Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies.

Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories, which are named after the precious materials gold, platinum and diamond. Silver is also used in the UK. The number of sales or shipments required for these awards varies depending on the population of the territory in which the album is released. Normally they are awarded only to albums released at least nationally and are awarded individually for each country in which the album is sold. Additionally, different sales levels may exist for different music media, such as albums, singles, or videos.

Originally applied to LP records, certification is now most commonly awarded for compact disc sales. Certification is usually awarded cumulatively, and it is possible for a single album to be certified silver, gold, and platinum in turn. An album that becomes platinum at least twice over is said to be "multi platinum". Artists can also become multi-platinum sellers if they have at least two albums in the same territory both going single platinum. A poor selling record is often jokingly said to have "Sold Lead", in contrast to attaining high status as a gold or platinum album.

History

The original gold record awards were presented to artists by their own record companies to publicize the achievement of 1,000,000 sales. The first of these was awarded by RCA to Glenn Miller in February 1942, celebrating 1,200,000 sales of "Chattanooga Choo Choo". Another example of a company award is the gold record awarded to Elvis Presley in 1956 for 1,000,000 sales of the single "Don't Be Cruel." The first gold record for an LP was awarded by RCA to Harry Belafonte in 1957 for the album ''Calypso'' (1956), the first album to sell over 1,000,000 copies.

RIAA certification

Several different thresholds have been in use at different times and places for both album and single awards. Some of these were based on units sold and others on the value of retail sales. The first official designation of a "gold record" by the RIAA was established for singles in 1958, and the RIAA also trademarked the term "gold record" in the United States. On March 14, 1958 the RIAA certified Perry Como's hit single "Catch a Falling Star" as its first-ever gold record, and the ''Oklahoma!'' soundtrack was certified as the first gold album four months later. In 1976, RIAA introduced the platinum certification, first awarded to Johnnie Taylor's "Disco Lady" (single) and the Eagles' ''Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975)'' (album).

Like many record industry awards and rankings, the measurement is usually based on wholesale shipments to all types of retail outlets, not actual retail sales or financial transactions. This means that an early award or ranking for a new release reflects a distributor's expectations for the album and their market power.

Certifications no longer apply solely to physical media, and are now bestowed upon songs used in different ways. In June 2006, the RIAA certified 84 songs as gold winners for ringtone downloads, 40 as platinum and 4 as multiplatinum.

IFPI certification

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) awards the IFPI Platinum Europe Award for album sales over one million within Europe and (as of October 2009) the Middle East. Multi-platinum Europe Awards are presented for sales in subsequent multiples of a million. The award, which was inaugurated in 1996, is not restricted to European group artists. Time is not a factor for an album to reach platinum.

List of international certification thresholds

Manufacture of awards

The plaques themselves contain various items under the glass. Modern awards often use CDs instead of records. Most gold and platinum records are actually vinyl records which have been vacuum metallized and tinted, while trimmed and plated metal "masters", "mothers", or "stampers" (metal parts used for pressing records out of vinyl) were initially used. Rarely does the groove on the record match the actual recording being awarded. Individual plaque-makers produced their awards according to available materials and individual techniques employed by their graphic arts departments. The plaques, depending on size and elaborateness of design, cost anywhere between US$135 and $275, most often ordered and purchased by the record label that issued the original recording.

See also

RIAA certification

Lists of best-selling albums

Lists of best-selling singles

Recording Industry Association of America

Release (music)

References

External links

List of national recording industry associations

The Best Selling Albums Ever... Worldwide

U.S./Canada Diamond Award Albums

Certification of Awards

RIAA certification – official website

Category:Music awards Category:Music industry

ca:Disc d'or cs:Zlatá deska da:Certificering af musiksalg de:Goldene Schallplatte es:Certificación de ventas discográficas eo:Ora disko fa:گواهی‌نامه فروش موسیقی ضبط شده fr:Disque d'or ko:음반 판매량 인증 hi:म्यूज़िक रिकॉर्डिंग बिक्री प्रमाणन hr:Zlatna ploča id:Sertifikasi penjualan rekaman musik ia:Certification de venditas discographic is:Söluviðurkenning fyrir tónlist it:Certificazione delle vendite di dischi musicali he:אלבום זהב ka:მუსიკალური ჩანაწერის გაყიდვების სერტიფიკაცია hu:Aranylemez nl:Goud (muziek) ja:ゴールドディスク no:Salgstrofeer i musikkbransjen nn:Salstrofe i musikkbransjen pl:Złota płyta pt:Certificações por vendas de gravação musical ru:Сертификации музыкальных произведений simple:Music recording sales certification fi:Kultalevy sv:Guldskiva uk:Сертифікація музичних записів vi:Chứng nhận doanh số đĩa thu âm zh:金唱片

Name	Nicki Minaj
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Onika Tanya Maraj
Birth date	December 08, 1982
Birth place	Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago
Origin	South Jamaica, Queens, New York, USA
Genre	Hip hop, R&B;, pop
Occupation	Rapper, singer-songwriter
Years active	2002 – present
Label	Cash Money Records, Young Money Entertainment, Universal Republic Records, Universal Motown
Associated acts	Young Money
website	}}

Onika Tanya Maraj (born December 8, 1982), known by her stage name Nicki Minaj (), is a Trinidadian-born American musician. She was born in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago, and moved to the New York borough of Queens when she was five.

After releasing three mixtapes between 2007 and 2009 and being signed to Young Money Entertainment in August 2009, Minaj released her debut album, ''Pink Friday'', in November 2010. It quickly became a commercial success, peaking at number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 and being certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) a month after its release. She became the first female solo artist to have seven singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at the same time. Her second single, "Your Love", reached #1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Rap Songs chart, making Minaj the first female artist to top the chart unaccompanied since 2002. She also became the first female artist to be included on MTV's Annual Hottest MC List. Minaj was named the 2011 ''Rising Star'' by ''Billboard''. Her second studio album, ''Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded'' will be released on April 3, 2012.

