The Swarm (album)

The Swarm is the first compilation album by American hip-hop collective Wu-Tang Killa Bees. It was released on July 21, 1998 via Wu-Tang/Priority Records. Recording sessions took place at Alien Flyers Studios and Firehouse Studios in New York. Production was handled by Wu-Tang Clan member the RZA, who also served as an executive producer an presenter, Mathematics, Darkim Be Allah, Bolo Gah, DJ Devastator, Inspectah Deck, Remedy and The Blaquesmiths.

The Swarm
Compilation album by Wu-Tang Killa Bees
Released	July 21, 1998 (1998-07-21)
Recorded	1997–1998
Studio	Alien Flyers (New York, NY) Firehouse Studio (New York, NY)
Genre	Hip-hop
Length	1:01:15
Label	Wu-Tang Priority
Producer	Bolo Gah Darkim Be Allah DJ Devastator Inspectah Deck Mathematics Remedy RZA The Blaquesmiths
Wu-Tang Killa Bees chronology
The Swarm (1998) The Sting (2002)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Village Voice	[2]

It features contributions from Wu-Tang Clan members Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, Masta Killa, Method Man, Raekwon and RZA, and Wu-Tang affiliates A.I.G., Black Knights of the North Star, Cappadonna, Killarmy, Remedy, Royal Fam, Ruthless Bastards, Shyheim, Street Life, Sunz of Man, Tha Beggas and Wu-Syndicate among others.

In the United States, the album debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200 and number 3 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on February 10, 1999, for the sales of 500,000 units.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"			0:30
2.	"The Legacy" (performed by Royal Fam)	Timothy Drayton Robert Diggs	RZA	2:20
3.	"Concrete Jungle" (performed by Sunz of Man)	Chron Smith Frederick Cuffie Vergil Ruff Diggs	RZA	4:41
4.	"Co-Defendant" (performed by Shyheim and Hell Razah)	Shyheim Franklin Chron Smith Diggs	RZA	4:37
5.	"S.O.S." (performed by Inspectah Deck and Street Life)	Jason Hunter Patrick Charles	Inspectah Deck	3:42
6.	"Execute Them" (performed by Raekwon, Inspectah Deck, Street Life and Masta Killa)	Corey Woods Hunter Charles Elgin Turner Diggs	RZA	3:40
7.	"Bronx War Stories" (performed by A.I.G.)	G. Hall Donnie Banks	Darkim Be Allah	3:27
8.	"And Justice for All" (performed by RZA, Killarmy and Method Man)	Diggs Rodney Stevenson Samuel Murray Terrance Hamlin Clifford Smith	RZA	4:55
9.	"Punishment" (performed by Black Knights of the North Star)	Quintarus Bennet Reginald Dimeko Deshawn Dante Cunningham Dewayne Rose Anthony Brown Andre Johnson Ronald Bean	Mathematics	4:54
10.	"Bastards" (performed by Ruthless Bastards)	M. Perry M. White Robert Daniels S. Daniels D. Logan Mike McDonald Jorell Brand	The Blaquesmiths	4:19
11.	"On the Strength" (performed by The Beggaz)	T. Taylor T. Frost P. Fondille R. Griffin R. Brown	Bolo Gah	5:01
12.	"Cobra Clutch" (performed by Ghostface Killah)	Dennis Coles Bean	Mathematics	3:42
13.	"Never Again" (performed by Remedy)	Ross Filler	Remedy	4:09
14.	"Where Was Heaven" (performed by Wu-Syndicate)	Timothy Turner Joseph Outlaw Corey Hart David Walker	DJ Devastator	3:28
15.	"'97 Mentality" (performed by Cappadonna and Ghostface Killah)	Darryl Hill Coles Diggs	RZA	3:41
16.	"Fatal Sting" (performed by Black Knights of the North Star)	Bennet Dimeko Cunningham Rose Brown Johnson Bean	Mathematics	4:09
Total length:				1:01:15

Notes

• The "Intro" mentioned on the back cover, booklet and disc is not featured on the record itself.
• Track "Legacy" incorrectly listed as performed by A.I.G. in the booklet.

