Wu-Tang Clan "Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)" Import LP (Yellow Vinyl)

UK Version. Limited Edition. Yellow Vinyl Pressing.  Masterminded by the group’s de facto leader RZA, the album paired grit-sodden, lo-fi production with razor sharp rhyming skills from the nine-man troupe who claimed Shaolin (as they’d re-christened Staten Island) as their fortress. The album’s influence has become legendary: It helped restore New York City rap pride in the face of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg’s g-funk dominance, Raekwon and Ghostface’s rhyme styles inspired the subsequent work of Nas, Jay Z and the Notorious BIG, and RZA’s trick of speeding up soul samples struck a chord with a young Kanye West who then embraced the technique for his own early break-through productions. Every track on Enter the Wu-Tang is packed with fresh, inventive rhymes, which are filled with martial arts metaphors, pop culture references (everything from Voltron to Lucky Charms cereal commercials to Barbra Streisand's "The Way We Were"), bizarre threats of violence, and a truly twisted sense of humor.