Early life

Maraj was born in 1982 in Saint James, a suburb of Trinidad and Tobago's capital city Port of Spain. Her parents are of mixed Indian and Afro-Trinidadian ancestry and she lived in Saint James with her grandmother until age five, because her parents were looking for a place to live in the Queens borough of New York City at the time. Her mother would occasionally visit, and one day, when Minaj was five, her mother picked her up to move to Queens. According to Minaj, her father drank heavily, took drugs, and once tried to kill her mother by setting the house on fire.

She attended Elizabeth Blackwell Middle School 210, where she played the clarinet. She graduated from LaGuardia High School. At LaGuardia, a school specializing in music and the visual and performing arts, Minaj participated in the drama program. She had initially planned to sing at LaGuardia, but lost her voice on the day of the audition.

Career

2007–09: Mixtapes and Young Money

Minaj released her first mixtape in 2007 after releasing ''Playtime Is Over'' with ''Dirty Money Records''. She released another mixtape on July 7, 2008, titled ''Sucka Free'', under the label ''Be''. On April 18, 2009, Minaj released a third mixtape and appeared in ''XXL'' magazine. She won the Female Artist of the Year award at the 2008 Underground Music Awards. Minaj released ''Beam Me Up Scotty'', another mixtape, in April 2009 under the label of ''Trapaholics Records''; it received positive coverage on both BET and MTV.

In August 2009, Minaj signed a record deal with Young Money Entertainment, with distribution from Universal Motown Records, after fellow American rapper Lil Wayne discovered her and secured the record deal. She then had a solo rap verse in their single "BedRock," which became a commercial success, reaching #2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Minaj also appeared on "Roger That", which charted at #56. The song, and in particular Minaj, received positive reviews from critics. Both songs were included in Young Money Entertainment's debut collaborative studio album ''We Are Young Money'', which was released in December 2009. The album charted in the top ten on the ''Billboard'' 200, reaching #9 and later receiving a Gold Certification by the RIAA. She was then chosen by Mariah Carey to be featured on her single and music video for "Up Out My Face". Critics praised her collaboration for helping to maintain Carey's feminine image and providing a polite track for the female R&B; singer.

2010–present: ''Pink Friday'' and ''Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded''

After a major record label bidding war, Young Money Entertainment announced on August 31, 2009 that Minaj had been released a 360 deal with the label in which she retains and owns all of her 360 rights – including merchandising, sponsorships, endorsements, touring and publishing. In an interview with 95.8 Capital FM, Rihanna stated that after the two collaborated on "Raining Men" from her album ''Loud'' that the duo would be teaming up together for a possible second collaboration on Minaj's ''Pink Friday''. Hip-hop rap artist and producer Kanye West was also confirmed for the album. On August 3, 2010 Minaj revealed on a Ustream.tv channel that the album's name would be ''Pink Friday'', in reference to Black Friday.

''Pink Friday'' was released on November 19, 2010 in both standard and deluxe versions. A buzz single, "Massive Attack", was released in April. In August, Minaj released "Your Love" as the first official single from her debut album. The single peaked at 14 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, 7 on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart and topped the Rap Songs chart. Minaj became the first female artist to be included on MTV's Annual Hottest MC List and the first female artist to top the chart unaccompanied since 2002. In October 2010, Minaj became the first artist to have seven songs on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart simultaneously. Minaj released a joint single with The Black Eyed Peas front man, will.i.am titled, "Check It Out", which is Minaj's most successful single to date in Europe. "Right thru Me" was released September 24, 2010; the music video was released in late October. "Moment 4 Life" was released as the fourth single. The track featured Canadian rapper Drake and was released on December 7, 2010, becoming a success on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The single peaked at number 5 on the Hot Rap Songs. The album gained a Platinum certification in the United States a month after the release. It was hinted by Simon Cowell that Minaj would join the judging panel of the American version of the ''The X Factor.'' Starting in June 2011, Minaj will be supporting ''Pink Friday'' by serving as an opening act along with Jessie and the Toy Boys and Nervo on Britney Spears' sixth concert tour, the Femme Fatale Tour, in support of her seventh studio album, ''Femme Fatale''. She also was featured on the official remix of Spears' track "Till the World Ends" along with Spears and singer Kesha, which charted at number 3 in the US in April 2011. "Super Bass" was released from ''Pink Friday'' in May 2011, the single charted within the top 10 in many countries including; United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Canada and more. The song gained positive reviews from critics. Minaj will voice a character in the 3D animated film, ''Ice Age: Continental Drift'', as an unknown character. Minaj is also featured on French DJ David Guetta's 2011 album, ''Nothing but the Beat'' on "Where Them Girls At" and "Turn Me On". She will be featured alongside Madonna and M.I.A. on an upcoming single from Madonna's twelfth studio album, for which a music video has been directed by Megaforce. The trio performed "Give Me All Your Luvin'" from Madonna's new album for the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show.

Minaj's second studio album, ''Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded'', was announced through Twitter in November 2011 and is set to be released on April 3, 2012. The album's first single, "Starships", was released on February 14. On February 12, 2012, Minaj debuted her song "Roman Holiday" at the 54th Grammy Awards. The exorcism-themed perfomance drew a mixed response online.

Musical style and image

Image

In an interview with ''Vibe'' Minaj discussed her sexual image stating, "[w]hen I grew up I saw females doing certain things, and I thought I had to do that exactly. The female rappers of my day spoke about sex a lot... and I thought that to have the success they got, I would have to represent the same thing. When in fact I didn’t have to represent the same thing." In an interview with ''Interview'', Minaj commented on her sexual image again stating, "I made a conscious decision to try to tone down the sexiness, I want people—especially young girls—to know that in life, nothing is going to be based on sex appeal. You’ve got to have something else to go with that.” Minaj has a tattoo in Chinese characters that reads "" (''shangdi yu ni chang zai'') on her left arm, meaning, "God is always with you."

Alter egos

While growing up, Minaj's home life was often chaotic, with her parents constantly fighting. As a means of escape, she would create characters and live her life through them. In an interview with ''New York'' she stated, "To get away from all their fighting, I would imagine being a new person. 'Cookie' was my first identity – that stayed with me for a while. I went on to 'Harajuku Barbie,' then 'Nicki Minaj'. Fantasy was my reality."