Personnel

• Timothy "Timbo King" Drayton – vocals (track 2)
• Chron "Hell Razah" Smith – vocals (tracks: 3, 4)
• Frederick "60 Second Assassin" Cuffie – vocals (track 3)
• Vergil "Prodigal Sunn" Ruff – vocals (track 3)
• Shyheim Franklin – vocals (track 4)
• Jason "Inspectah Deck" Hunter – vocals (tracks: 5, 6), producer (track 5)
• Patrick "Streetlife" Charles – vocals (tracks: 5, 6)
• Corey "Raekwon" Woods – vocals (track 6)
• Elgin "Masta Killa" Turner – vocals (track 6)
• A.I.G. – vocals (track 7)
• Robert "RZA" Diggs – vocals (track 8), producer (tracks: 2-4, 6, 8, 15), executive producer
• Rodney "Islord" Stevenson – vocals (track 8)
• Samuel "Beretta 9" Murray – vocals (track 8)
• Terrance "9th Prince" Hamlin – vocals (track 8)
• Clifford "Method Man" Smith – vocals (track 8)
• Quintarus "Crisis" Bennet – vocals (tracks: 9, 16)
• Reginald "Meko the Pharaoh" Dimeko – vocals (tracks: 9, 16)
• Deshawn Dante "Doc Doom!" Cunningham – vocals (tracks: 9, 16)
• Dewayne "Rugged Monk" Rose – vocals (tracks: 9, 16)
• Anthony "Holocaust" Brown – vocals (tracks: 9, 16)
• Andre "Christ Bearer" Johnson – vocals (tracks: 9, 16)
• Apocalipps – vocals (track 10)
• Blizzard – vocals (track 10)
• Iron Mic – vocals (track 10)
• Sha Gotti – vocals (track 10)
• Robert "Truck" Daniels – vocals (track 10)
• Buda Love – vocals (track 11)
• Dragonfly – vocals (track 11)
• Long Axe – vocals (track 11)
• Samo Heung – vocals (track 11)
• Dennis "Ghostface Killah" Coles – vocals (tracks: 12, 15)
• Ross "Remedy" Filler – vocals & producer (track 13)
• Timothy "Myalansky" Turner – vocals (track 14)
• Joseph "Joe Mafia" Outlaw – vocals (track 14)
• Corey "Napoleon" Hart – vocals (track 14)
• Darryl "Cappadonna" Hill – vocals (track 15)
• Donnie "Darkim Be Allah" Banks – producer (track 7)
• Ronald "Allah Mathematics" Bean – producer (tracks: 9, 12, 16)
• Mike McDonald – producer (track 10)
• Jorell Brand – producer (track 10)
• R. "Bolo Gah" Brown – producer (track 11)
• David "DJ Devastator" Walker – producer (track 14)
• Nolan Moffitte – engineering (tracks: 1-4, 6-12, 14-16)
• Steve Sola – engineering (track 5)
• Charlie Marotta – engineering (track 13)
• James Cruz – mastering
• Mitchell "Divine" Diggs – executive producer
• Sherin Baday – art direction, project coordinator
• Arlene Godfrey – project coordinator
• Jeff Trotter – A&R coordinator

Charts

Chart (1998)	Peak position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[3]	36
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[4]	29
UK Albums (OCC)[5]	81
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[6]	14
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[7]	8
US Billboard 200[8]	4
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[9]	3

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[10]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Swarm, Vol. 1 - Wu-Tang Killa Bees | Album | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
2. Christgau, Robert (November 3, 1998). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
3. "Dutchcharts.nl – Wu-Tang Killa Bees – RZA Presents Wu-Tang Killa Bees - The Swarm Vol. 1" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
4. "Offiziellecharts.de – Wu-Tang Killa Bees – RZA Presents Wu-Tang Killa Bees - The Swarm Vol. 1" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
5. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
6. "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
7. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
8. "The Billboard 200". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 32. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. August 8, 1998. p. 80. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
9. "Top R&B Albums". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 32. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. August 8, 1998. p. 27. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
10. "American album certifications – Wu-Tang Killa Bees – The Swarm". Recording Industry Association of America. February 10, 1999. Retrieved January 31, 2025.

External links

• RZA Presents Wu-Tang Killa Bees – The Swarm (Volume 1) at Discogs (list of releases)