 Points: 80 Wu-Tang Clan - Cash Still Rules/Scary Hours
#55 Points: 80 Ghostface Killah - Assassination Day
#56 Points: 78 Wu-Tang Clan - Uzi (pinky ring)
#57 Points: 77 GZA - Living in the world today
#58 Points: 75 Ghostface Killah - Maxine
#59 Points: 74 Wu-Tang Clan - As High As Wu-Tang Get
#60 Points: 70 Ghostface Killah - Mighty Healthy
#61 Points: 70 Wu-Tang Clan - Clan in Da Front
#62 Points: 69 Killah Priest - B.I.B.L.E.
#63 Points: 66 Wu-Tang Clan - Let My Ni**as Live (f. Nas)
#64 Points: 63 Wu-Tang Clan - The M.G.M.
#65 Points: 62 Ghostface Killah - Cherchez La Ghost
#66 Points: 62 Wu-Tang Clan - Rules
#67 Points: 59 Ghostface Killah - R.A.G.U.
#68 Points: 58 Ghostface Killah - 260
#69 Points: 58 Ghostface Killah - The Forest
#70 Points: 57 Wu-Tang Clan - Impossible
#71 Points: 56 Ghostface Killah - Fish (f. Raekwon & Cappadonna)
#72 Points: 55 Wu-Tang Clan - Visionz

#73 Points: 55 Ghostface Killah - Wildflower
#74 Points: 53 Gravediggaz - 2 Cups Of Blood
#75 Points: 53 Mobb Deep - Right Back at You (f. Ghostface Killah, Raekwon & Big Noyd)
#76 Points: 53 Raekwon - Knuckleheadz
#77 Points: 52 Raekwon - Heaven & Hell (f. Ghostface Killah)
#78 Points: 52 Raekwon - New Wu (f. Ghostface Killah, Method Man)
#79 Points: 51 Ghostface Killah - Save me dear
#80 Points: 51 GZA - Gold
#81 Points: 50 Ghostface Killah - Guest House
#82 Points: 49 Ghostface Killah - Wu Banga 101 (f. GZA, Raekwon, Cappadonna and Masta Killa)
#83 Points: 47 Method Man & Redman - Y.O.U.
#84 Points: 46 RZA - Mantis (featuring Masta Killa & Tekitha)
#85 Points: 45 Ghostface Killah - Motherless Child
#86 Points: 45 Ghostface Killah - Saturday Nite
#87 Points: 43 Ghostface Killah - Ghost Deini
#88 Points: 43 Wu-Tang Clan - For Heaven's Sake
#89 Points: 42 Wu-Tang Clan - Hollow Bones
#90 Points: 40 Ghostface Killah - The Sun (f. Raekwon, RZA, & Slick Rick)
#91 Points: 40 Raekwon - Ice Water
#92 Points: 39 Shyheim - On and On 
#93 Points: 38 Masta Killa - Iron God Chamber (f. U-God, Method Man and RZA)
#94 Points: 38 Ol' Dirty Bastard - Nigga Please
#95 Points: 37 Ghostface Killah - Biscuits (f. Trife da God)
#96 Points: 36 Ghostface Killah - You Know I'm No Good
#97 Points: 35 RZA - Black Widow Pt. 2 (f. Ol' Dirty Bastard)
#98 Points: 35 Wu-Tang Clan - Heaterz
#99 Points: 34 Raekwon - Wisdom Body
#100 Points: 34 Wu-Tang Clan - Radioactive (Four Assasins)
#101 Points: 33 Raekwon - House of Flying Daggers
#102 Points: 33 Wu-Tang Clan - Wu-Revolution
#103 Points: 32 Ghostface Killah - Big Girl
#104 Points: 32 Ol' Dirty Bastard - Snakes
#105 Points: 32 Raekwon - 10 Bricks
#106 Points: 31 Cappadonna - Slang Editorial
#107 Points: 31 Ghostface Killah - The Watch (f. Raekwon)
#108 Points: 31 Raekwon - Spot Rusherz
#109 Points: 31 Texas Featuring Wu-Tang Clan ‎– Say What You Want (All Day Everyday)
#110 Points: 30 Ghostface Killah - The Champ
#111 Points: 30 Pras - Ghetto Superstar
#112 Points: 30 Wu-Tang Clan - Wu-Tang: 7th Chamber
#113 Points: 30 GZA - Amplified Sample
#114 Points: 29 GZA - Killah Hills 10304
#115 Points: 28 Ghostface Killah - Camay
#116 Points: 28 Method Man - Tical
#117 Points: 28 Ol' Dirty Bastard - I Can't Wait
#118 Points: 28 RZA – Sunshower
#119 Points: 27 Method Man & Redman - City Lights (f. Bun B)
#120 Points: 27 Wu-Tang Clan - One of These Days
#121 Points: 25 Ghostface Killah - Black Jesus
#122 Points: 25 Ghostface Killah - Do Over
#123 Points: 25 Masta Killa - Old Man (f. Ol Dirty Bastard)
#124 Points: 25 Wu-Tang Clan - Severe Punishment
#125 Points: 24 GZA - Breaker, Breaker