For her debut album, Minaj created another alter-ego named "Roman Zolanski". She stated that in songs like "Bottoms Up" with Trey Songz it is not Minaj rapping, but instead Roman Zolanski, and claims that Roman is her "twin sister". She claims that he was born inside her, out of rage, and becomes him when she is angry. She has also said 'He is a demon inside her'. Roman has been compared to Eminem's alter ego Slim Shady, and on the song "Roman's Revenge" from ''Pink Friday'', Minaj and Eminem collaborate, using these alter egos. On the collaboration, she said "The new album is going to have a lot of Roman on it ... And if you're not familiar with Roman, then you will be familiar with him very soon. He’s the boy that lives inside of me. He's a lunatic and he's gay and he'll be on there a lot." Roman also has a "mother" called "Martha Zolanski", who also appeared on the song Roman's Revenge, with a British accent. Martha appears in the video for "Moment 4 Life" where she appears to be Minaj's magical Godmother. In songs such as "All I Do Is Win (Remix)" it is Minaj rapping. Minaj stated that on her debut album, fans will get to "meet" Nicki, Roman and Onika.

On November 18, 2010, Minaj assumed a different alter-ego named "Nicki Teresa". Wearing a colorful scarf around her head, she went around as the "healer to her fans" as she visited them at The Garden of Dreams Foundation at Fuse studios in New York City. Minaj made an appearance on ''Lopez Tonight'' on December 6, 2010 and presented a different alter-ego for the Spanish-inspired occasion, named "Rosa" (pronounced Rrrrrosa).

Influences

Minaj has stated that artists who have influenced her musical style include Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Lil Wayne, Lauryn Hill, Jadakiss, Natasha Bedingfield, Foxy Brown, Lil' Kim and Missy Elliott. She was also inspired by Janet Jackson, Madonna, Britney Spears, Marilyn Monroe, Grace Jones, M.I.A., and Cyndi Lauper.

Personal life

While some songs and interviews have implied that Minaj is bisexual, she has said that she does not date nor have sex with women, but added in an interview with ''Out'' magazine, "I don’t date men either." In an interview with ''Vibe'' she commented, "I just embrace all people of all lifestyles and I don’t tell them they are bad people. And I say girls are beautiful and girls are sexy and they need to be told that, and if they don’t have anyone to tell them that and mean it, I’m gonna tell them that. But I feel like people always wanna define me and I don’t wanna be defined." She reiterated her dislike of being labeled in an interview with ''Out'', saying: "The point is, everyone is not black and white. There are so many shades in the middle, and you’ve got to let people feel comfortable with saying what they want to say when they want to say it."

During an interview in the May 2010 issue of ''Details'', Minaj was asked if she felt hip-hop was becoming more gay-friendly. She responded, "I think the world is getting more gay-friendly, so hip-hop is too. But it's harder to imagine an openly gay male rapper being embraced, people view gay men as having no street credibility. But I think we'll see one in my lifetime."

In July 2011, Minaj's cousin Nicholas Telemaque was murdered near his home in Brooklyn, New York City.

Discography

''Pink Friday'' (2010)

''Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded'' (2012)

See also

List of awards and nominations received by Nicki Minaj

Notes

References

External links

Category:Nicki Minaj Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:African American female singers Category:African American rappers Category:American musicians of Indian descent Category:American people of Trinidad and Tobago descent Category:Female rappers Category:Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni Category:Hip hop singers Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States Category:People from Queens Category:People from Port of Spain Category:Rappers from New York City Category:Singers from New York City Category:Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to the United States Category:Trinidad and Tobago musicians Category:Trinidad and Tobago people of Dougla descent Category:Young Money Entertainment artists

ar:نيكي مناج bg:Ники Минаж ca:Nicki Minaj cs:Nicki Minaj da:Nicki Minaj de:Nicki Minaj et:Nicki Minaj es:Nicki Minaj eu:Nicki Minaj fa:نیکی میناژ fr:Nicki Minaj ko:니키 미나즈 hi:निकी मिनाज hr:Nicki Minaj id:Nicki Minaj it:Nicki Minaj he:ניקי מינאג' la:Nicki Minaj lv:Niki Minaža lt:Nicki Minaj hu:Nicki Minaj mk:Ники Минаж nl:Nicki Minaj ja:ニッキー・ミナージュ no:Nicki Minaj pl:Nicki Minaj pt:Nicki Minaj ro:Nicki Minaj ru:Ники Минаж sq:Nicki Minaj simple:Nicki Minaj sk:Nicki Minaj sr:Ники Минаж fi:Nicki Minaj sv:Nicki Minaj tl:Nicki Minaj tr:Nicki Minaj vi:Nicki Minaj zh:妮琪·米娜

name	Glass Tiger
background	group_or_band
origin	Newmarket, Ontario, Canada
genre	Pop rock; adult contemporary; New Wave
years active	1983–1993, 2003–present
label	Capitol Records
website	http://www.glasstiger.ca
current members	Alan FrewSam ReidAl ConnellyWayne ParkerChris McNeill
past members	Michael Hanson
notable instruments	}}

Glass Tiger is a Canadian rock band formed in 1983, in Newmarket, Ontario.

Biography

Originally named 'Tokyo', the band produced several hit singles in Canada and placed two songs on ''Billboard'' magazine's top 10: "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)" and "Someday," both of which came from their debut album, ''The Thin Red Line'' (1986), produced by Jim Vallance.

Glass Tiger won three Juno Awards in 1986 and two more in 1987. They were also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1987. After their third album ''Simple Mission'' and a brief Canadian tour in early 1993, the band went on a lengthy hiatus. Lead singer Alan Frew released two solo albums before the band reformed and began touring again around 2003.

On 6 November 2004 Glass Tiger hosted a Saturday night retro show on CIQB-FM in Barrie, Ontario under the direction of station program director Darren Stevens.

In 2005 the band released a new DVD collection ''No Turning Back''. On 23 June 2005, they appeared on the American NBC television show ''Hit Me Baby One More Time'', performing their classic hit "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)" and covering "Everything You Want" (originally recorded by Vertical Horizon). Although they lost the audience voting to Thelma Houston, Glass Tiger were judged the winners by online voters.

In a mid-2006 interview on Entertainment Tonight Canada, Glass Tiger hinted they were back in the studio to record new material. Meanwhile, the band continues to tour throughout Canada. A new DVD titled "Glass Tiger Live in Concert" featuring the band in concert from the 1980s was also released in 2006.

