The album's explicit, humorous and free-associative lyrics have been credited for serving as a template for many subsequent hip hop records.

'Because didn't have the best mixing or recording equipment, the album is wrought with a 'dirty' quality-the drums have more bass and are more hard-hitting than they are crisp and clean the samples have an eerie, almost haunting type of echo and the vocals, because each member's voice is already aggressive and gritty, perfectly match the production.' Although Ol' Dirty Bastard is given co-production credit on 'Da Mystery of Chessboxin' and Method Man is co-credited for 'Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing ta F' Wit,' critics and admirers universally credit RZA with developing what Pitchfork called a 'dusty yet digital production style helped legitimize the use of more diverse sample sources to the hardcore New York rap massive, breaking away from James Brown based beats and embracing a style that turned the Underdog theme into the menacing coda for a group of underground terrorists.' Įnter the Wu-Tang ushered in a new standard for hip-hop at a time when hip hop music was dominated by the jazz-influenced styles of A Tribe Called Quest, the Afrocentric viewpoints of Public Enemy, and the rising popularity of West Coastgangsta rap. When they dropped me, I was thinking, 'Damn, they chose a bunch of whiteboy shit over me.' Īccording to music journalist Ben Yew, the minimalist means of production plays directly into the music's 'street' aesthetic. RZA discussed the matter in their release The Wu-Tang Manual (2005), stating ' made the decision to sign House of Pain over us.

Embittered but unbowed, they took on new monikers (The Genius became GZA while Prince Rakeem became RZA) and refocused their efforts. The Genius released Words from the Genius (1991) on Cold Chillin' Records and Prince Rakeem released Ooh I Love You Rakeem (1991) on Tommy Boy Records. By 1991, The Genius and Prince Rakeem were signed to separate record labels. The group never signed to a major label, but caught the attention of the New York rap scene and was recognized by rapper Biz Markie. Each member recorded under an alias: Grice as The Genius, Diggs as Prince Rakeem or The Scientist, and Jones as The Specialist. In the late 1980s, cousins Robert Diggs, Gary Grice, and Russell Jones formed a group named Force of the Imperial Master, also known as the All in Together Now Crew.

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