The Wu-Tang Clan is a group of hip-hop American mid- 1990′s . The nine component members are from Staten Island and Brooklyn.
In the beginning
The original group, there RZA , GZA and Ol ‘Dirty Bastard , three cousins. They come every three of Brooklyn , one of five boroughs of New York . Passionate about the music soul of their parents and culture hip hop permeates the ghetto of New York , they created a first draft of the group, All In Together Now, which will know no more. That’s when they invented their first alter-egos. RZA is the “Scientific”, GZA the “Genius” and Ol ‘Dirty Bastard “Specialist”. For its part, RZA s’autoproduit on a single light-hearted will not work in 1991 on the label Tommy Boy : Ooh, We Love You Rakeem. For its part, GZA is the only group member to have made an album before the advent of the Clan. In 1991 , Words From The Genius signed with Cold Jinlin, and preceded by the single “Come Do Me, remains confined to the New York underground scene and fails to take off. These two failures will shape the RZA determining who is aggrieved by labels it deems incompetent.
Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) and first solo albums
Little by little, the nebulous members will expand with the arrival of Raekwon , Ghostface Killah , Inspectah Deck , Method Man , U-God and Masta Killa signing a pact together to form an artistic and financial community. The Wu-Tang Clan is not a collective, it becomes its own industry. Some members are from the Bronx while the HQ training remains Staten Island , a district still lags behind the time in Hip-Hop . Since then, the neighborhood, they renamed “Shaolin” in reference to the film The 36th Chamber of Shaolin has become inseparable from the name of Wu-Tang.
The nine rappers are fast becoming known with the arrival of a self-produced first EP in September 1992 , Protect Ya Neck (which can lead to Protect your neck), which quickly became an underground hit with passages in the lineup rap Radio Hot 97 , a popular resort in New York .
In 1993 , spotted by many record companies , the group, which is one of the most paradoxical decisions, finally reunited at the table of the president of the label Loud Records located on the West Coast and won a first contract for a disc. Through skillful negotiations RZA , each rapper retains the freedom to leave for future solo projects from other record labels. Thus, the Wu-Tang Clan released their first album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) , in November of that year. The album changes the hip-hop rap by handing East Coast up to date. RZA to issue a command through its innovative soul samples of seventies , mixing moods and dialogues glaucous movie kung fu , all served by minimalist beats and furious flow. The album is divided into two approaches, Shaolin and Wu-Tang Sword, symbolizing the struggle as a form of discipline that they have applied to their rap. Although he started at the 41st position on the charts in November 1993 , the album quickly became a landmark of its kind, received two awards, including best rap group, and became shortly after disc platinum. The title CREAM (Cash Rules Everything Around Me) is one of the flagship titles of the album.
At the same time, RZA is also dedicated to a side project, Gravediggaz , along with Prince
Paul (producer of early De La Soul ), Frukwan (former Stetsasonic ) and Poetic . The first album, 6 Feet Deep, is as hardcore rap or rather horrorcore as they define themselves, blending atmosphere of horror and black humor. RZA once again confirms his talent as a producer but also as a rapper.
The period after the first hour of glory marks the era of solo projects. As agreed in their contract, each member, apart from Inspectah Deck , U-God and Masta Killa , produce their first album exclusively produced by RZA . The first to experience the glory with his Tical is Method Man at Def Jam to become platinum . Shortly after, the label Elektra , Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version of troublemaker Ol ‘Dirty Bastard which it reveals more about his character “crevard” he endorses perfectly. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx … of Raekwon released in 1995 at Loud, stands in its way a merciless picture of life in the slums of New York . Liquid Swords GZA appeared on the label Geffen delivers an atmosphere that is both somber and nostalgic. As for the album Ghostface Killah , Ironman, released last, it becomes a huge commercial success, especially with his duet in the company of Mary J. Blige on All That I Got Is You. It is the first album to be released on Razor Sharp label mounted by RZA .
The end of the golden age
The release of the album The W is a half-disappointment for fans [ref. needed] . Despite the excellent Protect Ya Neck (The Jump Off) and Gravel Pit , this project sounds less authentic than its predecessors and formatted. Ol ‘Dirty Bastard , while in rehab, is present only on one track. This album marks the end of the voluntary isolation of the clan with the participation of foreign artists on some songs such as Snoop Dogg , Busta Rhymes , Nas , Redman , or Isaac Hayes .
The preliminary latest album, Iron Flag , is published on 18 December 2001 and follows the same path as his predecessor: no song really manages to immerse the listener in the unique atmosphere of the early group [Who?] . It seems that the artistic unity of the group will be eroded over the album .
On March 17, 2003, a compilation of various artists of the Wu-Tang Clan is marketed, it is called Wu-Tang Collective.
The group began a farewell tour in mid 2004 , including a move to Paris in July, before the appearance of what seemed then their last album as a group as a best-of and a live and a book on the history and philosophy of the group. The Wu-Tang Manual, written by RZA , is the only formal written support on the history of the group. Note that Masta Killa finally released his first solo album No Said Date in 2004, and is favored by most fans of the Wu in the first hour.