June 1997. If you were there, you remember the smell of the record store and that massive, gold-embossed "W" staring at you from the shelves. People weren't just buying an album; they were buying a manifesto. The wu tang forever songs weren't supposed to just be "hits." They were a 27-track middle finger to the shiny suit era of Diddy and Mase.
It sold 612,000 copies in its first week. That’s wild for a double album that featured a six-minute intro of Poppa Wu talking about Five-Percent philosophy.
Honestly, some people still call it bloated. They're wrong. It’s a sprawl, sure, but it’s a deliberate one. RZA wasn't trying to give you 36 Chambers Part 2. He was trying to build a digital fortress. He traded the dusty, basement-dwelling SP-1200 grit for something more cinematic—keyboards, violins, and a cleaner (but still weirdly distorted) high-end that pushed the Clan into the stratosphere.
Why Triumph Is Still the Greatest Posse Cut Ever
You can't talk about the tracklist without starting here. "Triumph." No chorus. Nine verses. Almost six minutes of pure, unadulterated lyricism. When Inspectah Deck opens with "I bomb atomically, Socrates' philosophies..." the world stops.
Seriously.
It was the first time many of us heard the whole Clan back together after the legendary run of solo albums like Only Built 4 Cuban Linx and Liquid Swords. It felt like the Avengers assembling, but with more New York grit and better slang.
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What’s crazy is that "Triumph" actually charted. In an era where "Mo Money Mo Problems" was the vibe, the Wu-Tang Clan put out a song with zero hooks and a video involving a literal swarm of killer bees. It was a flex. They didn't move to the industry; the industry had to figure out how to deal with them.
The Deep Cuts That Defined the Sound
While the singles got the videos, the real meat of the wu tang forever songs lies in the messy, experimental middle. Take "Impossible." Most people point to Ghostface Killah’s verse here as his magnum opus. He’s describing his friend Jamie dying in his arms, and the detail is so sharp it’s uncomfortable.
"You walked by smelling like watermelon, you might make me a felon..."
That’s Cappadonna on "Maria," and yeah, the lyrics on this album get weird. It’s a mix of high-level Five-Percent Nation mathematics and raw, sometimes problematic, street stories.
- "Reunited": The violins. The GZA’s clinical opening. It’s the perfect tone-setter for Disc 1.
- "The M.G.M.": Raekwon and Ghostface doing what they do best—cinematic storytelling. They’re at a boxing match, but you feel like you’re in a Scorsese film.
- "For Heavens Sake": This is where RZA’s new production style really shines. It’s got that "new" Wu sound—crisp drums and haunting, layered melodies.
The Production Shift: RZA's "Digital" Era
A lot of fans complain about the "sibilance" on the vinyl pressings of this album. If you listen closely, there’s a lot of high-frequency hiss. Some say it’s bad mastering; others say it’s just how RZA was pushing his gear at the time. He was moving away from the "dusty" sound.
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He wanted it to sound big.
He used the Ensoniq ASR-10, but he was also incorporating more live-sounding elements and keyboards like the Roland JV-2080. The result? Songs like "A Better Tomorrow." It’s somber. It’s reflective. It samples T La Rock’s "It's Yours" but turns it into a cautionary tale about the hood.
It wasn't just about being tough anymore. The Clan was older. They were rich, but they were also seeing the cracks in the foundation. Money was starting to cause issues internally. You can almost hear the tension in the way the verses are structured—everyone is trying to out-rap everyone else. It’s competitive.
The ODB Factor (Or Lack Thereof)
If there’s one legitimate gripe about the wu tang forever songs, it’s the absence of Ol' Dirty Bastard. Because of legal issues and, well, ODB being ODB, his presence is scattered.
He’s there for the hooks on "Reunited" and "As High as Wu-Tang Get," but he only has one solo track: "Dog Shit." It’s a classic, chaotic Dirty performance, but the album misses that wild-card energy that made the first record so fun. Instead, we got a lot more Cappadonna.
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Love him or hate him, Cappa’s verse on "Winter Warz" (technically a solo soundtrack song but often associated with this era) and his work on "Little Ghetto Boys" became part of the Wu DNA. He was the unofficial tenth member, filling the gaps left by a busy, sometimes incarcerated Dirty.
The Misconception of "Filler"
Is the album too long? Maybe. But "filler" is a strong word when you’re talking about tracks like "Hellz Wind Staff" or "Heaterz." These are pure, 90s boom-bap staples.
If you cut this down to a single disc, you’d lose the world-building. The skits, the long-winded intros, the "Project International" remixes—they create an atmosphere. You’re not just listening to music; you’re inhabiting a space.
It’s a demanding listen. You can't just throw on Wu-Tang Forever in the background while you're doing dishes. It requires your attention. You have to decode the slang. You have to catch the references to 70s kung-fu cinema and the Bible.
How to Revisit the Tracklist Today
If you’re diving back in, don't just hit shuffle. The sequencing matters. Disc 1 is the statement of intent. Disc 2 is the darker, more introspective side.
- For the lyricists: Listen to "Impossible" and "Triumph" back-to-back. Look for the internal rhymes.
- For the vibe: "Cash Still Rules/Scary Hours." The beat is menacing, and the flow is effortless.
- For the history: "Wu-Revolution." It’s long, but it explains the philosophy behind the music.
Actionable Insight: To truly appreciate the complexity of the wu tang forever songs, listen to the album with the lyrics open. The Wu-Slanguage is dense; terms like "zig-zag-zig" or references to the "360 degrees of knowledge" aren't just filler—they're the pillars of their entire brand. If you want the best audio experience, seek out the original 1997 CD rather than the recent vinyl reissues, which many audiophiles claim suffer from excessive sibilance and "thin" high-ends. Use a high-quality pair of headphones to catch the subtle layers RZA tucked into the background of tracks like "Bells of War."