THE BEST 36 OL’ DIRTY BASTARD SOLO CUTS, RANKED.

The greatness of Ol’ Dirty Bastard is tough to measure within the traditional “Who’s the best MC?” rap debate parameters. The lane he carved out defies description, which is another way of saying that “there is no father to his style.” Purists who wrote him off as a court jester, or rock critics who saw him as some kind of hip hop GG Allin, severely undervalued his talent.

There’s a reason Dirty was a focal point, onstage and on record, of the greatest rap collective in history. His fellow Wu members all vouch for his singular creative genius. It’s also not a coincidence that the group never truly recovered from ODB’s descent into addiction, imprisonment and, eventually, death.

What Dirty brought to the Wu was essential. There was no father to his style, and there will be no son. Now, 13 years after passing, Ol’ Dirty Bastard still shines.

As part of MASS APPEAL’s Wu-Tangsgiving Celebration, below are ODB’s 36 best solo cuts, meaning cuts from his solo albums, which may or not include other rappers, as well as solo cuts from soundtrack albums—but which will not include such memorable features as “Fantasy.” This list, and MASS APPEAL’s other Wu-related lists that follow, were assembled with curatorial guidance by hip hop consigliere and esteemed Wu-Tang scholar, Bönz Malone.

>> READ THE LIST HERE <<

[via MassAppeal.com]

EVERY WU-TANG CLAN SONG, RANKED

Twenty-four years ago yesterday, the Wu-Tang Clan brought the muthafuckin’ ruckus and taught us all about Shaolin shadow boxing and their own special sword style. The release of Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) transformed the rap landscape, as kung fu flick samples, dirty basement beats and raw free associative rhyme patterns set the stage for an East Coast renaissance one year after The Chronic.

After that it didn’t matter how many times RZA told us the Clan was nuthing ta fuk with, everybody was fukkin’ with them heavy. And subsequent generations have continued to do so over the course of six official group albums (not counting that one-of-one joint that nobody’s ever heard).

The Wu-Tang brand may be the most powerful in hip hop history, but even the most ardent Wu head will admit that the Clan has had its ups and downs over the years. (And speaking of Wu heads, have you tested your Wu IQ?)

Between Enter the Wu-Tang, Wu-Tang Forever, The W, Iron Flag, 8 Diagrams, and A Better Tomorrow, there is a LOT of music out there and it’s time someone took the trouble to evaluate it all carefully as a public service to hip hop and to the Clan. MASS APPEAL is that someone and today is that day. We’ve subjected all the cuts from their official albums to the sharpest scrutiny. (That means no soundtrack or compilation joints, and the solo albums are a whole different chamber, which we’ll be dealing with one day… soon). So without further ado, let’s step inside the room and prepare for the boom.

>> READ MORE via MassAppeal <<

BRAVE WU-TANG FAN ARRESTED FOR TRYING TO BRING DOWN CONFEDERATE FLAGS IN NYC

Some racist clown in New York City really thought that Confederate flags were cool to put up on his apartment windows in Alphabet City on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. New Yorkers everywhere have been hella tight about this flag ever since photos started popping up on social media this week. Yesterday, a Wu-Tang fan and all-American hero told reporters that he was going to do something about it. And last night the NYPD arrested him breaking the window of the apartment on the corner of East 8th Street and Ave. D

>> READ MORE via MASS APPEAL <<

Wu-Tang Clan- Don't Stop

Wu-Tang Clan's "Don't Stop" from Mass Appeal Records’ forthcoming ‘Silicon Valley: The Soundtrack’ out on June 23. 

Watch Silicon Valley, Sundays at 10pm on HBO

Method Man, Raekwon, Inspectah Deck

Produced by RZA

Wu-Tang Forever turns 20 - June 3, 1997

Wu-Tang Forever is the second studio album of American hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, released June 3, 1997, on Loud/RCA Records in the United States. Pressed as a double album, it was released after a long run of successful solo projects from various members of the group, and serves as the follow-up to their debut album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Forever features several guest appearances from Wu-Tang affiliates Cappadonna, Streetlife, 4th Disciple, True Master, and Tekitha. The original run of compact discs featured an "Enhanced CD" which allowed users to walk around the "Wu Mansion" and access additional content.

Despite limited radio/TV airplay, and a lead single that famously clocked at nearly six minutes with no chorus, Wu-Tang Forever debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 612,000 copies sold in its first week.The album was certified 4× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on October 15, 1997 (each disc in the double album counted as separate unit for certification purpose),and has sold over 2 million copies in the United States. It is the group's highest selling album to date. Upon its release, Wu-Tang Forever received favorable reviews from most music critics, while it also earned the group a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap Album at the 40th Grammy Awards in 1998.

Happy Birthday Ghostface Killah!