thanks for doing this spottie!

np it was fun, sorry it took me so long...

Some random thoughts from doing this:

– Inspectah Deck is really underrated. it's too bad he didn't get any of Rza's best work from the first wave to do some solo stuff with
– I think Beneath the Surface deserves a spot in the lower-upper ranks of the wu canon. Same with Meth's Tical 2000 (I thought Break Ups 2 Make Ups would place). After this exercise I've decided I prefer Tical 2000 to Tical.
– Neither of the 7th Chamber tracks got much love, seems surprising
– I'm kinda sad I couldnt get a Sunz Of Man song to place, or a Killah Priest song outside of bible.
– Iron Flag is top notch wu i came away from this loving it even more

good poll spottie, nice to bring a little bit of order to an awesomely chaotic catalogue

re: tical 2000, it didn't make my cut for this poll but i will personally stan hard for "torture"

Love the beat on Suspect Chin Music and I listened to Retro Godfather a ton in college. RZA showing his range between those two.

ha yeah suspect chin music is my close #2

How did you assign points for each ballot, Spottie? IOW, how many points would someone's #1, #2, #3 and so forth earn? I'm trying to figure out just for myself what the results would've looked like had I submitted a ballot.

1 50
2 45
3 41
4 38
5 36
6 35
7 34
8 33
9 32
10 31

and so forth down to pick 36 which was worth 5 pts.

thanks for running this poll, Spottie - good stuff! I for one did not mind the tempo at all

surprised Camay didn't place

thanks Spottie, top work!

this is my favourite Killah Priest thing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMHZTauB-uY

Yeah, would have loved to see that one and one of the early Sunz of Man tracks on the list :)

This Method Man feature is so good - about halfway through it becomes less about the songs and more about regrets and anxieties: http://www.complex.com/music/2011/10/method-man-25-essential-songs/

oh yeah lots of good stuff in there thx.

“Dirty took all their shit and made it his own and GZA ain’t say shit. Most of [Dirty’s verses] was GZA’s shit. I remember GZA and ODB got in an argument one night and GZA was like, ‘Nigga most of that shit on your fucking album is mines anyway!’

“ODB wrote ‘Brooklyn Zoo’ though. I could go through the discography I could tell you which ones he wrote. Like ‘Dog Shit’ on Wu-Tang Forever? The fucking, ‘Calling me a dog/But leave a dog alone/Because nothing can stop me from burying my bones,’ I wrote that when I was 15 years old.

yeah it's great

listening to that strange, strange Texas remix I'm reminded of a quote I once heard paraphrased, where RZA describes not knowing the concept of musical keys when starting out as a producer, which, if true, may explain some of the off-ness abt songs like Can It Be All So Simple

Thanks for running this poll, Spottie! Unfortunately work kept me from being on ILX during the final half of the rollout, but it was really great to re-engage with the clan. Even though my ballot was all old favorites, the nomination process introduced me to some great tracks I wasn't familiar with