Released: November 9, 1993

Songwriter: RZA U-God Inspectah Deck Raekwon Ol’ Dirty Bastard Ghostface Killah Masta Killa

Producer: RZA Ol’ Dirty Bastard

[Intro: "Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang" + "Five Deadly Venoms"]
A game of chess is like a swordfight:
You must think first before you move
Toad style is immensely strong
And immune to nearly any weapon
When it's properly used it's almost invincible

[Verse 1: U-God]
Raw I'ma give it to ya
With no trivia
Raw like cocaine straight from Bolivia
My Hip-Hop will rock and shock the nation
Like the Emancipation Proclamation
Weak MC's
Approach with slang that's dead
You might as well run into the wall and bang your head
I'm pushin' force
My force you're doubtin'
I'm makin' devils cower to the Caucasus Mountains

[Verse 2: Inspectah Deck]
Well, I'm a sire
I set the microphone on fire
Rap styles vary
And carry like Mariah
I come from the Shaolin slum
And the isle I'm from
Is comin' through with nuff niggas
And nuff guns
So if you wanna come sweatin'
Stressin', contestin'
You'll catch a sharp sword to the midsection
Don't talk the talk
If you can't walk the walk
Phony niggas are outlined in chalk
I'm mad vexed
It's what the projects made me
Rebel to the grain, there's no way to barricade me
Steamrollin' niggas like an 18 wheeler with a drunk driver drivin'
There's no survivin'

[Verse 3: Raekwon]
Rough like Timberland wear
Yeah!
Me and the Clan in 'Yota Landcruisers out there
Peace to all the crooks
All the niggas with bad looks
Bald heads, braids
Blow this hook
We pack chrome TEC's
Nickel-plated MAC's
Black AC's
Drug-dealin' styles in phat stacks
I only been a good nigga for a minute though
'Cause I got to get my props
And win it, yo
I got beef with commercial-ass niggas with gold teeth
Lampin' in a Lexus, eatin' beef
Straight up and down, don't even bother
I got 40 niggas up in here now who kill niggas' fathers

[Chorus: Method Man]
My peoples, are you with me? Where you at?
In the front, in the back, Killa Bees on attack
My peoples, are you with me? Where you at?
Smokin' meth, hittin' cats on the block with the gats

[Verse 4: Ol' Dirty Bastard]
Here I go
Deep type flow
Jacques Cousteau could never get this low, I'm
Cherry bombin' shits… BOOM!
Just warmin' up a little bit (vroom vroom)
Rappinin' is what's happenin'
Keep the pockets stacked and then
Hands clap and then
At the party when I move my body
Gotta get up and be somebody!
Grab the microphone, put strength
To the bone, DUH DUH DUH… enter the Wu-Tang zone
Sure enough when I
Rock that stuff, huff
Puff
I'm gonna catch your bluff tuff
Rough
Kickin' rhymes like Jim Kelly
Or Alex Haley, I'm a nuh…
Beetle Bailey rhymes
Comin' raw style
Hardcore
Niggas be comin' to the hip-hop store
Comin' to buy grocery from me
Tryin' to be
A hip-hop MC
The law
In order to enter the Wu-Tang
You must bring the Ol' Dirty Bastard type slang
Represent the GZA, Abbot, RZA, Shaquan
Inspectah Deck
Dirty Ho gettin' low with his flow
Introducin' the Ghostface Killah
No one could get iller

[Chorus: Method Man]
My peoples, are you with me? Where you at?
In the front, in the back, Killa Beez on attack
My peoples, are you with me? Where you at?
Smokin' meth, hittin' cats on the block with the gats

[Verse 5: Ghostface Killah]
Speakin' of the Devil, psych!
No, it's the God, get the shit right
Mega trife, and yo, I killed you in a past life
On the mic while you was kickin' that fast shit
You reneged, tried again and got blasted
Half-mastered-ass style, mad ruff task
When I struck I had on Timbs and a black mask
Remember that shit?
I know you don't remember jack
That night, yo I was hittin' like a spiked bat
Until you thought I was bugged out and crazy
Strapped for nonsense
After me became lazy
Yo, nobody budge while I shot slugs
Never shot thugs
I'm runnin' with thugs that flood mugs
So, grab your eight plus one
Start flippin' and trippin'
Niggas is jettin', I'm lickin' off, son

[All]
Wu! Tang! Wu! Tang!
Wu! Tang! Wu! Ta-a-ang!

[Verse 6: Masta Killa]
Homicide's illegal and death is the penalty
What justifies the homicide
When he dies
In his own iniquity?
It's the master of the Mantis Rapture comin' at ya
We have an APB
On an MC Killer
Looks like the work of a master
Evidence indicates that his stature
Merciless like a terrorist hard to capture
The flow
Changes like a chameleon
Plays like a friend and stabs you like a dagger
This technique attacks the immune system
Disguised like a lie, paralysin' the victim
You scream
As it enters your bloodstream
Erupts your brain from the pain these thoughts contain
Movin' on a nigga with the speed of a centipede
And injure
Any motherfuckin' contender

[Chorus: Method Man]
My peoples, are you with me? Where you at?
In the front, in the back, Killa Beez on attack
My peoples, are you with me? Where you at?
Smokin' meth, hittin' cats on the block with the gats

[Outro: "Five Deadly Venoms"]
And immune to nearly any weapon
When it's properly used it's almost invincible
Toad style is immensely strong
And immune to nearly any weapon
When it's properly used it's almost invincible
When it's properly used

Wu-Tang Clan

Emerging in 1993, when Dr. Dre’s G-funk had overtaken the hip-hop world, the Staten Island, NY-based Wu-Tang Clan proved to be the most revolutionary rap group of the mid-’90s – and only partially because of their music.

Turning the standard concept of a hip-hop crew inside out, the Wu-Tang Clan were assembled as a loose congregation of nine MCs, almost as a support group. Instead of releasing one album after another, the Clan was designed to overtake the record industry in as profitable a fashion as possible – the idea was to establish the Wu-Tang as a force with their debut album and then spin off into as many side projects as possible.

In the process, the members would all become individual stars as well as receive individual royalty checks. Wu-Tang Clan has several lyrical Einsteins aboard. As far as large vocabularies, GZA (not called Genius without reason) places in the top 2! RZA, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, and Method Man are also all within the top 25. Wu-Tang Clan does not disappoint.