The W

hip hop · 2000 · 13 tracks

The W

November 20, 2000 · Loud Records

A lean, sixty-minute return to form that strips away excess. The W delivers a concentrated dose of the collective's core strengths, trading sprawling structures for a sharper focus.

Under the sonic direction of RZA, the production leans heavily into scary ambience and brutal, immediate hooks, allowing the core vocalists to swap verses with a renewed sense of collaborative urgency.

Tracklist · 13 Tracks

01

Intro (Shaolin Finger Jab) / Chamber Music

4:27

02

Careful (Click, Click)

4:56

03

Hollow Bones

3:37

04

Redbull

feat. Redman

3:54

05

One Blood Under W

feat. Junior Reid

4:11

06

Conditioner

feat. Snoop Dogg

5:33

07

Protect Ya Neck (The Jump Off)

3:59

08

Let My Niggas Live

feat. Nas

4:30

09

I Can’t Go to Sleep

feat. Isaac Hayes

3:35

10

Do You Really (Thang, Thang)

5:22

11

The Monument

feat. Busta Rhymes

2:39

12

Gravel Pit

feat. Paulisa Moorman

4:52

13

Jah World / Clap

7:37

Moments Worth Listening For

08Let My Niggas LiveNas joins the collective on 'Let My Niggas Live', delivering a sharp, competitive verse that raises the stakes among the core members.

09I Can’t Go to SleepIsaac Hayes lends his dramatic presence to 'I Can’t Go to Sleep', anchoring the track's heavy emotional weight.

Reviews

AllMusic

21 November 2000

The back-to-basics approach works well, not only because it rightly puts the focus back on the best cadre of rappers in the world of hip-hop, but also because RZA's immense trackmaster talents can't help but shine through anyway.

Rolling Stone

Kris Ex · 14 December 2000

While you would never call a Wu-Tang Clan affair truly accessible, The W is their most inclusive album yet.

Metacritic

21 November 2000

It's about as good a hip hop album as you will hear this year.

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