''The Last Shall Be First'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop group

Sunz of Man Sunz of Man is a New York–based List of Wu-Tang Clan affiliates, Wu-Tang Clan-affiliated group that currently consists of Prodigal Sunn, Killah Priest, Hell Razah, and 60 Second Assassin (emcee), 60-Second Assassin. The group's first incarna ...

. It was released on July 21, 1998, through Red Ant Entertainment/

Wu-Tang Records Starting from the emergence and prominence of Wu-Tang Clan in the mid-1990s, several of the group's members have branched out to create their labels following RZA's lead. Some of the labels have dissolved, while other labels have transitioned in ...

Production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

was handled by

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 DJ, record producer and audio engineer who was one of the founding members of Killarmy and one of the best-known Wu-Tang-a ...

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

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

, Supreme and

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean ( ; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, singer, and record producer. Born in Haiti, Jean emigrated to the Northeastern United States, United States as a child. He gained fame as a founding member of the Fugees, a Ne ...

, with Cathy Jones and Sunz of Man serving as executive producers. It features guest appearances from

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), known professionally as Method Man, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. He is a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan, and is half of the hip hop duo Method Man & R ...

, Traybag, Beretta 9,

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling ba ...

Masta Killa Jamel Irief (born Elgin Evander Turner; August 18, 1969), better known by his stage name Masta Killa, is an American rapper and member of the Wu-Tang Clan. He was only featured on one track on their 1993 debut album '' Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chamb ...

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 ...

Raekwon Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name 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 following the release of the ...

and

U-God Lamont Jody Hawkins (born November 10, 1970), better known by his stage name U-God, meaning Universal-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 ...

. The album peaked at number 20 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number 7 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 Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

in the United States, as well as number 100 on the

Dutch Album Top 100 The Dutch Album Top 100 or Album Top 100 is a weekly hit list of music albums, compiled by Dutch Charts. It shows the 100 best-selling music albums of the moment in the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, i ...

Track listing

Personnel

*Chron " Hell Razah" Smith – vocals (tracks: 2–8, 11–15, 17, 18), A&R *Virgil "

Prodigal Sunn Lamar Ruff, known professionally as Prodigal Sunn, is an American rapper. He is a member of Sunz of Man and Wu-Tang Clan original affiliate. Career The name "Prodigal Sunn" was given to him by childhood friend Killah Priest. Along with Hel ...

" Ruff – vocals (tracks: 2–6, 8, 10–15, 17) *Frederick " 60 Second Assassin" Cuffie – vocals (tracks: 4–6, 8, 10, 12–14, 17, 18) *Walter "

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

" Reed – vocals (tracks: 3, 4, 7, 8) *Tracy "Trebag" Smith – vocals (tracks: 3, 7) *Clifford "

" Smith – vocals (tracks: 11, 17) *Elgin "

" Turner – vocals (track 5) *Russell "

" Jones – vocals (track 6) *

– vocals (track 6) *Derek "

" Harris – vocals (track 11), producer (tracks: 4, 11, 14, 17, 18), mixing (tracks: 11, 17, 18) *Corey "

" Woods – vocals (track 18) *Lamont "

" Hawkins – vocals (track 18) *Lashaunda "Harmony" – backing vocals (track 14) *Selwyn "

" Bogard – producer (tracks: 2, 5, 10, 13), mixing (track 2) *Robert "

" Diggs – producer (tracks: 8, 12, 15), engineering (track 12) *Alaric " Supreme" Wilder – producer (tracks: 3, 7) *

Rob Chiarelli Rob Chiarelli (born January 13, 1963) is an American record producer, mix engineer, musician, published author and multiple Grammy Award winner. Widely recognized as a music producer for Will Smith and ''Men in Black II'' (2002), Chiarelli's work ...

– additional producer (tracks: 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15), mixing (tracks: 3, 4, 6–8, 10, 12–15), additional mixing (track 17) *Nolan 'Dr. No' Moffitte – engineering (tracks: 2, 5, 10, 11, 17, 18) *Carlos Bess – engineering (tracks: 4, 8, 15) * Tony Black – engineering (track 3) *Steve Hall – mastering *Cathy Jones – executive producer *Tom Jermann – art direction, design * Michael Lavine – photography *Meredith Brunswick – A&R *Tony Calcote – A&R *James Elliott – A&R

Charts

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Shall Be First, The 1998 debut albums Sunz of Man albums Albums produced by RZA Albums produced by True Master Albums produced by Wyclef Jean Albums produced by 4th Disciple