Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version
Encyclopedia
Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version is the solo debut album of American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
The Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group from Staten Island that consists of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group...

 member Ol' Dirty Bastard
Ol' Dirty Bastard
Russell Tyrone Jones was an American rapper and occasional producer, who went by the stage name Ol' Dirty Bastard or simply ODB...

, released March 28, 1995 on Elektra Records
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....

 in the United States. It was the second solo album to be released from the nine-member Wu-Tang camp, following the release of their debut album. Return to the 36 Chambers was primarily produced by RZA
RZA
Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known by his stage name RZA , is an American Grammy-winning music producer, multi-instrumentalist, author, emcee, and occasional actor, director, and screenwriter. A prominent figure in Hip Hop, RZA is the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has produced almost...

, with additional production from Ol' Dirty Bastard, and affiliates True Master
True Master
True Master is an American hip-hop producer and very occasional rapper. He is closely affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan and an original member of its production team, sometimes referred to as Wu-Elements. He derives his rap nom de plume from the martial arts movie of the same name...

 and 4th Disciple
4th Disciple
Selwin Bougard, now known as El-Divine Amir Bey, better known by his stage name 4th Disciple, is a hip hop producer and engineer who was one of the founding members of Killarmy and one of the best-known Wu-Tang-affiliated producers.- Biography :...

. The album features guest appearances from Wu-Tang members GZA
GZA
Gary Grice , better known by his stage names GZA and The Genius, is an American hip hop artist and founding member of the seminal hip hop group the Wu-Tang Clan. He has also appeared on his fellow clan members' solo projects and has maintained a successful solo career...

, RZA
RZA
Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known by his stage name RZA , is an American Grammy-winning music producer, multi-instrumentalist, author, emcee, and occasional actor, director, and screenwriter. A prominent figure in Hip Hop, RZA is the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has produced almost...

, Method Man
Method Man
Clifford Smith , better known by his stage name Method Man is an American hip hop artist, record producer, actor and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He took his stage name from the 1979 film The Fearless Young Boxer, also known as Method Man. He is one half of the rap duo Method Man...

, Raekwon
Raekwon
Corey Woods , better known by the stage name Raekwon, is an American rapper and a member of the Wu-Tang Clan. He released his solo debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... in 1995, and has since recorded four solo albums, as well as work with Wu-Tang and an extensive amount of guest contributions with...

, Ghostface Killah
Ghostface Killah
Dennis Coles , better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and prominent member of the Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of Enter the Wu-Tang , the members went on to pursue solo careers to varying levels of success...

 and Masta Killa
Masta Killa
Jamel Arief , better known as Masta Killa, is an American rapper and member of the Wu-Tang Clan...

, as well as several Wu-Tang affiliates and Brooklyn Zu.

Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version peaked at number seven on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

 and number two on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...

 chart. The album sold 81,000 copies in its first week, and was certified gold in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...

 (RIAA) on June 21, 1995. Upon its release, the album received positive reviews from most music critics, with many complimenting Ol' Dirty Bastard's bizarre lyrical delivery, and RZA's eerie production. The album was nominated for a Grammy award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 at the 1996 Grammy's for Best rap album.

Background

Drawing on his raving input on Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers, Ol' Dirty Bastard upped the delirium factor several notches on his debut; incorporating other members and affiliates heavily, he leaves them to their rhyme structures and goes off on trademark rants. The beats, mostly by RZA
RZA
Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known by his stage name RZA , is an American Grammy-winning music producer, multi-instrumentalist, author, emcee, and occasional actor, director, and screenwriter. A prominent figure in Hip Hop, RZA is the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has produced almost...

, incorporate the minimalist sound of the group's debut album, but explore a skewed and discordant sound.

Reception

The Dirty Version was nominated for the 1996 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album
Grammy Award for Best Rap Album
The Grammy Award for Best Rap Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums with rapping at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards...

, but lost to Naughty by Nature
Naughty by Nature
Naughty by Nature are a Grammy Award-winning American hip hop trio from East Orange, New Jersey that at the time of its formation in 1989 consisted of Treach, Vin Rock, and the DJ Kay Gee...

's
Poverty's Paradise
Poverty's Paradise
Poverty's Paradise is the fourth album from Naughty by Nature, released on May 2, 1995 as their final album under Tommy Boy Records. It peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums...

.

In 1998, the album was selected as one of
The Sources 100 Best Rap Albums.

Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

(4/20/95, p. 78) - 4 Stars - "With his raspy, lisp-punctuated voice and half-sung, half-rapped style, [Ol' Dirty Bastard] may well be the most original vocalist in hip-hop history."

Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...

(3/31/95, p. 61) - "This solo effort by a second member of the near-platinum Wu-Tang Clan showcases the raw, innovative talent of their illest member.... The RZA's signature dissonant piano loops [sparkle] behind Dirty's delirious, reverberating delivery." - Rating: A-

Vibe (5/95, p. 97) - "Ol' Dirty's catchy sing-along...is paired with subtle keyboards and the Rza's typically murky beats, yielding a mystic's brew, which, like all Wu-related fare, defiantly flies in the face of conventions....the aural pleasures are...convincing."

The Source
The Source (magazine)
The Source is a United States-based, monthly full-color magazine covering hip-hop music, politics, and culture, founded in 1988. It is the world's second longest running rap periodical, behind United Kingdom-based publication Hip Hop Connection. The Source was founded as a newsletter in 1988...

 (5/95, p. 65) - 4 Stars - "The third shot fired in the Wu-Tang revolution spotlights the crazy drunken flow of the Ol' Dirty Bastard....a must-have for every real hardcore head....hardcore lyrics kicked live over a non-stop assault of that addictive Shao-lin funk."

Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...

(4/22/95, p. 35) - "...an hour of cruel hard and frighteningly funny hip hop; the perfect companion piece to Wu-Tang's 36 Chambers...the songs are driven by a vicious, unstable urgency."

Village Voice (2/20/96) - Ranked #39 in Village Voice's 1995 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll.

Track listing

Samples

"Intro"
  • Samples English-language dialogue from the film The 36th Chamber of Shaolin
    The 36th Chamber of Shaolin
    The 36th Chamber of Shaolin , also known as The Master Killer and Shaolin Master Killer, is a 1978 Shaw Brothers kung fu film directed by Liu Chia-liang and starring Gordon Liu....


"Shimmy Shimmy Ya"
  • Samples "I Like It" by The Emotions
    The Emotions
    The Emotions are an American all female soul and R&B singing group. The group was formed in its current hometown of Chicago, Illinois originally consisting of the three Hutchinson sisters, all the children of Joseph and Lillian Hutchinson....

  • Samples "Knocks Me Off My Feet" by Stevie Wonder
    Stevie Wonder
    Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...

  • Samples "Have Your Ass Home by – 11:00" by Richard Pryor
    Richard Pryor
    Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, writer and MC. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets...


"Brooklyn Zoo"
  • Interpolates "Protect Ya Neck
    Protect Ya Neck
    "Protect Ya Neck" is the debut single by hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. The song is from the group's critically acclaimed first album Enter the Wu-Tang and is one of the group's most popular singles...

    " by the Wu-Tang Clan

"Hippa to da Hoppa"
  • Samples "It's a New Day" by Skull Snaps
    Skull Snaps
    Skull Snaps was a funk group that released one eponymous album on the small GSF label in 1973 before disappearing. It was, in fact, the group originally known as the Diplomats, which released numerous singles between 1963 and 1970 with some success....

  • Samples "Hip-Hug-Her" by Booker T & The M.G's & "Sing a Simple Song
    Sing a Simple Song
    "Sing a Simple Song" is a 1968 song by the soul/rock/funk band Sly & the Family Stone, the b-side to their #1 hit "Everyday People". The song's lyrics, sung in turn by Sly Stone, Freddie Stone, Rose Stone, and Larry Graham, with spoken word sections by Cynthia Robinson, offer a simple solution for...

    " by Sly & The Family Stone
    Sly & the Family Stone
    Sly and the Family Stone were an American rock, funk, and soul band from San Francisco, California. Active from 1966 to 1983, the band was pivotal in the development of soul, funk, and psychedelic music...


"Don't U Know"
  • Samples "Ain't No Sunshine
    Ain't No Sunshine
    "Ain't No Sunshine" is a song by Bill Withers from his 1971 album Just as I Am, produced by Booker T. Jones. The record featured musicians Donald "Duck" Dunn on bass guitar and Al Jackson, Jr. on drums, as well as Withers on lead vocals and guitar. The song was released as a single in September...

    " by Lyn Collins
    Lyn Collins
    Lyn Collins was an African American soul singer best known for working with James Brown in the 1970s. Contrary to some reports, she is not related to Bootsy Collins, nor Catfish Collins....



