Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing ta F' Wit
5 Lessons I've Learned from the Greatest Hip-Hop Group in History...
It’s been a string of heady reflections the past few days, so I figure it’s a good time to change the pace a bit. I’ve wanted to write about this for a few weeks - I was just waiting for the right time, That time is now. Today I want to talk about the Wu-Tang Clan.
The Wu-Tang Clan was made up of life’s biggest underdogs - they grew up in various projects of different New York boroughs and banded together to take over the world. In my opinion, their music has never and will never be paralleled. They are a phenomenon for so many reasons - the number of members (originally nine), the use of audio and aesthetics from old kung fu movies and the rugged and raw nature of their lyricism, to name a few. They were the most unexpected burst of sheer creativity that I’ve ever seen (maybe in the history of music - I’m not exaggerating). I suggest you read into their history a bit more (and watch the newish Hulu show about them) just to understand how unbelievable the rise of Wu-Tang actually was.
I’m not here to dive into the Wu’s history; however, I want to share with you some of my experience from being a Wu-Tang clan super-fan. Without further ado, I give you The 5 Lessons I’ve Learned From The Wu-Tang Clan:
Get yourself a sick-ass clique.
My life got no better, same damn 'Lo sweater Times is rough and tough like leather Figured out I went the wrong route So I got with a sick-ass clique and went all out -Raekwon, "C.R.E.A.M."
There’s no way the Wu-Tang Clan would have reached international stardom without the contributions of each and every member: Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, Method Man, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, U-God, Masta Killa, the genius GZA and the mastermind behind it all, RZA. This unlikely crew of extraordinarily talented rappers banded together to form something infinitely greater than any one of them could have achieved alone. This is a lesson for all of us - surround yourself with people who believe in what you do as much as you do, and incredible things will happen.
There are no rules.
Shaolin shadowboxing and the Wu-Tang sword style. If what you say is true, the Shaolin and the Wu-Tang could be dangerous. Do you think your Wu-Tang sword can defeat me? En garde, I'll let you try my Wu-Tang style. -Wu Tang Clan, "Bring Da Ruckus - Intro"
Not only was the Wu-Tang clan full of extraordinarily talented rappers, it was also one of the most creative acts in general. The RZA (who produced all of the Wu-Tang Clan’s songs and made the beats) loved old kung fu movies, and decided to incorporate that into the music. He would take audio clips from various movies, and loosely based their entire first album (“36 Chambers”) on the epic battle between the Wu-Tang and the Shaolin. They even started to call Staten Island, where most of the members were from, “Shaolin”. Obviously, that’s also where they got their name. To me this is mind blowing. It’s incredible cool, creative and completely unexpected. It gives the Wu an edge that no other acts have. There’s actually lore tied to this music group. Absolute genius. The moral here is that when it comes to creativity, there are no rules. At first, they were given shit for all of the kung fu influences, but that turned out to be the best thing they could have ever done. As I often say, “fly your freak flag” - you never know what will come of it.
Real knowledge comes from the most unexpected places.
But as the world turned, I learned life is hell Livin' in the world no different from a cell Every day I escape from Jakes givin' chase Sellin' base, smokin' bones in the staircase Though I don't know why I chose to smoke sess I guess that's the time when I'm not depressed But I'm still depressed, and I ask, "What's it worth?" Ready to give up so I seek the old Earth Who explained workin' hard may help you maintain To learn to overcome the heartaches and pain We got stick-up kids, corrupt cops, and crack rocks And stray shots, all on the block that stays hot Leave it up to me while I be livin' proof To kick the truth to the young black youth But shorty's runnin' wild, smokin' sess, drinkin' beer And ain't tryna hear what I'm kickin' in his ear Neglected for now, but yo, it gots to be accepted That what? That life is hectic. -Inspectah Deck, "C.R.E.A.M."
I often site great spiritual traditions or great thinkers and writers as the pinnacle of knowledge, but the truth is that I’ve learned just as much, if not more, from the Wu-Tang Clan. I’ll never know what it was like to grow up with nothing. I’ll never know what it was like to have to sell drugs at 15 years old just to survive. I’ll never know what it was like to grow up with gangs and with people getting shot in my neighborhood every day. That was the experience of the members of the Wu-Tang Clan, and the struggle of living through and breaking through that environment is the topic of most of their records. For someone like me, this offers perspective - my problems are usually nothing compared to that. Also, it fills me with hope and encouragement - if the Wu could rise out of situations that were so horrible, I could do anything. Sometimes you need someone with a message that tells it like it is, with all the dirt and grime and horror, rather than a message of love and peace and hugs. As we all know, this life includes both sides of the coin, yin and yang.
There is tremendous power in spiritual connection.
My thoughts must be relaxed, be able to maintain Cause times is changed and life is strange The glorious days is gone, and everybody's doing bad Yo, mad lives is up for grabs Brothers passing away, I gotta make wakes Receiving all types of calls from upstate Yo, I can't cope with the pressure Settling for lesser The God left lessons on my dresser So I can bloom and blossom, find a new way To continue to make more hits with Rae and A. -Ghostface Killah, "Can't It All Be So Simple"
What a lot of people don’t know is that the Wu-Tang Clan had a major spiritual foundation in the Five Percent Nation. I’ll let you look into exactly what that is and make your own judgements, but the point is they were connected to this idea of striving for something greater. Lyrics hinting at their Five Percent belief system are scattered all throughout their records, and many of the members allude to the fact that it was this system that got them out of their most difficult times. The Wu-Tang Clan is known mostly for being a rowdy group of “bad guys",” but the truth is they had a huge spiritual side. RZA went on to explore all types of different religious practices, and GZA often covered lofty spiritual topics in his solo work (which I highly recommend). The lesson here is that a connection to spirituality, no matter form it takes, is crucial to rising out of difficult situations or hard times.
No matter what you do, have a silly goose time.
Hey, you, get off my cloud You don't know me and you don't know my style Who be gettin' flam when they come to a jam? Here I am, here I am, the Method Man Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, hey, the Method Man Don't eat Skippy, Jif or Peter Pan Peanut butter 'cause I'm not butter In fact, I snap back like a rubber Band, I be Sam, Sam-I-Am And I don't eat green eggs and ham Style'll hit ya, wham, then goddamn You'll be like, "Oh shit, that's the jam -Method Man, "M.E.T.H.O.D. Man"
The Wu-Tang Clan always seemed like they were having the time of their lives, and no one embodied that more than Method Man. His rhymes were genius and hilarious (as seen in the above snippet of his solo song on Wu-Tang’s first album “36 Chambers”). The Wu-Tang Clan as a whole weren’t afraid to go deep, and they weren’t afraid to be silly. Another member who portrayed this was Ol’ Dirty Bastard, with his wild style of delivery and crazy antics. Unfortunately, much of that was from a copious amount of drugs (R.I.P. O.D.B.), but his yearning for fun was nonetheless genuine. This is a great reminder that no matter what heights you reach or how important you become, always make sure you’re having a silly goose time.
There you have it. You may not like the Wu-Tang Clan, and that’s totally cool, but you can take these lessons with you anywhere you go.
I had an absolute blast writing this. Wu-Tang Forever!!!