''The RZA Hits'' is a compilation produced by The RZA. It contains songs featured on the first

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 ...

album and its first round of solo albums. All songs, apart from "

Brooklyn Zoo The Prospect Park Zoo is a zoo located off Flatbush Avenue on the eastern side of Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York City. , the zoo houses 864 animals representing about 176 species, and , it averages 300,000 visitors annually. The Prospect ...

", are produced by RZA.

Reception

*''

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 ...

'' (Spring 2000, p. 166) - Ranked #9 in EW's "Top 10 albums of the '90s" *'' Q'' magazine (8/99, p. 134) - 4 stars (out of 5) - "...a supremely populist selection...keeping the molten hit count high. If the consistency of these prime-time cuts was sustained, this would probably be the best rap compilation ever rather than merely one of the best." *''

Muzik ''Muzik'' was a British dance music magazine published by IPC Media from June 1995 to August 2003. ''Muzik'' was created by two former ''Melody Maker'' journalists, Push and Ben Turner. Push was the editor of ''Muzik'' from its launch until he ...

'' (8/99, p. 79) - 5 stars (out of 5) - "...singular brilliance....Greatest Hits is as effective an insight into ZA'sunique Staten Island mayhem as the title suggests." *''Rap Pages'' (9/99, p. 182) - "...the perfect reference manual for ZA'simportance to rap music....a must-listen for anyone who has ever uttered the word 'Hip-Hop'." - Rating: A

Track listing

Samples used

*"Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing Ta F' Wit" contains samples of "Impeach The President" by The Honey Drippers and "Hihache" by

Lafayette Afro Rock Band Lafayette Afro Rock Band was an American funk rock band formed in Roosevelt, Long Island, New York in 1970. Shortly after their formation, they relocated to France. Though little-known in their native United States during their recording period, t ...

. *"Shimmy Shimmy Ya" contains samples of "Hip-Hug-Her" by Booker T. & the MG's, "I Like It" by

The Emotions ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, "Knocks Me Off My Feet" by

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

and "Have Your Ass Home by 11:00" by

Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as on ...

. *"Liquid Swords" contains samples of "Groovin'" and "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" by Willie Mitchell and "That's the Way It Is" by Al Green. *"Method Man" contains samples of "Sport" by Lightnin Rod, "

Synthetic Substitution "Synthetic Substitution" is a 1973 song by Melvin Bliss. Originally starting life as a throwaway B-side, with "Reward" as the A-Side, the song failed to chart anywhere on its initial release because of the collapse of Opal Productions, the parent ...

" by

Melvin Bliss Melvin McClelland (June 1, 1945-July 26, 2010) was a rhythm and blues singer known for his 1973 in music, 1973 song "Reward/Synthetic Substitution", the B-side of which was heavily sampled

and "More Bounce To The Ounce" by Zapp. Also contains interpolations of "I'm Just A Bill," originally performed by

Schoolhouse Rock ''Schoolhouse Rock!'' is an American interstitial programming series of animated musical educational short films (and later, videos) that aired during the Saturday morning children's programming block on the U.S. television network ABC. The th ...

, and "Method of Modern Love", originally performed by

Hall & Oates Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...

. *"Incarcerated Scarfaces" contains samples of "Wang Dang Doodle" by

Koko Taylor Koko Taylor (born Cora Anna Walton, September 28, 1928 – June 3, 2009) was an American singer whose style encompassed Chicago blues, electric blues, rhythm and blues and soul blues. Sometimes called "The Queen of the Blues", she was known for ...

and "

You're Gettin' a Little Too Smart "You're Gettin' a Little Too Smart" is a song written by Abrim Tilmon and performed by the Detroit Emeralds. It reached number 10 on the R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United Stat ...

" by

The Detroit Emeralds The Detroit Emeralds are an American R&B/soul vocal group, best known in the early 1970s. They enjoyed a run of successful records in the decade including their 1973 transatlantic hit single, " Feel the Need in Me". Career "The Emeralds" were ...

. *"Bring the Pain" contains a sample of "Mechanical Man" by

Jerry Butler Jerry Butler Jr. (born December 8, 1939) is an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and retired politician. He was the original lead singer of the Rhythm and blues, R&B vocal group the Impressions, inducted into the Rock and Rol ...

. *"Winter Warz" contains a sample of "I Think I'd Do It" by

Z. Z. Hill Arzell J. Hill (September 30, 1935 – April 27, 1984),Dahl, Bill. "Z.Z. Hill" Allmusic.com. Retrieved 29 March 2014. known as Z. Z. Hill, was an American blues singer best known for his recordings in the 1970s and early 1980s, including his 1982 ...

. *"All I Need" contains a sample of "

" by

, and an interpolation of "You're All I Need To Get By," originally performed by

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

. *"C.R.E.A.M." contains a sample of "As Long As I've Got You" by The Charmells. *"All That I Got Is You" contains a sample of " Maybe Tomorrow" by

The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

. *"Wu Wear The Garment Renaissance" contains a sample of "Don't Take My Kindness for Weakness" by The Soul Children.

Album chart positions

Credits

Wu-Tang Clan

Inspectah Deck Jason Richard Hunter (born July 6, 1970), better known by his stage name Inspectah Deck, is an American rapper, producer, and actor. He is a member of the groups Wu-Tang Clan and Czarface. He has acquired critical praise for his intricate ly ...

– vocals, lyrics *

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 ...

– executive producer, vocals, lyrics * GZA/Genius – vocals, lyrics *

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 ...

– vocals, lyrics *

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 ...

– vocals, producer, lyrics *

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 ...

– vocals, producer, lyrics * RZA/Prince Rakeem – arranger, executive producer, mixing, producer, programming, vocals, lyrics *

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 ...

– vocals, lyrics *

U-God Lamont Jody Hawkins (born November 10, 1970), better known as U-God, is an American rapper and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He has been with the group since its inception, and is known for his deep voice and rhythmic flow t ...

– vocals, lyrics

Additional personnel

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 ...

–

scratching Scratching, sometimes referred to as scrubbing, is a DJ and turntablist technique of moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable to produce percussive or rhythmic sounds. A crossfader on a DJ mixer may be used to fade between two record ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rza Hits RZA albums 1999 compilation albums Epic Records compilation albums Albums produced by RZA