Iron Flag
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''Iron Flag'' (titled as '' Wu-Tang Iron Flag'' on streaming platforms) is the fourth
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
by American East Coast hip hop collective
Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop collective formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its members include RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and, until his death in 2004, O ...
, released on December 18, 2001, on Loud Records. It was certified gold in sales by the
RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
. ''Iron Flag'' served as the group's second lowest-selling album (687,000 copies), as their record label, Loud, was on the verge of shutting down at the time. The album debuted at No. 32 on the ''Billboard'' 200 with 153,000 copies sold in its first week of release. It has sold over half a million copies in the United States and certified Gold by the RIAA. Rapper
Ol' Dirty Bastard Russell Tyrone Jones (November 15, 1968 – November 13, 2004), known professionally as Ol' Dirty Bastard (often abbreviated as ODB), was an American rapper. He was one of the founding members of the New York rap group Wu-Tang Clan, which forme ...
is completely absent from the album.


Background

A gap of four years separated both the first and
second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
albums; and three years between the second and
third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...
albums; with those gaps being filled by a myriad of solo projects. It was consequently surprising to many when the Clan reformed for a new LP only a year after their well-received 2000 album '' The W'', with only RZA's '' Digital Bullet'' and
Ghostface Killah Dennis David Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang ...
's '' Bulletproof Wallets'' released in between. The album's promotion was also quite low-key, particularly in comparison to the fanfare, hype and expensive videos that had preceded the release of the group's two previous albums. Unusual for hip hop albums of the time, ''Iron Flag'' only consists of twelve tracks (which contain thirteen songs plus a short introduction) with no interludes or skits between songs. This is similar to ''The W'', which only consisted of thirteen tracks (though unlike ''Iron Flag'' it did feature interludes and skits).


Artwork

The album cover is inspired by the 1945 photograph '' Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima''.


Absences

Ol' Dirty Bastard Russell Tyrone Jones (November 15, 1968 – November 13, 2004), known professionally as Ol' Dirty Bastard (often abbreviated as ODB), was an American rapper. He was one of the founding members of the New York rap group Wu-Tang Clan, which forme ...
's contributions to the Wu-Tang's group albums continued to decrease with each successive album: after being one of the main stars of '' Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)'', he was by far the least prolific Clan member on the group's follow-up album '' Wu-Tang Forever''. He then made only one appearance on '' The W'' (on the song "Conditioner") due to being engulfed in legal troubles; which in the year separating ''The W'' and ''Iron Flag'' had only gotten worse. Consequently, Ol' Dirty Bastard does not appear on ''Iron Flag'' at all, making ''The W'' the final Wu-Tang album to feature him. He does, however, appear on '' 8 Diagrams'' posthumously. Another absentee is Cappadonna who, after being a very close affiliate of the group on ''Wu-Tang Forever'', appeared to have become a full member on ''The W'' (tracks with his contributions no longer being marked as "featuring Cappadonna"). In the year following the release of ''The W'', Cappadonna had become dissatisfied with being in the group (RZA has said he felt unhappy that people outside of the group did not respect him as much as the original nine members) and had also been in dispute with the group over the revelation that his manager Michael Caruso was a police informant. Whatever the case, he only appears once on the album in a bridge for the hidden song, "Da Glock". He appears on the original cover of the album but was air brushed out. The original cover appears on the back of the "Wu-Tang Manual" by RZA. This suggests that he might have been removed from the album in post production.


