ENTER THE WU-TANG (36 CHAMBERS)

When The Wu-Tang Clan dropped their debut LP in 1993 they created a blueprint for Hip- Hop for years to come. The album was immediately recognized as a landmark album, with its raw production and explicit lyrics drenched in martial-arts symbolism and humour. Heavyweight 180 gram vinyl pressing !The group, obviously fond of kung-fu movies, renamed their Staten Island home base 'Shaolin' as a tribute to their favorite 1978 movie The 36th Chamber of Shaolin. Musical mastermind and ringmaster The RZA used loads of sound bites and samples from kung fu movies for his bleak, raw Wu-Tang sound. The Wu-Tang Clan collective proved a creative crew, releasing many solo albums of their core members (most notable: Method Man, Genius/GZA, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard), yet the success of their first album as a group was never to be topped.