"Goin' Down"
  • Samples "Time without End" by Bel Canto
    Bel Canto (band)
    Bel Canto is a Norwegian music duo, originally a trio, fronted by Anneli Drecker, and signed originally to Crammed Discs.-Biography:Their first two records were licensed to Nettwerk Records in Canada and its second album was licensed to IRS/MCA Records...

  • Interpolates “Over the Rainbow
    Over the Rainbow
    "Over the Rainbow" is a classic Academy Award-winning ballad song with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg. It was written for the movie The Wizard of Oz, and was sung by Judy Garland in the movie...

    ” by Harold Arlen
    Harold Arlen
    Harold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...

     and Yip Harburg
    Yip Harburg
    Edgar Yipsel Harburg , known as E.Y. Harburg or Yip Harburg, was an American popular song lyricist who worked with many well-known composers...


"Snakes"
  • Interpolates "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown
    Bad, Bad Leroy Brown
    "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" is the title of a song written by American folk rock singer Jim Croce. Released as part of his 1973 album Life and Times, the song was a Number One pop hit for him, spending two weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1973...

    " by Jim Croce
    Jim Croce
    James Joseph "Jim" Croce January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973 was an American singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, Croce released five studio albums and 11 singles...

  • Samples "I'll Never Do You Wrong" by Joe Tex
    Joe Tex
    Joseph Arrington, Jr. , better known as "Joe Tex", was an American Southern soul singer-songwriter, most popular during the 1960s and 1970s...

  • Samples "Papa Was, Too" by Joe Tex
    Joe Tex
    Joseph Arrington, Jr. , better known as "Joe Tex", was an American Southern soul singer-songwriter, most popular during the 1960s and 1970s...

  • Samples dialogue from the film Five Deadly Venoms
    Five Deadly Venoms
    Five Venoms aka Five Deadly Venoms is a cult 1978 Hong Kong martial arts film directed by Chang Cheh, starring the Venom Mob, and produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio, about five kung-fu fighters with unique animal styles: The Centipede, The Snake, The Scorpion, The Lizard and The Toad...


"Cuttin' Headz"
  • Samples "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss
  • Samples "Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are" by Thelonious Monk
    Thelonious Monk
    Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...

  • Samples "House of God" by Dimensional Holofonic Sound

"Harlem World"
  • Samples "Here I Come" by Barrington Levy
    Barrington Levy
    Barrington Levy is a reggae and dancehall artist from Jamaica.-Career:In 1976, Levy formed a band with his cousin, Everton Dacres, called the Mighty Multitude; the pair released "My Black Girl" in 1977...

  • Interpolates "Hollywood Swinging
    Hollywood Swinging
    "Hollywood Swinging" is a song by R&B/funk band Kool & the Gang from their album Wild and Peaceful. The song became their first number one R&B single, reaching that position in June, 1974. It proved to also be a successful crossover hit, peaking at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart....

    " by Kool & the Gang
    Kool & the Gang
    Kool & the Gang are an American jazz, R&B, soul, and funk group, originally formed as the Jazziacs in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1964.They went through several musical phases during the course of their recording career, starting out with a purist jazz sound, then becoming practitioners of R&B and...



Musicians

  • Ol' Dirty Bastard
    Ol' Dirty Bastard
    Russell Tyrone Jones was an American rapper and occasional producer, who went by the stage name Ol' Dirty Bastard or simply ODB...

     – assistant engineer, mixing
    Audio mixing (recorded music)
    In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...

    , producer
    Record producer
    A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

    , vocals
    Rapping
    Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...

  • RZA
    RZA
    Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known by his stage name RZA , is an American Grammy-winning music producer, multi-instrumentalist, author, emcee, and occasional actor, director, and screenwriter. A prominent figure in Hip Hop, RZA is the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has produced almost...

     – producer, mixing, vocals
  • Ghostface Killah
    Ghostface Killah
    Dennis Coles , better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and prominent member of the Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of Enter the Wu-Tang , the members went on to pursue solo careers to varying levels of success...

    , GZA
    GZA
    Gary Grice , better known by his stage names GZA and The Genius, is an American hip hop artist and founding member of the seminal hip hop group the Wu-Tang Clan. He has also appeared on his fellow clan members' solo projects and has maintained a successful solo career...

    , Masta Killa
    Masta Killa
    Jamel Arief , better known as Masta Killa, is an American rapper and member of the Wu-Tang Clan...