Today we celebrate the birthday of one of Shaolin's finest MCs, Dennis Coles, aka Ghostface Killah, who was born on May 9, 1970. The Staten Island-born MC is one of the original nine members of the Wu-Tang Clan. He took the inspiration for his alias from Ghost Face Killer, the villain in the 1979 kung-fu classic Mystery of Chessboxing. (Yes, the same film that inspired the title of the Wu-Tang song “Da Mystery of Chessboxin.”) And as seen in the iconic video, staying true to his name, Ghostface initially kept his face obscured.

Ghost also holds the distinction of rapping the first verse on the first song on Wu-Tang’s legendary 1993 debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). But it was his appearance as the “guest star” on Raekwon’s incredible 1995 solo debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..., that really established Ghost as a lyrical force.

His solo debut, Ironman, arrived a year later. Inspired by another GFK alias—Tony Starks—Ironman showcased Ghost’s storytelling and paired him with Rae and Cappadonna for another early Wu classic. His sophomore album, Supreme Clientele, arrived in 2000. 

In his 2004 book The Wu-Tang Manual, RZA described Ghost’s verse on Wu-Tang Forever’s “Impossible” as “the greatest Wu-Tang verse ever written." Nearly 32 bars long, Ghost’s “Impossible” verse detailed the shooting death of his friend Jamie, from when the ambulance was called to when he was “pronounced dead, y'all, at 12:10.”

Ghostface has released ten solo albums over the years. His most recent project was 2015’s Twelve Reasons to Die II, a collaboration with Adrian Younge. 

Happy Birthday, Pretty Toney. May all your product be fishscale and all your wallets bulletproof for years to come.

[via Mass Appeal]

Shop Talk with Raekwon

For this episode of Shop Talk, Mass Appeal linked with Raekwon the Chef at Carmine Street Comics.

"I'm always gonna take time to check out cartoons and look at comic books," said Raekwon shortly after strolling into Carmine Street Comics in NYC's West Village. "In this business you have to stay young."

For the cover of Rae's seventh solo album The Wild the iconic Wu-Tang MC enlisted former Shaolin resident Dan Lish to create a comics-inspired post-apocalyptic urban wasteland. Although Meth is the Wu's biggest comic book head, Rae tapped into the graphic arts to portray his vision of NYC. "I'm almost the king of the jungle... I want the people to be animals... I feel like New York City has no identity when it comes to knowing what we created in the music business. I need New York to look twisted."

"People look at Wu-Tang as superheroes," Rae says in our latest edition of Shop Talk. "When you see Raekwon the Chef, you're thinkin' a guy with the blades, that's nice with the blades on some karate shit. Tony Starks, Ironman, he like to hold them things, too. That iron! [Laughs]" Peep the video up top.

[via Mass Appeal]

HANZ ON's Career Comes Full Circle with Final Album ‘BARCA’

Is there any more sobering experience than a brush with death? Just ask Hanz On, the Wu-affiliated Staten Island rapper who premieres his final album, Barca, today on MASS APPEAL. When asked about the potential awkwardness of music that depicts what it’s like to recover from being shot multiple times being used as entertainment, Hanz replied: “It’s a blessing, because it was a time when just staying alive was a task in itself.”

If you think that sounds like someone who’s grounded as fuck, you’d be correct in your estimation. With staunch personal and professional support from Wu-Tang members, including Method Man and Raekwon, Hanz On was able to steady his personal outlook and his career, etching out a reputation as one of New York’s more under-rated talents. “My relationship with the members of the Clan was a major point in my turnaround,” Hanz On says. “Some more than others came out and supported what I was doing once I started doing something positive.. Rae, Dek, Master Killa—they all were very supportive in my transition. When I decided to create my own company in part it was because Meth kind of gave me a different perspective on things. His whole camp (Streetlife, Seven, Nut and Ellis) kind of walked me through it throughout this whole process.”

Barca, he explains, is a full-circle moment. His discography, which is tied to the legend of Hannibal the Great—the title of Hanz’s first album—culminates with this release, titled after Hannibal’s last name. “In short, he accomplished things that would ordinarily be looked at as impossible,” the artist explains. “The homie’s drive was incredible. I’m a big fan.” On tracks like “Big Sky,” featuring Method Man, or “Champion,” you can hear these affirmations shining through. Hanz set out to tell a definitive story with his collection—after a couple listens it’s clear that his discography was always supposed to have a beginning and a definitive end—and on Barca, the lessons he’s learned manifest themselves seamlessly.

You can also it on iTunes/Apple Music, where it’ll be available to stream at midnight.

[via MASS APPEAL]

Raekwon Describes His Superhero Character King Kwon | SUPER

The Chef describes how he'd help needy kids in the hood in the latest episode of Complex/Mass Appeal's animated series.