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Wu-Tang Forever

Fifty-four tracks tracing what happened after nine men from Staten Island signed a deal that let each of them sign somewhere else.

The solo-deal clause

Wu-Tang Clan arrived in 1993 with Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) and a business arrangement that had no precedent: RZA negotiated a group deal that explicitly allowed every member to sign individually to any label they chose. It was, in retrospect, one of the smartest moves anyone in the genre has made.

What followed was an extraordinary run of solo albums — Method Man's Tical, Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, GZA's Liquid Swords, Ghostface Killah's Ironman, Ol' Dirty Bastard's Return to the 36 Chambers — mostly produced by RZA, and collectively more influential than the group albums.

This playlist concentrates on that solo material and on the R&B crossover records, which is the right emphasis — it is where the Clan's reach is widest.

What to listen for

"I'll Be There For You / You're All I Need" with Mary J. Blige is the record that made Method Man a star outside the group and won a Grammy. It remains the template for the rap-and-soul duet.

"Da Rockwilder" with Redman is two minutes and sixteen seconds of pure momentum and is close to perfect.

Ghostface Killah's "All That I Got Is You" is the emotional centre of the whole list — a song about childhood poverty, with Mary J. Blige on the hook, and one of the most affecting records in the genre.

"Cherchez LaGhost" flips a Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band record and is the strangest hit Ghostface had.

"Back Like That" in the remix with Ne-Yo and Kanye West shows how far the Clan's reach extended by the mid-2000s.

"Break Ups 2 Make Ups" pairs Method Man with D'Angelo, and "Wings Of The Morning" with Capleton is the dancehall connection.

"Cisco Kid" assembles Method Man, Redman, Cypress Hill and War, which is a genuinely strange lineup.

Go deeper

Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993) is the foundational album, and Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx is the solo masterpiece.

Ghostface Killah's Supreme Clientele is the one rap critics argue about most, and the argument is generally that it is the best.

RZA's production is the through-line: dusty soul samples, unquantised drums, and kung-fu film dialogue. The Shaolin films he sampled are worth watching for context.

Ol' Dirty Bastard died in 2004 and Nine members is now eight.

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