Happy 20th Anniversary to Wu-Tang Clan’s fourth studio album Iron Flag, originally released December 18, 2001.
Versatility built the legend of the Wu-Tang Clan. The Staten Island-based collective shifted the landscape of hip-hop music based on the diverse talents of its core members while on the mic. Backed by the gritty production of the group’s architect, RZA, the crew captured the essence of the streets of Shao-Lin through the distinct lenses of its eight to ten distinct voices.
After dropping their groundbreaking debut Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993), RZA began to experiment with styles of production for Wu projects. This included attempting to craft more orchestral backdrops and occasionally working with producers within the Wu-Family. Some of these attempts worked better than others.
When the Clan released its third album The W (2000), it was largely a return to their signature sound. A little more than a year later, the Wu followed The W with Iron Flag, their best attempt as a group to broaden their approach. Released two decades ago, it features many facets of the group’s collective musical and lyrical personality, blending them all to create what’s stood up as their best album of the 21st century.
Iron Flag is not The W part 2. Whereas The W predominantly featured a wintery sound, Iron Flag feels “lighter.” There’s certainly dark and grimy shit, but more of the music seems geared toward the warmer seasons. It’s arguably a more “accessible” album, but not in a way that panders to pop sensibilities or feels forced.
Unlike The W, no guest emcees from outside the Wu collective rap on Iron Flag. As a result, the album features a more balanced attack from each Wu member. Overall, Inspectah Deck, Raekwon, and Masta Killa all serve as the crew’s workhorses, and there’s an increased presence of GZA, which is always a good thing. Deck contributes many of the album’s best verses, further establishing why he was the most underappreciated member of the Clan.
Iron Flag is the first full Wu-Tang Clan album where Ol’ Dirty Bastard is completely absent. The album was released during one of the periods of ODB’s incarceration, this time for possession of crack cocaine. It’s also somewhat notable for the nearly complete absence of Cappadonna. The Wu-Affiliate had all but become a full-fledged group member before nearly all traces of him were erased from Iron Flag. And that includes him being digitally removed from Iron Flag’s cover, with the exception of his legs. The reasons for Cappa’s erasure have never been fully disclosed, but the accepted explanation surrounds royalty disputes between him and RZA. To balance Cappa’s absence, Streetlife appears on a handful of songs, acquitting himself well.
Iron Flag flows a little weird. Some of the material seems like it was generated from The W sessions, with other songs sounding like leftovers from other Wu-related projects. Fortunately, the crew pulls everything together, giving their core audience their comfort food while also moving their music in different directions.
The album takes a little while to get going, but eventually finds its footing. “Rules” sports a classic Wu feel, and showcases the production and turntable skills of Mathematics, the Clan’s DJ (and logo designer). It’s clear that Mathematics has learned well from RZA, as he takes an almost incidental two-second section of Ann Peebles’ “You’ve Got the Papers (I’ve Got the Man)” and turns it into a heavy groove. The members of the Wu provide razor-sharp rhymes, even though Ghostface’s post-September 11th “AMERICA! FUCK YEAH” opening verse sounds soldered on.
Iron Flag finds its groove with “Soul Power (Black Jungle).” RZA creates a rousing soundscape, as he samples a slowed-down portion of the percussion and flute break from Fatback Band’s “Fatbackin’.” Raekwon, Masta Killa, Ghostface, and U-God all deliver their verses like they’re rocking a raucous block party, kicking some fly rhymes and repping their neighborhoods. U-God gives one of his most inspired verses ever on a Wu-Tang album, evoking the sights and sounds of carefree summer days in Shaolin. With ODB otherwise indisposed, Public Enemy’s Flavor Flav brings his own brand of lunacy. The renowned hypeman’s convo with Method Man about a Long Island neighborhood during the song’s extended outro is worth the price of admission.
Things keep rolling strong with “Uzi (Pinky Ring),” Iron Flag’s first single and the album’s full-fledged posse cut, featuring the talents of their entire lineup. The RZA-produced track sounds as if it was lifted from a disco-themed Blaxploitation flick, as he samples the drum and horn break from J.J. Johnson’s “Parade Strut” from the Willie Dynamite soundtrack. Rather than giving his traditional high-powered lead-off verse, Deck doesn’t appear until the song’s back half. Still, he gives an MVP performance, rapping, “I dance on a n***a like my name’s Zab Judah / Rap barracuda, three XL Kahuna / Sure to get it perking and cause a disturbance / I’m thirsting, feel what I feel then we can merge then.”
