▄ ▀▄ ▀█▄ ▀▄ █▓ ▄ █▓▓ █▓ ▄▀ ▄█▀ sCr! ▄█▓▀ ▄█▄ ▄██▀ ▄▀ ▄▀ ▄▄▄▄▄▀ ░░ ▓█ ▓▓█ SAC ▄▓▄ ▀ ▀█▓▓▀ ░░ ▓▓██ ▓█ ░░ ▄▓▓██▀ ▀ ▀██▄▄ ▄ ▀ ▀ ▄ ▀███▄ ▀█▄ ▓▓▓███ ░░░ ▄▄██████████▄▄ ▄▄▀ ▄▓█▀ ▄███▓▓ █▓▓ ▀▓████▄ ▄▓▓▓█▀ ▀████▓▓ ▄▄███▀ ▄ ▀ ▄▓▓███▀▀ ▄██▀ ▀▀████▄▄▄▄ ▓▓▓██ ▄ ███▓▓▀ ▓▓███ ▀▓▀ ▓▓▓███ ░░ ▓▓██ ▄▀█▄▄ ▀▀████▓▓▄▄ ▀▓▓██▄ ▀██▀▀ ▀▀███▄▄▄▄ ▀▀████▄ ░ ▀███▄ ▓███▄ ▄ ▀███▓▓▓▓ ▀▄▄▄ ▀▀█████▄▄ ▀█▀█▄▄▄▄ ▀▀███▄▄ ▄ ▓████▄ ▄████▄ ▓█████▄█ ███▓▓▓▓ █████▄ ▀▀██▓▓▄ █ ▓████▀ ▌███▓▓ ▄ ▓███▓ ▀ ░ █████▀█▄█████▄██▄ ▄██▓▓▓▀ █ ▓███▓ ██▓▓▓ █ ▓███▓ ▄█████▓ █ █████ ░ █████ █▓▄███▓ ▀██████▓▓▀ █ ████▓ ░░ ▄██▓▓ ▀ █████ ▀ █████ █ █████ ▄ ▓████▄▀ █████ ▄ ▀▀▀▀ ▄ █████ ░ ▄▀████▓ ▀ █████▄ ▀█████ █ █████ ▀██████ ▓████ ▄ ▄ ▓███▓ ░ █ █████▀ ▄█████ ▄ █████ █ ████▓ ▄ █████▄ ▓███▓▄█ ▀█▓███▀ ░ ▀██████▀ ▓█████▀ ▓███▓▀█ ▓████ ▀▓▀ ▓████ ▀██████ █▀▄ ▀▄ ▀████▄ ▄▄███▄ ▄▓███▓ ░░ ▀██▓▓ ▀█████ ▓████▀ ▄█████ █ █▌ █▓ ▀████▄█▓▓█▀█▓▓ ▀████▄ ▄██▓▓▀ ▀ ▀████▄ ▄████▀ ▄ ▓████ █▄▀ ▄▀ ▄▓▄ ▀███▓▓▀ ▄█▀ ▄▓▄ ▀████▄███▓▀ █ ▀█████▓███▄ ▀█████▓█▀ ▀ ▄██▓▀ ▓▓█ ▀ ▄███████ ▄ ▄▓▄ ▄ ▄██▓▓▀ ▀███▀ ▀█▓▓▀ ▄███▀▀▀▀▄ ▀██▄ ▀ ▄▀ ▄▀█████▄ ▀ ▄▓██▀▀██▄ ▀███▄ ▀ ▄ ░░ ░░ ▓▓██ ░ █▓▓ ▓█ ▀██▄ ██▓▓▓ ▀ ▓▓██ █▓▓ ██▓▓ ▄ ▀███▄ ▀▄ ▄███▀ ▀█▄▀ ▄███▀ ▄ ▓███ ██▀ ▄███▀ ░ ▄█▓▀ ░ ▀█▓▓ ██ ▓▓██ ░░ ██▓▓▓▓██ ▀██▄ ▀ ▓▓██ ▄ ▀ ▄█▀ ▄▀ ▀███▄ ▄██▀ ▀██▄ ▀▄ ░░░░ █▓▓ ░ ▀███▄█▓ ▄▓▄ ▓█ ▀▀██▀▀ █▓▓ █▓ ░░ ▄██▀ ░░░░ ▄███▓▓ ▀ ▀▄ ▄█▀ ▄▀ ░ ▓▓█ ▄ ░░ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀ - S O U P - ▓█ ▀█▄ ▀█▄ ▀▄ █▓ █▓▓ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────▄▀ ▄█▀───────────────────┐ │ s o u p p r o u d l y p r e s e n t s │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ │ wu-tang clan-wu-tang forever │ │ artist ........ wu-tang clan │ title ......... wu-tang forever │ release date .. 1997 │ label ......... Loud │ cat. no ....... 66905 │ url ........... www.wutangcorp.com │ │ rip date ...... 08-16-2004 │ genre ......... hip-hop │ quality ....... VBRkbps / 44.1Hz │ time .......... 112:31 min │ size .......... 140,4 MB │ source ........ cdda │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────[ S O U P ]─┐ │ release info │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ │ │ Emerging in 1993, when Dr. Dre's G-funk had overtaken the hip- │ │ hop world, the Staten Island, NY-based Wu-Tang Clan proved to be │ │ the most revolutionary rap group of the mid-'90s ù and only │ │ partially because of their music. Turning the standard concept │ │ of a hip-hop crew inside out, the Wu-Tang Clan were assembled as │ │ a loose congregation of nine MCs, almost as a support group. │ │ Instead of releasing one album after another, the Clan was │ │ designed to overtake the record industry in as profitable a │ │ fashion as possible ù the idea was to establish the Wu-Tang as a │ │ force with their debut album and then spin off into as many side │ │ projects as possible. In the process, the members would all │ │ become individual stars as well as receive individual royalty │ │ checks. │ │ │ │ Surprisingly, the plan worked. All of the various Wu-Tang solo │ │ projects elaborated on the theme the group laid out on their │ │ 1993 debut, the spare, menacing Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). │ │ Taking their group name from an powerful, mythical kung fu sword │ │ wielded by an invincible congregation of warriors, the crew is a │ │ loose collective of nine MCs. All nine members work under a │ │ number of pseudonyms, but they are best known as RZA (formerly │ │ Prince Rakeem; aka Rzarecta, Chief Abbot, and Bobby Steels; born │ │ Robert Diggs), Genius/GZA (aka Justice and Maxi Million; born │ │ Gary Grice), Ol' Dirty Bastard (aka Unique Ason, Joe Bannanas, │ │ Dirt McGirt, Dirt Dog, and Osirus; born Russell Jones), Method │ │ Man (aka Johnny Blaze, Ticallion Stallion, Shakwon, Methical, │ │ and MZA; born Clifford Smith, Raekwon the Chef (aka Shallah │ │ Raekwon and Lou Diamonds; born Corey Woods), Ghostface Killah │ │ (aka Tony Starks and Sun God; born Dennis Coles), U-God (aka │ │ Golden Arms, Lucky Hands, Baby U, and 4-Bar Killer; born Lamont │ │ Hawkins), Inspectah Deck (aka Rebel INS and Rollie Fingers; born │ │ Jason Hunter), and Masta Killa (aka Noodles; born Elgin Turner). │ │ │ │ Although he wasn't one of the two founding members ù Genius/GZA │ │ and Ol' Dirty Bastard were the first ù the vision of the Wu-Tang │ │ Clan is undoubtedly due to the musical skills of RZA. Under his │ │ direction, the group ù through its own efforts and the solo │ │ projects, all of which he produced or co-produced ù created a │ │ hazy, surreal, and menacing soundscape out of hardcore beats, │ │ eerie piano riffs, and minimal samples. Over these surrealistic │ │ backing tracks, the MCs rapped hard, updating the old-school │ │ attack with vicious violence, martial arts imagery, and a │ │ welcome warped humor. By 1995, the sound was one of the most │ │ instantly recognizable in hip-hop. │ │ │ │ It wasn't always that way. Like most rappers, they began their │ │ careers trying to get ahead whatever way they could. For RZA, │ │ that meant releasing a silly single, "Ooh, I Love You Rakeem," │ │ on Tommy Boy Records in 1991. On the advice of his label and │ │ producers, he cut the humorous, lover-man single that went │ │ absolutely nowhere. Neither did the follow-up single, "My Deadly │ │ Venom." The experience strengthened his resolve to subvert and │ │ attack record-industry conventions. He found partners in Genius │ │ and Ol' Dirty Bastard. Genius had also released a record in │ │ 1991, the full-length Words From the Genius on Cold Chillin', │ │ which was preceded by the single "Come Do Me." Both records were │ │ unsuccessful. After the failure of his album, Genius teamed with │ │ an old friend, Ol' Dirty Bastard, to form the crew that would │ │ evolve into the Wu-Tang Clan within a year. │ │ │ │ RZA quickly became part of the crew, as did several other local │ │ MCs, including Method Man, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, U-God, │ │ Inspectah Deck, and Masta Killa, who rarely raps. The nine │ │ rappers made a pact to a form an artistic and financial │ │ community ù the Wu-Tang Clan wouldn't merely be a group, it │ │ would be its own industry. In order to do this, they decided to │ │ establish themselves through a group effort and then begin to │ │ spread the word through solo projects, picking up additional │ │ collaborators along the way and, in the process, becoming │ │ stronger and more influential. │ │ │ │ The first Wu-Tang Clan single, the hard-hitting "Protect Ya │ │ Neck," appeared on their own independent label and became an │ │ underground hit. Soon, the record labels were offering them │ │ lucrative contracts. The group held out until they landed a deal │ │ that would allow each member to record solo albums for whatever │ │ label they chose ù in essence, each rapper was a free agent. │ │ Loud/RCA agreed to the deal, and the band's debut album, Enter │ │ the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), appeared in November of 1993. Enter │ │ the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) was both critically acclaimed and │ │ commercially successful; although its financial success wasn't │ │ immediate, it was the result of a slow build. "C.R.E.A.M.," │ │ released in early 1994, was the single that put them over the │ │ top and won them a devoted following. The group wasted no time │ │ in pursuing other projects, as a total of five of the members ù │ │ Genius, RZA, Raekwon, Method Man, and Ol' Dirty Bastard ù landed │ │ solo contracts as a result of the success of "C.R.E.A.M." RZA │ │ was the first to re-enter the studio, this time as a member of │ │ the Gravediggaz, a group he founded; in addition to RZA, who was │ │ rechristened RZArecta, the group included De La Soul producer │ │ Prince Paul, Stetsasonic's Frukwan, and Brothers Grimm's Poetic. │ │ The Gravediggaz's album 6 Feet Deep appeared in August 1994; it │ │ eventually would go gold. Labeled "horrorcore" by the group, it │ │ was an ultra-violent but comical tour de force that demonstrated │ │ RZA's production prowess. Shortly after its release, Raekwon │ │ released his first single, "Heaven and Hell," on the Fresh │ │ soundtrack; the song was produced by RZA and featured Ghostface │ │ Killah. │ │ │ │ The first Wu-Tang member to become a major solo star was Method │ │ Man. In November 1994, he released Tical, the first official Wu │ │ -Tang solo album. Again, RZA produced the album, creating a │ │ dense, dirty sonic collage. Tical became a big hit in early │ │ 1995, as did Meth's duet with Mary J. Blige, "I'll Be There for │ │ You/You're All I Need to Get By." Ol' Dirty Bastard followed │ │ Method Man's breakthrough success with Return to the 36 │ │ Chambers, which appeared in March 1995 on Elektra Records. │ │ Thanks to the hits "Brooklyn Zoo" and "Shimmy Shimmy Ya," the │ │ record became a gold success. 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 in 1995, the two most critically acclaimed Wu-Tang records │ │ appeared: Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx and Genius/GZA's │ │ Liquid Swords. Raekwon released his album on Loud/RCA in August │ │ 1995; the record featured extensive contributions ù a total of │ │ 12 songs ù from Ghostface Killah, his greatest exposure yet. │ │ Genius' second solo album was released by Geffen Records in │ │ November 1995. In February of 1996, Ghostface Killah's first │ │ solo track, "Winter Warz," appeared on the Don't Be a Menace to │ │ South Central While You're Drinking Your Juice in the Hood │ │ soundtrack. 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. │ │ │ │ The Wu-Tang Clan finally reconvened and returned with their │ │ second album, the double-CD Wu-Tang Forever, in June of 1997. │ │ Hugely anticipated, the album entered the charts at number one ù │ │ selling over 600,000 copies in its first week alone ù and │ │ quickly spawned the hit single "Triumph." There were several │ │ contributions from guest associate Cappadonna (born Darryl │ │ Hill), who'd appeared on Only Built 4 Cuban Linx and Ironman, │ │ and would later become the tenth member of the Wu-Tang Clan. 