The W
| The W | ||||||||||
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| Studio album by Wu-Tang Clan | ||||||||||
| Released | November 21, 2000 | |||||||||
| Recorded | 1999 - 2000 | |||||||||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||||||||
| Length | 59:04 | |||||||||
| Label | ||||||||||
| Producer | RZA, Mathematics | |||||||||
| Wu-Tang Clan chronology | ||||||||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 80/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+ |
| Los Angeles Times |  |
| NME | 8/10 |
| Q | |
| Rolling Stone | |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
| Spin | 8/10 |
| Vibe | 4.5/5 |
| The Village Voice | A− |
The W is the third studio album by the American hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. It was released on November 21, 2000, by Loud Records. After their 1997 album Wu-Tang Forever, several of the group's members released solo projects before The W, which has a more rugged, less polished sound than that of most Wu-Tang related albums from that era. The album also features guest appearances from Isaac Hayes, Redman, Nas, Busta Rhymes, Snoop Dogg, and Junior Reid.
The W debuted at number five on the Billboard 200, and number one on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart with 301,000 copies sold in the first week. It produced several singles, which also charted as well. The album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on December 14, 2000, and has sold 1.1 million copies in the United States. Upon its release, The W received generally positive reviews from most music critics based on an aggregate score of 80/100 from Metacritic.
The W received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 80, based on 17 reviews. Aside from calling Wu-Tang "the best rap group ever," Kris Ex of Rolling Stone called the album "A sonic gestalt that exists somewhere between the Queensbridge projects and OutKast's Stankonia."The Rolling Stone Album Guide later gave the album four-and-a-half out of five stars in 2004, and called its production "possibly RZA's most consistent yet."Entertainment Weekly's Matt Diehl gave The W a B+ rating, and remarked that the members sound "utterly mellow on their third album." He further stated "The W forgoes innovation and simply revels in the Clan's strengths: the way their star rappers toss around rhymes as if playing catch; RZA's skulking, string-enhanced beats." Kelefa Sanneh of The Village Voice declared it "The best-produced Wu-affiliated album since GZA's 1995 Liquid Swords.Q gave the album four out of five stars and stated "The W is largely a return to murky idiosyncratic form after 1997's filler-bloated Wu-Tang Forever. Weighing in at a svelte 60 minutes, it plays to the group's main strengths: brutal hooks and scary ambience." Dave Heaton of PopMatters described it as "the sound of a group growing up and realizing that collaboration can lead to endless creativity" and commented on its significance in the group's catalogue, stating:
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