Wu-Tang Forever

Production While the group's previous album is known for its minimalistic production style, producer RZA had been expanding the musical backdrop of each solo Wu-Tang album since then. Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..., in particular, was praised for its cinematic feel. RZA earned accolades for his new dense style of production; incorporating strings, heavy synthesizers and samples of kung fu films. The production of the record also pioneered RZA's technique of chopping up and speeding up soul samples so that it becomes unusually high-pitched; this style of production—known as chipmunk soul—would later become influential on producers such as Just Blaze and Kanye West. Wu-Tang Forever marked the first group album in which RZA assigned some of the album's production to his protégés True Master and 4th Disciple, as well as Clan member Inspectah Deck. Lyrical themes The lyrics differed in many ways from those of 36 Chambers, with more verses written in stream-of-consciousness style, while being influenced by the teachings of the Five-Percent Nation. The Clan also took full advantage of the double-disc format, allowing each of the nine members a significant number of appearances, including four solo tracks: "The City" for Inspectah Deck, "Dog Shit" for Ol' Dirty Bastard, "Black Shampoo" for U-God and "Sunshower" for RZA. Inspectah Deck raised his stock in the public eye with The Sources Hip-Hop Quotable for his performance on "Triumph". This verse is considered one of the greatest in hip-hop. Despite not having yet released a solo album, and not releasing one until October 1999, Deck's contributions throughout Wu-Tang Forever led to him being a sought-after collaborator for other artists in the wake of the album's release; during the 1998-1999 period he would make highly-regarded contributions to tracks on well-received albums from Gang Starr ("Above The Clouds" from Moment of Truth), Pete Rock ("Tru Master" from Soul Survivor) and Big Pun ("Tres Leches (Triboro Trilogy)" from Capital Punishment) among others. Ghostface Killah's verse in "Impossible" was also featured in The Source's Hip-Hop Quotable, and was later hailed by RZA in the Wu-Tang Manual as "the greatest Wu-Tang verse ever written". "The sum of our parts is worth all the organizing," said Method Man. "It's like the Power Rangers where they come together to form that Megazord shit. Them guys are lethal but, when they come together, it's even more incredible. This album will destroy every hip-hop record made in the past ten years." ==Critical reception==

Upon its release, Wu-Tang Forever received acclaim from music critics, who praised RZA's production work and the group members' lyricism. Matt Diehl from Entertainment Weekly commented, "Forever continues the group's artistic grand slam. Like their forebears in Public Enemy, Wu-Tang are musical revolutionaries, unafraid to bring the noise along with their trunk of funk. The RZA allows a few outside producers behind the board this time, but it's his gritty samples and numbing beats that get the party moving." Melody Maker gave Wu-Tang Forever a favorable review as well, stating "It had to be this big. It didn't have to be this good ... Every single track is a detonation of every single pop rule you thought sacrosanct ...Forever is one of the greatest hip hop LPs of all time." Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic stated: Describing the album's lyrics as "hauntingly descriptive tales of ghetto hustlers and victims," Rolling Stones Nathan Brackett stated "The whole of Wu-Tang Forever crackles with a shootout-at-midnight electricity that more than justifies the double-disc indulgence, while the back-and-forth wordfire of Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, etc. confirms the Clan's singular zing at the mic, and their ghetto-wise might as storytellers." In 2018, the BBC included it in their list of "the acclaimed albums that nobody listens to any more." Accolades Wu-Tang Forever was ranked as one of the best albums of the year by several notable publications, such as Spin, The Village Voice, NME, and Melody Maker. Popular Belgian magazine HUMO, and popular German magazine Spex both ranked it number six on their albums of the year lists. In 1999, Ego Trip ranked Wu-Tang Forever number three on their Hip Hop's 25 Greatest Albums by Year 1980–1998 list. In their March 2006 issue, Hip Hop Connection ranked the album number 57 on their 100 Greatest Rap Albums 1995–2005 list. Also in 2005, Blow Up magazine from Italy included Wu-Tang Forever in their 600 Essential Albums list. It also earned the group a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap Album at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards. ==Commercial performance==

The album was released the same month that a feud began between the group and influential New York hip hop radio station Hot 97. In the 2019 docuseries Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men, Inspectah Deck claimed that the group's music was blacklisted by Hot 97 after the group's performance at Hot 97's Summer Jam during which, due to a disagreement over scheduling, Ghostface Killah led the crowd in a chant of "Fuck Hot 97!" In 2023, Hot 97 DJ Funkmaster Flex publicly apologized to the group without specifically admitting that their music had been banned. A 2024 article on the Hot 97's website, however, explicitly conceded that the station had banned Wu-Tang. In a 2024 interview, RZA said he thought the album could have been certified Diamond if not for the ban. Despite limited radio/TV airplay, and the nearly-six minute lead single "Triumph" which features 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), selling over 4 million copies in the United States. It is the group's highest selling album to date. ==Track listing==

Track listing information is taken from the official liner notes and AllMusic. All tracks written by Wu-Tang Clan and produced by RZA, except where noted. Notes • "Wu-Revolution" contains uncredited backing vocals by Blue Raspberry. • "Reunited" contains backing vocals by Roxanne. • "Projects" contains uncredited vocals by Shyheim. • "Black Shampoo" contains uncredited vocals by P.R. Terrorist and Tekitha. Sample list • "For Heavens Sake" contains a sample of "Don’t Leave Me Lonely" by King Floyd. • "Cash Still Rules/Scary Hours (Still Don’t Nothing Move But the Money)" contains a sample of “The End of the World” by Skeeter Davis. • "Severe Punishment" contains dialogue from ‘’The Master’’. • "A Better Tomorrow" contains a sample of “The Love Theme” by Peter Nero. • "It’s Yourz" contains a sample of “It’s Yours” by T La Rock & Jazzy Jay. • "Little Ghetto Boy" contains a sample of "Little Ghetto Boy" by Donny Hathaway. • "The City" contains a sample of “Living for the City” by Stevie Wonder. • "The Projects" contains a sample of “Cry Together” by The O'Jays. • "Hellz Wind Staff" contains dialogue from Unbeaten 28. • "Second Coming" contains an interpolation of "MacArthur Park" by Jimmy Webb. ==Personnel==

• RZA – performer, producer, engineer, mixing, executive producer • GZA – performer • Ol' Dirty Bastard – performer • Method Man – performer • Raekwon – performer • Ghostface Killah – performer, executive producer • Inspectah Deck – performer, producer, mixing • U-God – performer • Masta Killa – performer • Cappadonna – performer • Street Life – performer • Tekitha – vocals • Popa Wu – vocals • Diva Gray – background vocals • Robin Clark – background vocals • Uncle Pete – vocals • Fourth Disciple – producer, engineer, mixing • True Master – producer, engineer, mixing • Mitchell Diggs – executive producer • Oli Grant – executive producer • Divine – production coordination • P.O.W.E.R. – production coordination • Ney Pimentel – Creative direction, album artwork, photography, design and layout • Carlos Bess – drums, mixing, mixing engineer • Ramsey Jones – drums • Scott Harding – mixing, mixing engineer • Michael Reaves – mixing • Troy Staton – mixing • Tom Coyne – mastering • Eugene Nastasi – editing • Ola Kudu – Creative direction, album artwork, design and layout • Carlo Spicola – animation, VR and Enhanced CD content producer • Sherin Baday – photography • Bob Berg – photography • Philippe McClelland – photography • Shawn Mortenson – photography ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications==