Gravediggaz -
6 Feet Deep (Europe)/
Niggamortis (US) (1994)
Whiz back to '94, the year Wu-Tang burst onto a scene that was never the same again. RZA has been staying up all night, smoking alot of dope and watching gore-flecked, video-nasty marathons. He's gone a bit mad.
The result? A supergroup side project, who popularized the 'horrorcore' sub-genre over two albums.
6 Feet Deep, the first, is a cult classic where RZA and
Native Tongues don Prince Paul front 3 other erstwhile partners in evil for a hardcore rap blitz.
The lyrics are hilarious, and 'the RZArector' takes a backseat behind the mixer to spray violent and frantic over Prince Paul's demonic, not-un-RZA-like beats. Just dial 1-800-Suicide...
******
Ghostface Killah -
Ironman (1996)
Ironman (a reference to the Ghostface 'Gambino' alias Tony Starks, superhero Ironman's real name) is Ghost's debut album, and sets the scene his later career as one of the Wu's most respected solo MC's. Ghost, up there with hip-hop's elite, has a real talent for telling a story right down to the smallest detail without deviation from his stream-of-consciousness flow.
The emotionally charged 'ballads' were to come well after Ironman, but this is still one of my personal favourites of the bunch - RZA's production is noticeably broadening it's horizons and there are 70's soul samples abound; thematically this record looks to blaxploitation as well as kung-fu, resulting in a surprisingly retro sound without losing any of the Clan's raw immediacy or steel.
Raekwon contributes to Ghost's debut in kind, and there are some tight verses from unofficial Wu Tang member Cappadonna.
******
GZA/the Genius -
Liquid Swords (1995)
I won't go on about
Liquid Swords too much, as it seems to be very well known on here as well as in the 'indie communtiy'; but they don't call him the Genius for nothing... He's the philosophical mastermind behind the Clan who introduced it's core members to their guiding Nation of Islam principles.
Liquid Swords (sharp tongues, deadly rhymes) is the definitive platform for GZA's deceptively simple style - cold, piercing, meditative and seemingly a vocal manifestation of the Supreme Mathematics that the Clan lives by - listen, and let the chess metaphors grow on you!