@Ben Crowder

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Wu-Tang Clan’s debut single “Protect Ya Neck” didn’t even chart upon its release, but by the close of 1993 the Staten Island collective had gained a permanent foothold in rap culture with <i>Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)</i>. That raw, grimy introduction of no fewer than nine MCs—RZA, GZA, Method Man, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa—yielded such instant classics as “C.R.E.A.M.” and the de facto theme song “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing ta F’ Wit” and now ranks on Apple Music’s 100 Best Albums list. Memorably mingling East Coast street life with Asian martial arts movies, Wu-Tang encouraged its members to proliferate in the solo sphere, producing top-tier material from the likes of Raekwon (“Ice Cream”), GZA (“Shadowboxin’”), ODB (“Brooklyn Zoo”), Meth (“Bring the Pain”), and Ghostface (“All That I Got Is You”), all while helping each out along the way. Such prolific solo work made proper Wu-Tang albums a real event, with round-robin joints like 1997’s “Triumph” and 2000’s “Protect Ya Neck” sequel “Protect Ya Neck (The Jump Off)” announcing each new reconvening. The collective Wu catalog is sprawling to the point of unwieldiness for newcomers, but this choice selection of solo and group cuts proves exactly why the group was once able to fetch $2 million for a single-copy album at auction.

The tracks you can’t get enough of lately, all in one place. Updated as you listen.

Hip-hop in the ’90s went from the voice of the streets to the sound of America, taking over the charts, film, fashion and more. Dr. Dre’s 1992 solo debut <I>The Chronic</I> changed rap’s pulse: blaring drum loops were exchanged for lush low-rider funk; gangsta rap was now indistinguishable from pop. Though the spotlight moved to Los Angeles, New York rappers like Wu-Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, and Nas made a grimy strain of “boom bap” that was gritty, vividly bleak, and lyrically intricate. Regional sounds slowly infiltrated the airwaves, including E-40’s slick “mobb music” (the Bay Area), the rapid-fire “chop” of Bone Thugs (the Midwest), the boom of 8Ball & MJG (Memphis), the crawl of UGK (Houston), and, most notably, the left-field rap of Atlanta’s Outkast. By decade’s end, Puff Daddy’s Bad Boy empire monopolized the charts and New Orleans labels No Limit and Cash Money turned DIY hustle into uncompromising sensations.