Da Mystery of Chessboxin'
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| "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'" | ||||
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| Single by Wu-Tang Clan | ||||
| from the album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) | ||||
| A-side | "C.R.E.A.M." | |||
| Released | January 31, 1994 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:47 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter | Wu-Tang Clan | |||
| Producers | ||||
| Wu-Tang Clan singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'" on YouTube | ||||
"Da Mystery of Chessboxin'" is a song by American hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan from their debut studio album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). It is the B-side of their single "C.R.E.A.M." Produced by RZA and co-produced by Ol' Dirty Bastard, it contains a sample of "Tramp" by Otis Redding and Carla Thomas.
U-God recorded his verse before going to jail, in 15 minutes and 10 takes. RZA recorded him, saying "I want you to do that verse, and I want you to say it this way." When U-God was released, he was surprised the song had become a cult classic.[1]
Masta Killa wrote his first rhyme ever on the song. "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'" is also the only song from Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) that he performs on.[2]
Composition and lyrics
The song begins with dialogue from the films Shaolin and Wu Tang and Five Deadly Venoms in the intro;[3] the sample from the former compares chess to a sword fight.[4] The instrumental features a "creaky" mandolin sample.[3] U-God raps in the opening verse ("Raw, I'ma give it to ya with no trivia, raw like cocaine straight from Bolivia / My hip-hop will rock and shock the nation like the Emancipation Proclamation), which follows up with verses in the order of Inspectah Deck, Raekwon, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Ghostface Killah and Masta Killa.[5]
Despite the song's title, the lyrics do not discuss chess boxing, though they do mention chess.
