3 Eternal Wu-Tang Clan Songs That May Inspire You To Write Your Own Raps

The Staten Island, New York-born rap group known as Wu-Tang Clan were instrumental in the genre for several reasons. Above all else, the collective created a number of incredible songs and albums. But secondly, they were just that—a collective. Not only did they prove that a large group could make it in hip-hop music, but their giant group spawned a number of incredible solo artists, from Method Man and RZA to Ghostface Killah and Ol’ Dirty Bastard.

Here below, we wanted to explore three songs from the group that prove their chemistry and prowess on the microphone. Indeed, these are three eternal Wu-Tang Clan songs that may just inspire you to write your own raps.

[RELATED: The Story Behind the Band Name: Wu-Tang Clan]

“C.R.E.A.M.” from Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1994)

The song that gave the world the phrase Cash rules everything around me! If nothing else, rap music aspires to tell the truth and tell it plainly, which is why Public Enemy frontman Chuck D called it the “Black CNN.” And this catchy track is yet another example. When you grow up in the city, you see that this truth can be bitterly clear. Sometimes there’s no money for groceries, the bus, electricity, and the like. So, you have to go out and find your own. And this song opens with Raekwon, who raps,

I grew up on the crime side, the New York Times side
Stayin’ alive was no jive
Had secondhands, Mom’s bounced on old man
So then we moved to Shaolin land
A young youth, yo, rockin’ the gold tooth, ‘Lo goose
Only way I begin the G off was drug loot
And let’s start it like this, son
Rollin’ with this one and that one, pullin’ out gats for fun
But it was just a dream for the teen
Who was a fiend, started smokin’ woolies at 16
And runnin’ up in gates and doin’ hits for high stakes
Makin’ my way on fire escapes

“Triumph” from Wu-Tang Forever (1997)

This was one of the biggest songs of 1997 and it opens with one of the most recognizable and virtuosic rap verses from Wu-Tang’s Inspectah Deck. So, without further ado, let’s just dive into his opening verse, which is one many from the 1990s they can rattle off the top of their heads,

I bomb atomically, Socrates’ philosophies and hypotheses
Can’t define how I be dropping these mockeries
Lyrically perform armed robbery
Flee with the lottery, possibly they spotted me
Battle-scarred Shogun, explosion when my pen hits tremendous
Ultraviolet shine blind forensics
I inspect you through the future see millennium
Killa Beez sold fifty gold, sixty platinum
Shackling the masses with drastic rap tactics
Graphic displays melt the steel like blacksmiths
Black Wu jackets, Queen Beez ease the guns in
Rumble with patrolmen, tear gas laced the function

“Protect Ya Neck” from Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1992)

The debut single that introduced the world to the Wu-Tang Clan. This song comes from the collective’s 1992 LP Enter the Wu-Tang. It shows both the group’s power and their chemistry. Produced by Wu-Tang’s longtime centerpiece frontman RZA, it displays the group’s original lineup. And on it, the gravelly-voiced Method Man comes in about halfway through the track and raps,

It’s the Method Man, for short Mr. Meth
Movin’ on your left, aah!
And set it off, get it off, let it off like a gat
I wanna break full, cock me back
Small change, they puttin’ shame in the game
I take aim and blow that n—a out the frame
And like Fame my style’ll live forever
N—as crossin’ over, but they don’t know no better
But I do, true, can I get a “suue”
Enough respect due to the one-six-ooh
I mean O, yo check out the flow
Like the Hudson or PCP when I’m dustin’
N—as off, because I’m hot like sauce
The smoke from the lyrical blunt make me

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