“Y’all Been Warned” might not have produced by The RZA (True Master works behind the boards), but it still sports the gritty, sample-based sound that made the Wu famous. The title track invokes visions of Shaw Bros. double-features and sped-up soul samples, as the RZA chops and re-sequences snippets of Ann Peebles’ “The Handwriting Is On the Wall.” The song features strong verses from Raekwon and Masta Killa, but it’s Deck again who’s the MVP, wrapping things up. “Crabs wanna play me close and grab,” he raps. “Can't believe you on the canvas, I'm just throwin' jabs / Where the powers you supposed to have? Hand in your soldier rag / You posing bad, show your ass son, you won’t last.”
The energetic “Radioactive (Four Assassins)”sounds like its powered by adrenaline, with its blaring sirens and strange space-like noises echoing throughout its length. The potent configuration of GZA, Raekwon, Method Man, and Masta Killa run roughshod across the song, dispensing their verses without little break and no hook. “Styles so sharp, state of the art,” Raekwon raps. “Greater the mark, flyest creator sprayed laying darts.”
“Babies” finds the Clan supplying tales of violence and desperation on the streets and housing projects of Shao-Lin over a haunting track by RZA. Ghostface and Rae spin detailed visions of a drug-dealing police officer turned serial killer and angel dust-fueled melees by fed-up ghetto dwellers. GZA ties things together by describing how the unrelenting bleakness and violence shapes lives from a young age. With his masterful sociological insight, he portrays how a life of crime becomes a logical extension for the inhabitants of these environments, even as a precious few fight to escape.
Throughout Iron Flag the Wu works outside of the crew’s usual comfort zones extremely well. One way they accomplish this is by enlisting producers from outside their immediate circle for the first time on a Wu-Tang Clan group project. It works far better than I would have expected.
Nick “Fury” Loftin was a largely unknown quantity for most Wu fans before Iron Flag. For earlier work with rappers like King Sun and Lil’ Kim, he created soaring, cinematic tracks. On “One of These Days,” he puts together solid rider music through horn samples and live guitar licks. It’s an ideal backdrop for Deck, Raekwon, and U-God to kick rhymes about their dalliances in the street game and their efforts to stay clean.
“Back in the Game” is an even bigger surprise, as it features production from Poke and Tone of the Trackmasters and vocals from Ron Isley. Their smooth stylings fit the Clan members perfectly, as they slide off shimmering piano and guitar grooves, backed by subtle percussion. The song is the collective’s slick middle finger to all of those who wrote them off as past their prime. GZA gives a masterful playing card/poker themed verse, proclaiming himself “a spade in the club with the heart to wear diamonds.” Ghostface closes things with a brief Wu-history lesson, explaining their rise to power and resulting domination through his tongue-twisting flow. “Classical lines, mathematical rhymes,” he raps. “The style is unbearable, now n****s with the radical shines.”
If “Back in the Game” features the Wu at its most melodic, “Da Glock” features them at their most imposing. RZA produces the plodding and menacing track, where their rhythmic verses are broken up by chants of “GOOD THING WE BROUGHT THE GLOCK!” Fittingly, each emcee’s verse outlines instances when staying strapped is a necessity, from RZA fighting off a home invasion to Masta Killa backing down hoodlums trying to make a name for themselves on a subway during Halloween night.
Iron Flag was the group’s least commercially successful project to that point. It fell just short of the platinum mark, while The W had nearly gone double platinum. The album’s more modest sales likely had something to do with label issues. Like most musical acts in the early to mid ’00s, the Clan got caught up in the seemingly endless stream of record label mergers. Between the release of The W and Iron Flag, Loud Records, the Clan’s longtime home, was absorbed by Sony. Sony promptly laid off most of Loud’s staff. The moves might not have delayed Iron Flag’s release, but it effected its promotion. Three singles were released in support of the project, but there was only one fairly low-budget video.
However, Iron Flag is an underrated creative triumph, as they created fresh and vital songs which very much resonated with their fanbase. The group’s adaptability seemed to bode well for their ability to stay in the cultural conversation moving forward. The subsequent two decades have been a bit of a creative mess for the Clan, as their group releases are more associated with the public in-fighting in the lead-up to their release, rather than the music itself. But no matter what, even with a brief turnaround time, the Wu knew how to make the world take notice.
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