Did Wu-Tang have the greatest/shortest run ever?

[The Devil's Advocate]

Just thinking about that album that sold 2 million. Dude put it back up on Ebay and the bids are already past 1 million.. and trust, the word was out BEFORE the original sale, that this wasn't a real album. yet still sold.. but the real gem is how they did it.

peep game:

first album drops in 1993

enter the 36 chambers.... classic
method man tical (1994).... classic
ODB RT36Chambers (1995).... classic
Rae OBFCL (1995).... classic
GZA Liquid swords (1995).... classic
Ghost Ironman (1996).... classic
Wu tang forever (1997).... classic


run over... now after that we'd get a few great ghost albums... Supreme Clientele, BW, etc... but really no more wu classics on that first run level. and definitely not another group album that was worth a damn

so really these dudes put out all that amazing work, over the span of 3-4 years.. From that fukking small ass stretch of time.. damn near 22 years since a classic record was put out by any of them and definitely as a hole.. these motherfukkers STILL have the ability to sell an album for 1-2 million, TWICE, in 2017.

You can still go anywhere in the world and people know that W. You say Wu tang clan and people who don't even like rap, know who the wu is. they branched into hollywood films.. acting, directing, scoring.. not no fluke shyt either.. hollywood blockbusters with A list talent.. clothes still moving numbers.. nikkas still get excited about a new project, even knowing you ain't heard a good one since 1997.. shyt whats the last wu single you even heard?

These nikkas doing better as a name and a collective than 99% of old rappers and 95% of the new ones. and it's all based on their hits and music from 93-97.. anybody else you think could pull this off, probably has a lot more hits and did it more recently than them and probably sold more records.


what other artists/groups could put out a cd of random verses, with a random producer, and sell it for a cool million right now? now how many of them ain't had a hit since 1997?

 

[JayBaldacci]

Wouldn't say tical, return and forever are classics...

WU are a mythical collective though... and the 93-97 run is crazy.

 

[ZEB WALTON]

the w is underrated and better than some of the first solos, that was the end of the real run; sure there popularity waned versus newer acts but they were still selling records, if not MORE during 98-2000

u said 22 years since a classic was put out? SC was classic, fischscale and ob4cl2 were also highly touted

 

[Cortez1]

I would add the Bobby Digital in Stereo was classic too. But agree that Tical wasn't, although it had multiple classic tracks and remixes.

 

[The Devil's Advocate]

the w is underrated and better than some of the first solos, that was the end of the real run; sure there popularity waned versus newer acts but they were still selling records, if not MORE during 98-2000

u said 22 years since a classic was put out? SC was classic, fischscale and ob4cl2 were also highly touted

i don't put those as classics.. i did mention some great ghost albums.. and the purple tape 2 was dope too.. but they ain't timeless like them first joints. they don't have the same wu feel. and of course they sold more later. that was the height of their popularity after wuforever. think it did 2 mil/4 mil. and then the industry was blowing up

i'm not saying they sucked. i'm saying they wasn't a jay-z. even a nas. shyt a fat joe. constantly making hits. constantly selling records. not in the late 00s.. we 7 years into the 2010s now. that W is still prominent. boot camp can't do that.. dogg pound ain't selling no million dollar album. could 50? ye could but he's famous as fukk right now and been making music. could busta? kendrick? meek? luda? jeezy? could wayne? would the carter 5 go for 2 million.. 1 copy

like snoop miiiiiiight be able to if it was from 93 with dre beats.. this wu shyt was made lately.. within 10 years.. wasn't no long lost rza produced banger from 94.. it was some random dude on the beats.. all this was known.. that shyt is mind boggling

 

[1986]

run over... now after that we'd get a few great ghost albums... Supreme Clientele, BW, etc... but really no more wu classics on that first run level.

Supreme Clientele is arguably the best Wu solo ever, how is it not a classic album?

