''Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version'' is the debut studio album by American rapper and

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close affili ...

member

Ol' Dirty Bastard Russell Tyrone Jones (November 15, 1968 – November 13, 2004), better known by his stage name Ol' Dirty Bastard (often abbreviated as ODB), was an American rapper. He was one of the founding members of the Wu-Tang Clan, a rap group primarily fr ...

, released March 28, 1995, by

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

in the United States.

Background

It was the second solo album, after

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half of t ...

's '' Tical'', to be released from the nine-member Wu-Tang Clan following the release of their debut album. ''Return to the 36 Chambers'' was primarily produced by

RZA Robert Fitzgerald Diggs (born July 5, 1969), better known by his stage name the RZA ( ), is an American rapper, actor, filmmaker, and record producer. He is the ''de facto'' leader of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, having produced most albums ...

, with additional production from Ol' Dirty Bastard, and affiliates

True Master Derrick Harris (born November 4, 1969), better known by his stage name True Master, is an American hip-hop record producer and occasional rapper, known for his affiliation with the Wu-Tang Clan. Production credits 1995 *''Guru presents Ill Kid ...

and

4th Disciple Selwyn Bougard, now known as El-Divine Amir Bey (born May 23, 1974), better known by his stage name 4th Disciple, is a record producer and audio engineer who was one of the founding members of Killarmy and one of the best-known Wu-Tang-affiliat ...

. The album features guest appearances from Wu-Tang Clan members

GZA ''Gary Eldridge Grice'' (born August 22, 1966), better known by his stage names GZA ( ) and The Genius, is an American rapper and songwriter. A founding member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, GZA is the group's "spiritual head", being both ...

Raekwon Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name Raekwon The Chef, or simply Raekwon (), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream success ...

Ghostface Killah Dennis 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 (36 C ...

and

Masta Killa Jamel Irief (born Elgin Turner; August 18, 1969), better known by his stage name Masta Killa, is an American rapper and member of the Wu-Tang Clan. Though one of the lesser-known members of the group (he was featured on only one track on their 19 ...

as well as

Wu-Tang Killa Beez The following is a list of Wu-Tang Clan's associated acts and affiliates, known as the Killa Beez, the Midwest Wasps, and the Wu Fam. At times, they are directly funded, supported, or produced by Clan members, are formed as extension groups origin ...

. ''Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version'' peaked at number seven on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number two on the

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated J ...

chart. The album sold 81,000 copies in its first week, and was certified Platinum in sales by the

Recording Industry Association of America 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 ...

(RIAA) on March 26, 2019. Upon its release, the album received positive reviews from most music critics, with many complimenting Ol' Dirty Bastard's bizarre lyrical delivery and RZA's eerie production. The album was nominated for

Best Rap Album The Grammy Award for Best Rap Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums with rapping at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in several categories ...

at the

1996 Grammy Awards The 38th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 28, 1996, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. The awards recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Alanis Morissette was the main recipient, being awarded four trophies, in ...

Critical reception

Upon its release, ''Return to the 36 Chambers'' received general acclaim, including award nominations and inclusions on year-end publications. ''The Dirty Version'' was nominated for the 1996

Grammy Award for Best Rap Album The Grammy Award for Best Rap Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums with rapping at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in several categories ...

, but lost to Naughty by Nature's ''

Poverty's Paradise ''Poverty's Paradise'' is the fourth album from Naughty by Nature, released on May 30, 1995, as their final album under Tommy Boy Records. It peaked at number 3 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. A single relea ...

''. In a 4-star review in 1999, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' commented, "With his raspy, lisp-punctuated voice and half-sung, half-rapped style, Ol' Dirty Bastard may well be the most original vocalist in hip-hop history." In 1998, the album was selected as one of ''The Sources 100 Best Rap Albums. ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' said that the album showed the "raw, innovative talent of their illest member ... The RZA's signature dissonant piano loops parklebehind Dirty's delirious, reverberating delivery." ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' said, "... an hour of cruel hard and frighteningly funny hip hop; the perfect companion piece to Wu-Tang's 36 Chambers ... the songs are driven by a vicious, unstable urgency."Columnist
Review snippets: ''Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version''
mymusic.com. Retrieved 2010-08-16. By contrast, '' Select'' gave the album a negative review of two out of five. The review found the album inferior to

's album '' Tical'', stating that "From the extremely long and unfunny – intro skit, it's obvious ideas are spread wafer thin across the 15 tracks." Retrospectively, the album has continually seen positive coverage.

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

gave a 9.3/10 to the album in a classic review, lauding it as "a work of orchestrated negligence and a makeshift classic."

Track listing

Track listing information is taken 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 the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

and

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Personnel

Musicians

– assistant engineer, mixing,

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

– producer, mixing, vocals *

Killah Priest Walter Reed (born August 16, 1970), better known by his stage name Killah Priest, is an American rapper, member of Sunz of Man and Wu-Tang Clan affiliate who was raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant and Brownsville, Brooklyn. He is known for his inten ...

Sunz Of Man Sunz of Man is a New York-based Wu-Tang Clan affiliated group that currently consists of Prodigal Sunn, Killah Priest, Hell Razah and 60 Second Assassin. The group's first incarnation also included Shabazz the Disciple, 7th Ambassador and pr ...

Brooklyn Zu The following is a list of Wu-Tang Clan's associated acts and affiliates, known as the Killa Beez, the Midwest Wasps, and the Wu Fam. At times, they are directly funded, supported, or produced by Clan members, are formed as extension groups origin ...

– vocals * Buddha Monk – vocals, mixing * Big Dore – producer vocals

Additional

* Big Dore – producer *

– producer * Ethan Ryman – producer,

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

* John Wydrycs, Tim Latham – engineer, mixing * Jimmie Lee, Jack Hersca – engineer, assistant engineer * Deden Sumandani – mixing * Martin Czembor – assistant engineer, mixing * David Sealy, Jay Nicholas – assistant engineer * Alli – art direction *

Danny Clinch Danny Clinch (born 1964) is an American photographer and film director. Biography Born in Toms River, New Jersey, Clinch graduated from Toms River High School East in 1982. After attending Ocean County College, he attended the New England Scho ...

– photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Accolades

* The information regarding accolades is adapted from acclaimedmusic.net''Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version '' Album Accolades
acclaimedmusic.net. Retrieved 2010-08-16. * (*) signifies unordered lists

References

External links

''Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version''
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version Ol' Dirty Bastard albums 1995 debut albums Elektra Records albums Albums produced by RZA Albums produced by True Master Albums produced by 4th Disciple Wu-Tang Clan