The recording sessions took place during late 1992 to early 1993 at Firehouse Studio in New York City, and the album was produced by the group's de facto leader RZA.

Its sound also became greatly influential in modern hip-hop production, while the group members' explicit, humorous, and free-associative lyrics have served as a template for many subsequent rap records.

In the late 1980s, cousins Robert Diggs, Gary Grice, and Russell Jones formed a group named Force of the Imperial Master, also known as the All in Together Now Crew.

The group never signed to a major label, but caught the attention of the New York City rap scene and was recognized by rapper Biz Markie.

RZA discussed the matter in the book The Wu-Tang Manual (2005), stating "[Tommy Boy] made the decision to sign House of Pain over us.

The album was produced, mixed, arranged, and programmed by RZA, and was mastered at The Hit Factory in New York City by Chris Gehringer.

[4] Group leader RZA produced Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) by creating sonic collages from classic soul samples and clips from martial arts movies Shaolin and Wu Tang (1983) and Ten Tigers from Kwangtung (1979).

He complimented the rappers' performances with "lean, menacing beats that evoked their gritty, urban surroundings more effectively than their words," according to Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic.

[8] The use of soul samples and various esoteric clips, and the technique by which RZA employed them in his beats was unique and largely unprecedented in hip-hop.

"Because [RZA] didn't have the best mixing or recording equipment, the album is wrought with a 'dirty' quality—the drums have more bass and are more hard-hitting than they are crisp and clean; the samples have an eerie, almost haunting type of echo; and the vocals, because each member's voice is already aggressive and gritty, perfectly match the production.

"[11] Although Ol' Dirty Bastard is given co-production credit on "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'" and Method Man is co-credited for "Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing ta F' Wit", critics and admirers universally credit RZA with developing what Pitchfork called a "dusty yet digital production style [that] helped legitimize the use of more diverse sample sources to the hardcore New York rap massive, breaking away from James Brown based beats and embracing a style that turned the Underdog theme into the menacing coda for a group of underground terrorists.

[13] Rolling Stone described the album as possessing an aesthetic that was "low on hype and production values [and] high on the idea that indigence is a central part of blackness".

[citation needed] AllMusic contributor Steve Huey praises the lyricists for their originality and caustic humor, stating "Some were outsized, theatrical personalities, others were cerebral storytellers and lyrical technicians, but each had his own distinctive style ... Every track on Enter the Wu-Tang is packed with fresh, inventive rhymes, which are filled with martial arts metaphors, pop culture references (everything from Voltron to Lucky Charms cereal commercials to Barbra Streisand's "The Way We Were"), bizarre threats of violence, and a truly twisted sense of humor.

"[15] With the exception of "Method Man" and GZA's "Clan in da Front", every song features multiple rappers contributing verses of varying lengths.

[11] In a Stylus magazine review, writer Gavin Mueller evokes the bleakness of the Wu-Tang world view: The lyrics reach back to New York's own Rakim: dense battle rhymes potent with metaphors.

Each Wu MC links his rhymes to crime and violence, allowing his preoccupations to surface subtly and indirectly, rather than spouting off overt gangsta-isms designed to shock ...

The hood imagery of the lyrics is utterly pervasive and uncompromising, immersing the listener in a foreign land smack in the middle of New York.

[10] Pitchfork asserts that "Half the charm is in the cast's idiosyncrasies: ODB's hovering sing-song, Raekwon's fake stutter, Ghostface's verbal tics, Method Man's hazy, dusted voice.

"[12] Part of the album's title originates from the Five Percent philosophy, known to adherents as the Supreme Mathematics, which attaches the number 9 with the meaning "to bring into existence".

[19] "Protect Ya Neck" and "Tearz" were the first tracks recorded by the Wu-Tang Clan, released independently by the group as a 12-inch single in December 1992.

[citation needed] The singles were independently released as, "Protect Ya Neck"/"After the Laughter Comes Tears", which RZA financed by demanding $100 (USD) from each rapper who wanted a verse on the A-side.

[24] Touré wrote in his 1993 Rolling Stone review that, "in Brooklyn, N.Y., right now and extending back a few months, the reigning fave is the Wu-Tang Clan, who are to the channel what Guns N' Roses are to MTV.

[27] Entertainment Weekly said, "With its rumble jumble of drumbeats, peppered with occasional piano plunking, Enter has a raw, pass-the-mike flavor we haven't heard since rap was pop's best-kept secret.

He added, "This is hip-hop you won't find creeping up the Billboard charts but you will hear booming out of Jeep stereos in all the right neighborhoods.

Sure, its sloppy drum programming, bizarre song structures, and unpolished sound quality disturbed commercial rap purists, but the talent was so inherent and obvious, and the charisma so undeniable, that it propelled the Wu-Tang Clan to the height of the rap game, and today stands not just as the hip-hop classic that introduced the concept of obscure thematic characters (each member's name references old kung-fu movies), but also bridged the gap between traditional old-school sensibilities and the technical lyricism of today.

[12]In a retrospective review, Robert Christgau found the Wu-Tang Clan "grander" and "goofier" than their West Coast contemporaries and concluded, "Expect the masterwork this album's reputation suggests and you'll probably be disappointed—it will speak directly only to indigenous hip hoppers.

Expect a glorious human mess, as opposed to the ominous platinum product of their opposite numbers, and you'll realize the dope game isn't everyone's dead-end street".

's Ready to Die) was able to shift the emphasis away from the melodious, synthesizer-driven G-funk and restore interest into the East Coast hip-hop scene.

[54] The album's reliance on soul music samples was novel at the time, but 21st-century producers such as The Alchemist, Kanye West, and Just Blaze now rely on this technique.

[62][63] All original members of the group who performed on Enter the Wu-Tang participated in both the tour and reunion album, excepting Ol' Dirty Bastard, who died in 2004.