The various members of the prolific Wu-Tang Clan and their cronies are filling their calender for 1999 with plans to release 11 albums on their Wu-Tang Records imprint.

"A lot of [people] think we've peaked out," Wu-Tang Clan leader RZA (a.k.a. Robert Diggs) said late last year, when he was asked about the label's forthcoming series of solo albums from Wu-Tang members and recordings from affiliated groups. "They ain't going to believe that hip-hop can get this dope. For real! They say [chart-topping rapper] Jay-Z is the best lyricist, but they're not going to believe how dope [Wu-Tang is]. We've been holding back."

Wu-Tang Records is hardly holding back. The label is kicking off its impressive release schedule in February with Wu Tang Records Presents Wu Chronicles.

The 16-track Wu Chronicles album will feature intra-Wu collaborations (Raekwon's "Wu Gambinos," which also features Method Man, Ghostface Killah, Masta Killa and RZA), previously released collaborations between Wu-Tang Clan members and other artists (Ras Kass' "The End," which features RZA), rare remixes (Genius' "Cold War [Remix]," with Inspectah Deck and D'Angelo) and three new tracks (including a currently untitled song from satellite group Black Knights and "Marie" by Wu-Tang Clan).

After the Wu Chronicles album is released, the label is planning a flurry of other Wu-related albums to help keep the brand name in the marketplace. Albums from rappers Wu-Syndicates, Poppa Wu, Shyhiem, Larger Than Life, Money Makin Operation (MMO), Black Shampoo, Black Knights, Royal Fam, as well as solo debuts from Wu-Tang members Masta Killa and U-God, all currently are slated to hit the street before 2000.

This is in addition to the solo albums from the core members of the Wu-Tang Clan. RZA, Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah, Ol' Dirty Bastard and Raekwon all are working on new material, while Method Man is busy promoting his second solo album, Tical 2000: Judgement Day. When the projects by U-God and Masta Killa are in stores, every member of the Wu-Tang Clan collective will have released solo albums.

"I guess this means I'm going to have to get a third job," Wu-Tang fan Jacob Rollins, 21, wrote in an e-mail. "I was already saving my money to pick up the Wu-Tang solo albums, but 11 albums from Wu-Tang Records is going to break the bank."

To get all these albums out to the public in a timely fashion, Wu-Tang Records -- which started up in 1997 and already has released albums from Wu-pals Killarmy and La the Darkman -- formally has appointed a few people to run the label at a new office in Los Angeles.

John "Mook" Gibbons, president of Wu-Tang Management, has been appointed president of the label, while Arlene Godfrey, a liaison for RZA Productions and Wu-Tang Productions, has been appointed as the label's general manager. In their new positions, Gibbons will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the label and artist development, while Godfrey will supervise all scheduled releases and oversee all the label's employees.

"Our primary goal is to sell records," Godfrey said in a statement. "However, the overall strategy will be to introduce each artist's original style and flavor apart from what the consumer is accustomed to seeing with Wu-Tang Clan.

"You will see release after release this year, as we strive to stay visible in the marketplace," Godfrey continued.

RZA said he admired the fast-and-furious release schedule maintained by Masta P's No Limit label. It's a flood-the-market business plan that actually was pioneered by the Wu-Tang Clan when they signed as a group to Loud Records but maintained the right, as individuals, to sign with other labels.

"We've been out of it for a while," RZA said of the group's lighter output in 1998, which included Method Man's Tical 2000: Judgement Day, Sunz of Man's The Last Shall Be First, the Wu-Tang Killer Bees compilation The Swarm and Killah Priest's Heavy Mental.

"But we've got a lot coming out in '99," he continued. "People better watch out. If they've counted us out, they're wrong."