In March 2009, Glass Tiger and members of the NHL alumni visited Canadian Forces stationed in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The visit included live performances and footage was shown on an episode of Entertainment Tonight Canada.

Members

Alan Frew - (born 8 November 1956, Scotland) — Vocals

Sam Reid - (born Samuel Reid, 1 December 1963, Canada) — Keyboards

Al Connelly - (born 2 October 1960, Montreal) — Guitars

Wayne Parker - (born 13 November 1960) — Electric Bass

Michael Hanson - (born 1 January 1963) — Original drummer; left the band in 1988

Chris McNeill — Drums from 2000

Facts and figures

Their single "My Town" features Rod Stewart on lead vocals alongside Alan Frew.

Their single "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)" features Bryan Adams on background vocals. Adams is also featured on their song "I Will Be There." Jim Vallance, who produced the album ''The Thin Red Line'', was Adams' creative collaborator at the time.

Glass Tiger played at the official opening of SkyDome in Toronto.

Discography

Albums

! Year	! Album
1986
1988
1991
1993
2005	''No Turning Back: 1985-2005''
2006

Singles

! Year	! Song	Canadian Singles Chart>CAN	Billboard Hot 100>US	Mainstream Rock Tracks>US MSR	UK Singles Chart>UK	! Album
	"Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)"
"Thin Red Line"
"Someday"
	"You're What I Look For"
"I Will Be There"
	"I'm Still Searching"
"Diamond Sun"
"My Song" ''(featuring The Chieftains)''
1989	"(Watching) Worlds Crumble"
	"Animal Heart"
"Rhythm of Your Love"
"My Town" ''(featuring Rod Stewart)''
"Rescued (By the Arms of Love)"
1993	"Touch of Your Hand"					''Air Time - The Best of''

NB: "My Song" (1988) missed the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at #71 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles chart.

References

External links

Glass Tiger Homepage

Bio at CanadianBands.com CanConRox entry

Canadian Pop Music Encyclopedia Entry

The Canadian Encyclopedia

2007 Interview with Keyboardist Sam Reid

Willow Music, Sam Reid's record label

Alan Connelly's web site

Alan Frew's official web site

Alan Frew's business web site

photos from Alan Frew's mentorship project

photos from Glass Tiger's performance in Vancouver, 2008

Category:Juno Award winners Category:Canadian rock music groups Category:Musical groups from Newmarket, Ontario

de:Glass Tiger es:Glass Tiger fr:Glass Tiger it:Glass Tiger sv:Glass Tiger

Name	Busta Rhymes
Religion	Islam
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr.
Alias
Birth date	May 20, 1972
Origin	Brooklyn, New York, United States
Occupation	Rapper, Actor
Genre	Hip hop
Years active	1989–present
Label	Conglomerate Records
Associated acts	Leaders of the New School, Flipmode Squad, Spliff Star, Def Squad, Wu-Tang Clan, DMX, A Tribe Called Quest, Q-Tip, Mary J.Blige, J Dilla, Missy Elliott, Rampage The Last Boy Scout, Mariah Carey, Dr. Dre, Game, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne
Website	Official Website }}

Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr., better known by his stage name Busta Rhymes (born May 20, 1972), is an American rapper, producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the alias Busta Rhymes after NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes. Early in his career, he was known for his wild style and fashion, and today is best known for his highly skilled rapping technique, which involves rapping at a much faster rate, and to date has received nine Grammy nominations for his musical work.

Early life

Busta was born in Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York, to Jamaican parents Geraldine Green and Trevor Smith in 1972. Smith attended George Westinghouse Information and Technology High School, alongside with Jay-Z, DMX and The Notorious B.I.G. He went to Uniondale High School on Long Island, graduating in 1990.

Music career

Hip-hop crew Leaders of the New School began recording in 1989 and released their debut album ''A Future Without a Past'' in 1991 on Elektra Records. In early 1992 the group appeared on A Tribe Called Quest's posse cut "Scenario," in which Busta's climactic verse propelled him into the cultural consciousness. In 1993, they released ''T.I.M.E. (The Inner Mind's Eye)''. Soon after, however, internal problems arose because of Busta's increasing popularity, and the group broke up on the set of ''Yo! MTV Raps''.

The Coming & When Disaster Strikes (1996-1997)

Busta broke out with a 1996 solo hit single, "Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check" from his platinum record album ''The Coming''. His second album, ''When Disaster Strikes'', released in 1997, produced the hit singles "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" and "Fire It Up".

Extinction Level Event (Final World Front) (1998-1999)

In 1998, Busta recorded ''Extinction Level Event (Final World Front)''. Its lead single, "Gimme Some More" — which sampled Bernard Herrmann's theme from ''Psycho'' — reached number 6 in the UK singles chart in January 1999. Busta enjoyed further transatlantic success in April when the single "What's It Gonna Be?!", featuring Janet Jackson, reached the US and UK Top 11. The album received prominent notice for featuring the fastest rapping Busta has ever performed, particularly on a song called "Iz They Wildin Wit Us?", featuring a guest appearance by Mystikal.

J/Arista/BMG

Anarchy & Genesis (2000-2001)

After Busta signed to J Records, a label started by the then recently ousted Arista Records chief and founder Clive Davis, he released a greatest hits collection alongside a new album of original work. Continuing the Biblical theme of his previous albums, he titled his record ''Genesis''. The album featured collaborations with Mary J. Blige, P. Diddy, Kelis, and others. Genesis was powered by the hit single with Kelis, "What It Is," and his solo single released in November 2001, "Break Ya Neck." The final single was the summer smash "Pass the Courvoisier, Part II", which featured Pharrell and P. Diddy. Despite the success of the two singles, this album did not sell as well as previous releases.

It Aint Safe No More (2002-2004)

In 2002, Busta released his sixth studio album ''It Ain't Safe No More''. The album was moderately successful, with a hit song featuring Mariah Carey and the Flipmode Squad called "I Know What You Want". Another hit song was "Make It Clap", featuring Spliff Starr. The remix of "Make It Clap" featured Sean Paul. After its release, he left J Records. In 2004, he signed with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment.

