Classic Non-Album Cuts: Wu-Tang Clan

The Wu-Tang Clan is not only one of the most influential and important groups in hip-hop history, they’re also one of the most prolific.

At the height of their production and popularity in the mid-‘90s, they were cranking out several solo albums and prepping group LPs while also contributing to soundtracks and compilations.

Before we begin, a word of warning: this is not an exhaustive, all-inclusive list. First, I omitted solo works, including those that were originally labeled as Wu-Tang tracks for better recognition – such as Inspectah Deck’s “Let Me At Them” from the Tales From the Hood soundtrack or Method Man’s feature on Texas’s “Say What You Want.” Additionally, a group of consisting of nine (or ten) members that has been making music for over twenty years is going to have a ton of material and some of it was either purposefully ignored or accidentally omitted. Depending on the day and how many members need to be included to qualify it as a group effort, this list is both ever-changing and never-ending.

With that said, here are (some of) the best Wu-Tang Clan songs that never made it on an official Wu group or solo album.

Soundtracks

“Who’s the Champion?” off The Great White Hype soundtrack (1996)

“Diesel” off The Soul in the Hole soundtrack (1997)

“Windpipe” off the Belly soundtrack (1998)

“The Worst” [featuring Onyx] off the Ride soundtrack (1998)

“And You Don’t Stop” off the Rush Hour soundtrack (1998)

“Fast Shadow” off the Ghost Dog soundtrack (1999)

“Shaolin Worldwide” off the Next Friday soundtrack (2000)

“What You in Fo’” [featuring Streetlife] off the Oz soundtrack (2001)

“Six Directions of Boxing” off The Man with the Iron Fists soundtrack (2012)

“Rivers of Blood” [featuring Kool G. Rap] off The Man with the Iron Fists soundtrack (2012)

Compilations

“America” (Live) [featuring Killah Priest] off America is Dying Slowly (1996)

“Sucker M.C.’s” off In tha Beginning…There Was Rap (1997)

“Put Your Hammer Down” off Funkmaster Flex’s The Mix Tape, Vol. 3: 60 Minutes of Funk (1998)

“Wu-Tang Cream Team Line-Up” [featuring Harlem Hoodz & Killa Sin] off Funkmaster Flex’s The Mix Tape, Vol. 3: 60 Minutes of Funk (1998)

“The Abduction” off Tony Touch’s The Piece Maker (2000)

“Rock Steady” off Tony Touch’s The Piece Maker 2 (2004)

“Unorthodox” [featuring JD Era] off Tony Touch’s The Piece Maker 3: Return of the 50 MC’s (2013)

As Featured Artists

“Anything” (Old Skool Remix) off SWV’s The Remixes (1994)

“The Weeping Tiger” off Cilvaringz’s I (2007)

Randoms and Unreleased

Stretch & Bobbito Freestyle (1993)

“C.R.E.A.M.” Live at The 1994 Source Awards (1994)

“Shaolin Brew” St. Ides commerical (1994)

“Shaolin Brew” (Extended) St. Ides commerical (1994)

Rap City Freestyle (2000)

“Watch Your Mouf” (2008)

“Execution in Autumn” (2013)

Wu-Tang Forever.

All entries in the Classic Non-Album Cuts series:

Christopher Pierznik’s nine books are available in paperback and Kindle. Check out more of his writing at Medium. His work has appeared on XXL, Cuepoint, Business Insider, The Cauldron, Medium, Fatherly, Hip Hop Golden Age, and many more. Subscribe to his monthly newsletter or follow him on Facebook or Twitter.