    , Method Man
    Method Man
    Clifford Smith , better known by his stage name Method Man is an American hip hop artist, record producer, actor and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He took his stage name from the 1979 film The Fearless Young Boxer, also known as Method Man. He is one half of the rap duo Method Man...

    , Raekwon
    Raekwon
    Corey Woods , better known by the stage name Raekwon, is an American rapper and a member of the Wu-Tang Clan. He released his solo debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... in 1995, and has since recorded four solo albums, as well as work with Wu-Tang and an extensive amount of guest contributions with...

    , Killah Priest
    Killah Priest
    Walter Reed, better known as Killah Priest, Iron Sheik from the Middle East, or Masada, is an American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan affiliate who was raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant & Brownsville neighbourhoods in Brooklyn. He is known for intensely spiritual lyrics loaded with metaphors and religious...

    , Sunz Of Man
    Sunz of Man
    Sunz of Man is a Wu-Tang Clan affiliated group that currently consists of Prodigal Sunn, Hell Razah, 60 Second Assassin, Shabazz the Disciple and Killah Priest. The group's first incarnation also included 7th Ambassador and Supreme...

    , Brooklyn Zu – vocals
  • Buddha Monk – vocals, mixing

Additional

  • Big Dore – producer
  • True Master
    True Master
    True Master is an American hip-hop producer and very occasional rapper. He is closely affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan and an original member of its production team, sometimes referred to as Wu-Elements. He derives his rap nom de plume from the martial arts movie of the same name...

     – producer
  • Ethan Ryman – producer, engineer
  • John Wydrycs, Tim Latham – engineer, mixing
  • Jimmie Lee, Jack Hersca – engineer, assistant engineer
  • Deden Sumandani – mixing
  • Martin Czembor – assistant engineer, mixing
  • David Sealy, Jay Nicholas – assistant engineer
  • Alli – art direction
  • Danny Clinch
    Danny Clinch
    Danny Clinch is a photographer and film director who was born in Toms River, New Jersey in 1964. He graduated from Toms River High School East in 1982 and after attending Ocean County College, he attended the New England School of Photography, a two-year institution located in Boston, MA.Clinch...

     – photography

Chart history

Album - Billboard (North America)
Year Chart Position
1995 Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

7
1995 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...

2

Accolades

  • The information regarding accolades is adapted from acclaimedmusic.net
  • (*) signifies unordered lists

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Blender
Blender (magazine)
Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....

United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die 2003 *
Ego Trip
Ego trip (magazine)
ego trip was the name of a hip hop magazine started in New York City in 1994. It lasted four years and 13 issues and distinguished itself based on its irreverence and defiant attitude, eventually adopting the tagline, "the arrogant voice of musical truth."-Description:The roots of the publication...

Hip Hop's 25 Greatest Albums by Year 1980-98 1999 4
Hip Hop Connection
Hip Hop Connection
Hip Hop Connection is the longest running monthly periodical devoted entirely to hip hop culture. HHC has earned international recognition and was described by Chuck D as "the best magazine in the world".-History:...

United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

The 100 Greatest Rap Albums 1995-2005 2005 32
Les Inrockuptibles
Les Inrockuptibles
Les Inrockuptibles is a French cultural magazine. Started as a monthly magazine in 1986, it became weekly in 1995. The name is a play on "Les Incorruptibles", the French title of the American television series The Untouchables...

France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

Albums of the Year 1995 *
Muzik
Muzik
Muzik was a UK dance music magazine published by IPC Media from June 1995 to August 2003.Muzik was created by two former Melody Maker journalists, Push and Ben Turner. Push was the editor of Muzik from its launch until he left the magazine in 1998, at which point Turner took over as editor...

United Kingdom Albums of the Year 1995 15
Ned Raggett United States The Top 136 Albums of the Nineties 1999 87
Pop Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

Albums of the Year 1995 14
The Source
The Source (magazine)
The Source is a United States-based, monthly full-color magazine covering hip-hop music, politics, and culture, founded in 1988. It is the world's second longest running rap periodical, behind United Kingdom-based publication Hip Hop Connection. The Source was founded as a newsletter in 1988...

United States The 100 Best Rap Albums of All Time 1998 *
Spex
Spex (magazine)
Spex is a prominent German rock and pop culture magazine located in Berlin, Germany. Besides music news, Spex also covers literature, cinema, fashion and contemporary social trends...

Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

The 100 Albums of the Century 1999 67
Albums of the Year 1995 1
The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...

United States Albums of the Year 1995 39

External links

  • Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version at Discogs
    Discogs
    Discogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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