“Righteous wax chaperones, rotating ring kings” — U-God, Triumph.
Yo, yo one-two-one-two, yo live in effect
We got the king Ruler Zig-Zag-Zag Allah
Commonly known to ya’ll as the RZA
Yo before we go into side two or side B of this double CD
Knahmsayin I want to give ya’ll a little announcement man
For the last year there’s been a lot of music comin’ out
the shit been weak, knowhatI’msayin?
A lot of niggaz trying to take hip hop
and make that shit R&B, rap and bullshit ya knowhatI’msayin?
Or make that shit funk
Fuck that, this is MCin’ right here, this is hip hop
Wu-Tang, Wu-Tang gonna bring it to you in the purest form
I got the GZA on my side, Killah Priest
Sunz of Man, Royal Fam, Killarmy, Gravediggaz, 12 O’Clock
Yo, we want to let y’all niggaz know somethin’ man
To my people all across the world; Japan, Europe — knowhatI’msayin?
Canada, knowmean — Austria, Germany, Sweden
Yo, this is true hip hop you listenin’ to right here
In the pure form, this ain’t no R&B with a wack nigga takin the loop
Be loopin’ that shit thinkin it’s gonna be the sound of the culture
YaknowhatI’msayin? (That player bullshit)
YaknowhatI’msayin? All that player dressin’ up
On this shit, actin’ like this some kind of fashion show, man
YaknowhatI’msayin? This is hip hop right here
YaknowhatI’msayin? This is lyrics, MCin’
And yo, to ya’ll niggaz who think you going to become an MC overnight
YaknowhatI’msayin? Better snap out that fuckin’ dream
Man it takes years for this, you Cat in the Hat ass rappers
You Dr. Seuss, Mother Goose, simple minded
(Stop runnin’ up on niggaz with all that wack shit)
Word up, man (I’m talking about you MCs)
You ain’t no MC; niggaz ain’t made for this yaknowhatI’msayin?
This shit was Only Built 4 Cuban Linx — we told ya’ll niggaz back then
And then everybody wanted to change their motherfuckin’ name
YaknowhatI’msayin? We come out with a style
Now everybody wanna imitate our style and all you producers out there
YaknowhatI’msayin? It’s all good to show love to a nigga
But stop bitin’ my shit, yaknowhatI’msayin?
Come from your own heart with this shit
And all ya’ll MCs, stop biting from my niggaz
We told ya’ll niggaz on the fucking Cuban Linx album
Don’t bite our shit, ya’ll niggaz keep biting
Yo, I’m going to tell ya’ll something man
It’s time for the Wu revolution right here
To all my niggaz across the world
Raise your motherfucking fist in the air
And get ready for the Triumph
Cause the gods is here to take over this shit
Word up, peace
— RZA, Intro to Triumph
Yo yo yo, fuck that, look at all these crab niggas laid back
Lamping like them gray and black Pumas on my man’s rack
Codeine was forced in your drink
You had a Navy green salamander fiend, bitches overheard you scream
You two-faces, scum of the slum, I got your whole body numb
Blowing like Shalamar in eighty-one
Sound convincing, thousand dollar cord by convention
Hands like Sonny Liston, get fly permission
Hold the fuck up, I’ll unfasten your wig, bad luck
I humiliate, separate the English from the Dutch
It’s me, black, Noble Drew Ali
Came in threes we like the Genovese, is that so
Caesar needs the greens, it’s Earth
Ninety-three million miles from the first
Rough turbulence, the wave burst, split the megahertz
— Ghostface Killah, Triumph
I bomb atomically, Socrates’ philosophies
and hypothesis can’t define how I be droppin these
mockeries, lyrically perform armed robbery
Flee with the lottery, possibly they spotted me
Battle-scarred shogun, explosion when my pen hits
tremendous, ultra-violet shine blind forensics
I inspect you, through the future see millenium
Killa B’s sold fifty gold sixty platinum
Shacklin the masses with drastic rap tactics
Graphic displays melt the steel like blacksmiths
Black Wu jackets queen B’s ease the guns in
Rumble with patrolmen, tear gas laced the function
Heads by the score take flight incite a war
Chicks hit the floor, diehard fans demand more
Behold the bold soldier, control the globe slowly
Proceeds to blow swingin swords like Shinobi
Stomp grounds and pound footprints in solid rock
Wu got it locked, performin live on your hottest block
— Inspectah Deck, Triumph
The Osirus of this shit.
Light is provided through sparks of energy
From the mind that travels in rhyme form
Giving sight to the blind
The dumb are mostly intrigued by the drum
Death only one can save self from
This relentless attack of the track spares none
— Masta Killa, Triumph
“Wu-Tang is here forever, motherfucker. — Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Triumph
“Behold the bold soldier, control the globe slowly / Proceeds to blow, swingin’ swords like Shinobi” — Inspectah Deck, Triumph
