Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers): The Samples

Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers): The SamplesEnter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) is the debut album of the East Coast hip hop collective the Wu-Tang Clan, released on November 9, 1993. Many critics consider Enter The Wu-Tang one of the most significant albums of the 1990s and one of the greatest hip hop albums recorded. The distinctive sound of Enter the Wu-Tang created a blueprint for hardcore rap in the mid-1990s and helped return New York City hip hop to national prominence. The album itself is named for the 1978 martial arts film The 36th Chamber of Shaolin.

RZA produced Enter the Wu-Tang by creating sonic collages from classic soul samples and clips from martial arts movies such as Shaolin and Wu Tang. He complimented the rappers’ performances with “lean, menacing beats that evoked their gritty, urban surroundings more effectively than their words”, according to Stephen Thomas Erlewine of All Music Guide. The use of soul samples and various esoteric clips, and the technique by which RZA employed them in his beats, was unique and largely unprecedented in hip hop.

The gritty sound of Enter the Wu-Tang is due, at least in part, to the use of cheap equipment to produce the album. Many critics argue that this plays directly into the appealing “street” quality that makes the album a classic. Critics and admirers universally credit RZA with developing a “dusty yet digital production style that helped legitimize the use of more diverse sample sources to the hardcore New York rap massive, breaking away from James Brown based beats.”

  1. “Synthetic Substitution” by Melvin Bliss
    • Sampled for “Bring da Ruckus”, “Clan In Da Front”, and “Method Man”
    • Produced by RZA
  2. “Different Strokes” by Syl Johnson
    • Sampled for “Shame on a N*gga”
    • Produced by RZA
  3. “Black And Tan Fantasy” by Thelonious Monk
    • Sampled for “Shame on a N*gga”
    • Produced by RZA
  4. “Honey Bee” by New Birth
    • Sampled for “Clan In Da Front”
    • Produced by RZA
  5. “Spinning Wheel” by Lonnie Liston Smith
    • Sampled for “Wu-Tang: 7th Chamber”
    • Produced by RZA
  6. “The Way We Were” by Gladys Knight & The Pips
    • Sampled for “Can It Be All So Simple”
    • Produced by RZA
  7. “Got The (Blues)” by Labi Siffre
    • Sampled for “Can It Be All So Simple”
    • Produced by RZA
  8. “Impreach The President” by The Honey Drippers
    • Sampled for “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing ta F’ Wit”
    • Produced by RZA, co-produced by Method Man
  9. “Hihache” by Lafayette Afro Rock Band
    • Sampled for “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing ta F’ Wit”
    • Produced by RZA, co-produced by Method Man
  10. “I’ll Never Grow Old” by The Charmels
    • Sampled for “C.R.E.A.M.”
    • Produced by RZA
  11. “Sport” by Lightin’ Rod
    • Sampled for “Method Man”
    • Produced by RZA
  12. “More Bounce To The Ounce” by Zapp
    • Sampled for “Method Man”
    • Produced by RZA
  13. “Method Of Modern Love” by Hall & Oates
    • Sampled for “Method Man”
    • Produced by RZA
  14. “Sundown” by Gordon Lightfoot
    • Sampled for “Method Man”
    • Produced by RZA
  15. “Tramp” by Lowell Fulsom
    • Sampled for “Protect Ya Neck”
    • Produced by RZA
  16. “The Grunt” by The J.B.’s
    • Sampled for “Protect Ya Neck”
    • Produced by RZA
  17. “Sing A Simple Song” by Sly & The Family Stone
    • Sampled for “Protect Ya Neck”
    • Produced by RZA
  18. “Cold Feet” by Albert King
    • Sampled for “Protect Ya Neck”
    • Produced by RZA
  19. “After Laughter (Comes Tears)” by Wendy Rene
    • Sampled for “Tearz”
    • Produced by RZA

Download Wu-Tang Clan: Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) [The Samples]

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11 Comments

  1. Marcha
    Posted January 14, 2008 at 10:31 am | Permalink

    The sample: “The Grunt” by The J.B.’s, i think i heard it in something like more than ten rap songs.

  2. Posted January 14, 2008 at 3:05 pm | Permalink

    thanks for all the hard work you put into posts like these. love it.

  3. Posted January 14, 2008 at 5:54 pm | Permalink

    No prob… glad you all are enjoying them! Yeah, “The Grunt” is one of those classic hip hop samples, Marcha.

  4. Gastro
    Posted January 16, 2008 at 12:57 pm | Permalink

    Hey Kevin! Just wanna say thanks for everything, but this link is dead. Can you please re-post it or something? I really really want this!

    Greetings from Sweden!

  5. Posted January 16, 2008 at 6:00 pm | Permalink

    Damn, link’s dead already? I’ll work on a reup…

  6. Posted January 17, 2008 at 4:49 am | Permalink

    Link re-upped! Get it while it’s hot!

  7. Gastro
    Posted January 17, 2008 at 8:02 am | Permalink

    Well a big thank you to you, sir!
    It’s just wonderful music being restored!

  8. Posted January 17, 2008 at 10:12 am | Permalink

    I cannot find where this is in the Wu-Tang album:
    “More Bounce To The Ounce” by Zapp
    * Sampled for “Method Man”
    * Produced by RZA

    Can anyone describe it, in a way that I could listen to ‘Method Man’ and hear how they used ‘More Bounce To The Ounce’?

  9. Posted January 17, 2008 at 11:52 am | Permalink

    To be honest, I don’t hear it either. I just went by the sample credits… if it’s incorrect I apologize. In actuality the Hall & Oates song, for example, isn’t really sampled in “Method Man”. More of like an interpolation when he spells out M-E-T-H-O-D. Anyone else know about the Zapp song?

  10. Posted July 29, 2008 at 9:23 am | Permalink

    “The Underdog Theme”, from the original cartoon “Underdog” was sampled for “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing ta F’ Wit”. This was pretty much the whole basis for the song.The bassline, the voice/choir samples, etc. Check it out here: http://melaman2.com/cartoons/singles/mp3/underdog.mp3

  11. Posted July 29, 2008 at 9:32 am | Permalink

    Thanks JB, not sure how we missed that. This was one of the first sets we did, so maybe we need to revisit this one.

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