"Gravel Pit" is a single released by the Wu-Tang Clan

Wu-Tang Clan

The Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group from Staten Island that consists of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group...

 for their album The W

The W

The W is the third studio album by the American hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, released November 21, 2000 on Loud/Columbia Records. It was released several years after their previous album Wu-Tang Forever, to which many group members released solo projects between the two albums...

. 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)

Uzi (Pinky Ring)

"Uzi " is a song from Iron Flag, the fourth album by rap group Wu-Tang Clan. It was released as the album's first single, with an accompanying music video directed by The RZA....

". 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 in the top ten at number six. In October 2011, NME

NME

The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

 placed it at number 116 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".

The chorus of the song: "Back, back and forth and forth..." is taken from the funk group Cameo

Cameo (band)

Cameo is an American soul-influenced funk group that formed in the early 1970s. Cameo was initially a 13-member group known as the New York City Players; this name was later changed to Cameo to avoid a lawsuit from Ohio Players, another group from that era. Since then, Cameo has recorded several...

's song "Back And Forth". The hook of the song: "Check out my gravel pit..." is sung by Paulissa Morgan. According to The Wu-Tang Manual

The Wu-Tang Manual

The Wu-Tang Manual is a guide to the Wu-Tang Clan written by prominent member and principal producer, RZA. The manual explains Wu-Tang terms, Wu-Tang members, merchandise, movies and inspirations.-Book's Content:...

 the beat for the track was sampled from Antoine Duhamel

Antoine Duhamel

Antoine Duhamel , is a French composer, orchestra conductor and music teacher.Born in Valmondois in the Val-d'Oise département of France, Antoine Duhamel came from a cinematic family and studied music at the Sorbonne. He wrote the score for his first film in 1960, going on to work with many of...

's soundtrack to a French TV miniseries entitled Belphegor.

Music video

The music video, directed by Joseph Kahn

Joseph Kahn

Joseph Kahn is an American music video, advertising, and feature film director.-Early life:Kahn was born in Jersey Village, Texas, a suburb of Houston. He is of Korean ancestry. He spent part of his childhood growing up in Livorno, Italy until his family moved to Texas...

, features the Wu-Tang Clan arguing in their time machine

Time travel

Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...

, 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 Flintstones

The Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that screened from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones was about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next-door neighbor and best friend. It...

. The "gravel pit" is a large, fancy pit made from stone and bones. The "pit," apparently a casino

Casino

In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...

, contains a fountain, stone age cars, dancing women - including the actress Tamala Jones

Tamala Jones

Tamala R. Jones is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the movies Booty Call, The Wood, Kingdom Come, The Brothers, and Two Can Play That Game...

, credited as "Crystal Diamonds" - and large dinosaurs. It appears to be ruled by the Wu-Tang Clan (with the exception of Ol' Dirty Bastard

Ol' Dirty Bastard

Russell Tyrone Jones was an American rapper and occasional producer, who went by the stage name Ol' Dirty Bastard or simply ODB...

, who was incarcerated at the time), who now have "stone age" personas and clothing. At the end of the video "Bo Rockhard" (Bokeem Woodbine

Bokeem Woodbine

Bokeem Woodbine is an American film and television actor.-Personal life:Woodbine was born in Harlem, New York to an actress mother. He attended the prestigious Dalton School in New York before transferring to the also prestigious LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in the city...

), a Wu-Tang samurai

Samurai

is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...

, fights off a hoard of samurai attacking the pit. The track's opening sound byte (as well as many found on the album) comes from the movie Short Eyes.

Samples

The song uses two samples. The trumpet introduction comes from "It's a Man's Man's Man's World

It's a Man's Man's Man's World

"It's a Man's Man's Man's World" is a song by James Brown and Betty Jean Newsome. Brown recorded it on February 16, 1966 in a New York studio and released it as a single later that year. It reached #1 on the Billboard Top R&B Singles charts and #8 in the Billboard Hot 100...

" by James Brown

James Brown

James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...

, while the sample running along the whole song is taken from the French TV miniseries Belphegors main titles. It also took samples from the movie Enter the Dragon

Enter the Dragon

Enter the Dragon is a 1973 Hong Kong martial arts co-production with Golden Harvest and Warner Bros. studios, directed by Robert Clouse; starring Bruce Lee, Jim Kelly and John Saxon. This is Bruce Lee's final film appearance before his death on July 20, 1973...

.

Chart positions

• #70 (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks)
• #20 (Hot Rap Singles)
• #34 (Rhythmic Top 40)