Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)

Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) is the debut album of the East Coast hip hop collective the Wu-Tang Clan. It was released on November 9, 1993 by Loud Records and RCA. Many critics consider Enter The Wu-Tang one of the most significant albums of the 1990s and one of the greatest hip hop albums recorded. The distinctive sound of Enter the Wu-Tang created a blueprint for hardcore rap in the mid-1990s and helped return New York City hip hop to national prominence. The Wu-Tang Clan's debut was a landmark album in an era known as the East Coast Renaissance. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked it among the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". The group's leader, RZA, produced the album with heavy, eerie beats, largely based on martial-arts movie clips and soul music samples. The album itself is named for the 1978 martial arts film The 36th Chamber of Shaolin.

The unique sound of Enter the Wu-Tang became hugely influential in modern hip hop production. The album also marked the first appearance of a number of rappers—including Method Man, Ol' Dirty Bastard and Raekwon—who have collectively sold millions of solo records. The lyrics of Enter the Wu-Tang are explicit, humorous, and free-associative, and served as a template for many subsequent hip hop records. The Source declared that the first two singles from Enter the Wu-Tang, "Protect Ya Neck" and "C.R.E.A.M.", are among the 100 Best Rap Singles yet released. Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) had surprising chart success, despite its raw, underground sound. Its highest Billboard 200 chart ranking was number 41, and by May 15, 1995 it was certified platinum by the RIAA. The style and success of Enter the Wu-Tang led the way for such artists as Nas, The Notorious B.I.G., Mobb Deep and Jay-Z.