"The first Wu-Tang Clan album launched rap's most dominant franchise by inventing a new sound built around a hectic panoply of voices and spare, raw beats. RZA, the group's sonic mastermind, constructed the Wu's homemade world, he said, from a mix of 'Eastern philosophy picked up from kung-fu movies, watered-down Nation of Islam preaching picked up on the New York streets, and comic books.' On 'C.R.E.A.M.,' 'Protect Ya Neck,' and the non-metaphorical 'Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing ta F' Wit,' RZA's offbeat samples ( Thelonious Monk, the Dramatics, fellow New Yorker Barbra Streisand ) create a grounding for the group's nine members, including future solo stars Ol' Dirty Bastard, Raekwon, GZA, Ghostface Killah, and Method Man. Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg had established L.A. as the center of hip-hop innovation and daring, but the Wu reclaimed the crown for the music's birthplace." -Rolling Stone, The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time

Side A ( Shaolin Sword )