Earlier entries of this series can be found here: http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/forums/vi ... ive#p45337
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“Neglected, but now, but yo, it gots to be accepted/ That what? That life is hectic”
79. The Wu-Tang Clan – C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me)
The facts:
Year: 1993.
Genre: Hardcore hip-hop.
Country: United States of America.
Album: Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).
Acclaimed Music ranking: #740.
Song ranking on Acclaimed Music in the artist’s discography: 2nd.
Ranks higher than Connection by Elastica, but lower than Digital Witness by St. Vincent.
Place in the Acclaimed Music Song Poll 2015: Not ranked.
The people:
Lyrics by Robert Diggs (a.k.a. RZA), Jason Hunter (a.k.a. Inspectah Deck), Clifford Smith (a.k.a. Method Man) & Corey Woods (a.k.a. Raekwon).
Produced by RZA.
Lead vocals by Method Man (intro and chorus), Raekwon (intro and first verse) & Inspectah Deck (second verse).
Backing vocals by Buddha Monk.
The opinion:
What can you do when cash rules everything around you? That is a question at the heart of C.R.E.A.M. In the two verses Raekwon and Inspectah Deck tell two different tales of getting money while living in poverty. These tales may or may not be autobiographical and they contain little of the kung fu inspired weirdness of some other tracks from the Wu Tang Clan’s ground-breaking debut album. Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers) is of course not a work of pure comedy and contains a very serious, desperate undertone, but perhaps nowhere more than on C.R.E.A.M.
Like many rappers before or after them this group was no stranger to poverty, but it is interesting how, in a way, their failed attempts to break out of their predicaments through music, lead to the formation of the Wu-Tang Clan. The two members that started the Wu-Tang, GZA and Ol’ Dirty Bastard already had a start in recording music, only to be dropped by their labels very soon. They met RZA and he had the idea of starting a group of many talented rappers that couldn’t get a break. So the Wu-Tang Clan was formed, initially consisting of 9 members.
Enter the Wu-Tang was to be sort of a presentation of their joined talents, which should lead to actual solo recording contracts for each of its members. Each member would have to offer part of their solo earnings to the Wu-Tang collective. Wu-Tang never became a recording Company, but a group that looked after itself. RZA always claimed that the Wu-Tang wanted to take over the business and soon its members had contracts at many different studios, thus becoming a dominating force all over the hip-hop industry, achieving in some way RZA’s goal. Instead of letting cash rule everything around them, the Wu-Tangs started to rule the cash.
Of course, as fans know, the subsequent Wu-Tang history would be more complicated than all that. Still, I always liked the Wu-Tang backstory. So much of hip hop culture has had a basis in the myth of one person against the world (which admittedly makes sense in gangster settings) that it is really refreshing to have this collective people who work together to achieve their otherwise separate goals.
Protect Ya Neck is perhaps the most iconic Wu-Tang song, not just because it was their first single, but also probably because it contained vocals of 8 out of 9 members. By contrast, C.R.E.A.M. only features the raps of three Wu-Tangs: Raekwon, Inspectah Deck and Method Man (non-member Buddha Monk is also supposed to have done backing vocals on the track). RZA is only present as a producer, not as a rapper. The roles the members play on the song is very clear: Raekwon and Inspectah Deck both tell tales of cash-related hard-ships, separated by the memorable, short chorus by Method Man.
Part of the success of Enter the Wu-Tang was due the surprisingly sparse production by RZA and C.R.E.A.M. is no exception. RZA had to keep things simple out of economic necessity, but that’s only fitting here. Notice how simple the central sample is. The repeated piano loop comes from an obscure 1967 soul song called As Long As I’ve Got You by the Charmels (a good song by the way). I was surprised to find out that the memorable piano riff only features in the intro of that song. That little piece of music becomes the melancholic backbone for these hard-won tales. Outside of the sample it is likely that Method Man’s repeated line “Dollar-dollar bill, y’all” comes from Jimmy Spicer’s Money (Dollar Bill Y’All), although the song is not sampled.
If the sample and the Method Man chorus form the hook, it are the two verses that provide the substance. Raekwon and Inspectah Deck are rappers that are very distinctive, so despite the two verses having the same subject they feel very different. Raekwon’s verse is more aggressive, while his lyrics come across as weird, slightly surreal, but also literate. I can’t pretend to always understand what he means with certain lines, but I admire the way he can turn a phrase around. “I grew up on the crime side, the New York Times side”, for example.
Inspectah Deck is far more direct. His verse feels more openly personal. It actually turns into something of an advice for younger people, to not do what he did to get money: turn toward drug dealing. I can’t say how much of his lyrics is based on personal experience, but his lines as well his clear-cut delivery feel close to the bone. It’s one of the most moving pieces of the whole album. Inspectah Deck never became quite as prominent a member of the Wu-Tang as RZA, GZA, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Method Man or Ol’ Dirty Bastard, but at least he got this highlight on the debut album.
I’m not too knowledgeable about the very, very deep back catalogue of all the Wu-Tang members, but listening to this song repeatedly over the week makes me want to dive in deeper again. I don’t have a clue what I’m supposed to find in the 36th Chamber, but if songs like this are playing there I’m very willing to pay it a visit.
8/10
Other versions:
As per usual with hip hop straight-up covers are hardly a thing. In fact, outside of Wu-Tangs own variations on the song (check out the A Capella version containing just the two verses!), I found only one cover. I’m talking about an instrumental version by El Michels Affair. The thing is, this is made in conjunction with Wu-Tang Members. It’s very good though, sounding like more than just a copy of the piano sample.
Outside of that we just have a long, long string of songs that sample or referencing C.R.E.A.M. (some brashly naming their own song the same). Mos Def supposedly sampled this song thrice on his album Black On Both Sides alone. Mostly, Method Man’s shout “dollar-dollar bill, y’all” is copied. Girl Talk actually take a part of Raekwon’s verse in What It’s All About, a song that features a lot of samples from various genres. For reasons beyond me, Raekwon agreed to having the song referenced in a Kanye West remix of Justin Bieber’s horrendous Runaway Love. I don’t know why Raekwon also wanted to appear on the remix himself, but I guess we shouldn’t pay too much attention to it.
The playlist:
