In 1993, nine young Staten Islanders joined forces to create the new hardcore sound of hip-hop and forever reinvent the way the genre was structured. The group saw the good times and the bad. The group saw success and failure. The group saw life and death. The group: Wu-Tang Clan.
In November, the Wu-Tang Clan released its tale of rising to greatness and the subsequent fall in the documentary “WU: The Story of the Wu-tang Clan,” directed by Gerald Barclay. “WU” captures interviews and a wide array of lost footage documented throughout the group’s career. Accompanying the DVD, a soundtrack filled with tracks from the Wu-Tang Clan and member’s individual careers satisfy listeners with songs produced throughout Wu-Tang’s career.
Wu-Tang Clan’s first single, “Protect Ya Neck,” from their debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993), is featured on “WU,” which includes eight of the nine original members (excluding Masta Killa). “Protect Ya Neck,” which founding member RZA produced, embraces the hard rhymes of the dynamic group in the form of a battle-rap. Members introduce themselves to future fans throughout the song, explaining their own personal story.
For example, in Raekwon’s verse, he sings, “The way I make the crowd go wild/ Sit back relax won’t smile/ Rae got it goin’ on pal/ Call me the rap assassinator/ Rhymes rugged and built like Schwarzenegger/ And I’m a get mad deep like a threat, blow up your project/ Then take all your assets.”
Other songs from Enter the WU-Tang (36 Chambers) incorporated in the “WU” soundtrack include “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing Ta F’ Wit,” “Method Man” and “C.R.E.A.M.”
The song “Method Man” features the Wu-Tang Clan’s debut solo star, Method Man, who went on to star in several television shows and the movie “How High.” The Source magazine chose the song as one of the 100 best rap singles, which features Method Man explaining himself to the world: “M-E-T, H-O-D, man/ M-E-T, H-O-D, man/ Hey, you get off my cloud/ You don’t know me and you don’t know my style/ Who be getting flam when they come to a jam?/ Here I am, Here I am, the Method Man.”
“Gravel Pit,” Wu-Tang’s single from the group’s third album, The W (2000), is also featured in “WU.” Wu-Tang members rapping in the track includes RZA, Method Man, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, U-God and guest chorus from Madame Majestic. According to Wikipedia, the chorus of the song, “Back, back and forth and forth…” is from the 1970s funk group Cameo’s song “Back and Forth.”
Overall, the soundtrack to “WU: The Story of the Wu-Tang Clan” documents the progression of the Wu-Tang Clan’s career, showing maturity, success and death (referring to the death of founding member Ol’ Dirty Bastard). Each track provides more emotion in the lyrics than the last and shows listeners how the group’s unique style made them rise to stardom. For now, the next item on the Wu-Tang Clan’s agenda includes touring coast to coast, promoting their 2007 studio album, 8 Diagrams.
3 1/2 stars out of 5
