{"id":68968,"date":"2023-11-25T15:45:24","date_gmt":"2023-11-25T15:45:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/?p=68968"},"modified":"2023-11-25T15:45:24","modified_gmt":"2023-11-25T15:45:24","slug":"the-purity-of-wu-tang-clans-36-chambers-30-years-later","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/entertainment\/the-purity-of-wu-tang-clans-36-chambers-30-years-later\/","title":{"rendered":"The Purity of Wu-Tang Clan\u2019s \u201836 Chambers,\u2019 30 Years Later"},"content":{"rendered":"

30 years ago, the Wu-Tang Clan \u2014 a group of young men from Staten Island \u2014 came together to deliver a hip-hop album entitled Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)<\/em>. Named after a class of Chinese martial arts, the group\u2019s debut project was brimming with stories from their \u201cnative land\u201d of Shaolin. RZA, GZA, Ol\u2019 Dirty Bastard, Raekwon the Chef, Method Man, Ghostface Killah, Masta Killa, Inspecta Deck and U-God told Shaolin tales of violence, drugs and incarceration over sinister, piano-ladened beats that were significantly more aggressive than the melodic West Coast sound that was prevalent in hip-hop at the time.<\/p>\n

RZA remembers that time well, but being asked to describe the energy of 36 Chambers<\/em> causes him to pause in thought. \u201cDetermination with intention. Intended determination, not blind determination,\u201d he says, circling back to the question later on. When the recording of the album began in 1992, the Wu had a strong sense of intention and were determined to express their art, culture, skill set, sonic and even hip-hop perspective. \u201cI would describe 36 Chambers<\/em> as the capturing of untamed youth,\u201d RZA says. Much of the group was in their early 20s \u2014 a time when many feel the need for rebellion, but can also the time when one has more awareness of the world that results in a deeper understanding of mortality. \u201cFor us, it was the violence and death in our community. These are things that happened in our youth. It had to be expressed out of us or it would have blown up inside of us,\u201d he reveals, naming songs like \u201cBring Da Ruckus,\u201d \u201cWu-Tang Clan Ain\u2019t Nuthin\u2019 ta F\u2019 Wit\u2019\u201d and \u201cDa Mystery of Chessboxin\u2019\u201d as examples of internal struggles that could have exposed itself in dangerous, physical ways if not through rhymes. RZA explains that in his community, especially during that era, a lot of men were either dead or in jail by the time they\u2019re 25 years old. He was 22 when he started to work on 36 Chambers<\/em>, so it was imperative that he find a way to express himself: \u201cWe found a way out by capturing and putting [our struggles] into music.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the best that hip-hop has put together, and that\u2019s just how we felt. \u2018Wu Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthin\u2019 ta F*ck Wit?\u2019 We’re telling you that this is nothing to f*ck with right here. This is that sh*t. You can’t f*ck with this.\u201d<\/q><\/p>\n

Looking back on it now, RZA didn\u2019t realize how young they were. Growing up in New York City in the \u201870s and \u201880s rushed kids like him into adulthood, and he was riding a train from East New York to the Bronx alone at the age of nine. He couldn\u2019t imagine asking his 14-year-old son to do that. \u201cDuring those days, especially in the \u201870s, there was a chance that the Son of Sam was on that train, and there was a chance that somebody was going to rob David Berkowitz on that train,\u201d he says. \u201cThere’s a chance that all these things could happen to you, so the city needs you to grow up quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

The creation of 36 Chambers<\/em> involved DIY methods and a lot of experimenting. While RZA wasn\u2019t the one to direct the music video for \u201cProtect Ya Neck,\u201d he took charge of editing without even actually knowing how to edit, sitting next to the editor and sharing his vision. The DIY principles of editing the \u201cProtect Ya Neck\u201d video were also applied it to the post-production phase of the album; after recording 36 Chambers<\/em> as different pieces of music, he went into a studio and stitched the project together like he would a movie, noting that he was surprised at the capabilities of then-fledgling editing software Pro Tools. \u201cI didn’t know [Pro Tools] existed in a way that you could see the waveforms because in those days, if you used a sampler, all the data was just represented by numbers,\u201d he says. \u201cIt wasn’t like you could look at the screen and see the waveform. I think Pro Tools and [fellow editing software] Sonic Solutions were, to my knowledge, the first few systems that gave someone that ability. And being the electronic geek that I am, I utilized it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think 36 Chambers<\/em> is a combination of mastery mixed with exploration, and that added to the allure.\u201d<\/q><\/p>\n