Aftermath/Interscope

The Big Bang (2006)

His seventh studio album, ''The Big Bang'', became the first #1 album of his career. The CD sold over 209,000 copies in its first week to earn the top spot on The Billboard Top 200. The album also became his highest charting album in the UK, peaking at #19. Some of the album was leaked on the Internet, and as a result several songs were left off the album and new ones added. ''The Big Bang'' featured more production by Dr. Dre than Busta's previous releases, as well as appearances by Raekwon and Nas. The singles that have been released from the album are, "Touch It", "I Love My Chick", featuring Kelis and Will.I.Am, "New York Shit",featuring Swizz Beatz and "In The Ghetto". Busta also had a stint opening for Mariah Carey's The Adventures of Mimi Tour. Also, Busta performed with Eminem on "Touch It Remix Part 5" and performed a verse on the aforementioned rapper's song, "I'll Hurt You". On July 17, 2008, Busta left Interscope/Aftermath due to a creative clash with Interscope head Jimmy Iovine.

Universal Motown

Back on My B.S. (2007-2009)

He also made a song featuring Linkin Park called "We Made It". It was later revealed that Busta inked a deal with Universal Motown, who released his eighth studio album, ''Back on My B.S.'', on May 19, 2009. He also appeared on Asher Roth's debut album, ''Asleep in the Bread Aisle''. The album debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200, selling 56,000 copies, and was his first album to not receive an RIAA certification, selling 122,000 copies to date. The singles that have been released from the album are, "Arab Money", featuring Ron Browz, "Hustler's Anthem '09", featuring T-Pain and "Respect My Conglomerate". The song "World Go Round", featuring British singer Estelle, was released in France on April 6, 2009 due to the heavy rotation of a leaked version. The single was released in the UK on July 13, 2009. Due to controversial content, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has banned the album. ''Back on My B.S.'' was released internationally, but because of one song, "Arab Money", it is not available to buy as a CD there (however, the album can still be purchased via iTunes). According to the National Media Council, the lyrics were considered to be offensive to Arabs and to Islam, and permission for distribution was therefore denied. Some DJs, artists and fans have lambasted the track, saying it portrayed Arabs in a stereotypical way. The first part out of three of the remix by Rhymes contains verses from the Quran. In November, when "Arab Money" was released as a single, DJ Dany Neville and the Iraqi rapper The Narcicyst responded by recorded a reply. Busta later apologized. DJs in the country said they had not received an order banning the record from being spun in nightclubs, and they had mixed feelings on whether the record was offensive or not. DJ Saif of Dubai said: The Emirati DJ Bliss, who has his own show on Radio 1 in Dubai, also says he no longer plays "Arab Money". He added:

Conglomerate Records & E.L.E. 2 (2010-present)

Busta announced that he was working on his ninth studio album, alongside Canadian producer Boi-1da, entitled ''The Chemo''. He says that his next project is 80 percent finished. Busta has reportedly changed the title of his forthcoming Chemo album to Extinction.Level.Event.2 (E.L.E. 2). Some new songs are being considered for the album, including "C'mon (Catch 'Em By Surprise) by Tiësto and Diplo and "Look at Me Now" alongside Chris Brown and Lil Wayne. The trend of album sequels continues with Busta adding another chapter to his 1998 opus E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front. Busta's manager Chris Lighty sent out the message via Twitter. He said; "Extinction.Level.Event 2 ......prepare yourself." Like the first, E.L.E. 2 is inspired by movies of impending destruction on planet Earth, Lighty said; "From the Intro of the new Busta Album you're going to know you're in trouble and you just turned on 2012 the movie on warp speed,".

DJ Premier, in an August 6, 2010 interview on Conspiracy Worldwide Radio said Busta Rhymes has received over eight beats which he didn't want to use but Premier hoped his next beat would be chosen for inclusion on the album. On DJ Premier's Live From Headqcourterz radio show Premier confirmed that one of his beats were to be included in ''E.L.E. 2''. In 2010, Busta Rhymes formed his new label Conglomerate Records (With later on having rosters such as N.O.R.E., and Spliff Star). He was featured on C'mon (Catch 'Em By Surprise) by Tiësto and Diplo.

Also in, 2011 Rhymes has recorded a song with Chris Brown.

In 2011, Rhymes recorded "Look at Me Now" with Chris Brown and Lil Wayne on Brown's F.A.M.E. album

On May 1, 2011 Rhymes appeared on the launch show for MNET's Big Brother Africa 6: Amplified and performed some of his songs.

In 2011, Busta Rhymes performed at the Gathering of the Juggalos.

Personal life

Religion

Busta Rhymes is Muslim and talked about it in an interview in Hollywood TV.

Busta had been a member of The Nation of Gods and Earths since the age of 15.

Legal issues

On August 20, 2006, he was arraigned for charges of third-degree assault after attacking a man who reportedly spat on his car in New York City on August 12 after the AmsterJam Music Festival on Randall's Island.

On October 24, 2006, he appeared at Manhattan Criminal Court as the district attorney's office attempted to amend previous charges against him to include weapons possession for a machete found in his car. The judge, ShawnDya Simpson, refused to add the charge and adjourned the case.

On February 20, 2007, Busta refused a plea deal offered by the prosecutors office for the assault of his former driver, Edward Hatchett. The deal would have entailed six months in jail and pleading guilty to two assaults, the attack on Hatchett, and the attack on the former fan. The dispute with Hatchett is believed to have originated over back pay Hatchett felt he was owed. Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Becki Rowe offered Busta another option, pleading guilty to third-degree assault. The conditions of the proposed sentence would include five days of community service, two weeks of youth lectures and six months of anger management classes, as well as three years of probation. On March 18, 2008 a judge in New York City sentenced Busta to three years' probation, 10 days' community service, $1250 in fines (plus court costs), and to enroll in a drunken driving program.

On September 25, 2008, he was temporarily refused entry to the United Kingdom due to "unresolved convictions".

On October 14, 2009, a Brooklyn judge ordered Busta to pay a concert goer $75,000 in compensation for an assault which occurred in 2003.

Discography

''The Coming'' (1996)

''When Disaster Strikes'' (1997)

''E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front'' (1998)

''Anarchy'' (2000)

''Genesis'' (2001)

''It Ain't Safe No More'' (2002)

''The Big Bang'' (2006)

''Back on My B.S.'' (2009)

''TBA '' (2011)

Awards and Nominations

Busta Rhymes has been nominated for 9 Grammy Awards during his 15 year solo career, but has yet to win one.

Grammy Awards

!Year	!Nominated work	!Award	!Result
align=center	"Woo-Hah! Got You All in Check"	Best Rap Solo Performance
align=center	"Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See"	Best Rap Solo Performance
align=center	"Dangerous"	Best Rap Solo Performance
align=center	"Gimme Some More"	Best Rap Solo Performance
align=center	"What's It Gonna Be?"	Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group
align=center	''E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front''	Best Rap Album
align=center	"Fire"	Best Music Video, Short Form
align=center	"Pass the Courvoisier Pt. 2"	Best Performance By a Duo or Group
align=center	"Touch It"	Best Rap Solo Performance

Busta Rhymes has been nominated for 10 MTV Video Music Awards during his 15 year solo career, but has yet to win one.

MTV Video Music Awards

!Year	!Nominated work	!Award	!Result
align=center	"Woo-Hah! Got You All in Check"	Best Breakthrough Video
align=center	"Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See"	Best Rap Video
align=center	"Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See"	Best Male Video
align=center	"Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See"	Best Breakthrough Video
align=center	"What's It Gonna Be?"	Best Hip-Hop Video
align=center	"Gimme Some More"	Best Breakthrough Video
align=center	"Pass the Courvoisier Pt. 2"	Best Hip-Hop Video
align=center	"I Know What You Want"	Best Hip-Hop Video
align=center	"Touch It"	Best Rap Video
align=center	"Touch It"	Best Male Video

See also

List of number-one U.S. dance hits

List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart

References

External links

Category:1972 births Category:Living people Category:Actors from New York City Category:African American film actors Category:African American Muslims Category:African American rappers Category:Aftermath Entertainment artists Category:American people convicted of assault Category:American rappers of Jamaican descent Category:Members of the Nation of Gods and Earths Category:People from Brooklyn Category:Rappers from Long Island Category:Rappers from New York City

ar:بستا رايمز cs:Busta Rhymes da:Busta Rhymes de:Busta Rhymes el:Busta Rhymes es:Busta Rhymes fa:باستا رایمز fr:Busta Rhymes fy:Busta Rhymes ko:버스타 라임즈 hr:Busta Rhymes it:Busta Rhymes he:באסטה ריימס ka:ბასტა რაიმზი ht:Busta Rhymes lt:Busta Rhymes hu:Busta Rhymes nl:Busta Rhymes ja:バスタ・ライムス no:Busta Rhymes pl:Busta Rhymes pt:Busta Rhymes ro:Busta Rhymes ru:Баста Раймс fi:Busta Rhymes sv:Busta Rhymes th:บัสตา ไรมส์ tr:Busta Rhymes uk:Busta Rhymes zh:巴斯达韵

Name	Wu-Tang Clan
Landscape	yes
Background	group_or_band
Origin	Staten Island, New York, U.S.
Genre	Hip hop
Years active	1992 - present
Associated acts	''see below''
Label	Loud (1993–2001)SRC/Universal Motown (2007–present)
Current members	RZAGZAMethod ManRaekwonGhostface KillahInspectah DeckU-GodMasta Killa
Past members	Ol' Dirty Bastard (deceased)
Website	}}

The Wu-Tang Clan () is a hip-hop group from New York City that consists of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group. They were formed in (and are associated with) the New York City borough of Staten Island (referred to by members as "Shaolin"), though some of their members are from Brooklyn and one is from The Bronx.

They have introduced and launched the careers of affiliated artists and groups, often collectively known as the Wu-Tang Killa Bees. In 2007, MTV ranked Wu-Tang the fifth greatest hip hop group of all time, and in 2008, About.com ranked them the number one greatest hip hop group of all time, and stated "No weapon in hip-hop history can rival the chaotic cohesion of the Wu-Tang Clan. The Clan had so many characters, each with his own eccentricities. They were fearless in their approach. There's a good reason no group has been able to successfully recreate their sound. The crew spawned countless loosely associated acts. Their classic albums spawned classic albums."

History

Foundation and name

The founders of the Wu-Tang Clan were cousins Robert Diggs, Gary Grice, Russell Jones (RZA, GZA, and Ol' Dirty Bastard respectively) who had formed the group Force of the Imperial Master (later known as All in Together Now after the release of a popular single by that name). The group attracted the attention of figures in the hip hop music industry, including Biz Markie, but did not manage to secure a record deal.

|RZA}}

The Wu-Tang Clan was assembled in 1992 with RZA as the ''de facto'' leader and the group's producer. RZA and Ol' Dirty Bastard adopted the name for the group after the film ''Shaolin and Wu Tang''. The group's debut album loosely adopted a Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang theme, dividing the album into Shaolin and Wu-Tang sections.

The group developed backronyms for the name (as hip hop pioneers such as KRS-One and Big Daddy Kane did with their names), including "We Usually Take All Niggas' Garments", "Witty Unpredictable Talent And Natural Game", and "Wisdom of the Universe, and the Truth of Allah for the Nation of the Gods".

''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)'' and solo albums

The Wu-Tang Clan first became known in 1993 following the release of the independent single "Protect Ya Neck", which immediately gave the group a sizable underground following, especially after their tour with Kat Nu and Cypress Hill. Though there was some difficulty in finding a record label that would sign the Wu-Tang Clan while still allowing each member to record solo albums with other labels, Loud/RCA finally agreed, releasing their debut album, ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)'', in 1993. This album turned out to be critically acclaimed, and to date is regarded as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time. The success of ''Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers'' established the group as a creative and influential force in mid 1990s hip hop, allowing Ol' Dirty Bastard, GZA, RZA, Raekwon, Method Man, and Ghostface Killah to negotiate solo contracts. RZA spoke on the Wu-Tang Clan's unorthodox business model:

|RZA}}

First round of solo albums

RZA was the first to follow up on the success of ''Enter the Wu-Tang'' with a side project, founding the Gravediggaz with Prince Paul and Frukwan (both of Stetsasonic) and Poetic. The Gravediggaz released ''6 Feet Deep'' in August 1994, which became one of the best known works to emerge from hip hop's small sub-genre of horrorcore.

