Now then Leeds, I'm DJ Wax On AKA the Wakefield Wonder, bringing you some knowledge and insight into the world of DJing and funky beats. Today I'm assuming the role of the Gary Bushell of the turntables, and looking at a classic album of hip hop's "Golden Era"

There are a few different ways that an album can become a classic, one way being through the impact that it had at the time, and Enter the 36 Chambers by Wu-Tang Clan is a concrete example of this.

Wu-Tang's beginnings lie with founding members RZA and GZA having had failed attempts at solo careers due to the political climate and money driven side of hip hop(i.e. the record labels). Due to these problems, the two rappers, alongside their cousin Ol' Dirty Bastard (AKA ODB), decided to form a group and go out on their own. So with recruits Method Man, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Inspectah Deck, Masta Killa and U-God, Wu-Tang Clan was born.

Shortly following the single "Protect Ya Neck", Wu-Tang signed with Loud Records. This signalled the first hip hop deal which enabled all the solo artists to negotiate their own contracts with other record labels, which is one way in which they changed the mould.

That's the business side of it out of the way, now for the record: Enter the 36 Chambers is many things; Dark, Dirty, Smooth, Soulful, Upbeat, Tough, Funky, Funny and more. The album kicks off with one of the now trademark kung fu samples which are present on a high amount of Wu albums. The referencing of Kung Fu and Martial Arts in hip hop has been repeated by many people (including myself) in the past 15 years, and martial arts have become a part of hip hop culture to some degree.

In terms of the tracks on this album, there's no bad track. And something that really makes a good album as opposed to an album with good tracks, is the flow. And the flow of this album is up there with some of the best album ever for me. The skits manage to really glue the tracks together on this album, and manage to set the scene and provide a humerous narrative. Standout tracks on the album are "Shame on a N***a", which is an fun and funky party joint which keeps the darkness whilst moving a dancefloor. "Can It Be That It Was All So Simple", a soulful throwback to older times on which Ghostface and Raekwon show their storytelling abilities which dominate their future work. "Method Man", which starts with one of the best skits on any rap album ever, and lets Method Man shine, as he was earmarked to be the standout artist at the time of the album's inception. To be honest, there are more standout tracks than my 450-ish words will allow me to mention, but be sure that if you're a hip hop head, no track on this album should leave you disappointed.




And if that's not enough to go on, visit www.djwaxon.com or www.myspace.com/djwaxon to check out some of Wakefield's finest beats & mixtapes