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. A group of Wu │ │ protΘgΘs dubbed Killarmy released their debut album, Silent │ │ Weapons for Quiet Wars, on Priority Records in August 1997, │ │ drawing heavily upon the Clan's martial imagery. 1998, however, │ │ was truly the year for Wu-related side projects. In March, │ │ Cappadonna released his solo debut The Pillage on Columbia. The │ │ same month, Killah Priest ù not an official part of the Clan, │ │ but a frequent guest and a member of another protΘgΘ group │ │ called the Sunz of Man ù made his solo debut on Geffen Records │ │ with Heavy Mental, an acclaimed album filled with spiritual │ │ imagery that established him as one of the more distinctive solo │ │ artists in the Wu-Tang orbit. In July the Sunz of Man released │ │ their own debut album, The Last Shall Be First, on Red Ant, and │ │ yet another group of up-and-comers dubbed the Wu-Tang Killa Bees │ │ released their first album, The Swarm, Vol. 1, on Priority, │ │ featuring a number of guest appearances by Wu members and │ │ associates. In August, Killarmy issued their second album, Dirty │ │ Weaponry. │ │ │ │ 1998 was also the year 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 ù 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 1999, │ │ the whole Clan fell under suspicion of masterminding a gun- │ │ running operation between Staten Island and Steubenville, OH, │ │ 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 1998. This time around, │ │ RZA curtailed his activities somewhat, making appearances but │ │ often leaving the majority of the production duties to his │ │ protΘgΘs. Still, he released his own solo debut, the soundtrack │ │ -styled RZA as Bobby Digital in Stereo, in November of 1998 on │ │ V2; the same month, Method Man's second album, Tical 2000: │ │ Judgement Day, debuted at number two on the charts. June 1999 │ │ saw the release of an excellent singles compilation, RZA Hits, │ │ which covered the first Wu-Tang album and the first round of │ │ solo albums (1994-1995); the very next week, Genius/GZA's second │ │ album, Beneath the Surface, was released. September brought │ │ plenty of new Wu product: Ol' Dirty Bastard's Nigga Please, │ │ released while the rapper was in rehab; Method Man's acclaimed │ │ duo album with Redman, Blackout!; and the first-ever solo album │ │ by Inspectah Deck, Uncontrolled Substance, which appeared on │ │ Relativity. Another Wu member made his solo debut in October, │ │ when U-God issued Golden Arms Redemption on Priority; Raekwon │ │ returned the following month with Immobilarity. Finally, │ │ Ghostface Killah issued his well-received sophomore set, Supreme │ │ Clientele, in January 2000. │ │ │ │ However, this second round of Wu-Tang solo albums didn't attract │ │ as much attention, either critically or commercially. True, │ │ Method Man remained a popular solo star (and, to a lesser │ │ degree, so did ODB), and reviews were highly positive for │ │ Ghostface Killah (and, to a lesser degree, Genius/GZA). 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. │ │ │ │ Indie filmmaker Jim Jarmusch commissioned RZA to compose a │ │ soundtrack for his acclaimed Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, │ │ the results of which were unveiled in early 2000. Other than │ │ that, the Clan reconvened for a new album and was mostly quiet │ │ during much of 2000 ù 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 ù with just two months of rehab to go ù 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 2000. 