It had always been planned for Method Man to be the first breakout star from the group's lineup, with the b-side of the first single being his now-classic eponymous solo track. In November 1994 his solo album ''Tical'' was released. It was entirely produced by RZA, who for the most part continued with the grimy, raw textures he explored on ''36 Chambers''. RZA's hands-on approach to ''Tical'' extended beyond his merely creating the beats to devising song concepts and structures. The track "All I Need" from ''Tical'' was the winner of the "Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group" at the 1995 Grammy Awards.

After the release of Method Man's ''Tical'', Ol Dirty Bastard was the next member to launch a solo career. His debut album ''Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version'' was released in March 1995, and is considered a hip hop classic.

Late summer, and early fall of 1995 saw the release of Raekwon's ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...'', and GZA's ''Liquid Swords'', which would turn out to be the group's two most significant and well-received solo projects. ''Cuban Linx'' was a diverse, theatrical criminological epic that saw RZA move away from the raw, stripped-down beats of the early albums and towards a richer, cinematic sound more reliant on strings and classic soul samples. The album is highly notable in that it revived, and expanded the Mafioso rap sub-genre, which started to decline several years beforehand. Lavish living and the crime underworld are referenced throughout using quotes from the John Woo movie ''The Killer'', with the mystique of the Wu-Tang Clan deepened by the adoption of crime boss aliases and the crew name Wu-Gambinos. The album introduced a flurry of slang words to the rap lexicon, and many artists have gone on to imitate its materialism. ''Cuban Linx'' featured all but one Wu member, and featured the debut from close Wu-Tang affiliate Cappadonna. The album also featured rapper Nas, who was the first non-Wu-Tang-affiliated MC to appear on a Wu-Tang Clan album. GZA's ''Liquid Swords'' had a similar focus on inner-city criminology akin to ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx'', but it was far darker, both in GZA's grim lyrics and in the ominous, foreboding production that saw RZA experimenting more with keyboards than ever before. ''Liquid Swords'' features guest appearances from every Wu-Tang Clan member, and is linked together by excerpts from the movie ''Shogun Assassin''. 1995 also saw the release of the Wu Wear clothing line, which would turn out to be massively successful, and influential on hip hop culture. It initially started as a mere way to make money from the demand for bootleg Wu-Tang Clan shirts, and evolved into an extensive collection of designer garments. Soon, other hip hop artists were making similar ventures and by the mid 2000s, a clothing line was almost a prerequisite for hip hop superstardom, with clothing lines launched by Puff Daddy, Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, Nelly, Ludacris, 50 Cent, and more.

Almost a year after the release of ''Liquid Swords'', Ghostface Killah released his first solo album, ''Ironman'' in late October 1996. The album struck a balance between the sinister keyboard-laden textures of ''Liquid Swords'' and the sentimental soul samples of ''Cuban Linx'', while Ghostface himself explored new territory as a lyricist. ''Ironman'' was critically acclaimed and is still widely considered to be one of the best of Wu-Tang solo albums. Although the 1994–1996 albums were released as solo, RZA's presence behind the production, and the large number of guest appearances from other Wu-Tang Clan members has rendered them to be mostly all-round group efforts.

In 1996, the group appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation CD, America is Dying Slowly, alongside Biz Markie, Coolio, and Fat Joe, among many other prominent hip hop artists. The CD, meant to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic among African American men, was heralded as "a masterpiece" by The Source magazine.

''Wu-Tang Forever'' and diversification

With their solo careers firmly established, the Wu-Tang Clan reassembled to release the highly anticipated Grammy-nominated multiplatinum double album ''Wu-Tang Forever'' in June 1997, debuting at number one on the Billboard Charts. This event was featured in a CNN roundup for the extraordinary sales the group achieved without a mainstream sound or commercial appeal. The album's first single, "Triumph", was over five minutes long, featured nine verses (one from each member plus Cappadonna and excluding ODB who appeared on the intro and bridge), and no hook or a repeated phrase. The sound of the album built significantly on the previous three solo albums, with RZA using more keyboards and string samples, as well as, for the first time, assigning some of the album's production to his protégés True Master and 4th Disciple. The group's lyrics differed significantly from those of ''36 Chambers'', with many verses written in a dense stream of consciousness form heavily influenced by the teachings of the Five Percent Nation. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the album has sold over 8.3 million copies to date worldwide.

''Wu-Tang Forever'' also marked the end of RZA's "five year plan". After ''...Forever'''s success, RZA ceased to oversee all aspects of Wu-Tang product as he had done previously, delegating much of his existing role to associates such as Oliver "Power" Grant and his brother Mitchell "Divine" Diggs. This move was designed to expand Wu-Tang's reach in the industry and take advantage of financial opportunities for the group. In keeping with this move, an array of Wu-Tang products (both musical and otherwise) were to be released over the next two years.

Following ''Wu-Tang Forever'', the focus of the Wu-Tang empire largely shifted to the promoting of emerging affiliated artists. The group's close associate Cappadonna followed the group project with March 1998's ''The Pillage''. Soon after, Killah Priest, another close associate of the Clan, released ''Heavy Mental'' to great critical acclaim. Affiliated groups Sunz of Man and Killarmy also released well-received albums, followed by ''Wu-Tang Killa Bees: The Swarm''—a compilation album showcasing these and more Wu-affiliated artists, and including new solo tracks from the group members themselves. ''The Swarm'' sold well and was certified gold.

There was also a long line of releases from secondary affiliates such as Popa Wu, Shyheim, GP Wu, and Wu-Syndicate. Second albums from Gravediggaz and Killarmy, as well as a greatest hits album and a b-sides compilation also eventually saw release.

