Song · Wu-Tang Clan
“C.R.E.A.M.” by Wu-Tang Clan
From the album Enter the Wu‐Tang (36 Chambers) (1993)
“C.R.E.A.M.” by Wu-Tang Clan appears on 5 radio countdowns from 4 stations between 2021 and 2025. It was first released in 1993 on the album Enter the Wu‐Tang (36 Chambers). Its best result is #30 on the WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #2,170 indie & aaa song of all time and #421 of the '90s.
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"C.R.E.A.M." stands for "Cash Rules Everything Around Me", and it's the cold-eyed heart of Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), the Wu-Tang Clan's 1993 debut. Loud Records put it out on January 31, 1994, as the album's next single after "Protect Ya Neck". RZA, the crew's de facto leader, produced, arranged and mixed it, running a sample of the Charmels' 1967 record "As Long As I've Got You" under the whole thing, and Ethan Ryman engineered.
Raekwon and Inspectah Deck take the verses, trading memories of coming up in New York City, and Method Man sings the hook. It only got to number 60 on the Hot 100, but critics lined up to praise it, it now gets counted among hip-hop's all-time greats, and in 2025 it went 4× Platinum.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 851 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s | 908 |
| 2022 | 177 | KEXP | KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022) | 491 |
| 2023 | 675 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s | 893 |
| 2023 | 334 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time | 909 |
| 2025 | 30 | WFPK | WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s | 500 |
Also listed as: C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me).
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