Wu-Tang Clan

Formed in Staten Island, New York, in 1992, the Wu-Tang Clan collective literally revolutionized rap, bringing with their dark aesthetic and fascination for the world of kung fu, a musical inventiveness and depth of soul combined with sharp, committed lyrics. Comprising RZA (Robert Diggs), GZA (Gary Grice), Ol' Dirty Bastard (Russell Jones), Method Man (Clifford Smith), Raekwon (Corey Woods), Ghostface Killah (Dennis Coles), Inspectah Deck (Jason Hunter), U-God (Lamont Hawkins), Masta Killa (Jamel Irief) and Cappadonna (Darryl Hill, an unofficial member in the early days), the group emerged in 1993 with a major album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), whose influence would continue to be felt not only throughout the decade, but also in subsequent generations. With its raw, uncompromising rap, its samples of obscure records and Japanese film dialogue, the Wu-Tang Clan imposed an unprecedented style that took it to the top of the sales charts and critics' scores. This fervor, which gave rise to a myriad of offshoots, resurfaced with the release of Wu-Tang Forever (1997), which reached No. 1 in sales across all genres in both the U.S. and the U.K. Open to many influences outside the rap galaxy, such as 1970s soul, film soundtracks, exotica and other musical oddities, the West Coast group gave birth to the respective careers of its members, which were also widely followed. Back in 2000 with The W (#5 on the Billboard 200), followed by the eclectic Iron Flag (2001), it suffered the loss of one of its members with the death by overdose on November 13, 2004 of Ol Dirty Bastard, absent from the last recording and author of three solo albums. From then on, the Wu-Tang Clan's career entered a new phase, with more satellite projects drawing on their aura than albums under their own name. For example, the fifth album, 8 Diagrams, released by Motown in 2007, sounds more like a project led by RZA than a production involving the entire collective. We had to wait seven years to see the spirit of the early days revived with A Better Tomorrow (2014), followed by a single-pressed recording, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, which was sold for $2 million to a collector, before being resold at half price. As compilations piled up under the Wu-Tang name, such as Legendary Weapons (2011) or The Saga Continues (2017), produced by Mathematics, the group signed the unreleased EP Wu Tang: Of Mics and Men in 2019. The clan enjoys a revival with An American Saga (2021) and returns to the stage on a world tour with Nas in 2023. Between the members' multiple projects, 2025 saw the release of Black Samson, the Bastard Swordsman, the first project in ten years featuring all nine members, released as a limited edition for Record Store Day.