RZA compares the process of 36 Chambers<\/em> to mastering a form, \u201cAs Bruce Lee would say, be like water when you\u2019re in a situation where the form isn\u2019t known. But because you are a master of one thing, you’re able to adapt and play with another.\u201d His work on the E-mu SP-1200 and Ensoniq ASR-10 sampler made him familiar with digital sampling actions like truncating, quantizing and splicing, which supported his work with Pro Tools even though he was a novice with the software. \u201cSometimes when you experiment, some great creations come out of that,\u201d he says. \u201cI think 36 Chambers is a combination of mastery mixed with exploration, and that added to the allure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Did Wu-Tang ever think the album was going to be this influential? Collectively, they were beyond proud of their work and wanted it to be more than just a passing trend. \u201cTo be honest with you, and this is going to sound so egotistical, but we was like, \u2018This is the best sh*t,\u2019\u201d RZA answers with a hearty laugh. \u201cThis is the best that hip-hop has put together, and that\u2019s just how we felt. \u2018Wu Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthin\u2019 ta F*ck Wit?\u2019 We’re telling you that this is nothing to f*ck with right here. This is that sh*t. You can’t f*ck with this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Dirty said in one of his interviews that the world needs a dose of this. This is good for music, good for the world and definitely good for hip-hop.\u201d1 of 2<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Danny Hastings<\/span>2 of 2<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Danny Hastings<\/span><\/p>\n

What are your fondest memories of creating 36 Chambers<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Really being in the studio with the Wu-Tang Clan and playing back songs to one member that another member is on. When GZA recorded \u201cClan in da Front,\u201d he came to the studio on the day the other guys didn’t. When they come into the studio, I hit play, they hear what we did last night, and it’s gonna inspire them for what they do tonight. Those are some of my fondest memories.<\/p>\n

Method Man recently said, \u201cI’ll never forget, y’all recorded \u2018Clan in da Front\u2019 and y’all played it 100 times.\u201d We played in the studio, then we had to drive to a Wu-Tang appearance to perform \u201cProtect Ya Neck,\u201d and we played it all the way there in the car and all the way back.<\/p>\n

Is there anything from the process of creating the album that you still apply to your craft today?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, of course. I mean, 36 Chambers<\/em> is like the graduation of artists, right? It’s my graduation as a producer who produced songs for the neighborhood and on my own. I knew then that I can concisely put together an entire album that tells a story within itself. Even though it seems abstract, it feels like there’s a story there and these pieces all add to a story.<\/p>\n

Since the completion of that album and throughout my career, I always have this same motivation to complete the story, even if it is, in an abstract form. I kind of relate it to Pulp Fiction<\/em>, which came out around the same time. Even though I didn’t know Mr. [Quentin] Tarantino at that time, the film follows a very similar technique where although his film isn\u2019t linear, it’s the complete story. 36 Chambers<\/em> isn\u2019t linear but it’s a complete story; if you ever watch the video of our first song \u201cProtect Ya Neck,\u201d it says that Wu-Tang is protecting the 13th chamber. We didn\u2019t start off from one, we started in the middle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Dirty said in one of his interviews that the world needs a dose of this. This is good for music, good for the world and definitely good for hip-hop.\u201d<\/q><\/p>\n

If you could go back in time, would you change anything on the album, and do you think that change would affect how the record turned out?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I don’t have the answer to that question, but It felt complete. When 36 Chambers<\/em> was all finished, I and the rest of the Wu felt satisfied. When it was done and we had it in our hands, it was almost like we didn’t make it \u2014 like it was good enough to listen to as if it’s not yours. That’s the coolest thing about it.<\/p>\n

