Aspiring rapper/producer Robert Diggs was still conflicted about his identity when he unleashed the 12-inch single that paved the way to the Wu-Tang Clan and hip-hop’s next dynasty. Having narrowly beaten an attempted murder charge in Ohio, and witnessed his cousin GZA (Gary Grice) issue his debut LP Words From The Genius earlier that year, Diggs’ sole focus was on wedging his foot in the door. While Tommy Boy were game, it was an inauspicious start. Trading as Prince Rakeem, the A-side was an enthusiastic, slightly goofball shower of fake modesty as Diggs complained about being irresistible to the fairer sex, a lyrical formula he extended to B-side ‘Sexcapades’ as he mused about how many ‘freaks’ he could bag in a week. Nonetheless, it hit harder, thanks to an early Easy Mo Bee beat that sampled Sly & The Family Stone and went heavy on low horns and churchy organ stabs. Despite ending with a tortuous acronym (“Power Equality Allah Cees Equality and that means P.E.A.C.E”) typical of the time, it also boasts the first lyrical reference to Wu-Tang. Issued in July 1991, the single bombed terribly and Tommy Boy soon cut him loose. But out of that adversity came the lightbulb opportunity to form the Clan and tear up the rap rulebook with a roughshod mix of boombap beats, vintage soul and kung-fu samples. It took just 16 months for the Wu-Tang Clan to appear, fully formed, with the self-issued ‘Protect Ya Neck’, the biggest sonic hint of what was to come surfacing on this maxi-single’s other B-side, the freestyle ‘Deadly Venoms’.