Sunday Night Sample - Wu Tang Clan - Protect Ya Neck (ROB THOMAS EDITION)
So last week we interviewed Rob Thomas from Matchbox 20 (ever heard of them?) and it was an amazing hour talking to the guy. It'll be on the blog this week for those of you not subscribed to the 903rd Barstool podcast and missed it.
But during the interview, I asked him who he listens to now (earlier he said he doesn't listen to pop music today). His response, as to whom he and his wife listen to while "they do the dishes"? (Sidebar - Rob Thomas was talking about sex. Clearly. You think Rob Thomas has ever "done a dish" since he was 20 and "3AM" exploded? Get a brain dumb dumb.)
His answer was the Wu kid.
So that's who we're featuring tonight. Enjoy.
"Protect Ya Neck" was actually the lead single from 36 Chambers, released in 1993. The hardcore track was our first introduction to the Staten Island group who had financed the recording themselves and pressed a 12" single containing three versions of this song and a vocal and instrumental version of "After The Laughter Comes Tears" as the B-side.
They also took care of distribution (bringing the single to local record shops and selling out of cars) and promotion (hitting up local clubs and radio stations) on their own. Their plan worked, and this DIY underground success gave the act instant credibility, as it was clear that these guys were real hustlers who lived their lyrics, and not a burnished record company creation.
Major labels came calling, and the group signed with RCA subsidiary Loud Records in a deal that included an unusual clause: all members were free to pursue solo careers outside of the label. (Imagine this happening today? Lol.)
GZA's verse at the end of the song makes it clear how they feel about the music industry, as he raps: "The Wu is too slammin' for these Cold Killin' labels." Before joining Wu-Tang, GZA had a solo deal with Cold Chillin' Records, which soured him on the industry.
RZA also had a pre-WU record deal, releasing a single (under the alias Prince Rakeem) called "Ooh, I Love You Rakeem" on Tommy Boy Records. That one also flopped.
It's one of the tracks that best exemplifies the group, featuring eight out of nine Wu-Tang MCs, with Masta Killa being the only exception from the track.
Throughout the song, RZA chops up a James Brown sample in a manner similar to that of Public Enemy’s "Bomb Squad", looping the opening segment of ‘The Grunt’ to be the main instrumental hook of the track.
SAMPLE - THE JB'S - THE GRUNT
Since it was released as a single, and this was the mid 1990's, several expletives (most of them care of Ol’ Dirty Bastard, obviously) are censored throughout ‘Protect Ya Neck’, with the Wu choosing to use a sample of a synth stab from LL Cool J’s ‘Rock The Bells’ to cover up any questionable phrasings in the song.
SAMPLE - LL COOL J - Rock The Bells
Becuase RZA is and always was a genius, there’s also an obscure string sample from "Cowboys To Girls" by The Intruders tucked away in the mix (listen closely around the 0.50-second mark for its first appearance.) How RZA ever even heard these songs and remembered the parts of them he did, and then could hear in head head where they fit in on his original production is seriously mind-blowing.
Here's another version of the track -
p.s. - Clem documented it otherwise I'd never believe it happened, but The Wu performed this on Good Morning America. True story.
p.p.s. - if you're not watching the Wu Tang show, "An American Saga" on Hulu you need to start. As Rob Thomas from Matchbox 20 (ever heard of him?) said in our interview on BARSTOOL BACKSTAGE this week, he and his wife can't stop watching it.
Get on it from the first season, the casting is great, the writing is awesome, and the music is so fucking good it's crazy.