All you need is one to have determination. All you need is one to have the determined idea, but you need everyone to have the intention. If you have one person amongst you who can\u2019t be deterred and everyone else behind is following with intention, you\u2019ll definitely pierce through the rock.<\/p>\n

Being a guy that’s not only rapping on the album but also the guy that controls the music, produced album and the arrangement, people used to ask me, \u201cIt says mixed, produced and arranged by the RZA. How do you do all that?\u201d That\u2019s what I did! [laughs]. I took the time to do it to the best of what I wanted to hear, to the best of the spirit that I wanted to share. At the time, no matter what nobody would ever say, they only could identify 36 Chambers<\/em> as hip-hop. That’s what I wanted it to be. I didn’t want it to be identified as jazz, blues, rock, punk rock, none of that, and even though it probably can fit in all those categories, it was solely built off of what I felt hip-hop was. As time went on I moved into different chambers, but there was no other description for the album besides hip-hop.<\/p>\n

“There’s going to be something that guides you through [youth] that’s pure, and I think 36 Chambers<\/em> is one of those things.”<\/q><\/p>\n

During the early days of Wu-Tang, would you say that \u201cone\u201d was you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

As they say, self-praise don’t mean a thing, but I am the abbot. I was super, super duper determined. I knew it and maybe the others had to believe that, but I knew what I knew. I can say that Dirty knew what he knew too. We spent the most time dreaming, talking and visualizing it.<\/p>\n

With me being a scientist of sound and a scientist \u2014 if I wasn’t doing this, I’ll probably be doing something in the scientific world for us all to enjoy \u2014 I applied all of that with a determined idea. Like I said, I’ve humbled down, but I can’t sit there and falsify reality. I was super determined, and all I needed was everybody to have the intention behind me. At the end of the day, just follow me. Not like a shotgun, but like a nice, scattered laser beam.<\/p>\n

How do you hope 36 Chambers<\/em> will impact the generation of new listeners?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I will say that at the end of the day, everybody has to pass through a phase in life. In order to live, you\u2019ve got to pass through your youth. You gotta become an adult in order to become the guy who\u2019s going to be the president 30 years from now, the guy that\u2019s going to be the policeman, the guy that’s going to be the nurse \u2014 they all got to pass youth. Some albums, some artists and some people are able to capture that moment, and those become your rite of passage.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s like if you had a Bob Marley moment. I don’t promote drugs, but regardless of whether it\u2019s your first joint, an edible or tea, you pass through it. There’s going to be something that guides you through it that’s pure, and I think 36 Chambers is one of those things. This is one of those albums that\u2019s just like, \u201cYo, this is what my brain needed at this time of my existence.\u201d There are other albums that do that as well, but there wasn’t a lot in hip-hop at that time. I think other artists are striving to create those now as well. As the smoke clears, you’ll find one here and one there.<\/p>\n

30 years from now, even if 36 Chambers<\/em> isn\u2019t popular, somebody will hear it and go, \u201cYo Jim, you ever hear this before?\u201d It’ll get passed back around again, because it has a capturing of something that’s pure.
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30 years ago, the Wu-Tang Clan \u2014 a group of young men from Staten Island \u2014 came together to deliver a hip-hop album entitled Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Named after a class of Chinese martial arts, the group\u2019s debut project was brimming with stories from their \u201cnative land\u201d of Shaolin. RZA, GZA, Ol\u2019 Dirty […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":68967,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Purity of Wu-Tang Clan\u2019s \u201836 Chambers,\u2019 30 Years Later - rapidcelnews.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/entertainment\/the-purity-of-wu-tang-clans-36-chambers-30-years-later\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Purity of Wu-Tang Clan\u2019s \u201836 Chambers,\u2019 30 Years Later - rapidcelnews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"30 years ago, the Wu-Tang Clan \u2014 a group of young men from Staten Island \u2014 came together to deliver a hip-hop album entitled Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). 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