Revisiting old sounds

Rather than stick to one unified sound for most of the album's tracks, as with previous Clan albums, much of ''Iron Flag'' returns to many different individual sounds and styles that the Wu-Tang had visited over the years: *"Chrome Wheels" uses the
synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...
-heavy "digital orchestra" sound of RZA's '' Bobby Digital In Stereo'' (RZA also raps in the song as his Bobby Digital persona, and Bobby Digital is name checked in the
bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
(sung by Madame D). "Dashing (Reasons)" also uses the Bobby Digital sound, with the Digital trademarks of the off-kilter keyboard riff, a high-pitched
portamento In music, portamento (: ''portamenti''; from old , meaning 'carriage' or 'carrying'), also known by its French name glissade, is a pitch sliding from one Musical note, note to another. The term originated from the Italian language, Italian exp ...
sine wave
synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...
, and prominent synthesized hi-hats. *"Radioactive (Four Assassins)" is firmly in the gritty, foreboding style of the Wu-Tang's debut album ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)'': it has a recurring dialogue sample from a
martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...
movie, short and indistinct one-
note Note, notes, or NOTE may refer to: Music and entertainment * Musical note, a pitched sound (or a symbol for a sound) in music * ''Notes'' (album), a 1987 album by Paul Bley and Paul Motian * ''Notes'', a common (yet unofficial) shortened versi ...
samples buried in the mix, a quickly looping ascending
bassline Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, and classical music, for the low-pitched P ...
, and hard, pounding drums. The beat also incorporates the sound of
shuriken A is a Japanese concealed weapon used by samurai or ninja or in martial arts as a hidden dagger or '' metsubushi'' to distract or misdirect. History The origins of the ''bo-shuriken'' in Japan are still unclear, despite continuing researc ...
throwing blades, which are "launched" with a single B note, before the sound effect
pans Cookware and bakeware is food preparation equipment, such as cooking pots, pans, baking sheets etc. used in kitchens. Cookware is used on a Kitchen stove, stove or range cooktop, while bakeware is used in an oven. Some utensils are considere ...
from right to left then back again before dissipating. The repeated horn blare at the start of every bar is also reminiscent of
Public Enemy Public Enemy is an American Hip-hop, hip hop group formed in Roosevelt, New York, in 1985 by Chuck D and Flavor Flav. The group rose to prominence for their political messages including subjects such as Racism in the United States, American r ...
, particularly "Night of the Living Baseheads." *"Iron Flag" has all the hallmarks of the ''Wu-Tang Forever'' sound: string samples coupled with subtle keyboards and a sped-up vocal sample (a technique which was pioneered by the RZA on ''Wu-Tang Forever'' but which by the time of Iron Flag's release had been widely imitated by many, most notably
Just Blaze Justin Gregory Smith (born January 8, 1978), known professionally as Just Blaze, is an American record producer and DJ. Born in Paterson, New Jersey, Smith attended Rutgers University for three years before dropping out to pursue a career in mus ...
and
Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...
). *"Uzi (Pinky Ring)" recalls ''The Ws murky
blaxploitation In American cinema, Blaxploitation is the film subgenre of action movie derived from the exploitation film genre in the early 1970s, consequent to the combined cultural momentum of the black civil rights movement, the black power movement, ...
-influenced atmosphere with its dramatic horn riffs and gritty drums. "Soul Power (Black Jungle)" is also reminiscent, albeit to a lesser extent, of ''The W''.


Wu-Elements contributions

Many of the remaining tracks sound little like much the Clan had done before, and little like each other. This may be a result of the collaborators involved: all of the above tracks are produced by the RZA, whereas of the remaining six, only two are RZA produced. Two are produced by in-house Wu-Elements producers True Master and
Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
: *True Master's "Y'all Been Warned" is a simple one- bar composition with a funky guitar riff over a steady rhythm and a deeply buried piano sample. The advance copy of ''Iron Flag'' featured a slightly different version of this song which featured a synthesizer line over the top of the guitar riff. It is not known why this was changed for the final release. *Mathematics' "Rules" features a pattern of one bar repeated three times then a one-bar turnaround. The repeated bar features four samples layered in a vaguely call-and-response structure: an initial horn sample is answered by a
James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...
grunt, which is answered by a two-chord piano sample, which is answered by another James Brown grunt. The horn sample is highest in the mix and effectively "leads" the other samples. The turnaround bar has two descending chords with a high-pitched picked guitar
riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...
, bringing the four-bar pattern to the start once again. With its intro of scratched samples of various Wu-Tang lyrics, this track can be viewed as reminiscent of hip-hop producer DJ Premier's distinctive style. Though these two producers are known for their distinctly traditional Wu-Tang sound, these two beats do not particularly resemble much of the Clan's previous output, at least not as a group. If anything, they resemble some of the sharp 1970s
soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
-influenced funk tracks from the Wu-Tang's 1999–2000 solo albums ( U-God's "Dat Gangsta" and "Soul Dazzle" from '' Golden Arms Redemption'', Inspectah Deck's "Word on the Street" and "Movers and Shakers" from '' Uncontrolled Substance'').