 

[Cortez1]

it is a classic. but it was after the first mega run ended. there were non-classics in between Forever and Supreme Clientele. From the wutang wiki:

Following Wu-Tang Forever, the focus of the Wu-Tang empire largely shifted to the promoting of emerging affiliated artists. The group's close associate Cappadonna followed the group project with March 1998's The Pillage. Soon after, Killah Priest, another close associate of the Clan, released Heavy Mental to great critical acclaim. Affiliated groups Sunz of Man and Killarmy also released well-received albums, followed by Wu-Tang Killa Bees: The Swarm—a compilation album showcasing these and more Wu-affiliated artists, and including new solo tracks from the group members themselves. The Swarm sold well and was certified gold.[18]

There was also a long line of releases from secondary affiliates such as Popa Wu, Shyheim, GP Wu, and Wu-Syndicate. Second albums from Gravediggaz and Killarmy, as well as a greatest hits album and a b-sides compilation also eventually saw release.

While this round was commercially successful, it was not as critically acclaimed as its predecessor. The second round of solo albums from Wu-Tang saw second efforts from the five members who had already released albums, as well as debuts from all the remaining members, with the exception of Masta Killa. In the space of two years, RZA's Bobby Digital In Stereo, Method Man Tical 2000: Judgement Day and Blackout! (with Redman), GZA's Beneath the Surface, Ol' Dirty b*stard's nikka Please, U-God's Golden Arms Redemption, Raekwon's Immobilarity, Ghostface Killah's Supreme Clientele and Inspectah Deck's Uncontrolled Substance were all released (seven of them being released in the space of seven months between June 1999 and January 2000). RZA also composed the score for the film Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, directed by Jim Jarmusch, while he and other Wu-Tang members contributed music to a companion "music inspired by the film" album.

The avalanche of Wu-Tang product between 1997 and 2000 was considered by some critics to have resulted in an oversaturation that was responsible for Wu-Tang's decline in popularity, or at least in critical regard during that time period.[19] Reviews such as Melody Maker's writeup on Ghostface Killah's Supreme Clientele in January 2000 which began "Another month, another Wu-Tang side project" revealed critics' exhaustion at the Clan's prodigious output. The overall reception for the second round of Clan member solo albums was decidedly mixed if largely positive, and they did not live up to their pre-...Forever forebears critically.

Occasional albums would still receive critical acclaim (Ghostface Killah's Supreme Clientele being one of them, is regarded as one of the best solo efforts from the Clan) while Method Man and ODB remained popular in their own right as solo artists, and Wu-Tang remained as a well known force, but they had seemingly lost the ability to excite the music world in the way they had throughout the earlier, and mid-1990s. Many fans and critics also bemoaned the lack of RZA's input on the post-...Foreversolo albums, which were mostly produced by the Wu-Element producers, other lower-ranking affiliates, or by outside producers such as the Trackmasters or the Neptunes.

 

[Family Man]

Supreme Clientele is arguably the best Wu solo ever, how is it not a classic album?

Bullshyt nikka. Supreme Clientele isn't even Ghost best album.

 

[1986]

Bullshyt nikka. Supreme Clientele isn't even Ghost best album.

So you're telling me SC is not a classic album?

 

[bigbadbossup2012]

Naw,got eclipsed by

 

[Kaydigi]

Heavy Mental and quiet weapons for silent wars are classics.

 

[SoulController]

everyone stops the run @ 97 or 98. except The W outsold 36 Chambers, and it was dope

so the run was really 93-00, which is really quite long in hip hop. Tribe's best stuff was over 5 year period, Mobb's was about 4 years, shyt Dipset really only had 2 summers until they fell off. its very hard to keep crews going in hip hop, the fact WTC still tours and drops new music after 25 years is amazing to me

 

[PaperEnterprise]

 

[BK The Great]

they had a pretty good run, even after their peak they still were putting out classic albums. Ghostface's discography is a prime example.

 

[Zero]

Bullshyt nikka. Supreme Clientele isn't even Ghost best album.

It's better than Ironman