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 2001, │ │ 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. In August 2001, RZA issued his second Bobby Digital │ │ album, Digital Bullet; November brought solo albums from │ │ Ghostface Killah (Bulletproof Wallets) and Cappadonna (The Yin │ │ and the Yang). This time, though, there was no full round of │ │ solo projects in between Wu albums; the full group (minus ODB) │ │ assembled for their fourth album, Iron Flag, which was released │ │ in December 2001, just one year after its predecessor. │ │ │ │ The Wu-Tang Clan's long-awaited second album, Wu-Tang Forever, │ │ arrived to great anticipation, and the double-disc set does not │ │ disappoint. Where contemporaries like 2Pac and the Notorious │ │ B.I.G. issued double-discs cluttered with filler, Wu-Tang │ │ Forever is purposeful and surprisingly lean, illustrating the │ │ immense depth of producer RZA and the entire nine-piece crew. │ │ Each rapper has a different lyrical style, from Ol' Dirty │ │ Bastard's bizarre rants to Raekwon's story sketches, and RZA │ │ subtly shifts his trademark style for each song, creating an │ │ album of cinematic proportions. There are no great musical │ │ innovations on the album, since the Wu-Tang's signature blend of │ │ skeletal beats, scratchy samples, eerie pianos, and spectral │ │ strings remains intact. Yet the music is more nuanced and │ │ focused than ever before, balanced equally between scary │ │ soundscapes and darkly soulful tracks. The result is an │ │ intoxicating display of musical and lyrical virtuosity, one that │ │ reveals how bereft of imagination the Wu-Tang's contemporaries │ │ are. │ │ │ │ -allmusic │ │ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────[ S O U P ]─┤ │ track list │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ │ │ cd1 │ │ │ │ 01 wu-revolution 06:46 │ │ 02 reunited 05:22 │ │ 03 for heavens sake 04:14 │ │ 04 cash still rules-scary hours 03:02 │ │ 05 visionz 03:09 │ │ 06 as high as wu-tang get 02:38 │ │ 07 severe punishment 04:50 │ │ 08 older gods 03:06 │ │ 09 maria 02:55 │ │ 10 a better tomorrow 04:55 │ │ 11 it's yourz 04:17 │ │ │ │ cd2 │ │ │ │ 01 intro 02:03 │ │ 02 triumph 05:38 │ │ 03 impossible 04:29 │ │ 04 little ghetto boys 04:50 │ │ 05 deadly melody 04:20 │ │ 06 the city 04:05 │ │ 07 the projects 03:18 │ │ 08 bells of war 05:12 │ │ 09 the m.g.m. 02:39 │ │ 10 dog shxt 03:35 │ │ 11 duck seazon 05:42 │ │ 12 hellz wind staff 04:53 │ │ 13 heaterz 05:26 │ │ 14 black shampoo 03:50 │ │ 15 second coming 04:39 │ │ 16 the closing 02:38 │ │ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────[ S O U P ]─┤ │ group info / contact │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ │ │ soup was founded in early 2002, with the intention of releasing │ │ the hip-hop, trip-hop, lo-fi and turntablism that has been slept │ │ on by other groups. We're a small, friendly group with a real │ │ passion for our music, who are fed up of the overly competitive, │ │ elitist and aggressive attitude of certain groups. │ │ │ │ soup extend greetings and thanks to everyone at NuHS, and anyone │ │ else who has helped us get where we are today. │ │ │ │ ............................. │ │ │ │ If we need you, we will find you. │ │ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────[ S O U P ]─┤ │ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