Outside collaborators

There had been some discontent among fans and critics when ''The W'' included non-Wu Tang affiliated hip hop crossover superstars
Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after National Football League, NFL and Canadian Football Lea ...
and
Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...
. Nevertheless, ''Iron Flag'' also makes use of non-Wu artists well known in their own right:
Flavor Flav William Jonathan Drayton Jr. (born March 16, 1959), known by his stage name Flavor Flav ( ), is an American rapper and television personality. Known for his catchphrase "Yeah, boyeeeeee!" when performing, he is a founding member alongside Chuck ...
of Public Enemy provides the chorus for "Soul Power (Black Jungle)", and "Back in the Game" features both pop-rap hitmakers Trackmasters and
soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
legend
Ronald Isley Ronald Isley ( ; born May 21, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Isley is the lead singer and founding member of the family music group The Isley Brothers. Early life Born in 1941 to Sallye Bernice (née Bell) and O ...
. Nick "Fury" Loftin also produces "One of These Days", sampling
Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, backing vocalist, and arranger who ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto" ...
's rendition of
Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...
' "I Believe to My Soul" for its hook and using a fairly generic coupling of muffled horn stabs and soul guitar. "Back in the Game" opens with the same vocal sample ("if what you say is true, the Shaolin and the Wu-Tang could be dangerous!") as 36 Chambers, but it sounds little like anything the Clan had done before; it also sounds little like well-known Trackmasters hits of the time, such as R. Kelly's "Fiesta" (apart from its use of
bongos Bongos (Spanish language, Spanish: ''bongó'') are an Afro-Cubans, Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. The pair consists of the larger ''hembra'' () and the smaller ''macho'' ...
). A delicate piano melody is layered over a heavy
organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...
vamp and a stumbling, complex rhythm. A number of critics, such as the
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
's Ted Kessler and ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' Nathan Rabin, saw Flavor Flav's appearance as a way to temporarily fill the clownish role of the absent Ol' Dirty Bastard. Flav sings the call-and-response chorus of "Soul Power (Black Jungle)" with U-God, and has a long conversation with Method Man in the song's outro about growing up in
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
, where Flav hails from.


Track listing

Credits were adapted from the official
liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...
and Tidal. Notes * "Chrome Wheels" and "Babies" feature background vocals by Madame D. * "One of These Days" features additional guitars by E-Bass. * "Babies" features drums by Ramsey Jones. * "In the Hood", "Rules", "One of These Days" and "Ya'll Been Warned" feature uncredited raps by Streetlife. * "Chrome Wheels" features uncredited raps by 12 O'Clock and Prodigal Sunn as Two On Da Road. * "Da Glock" contains uncredited background vocals by Cappadonna. * "In the Hood" contains uncredited vocals by Suga Bang Bang. * "In the Hood" contains a sample from the 1979 film '' Writing Kung Fu''.https://www.whosampled.com/movie/Writing-Kung-Fu/ * "Iron Flag" and "Da Glock" are available as separate tracks on
streaming services A streaming media service (also simply called a streaming service) is an online platform that allows users to watch or listen to content, such as film, movies, Television show, TV shows, music, or podcasts, over the internet. Instead of downloadi ...
.


Album singles


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Singles chart positions


Certifications


References


External links

* {{Authority control Wu-Tang Clan albums 2001 albums Columbia Records albums Loud Records albums Albums produced by RZA Albums produced by True Master Albums produced by Trackmasters Albums produced by Mathematics Albums produced by Nick "Fury" Loftin