Wikipedia:Today's featured article/November 8, 2013

Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) is the debut album of American hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, released in November 1993 on Loud Records and distributed through RCA Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during 1992 and 1993 at Firehouse Studio in New York City, and it was mastered at The Hit Factory. The album's title originates from the martial arts film The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978). The group's de facto leader RZA (pictured), produced the album, utilizing heavy, eerie beats and a sound largely based on martial-arts movie clips and soul music samples. The album's distinctive sound created a blueprint for hardcore hip hop during the 1990s and helped return New York City hip hop to national prominence. Its sound also became hugely influential in modern hip hop production, while the group members' explicit, humorous, and free-associative lyrics have served as a template for many subsequent hip hop records. Receiving generally positive reviews from contemporary critics, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) is regarded by music writers as one of the most significant albums of the 1990s, as well as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time. (Full article...)

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