Gravel Pit

"Gravel Pit" is a single released by the Wu-Tang Clan featuring Paulissa Moorman for their album The W. It was not as popular in the U.S. as other Wu-Tang Clan singles like "C.R.E.A.M." and "Uzi (Pinky Ring)". It did, however, receive major radio play, and topped the music video show 106 and Park for two weeks straight. It is also the Wu-Tang's only Top 40 hit in the UK, peaking at number six. In October 2011, NME placed it at number 116 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".^[1]

The chorus of the song: "Back, back and forth and forth..." is taken from the funk group Cameo's song "Back And Forth". The hook of the song: "Check out my gravel pit..." is sung by Paulissa Moorman. According to The Wu-Tang Manual the beat for the track was sampled from Antoine Duhamel's soundtrack to a French TV miniseries entitled Belphegor.

The song features verses from three of the Wu-Tang Clan's MCs, Method Man, Ghostface Killah and U-God, as well as spoken bits from RZA and Raekwon.

Music video

The music video, directed by Joseph Kahn, features the Wu-Tang Clan arguing in their time machine, and in argument accidentally sending themselves back to "2,000,000 BC", which bears strong resemblance to the representation of the Stone Age in The Flintstones. The "gravel pit" is a large, fancy pit made from stone and bones. The "pit", apparently a casino, contains a fountain, stone age cars, dancing women - including the actress Tamala Jones, credited as "Crystal Diamonds" - and large dinosaurs. It appears to be ruled by the Wu-Tang Clan (with the exception of Ol' Dirty Bastard, who was incarcerated at the time - he "appears" as a pair of enchained arms hanging out of a makeshift jail cell), who now have "stone age" personas and clothing. At the end of the video "Bo Rockhard" (Bokeem Woodbine), a rival ninja challenges the Wu-Tang ninjas, RZA leads ninjas and fights off a horde of rival ninjas attacking the pit. The track's opening soundbite (as well as many found on the album) comes from the movie Short Eyes.

Each Wu-Tang member adopts a different name in the video. RZA becomes "Bobby Boulders", Meth is "Joe Quarry", Ol' Dirty Bastard becomes "Ol' Dirty Blocks", Ghostface is renamed "Frank Stoney", Raekwon is "Lex Rockhead", and U-God is "Stonefingers".

Samples

The song uses two samples. The trumpet introduction comes from "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" by James Brown, while the sample running along the whole song is taken from the French TV miniseries Belphegor's main titles. It also took samples from the films Enter the Dragon and Short Eyes.

Chart positions

References

↑ NME.COM. "150 Best Tracks Of The Past 15 Years". NME.COM.

Wu-Tang Clan

Ghostface Killah GZA Inspectah Deck Masta Killa Method Man RZA Raekwon U-God Cappadonna Ol' Dirty Bastard

Wu-Tang Clan albums	Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993) Wu-Tang Forever (1997) The W (2000) Iron Flag (2001) 8 Diagrams (2007) A Better Tomorrow (2014) Once Upon a Time in Shaolin (2015)

Wu-Tang Killa Bees albums	The Swarm (1998) The Sting (2002) Disciples of the 36 Chambers (2004) Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture (2005) Mathematics Presents Wu-Tang Clan & Friends Unreleased (2007) Return of the Swarm (Vol. 3) (2007) Return of the Swarm (Vol. 4) (2007) Lost Anthology (2007) Return of the Swarm (Vol. 5) (2008) Soundtracks from the Shaolin Temple (2008) Killa Bees Attack (2008) Wu-Tang Chamber Music (2009) Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture, Vol. 2 (2009) Legendary Weapons (2011)

Compilation albums	Wu-Chronicles (1999) Wu-Chronicles, Chapter 2 (2001) Legend of the Wu-Tang Clan (2004) Wu-Tang Clan's Greatest Hits (2007) Wu-Box: Cream of the Clan (2007) Wu XM Radio (2007) Wu: The Story of the Wu-Tang (2008)

Singles	"Protect Ya Neck" "Method Man" "C.R.E.A.M." "Can It Be All So Simple" "Triumph" "The Worst" "Gravel Pit" "Uzi (Pinky Ring)" "The Heart Gently Weeps"

Related	Discography Anthology Record Labels The Wu-Tang Manual The Tao of Wu Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style Affiliates Affiliates discography Loud Records Wu-Massacre Wu Block

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