Second round of solo albums

While this round was commercially successful, it was not as critically acclaimed as its predecessor. The second round of solo albums from Wu-Tang saw second efforts from the five members who had already released albums, as well as debuts from all the remaining members, with the exception of Masta Killa. In the space of two years, RZA's ''Bobby Digital In Stereo'', Method Man ''Tical 2000: Judgement Day'' and ''Blackout!'' (with Redman), GZA's ''Beneath the Surface'', Ol' Dirty Bastard's ''Nigga Please'', U-God's ''Golden Arms Redemption'', Raekwon's ''Immobilarity'', Ghostface Killah's ''Supreme Clientele'' and Inspectah Deck's ''Uncontrolled Substance'' were all released (seven of them being released in the space of seven months between June 1999 and January 2000). RZA also composed the score for the film ''Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai'', directed by Jim Jarmusch, while he and other Wu-Tang members contributed music to a companion "music inspired by the film" album. Wu-Tang branded clothing and video games were marketed as well. The Wu Wear clothing line (previously mentioned) in particular was massively influential, and successful.

The avalanche of Wu-Tang product between 1997 and 2000 was considered by some critics to have resulted in an oversaturation that was responsible for Wu-Tang's decline in popularity, or at least in critical regard during that time period. Reviews such as ''Melody Maker'''s writeup on Ghostface Killah's ''Supreme Clientele'' in January 2000 which began "Another month, another Wu-Tang side project" revealed critics' exhaustion at the Clan's prodigious output. The overall reception for the second round of Clan member solo albums was decidedly mixed if largely positive, and they did not live up to their pre-''...Forever'' forebears critically.

Occasional albums would still receive critical acclaim (Ghostface Killah's ''Supreme Clientele'' being one of them, is regarded as one of the best solo efforts from the Clan) while Method Man and ODB remained popular in their own right as solo artists, and Wu-Tang remained as a well known force, but they had seemingly lost the ability to excite the music world in the way they had throughout the earlier, and mid-1990s.

Many fans and critics also bemoaned the lack of RZA's input on the post-''...Forever'' solo albums, which were mostly produced by the Wu-Element producers, other lower-ranking affiliates, or by outside producers such as the Trackmasters or the Neptunes.

''The W'', ''Iron Flag'' and New Millennium

The group reconvened once again to make ''The W'', though without Ol' Dirty Bastard, who was at the time incarcerated in California for violating the terms of his probation. Though incarcerated, ODB managed to make it onto the track "Conditioner" which featured Snoop Dogg. ODB's vocals were recorded via the telephones used for inmates to talk with visitors, while in prison. ''The W'' was mostly well received by critics, particularly for The RZA's production, and also gave the group a hit single with the uptempo "Gravel Pit", part of a trilogy of videos where the group would visit different eras with a time traveling elevator, which also included "Protect Ya Neck (The Jump Off)" and "Careful (Click, Click)", which were then followed by "I Can't Go to Sleep" featuring Isaac Hayes. The album would go on to reach double platinum status.

Shortly before the release of ''The W'', ODB escaped custody while being transported from a rehab center to a Los Angeles court and was considered a fugitive. At a record release party for ''The W'', ODB appeared with his face hidden by an orange parka, and was not recognized until introduced to the crowd. With police officers present outside, ODB performed briefly and then fled, fearing capture. Six days later ODB caused a commotion, signing autographs in a McDonald's at Broad & Girard Street in North Philadelphia. Unaware of who was causing the commotion, the manager called the police. When the law arrived, ODB mistook them for fans until they drew their guns. ODB fled the facility, but was stopped while trying to start his vehicle. After presenting a fake ID, he admitted his real identity, and was arrested.

''Iron Flag''

In 2001, the Wu-Tang Clan released ''Iron Flag'', an album which made extensive use of outside producers and guests. Its crossover vibe and features, including Ron Isley, Flavor Flav, and prominent producers Trackmasters, marked it as a lighter fare; while critically praised, it gained a less than stellar reputation with fans. Group member Ghostface Killah would later denounce the record.

While originally featured on the cover of ''Iron Flag'', Cappadonna was airbrushed out of the artwork and absent from the album entirely. This may be related to tension that arose within the group when it was revealed that Cappadonna's manager was, or had been, a police informant, a revelation that also brought on the manager's subsequent firing. Cappadonna would however, continue collaborating and touring with the group in the upcoming years.

Around this time Method Man began his acting career, along with close collaborator; Redman by starring in the stoner comedy film ''How High''.

Third round of solo albums

RZA's release of ''Digital Bullet'' (as Bobby Digital) in 2001 marked the beginning of a small wave of solo releases in between ''The W'' and ''Iron Flag'' which also included Ghostface Killah's ''Bulletproof Wallets'' and Cappadonna's ''The Yin and the Yang''. GZA's release of ''Legend of the Liquid Sword'' in late 2002 marked yet another wave that continued for the next two years. The wave also included Cappadonna's ''The Struggle'', Method Man's ''Tical 0: The Prequel'', Raekwon's ''The Lex Diamond Story'', Ghostface Killah's ''The Pretty Toney Album'', Inspectah Deck's ''The Movement'', and Masta Killa's ''No Said Date''. ''The Pretty Toney Album'' garnered decent reviews, but suffered claims that it was overtly commercial, especially driven by the Missy Elliott-featured single, "Tush". Raekwon's third album received similar criticism to its predecessor, ''Immobilarity''; with no RZA tracks. Fans were generally indifferent, and the album still drew unfavorable contrast to his debut. While Inspectah Deck's record was somewhat more well-received, it didn't catch on commercially outside of the core fanbase.

Masta Killa's album, however, was well received by both the hardcore fanbase and critics for its rather successful attempt to return to the classic Wu sound, and it became the highest-selling album released by its independent label, Nature Sounds Records. ''No Said Date'' was amongst a rarity of later solo albums in that it featured the entire Clan over the course of the album, including three RZA productions. The album is also notable in that it features the last appearance of Ol' Dirty Bastard on the song "Old Man". Method Man's ''Tical 0'' sold very well, despite negative reception from both critics and fans. Even Method Man himself went on to criticize the album, stating that the situation, including management transition, going on at the time with Def Jam caused the poor outcome.

Legal issues, death of Ol' Dirty Bastard and resurgence

U-God dispute

In early 2004, U-God apparently left the group in disgust. A DVD titled ''Rise of a Fallen Soldier'' was released detailing his problems, which were mostly with his treatment by RZA, who he claimed had hindered his success as a solo artist. He also formed a new group of young protegés called the Hillside Scramblers, with whom he released the album ''U-Godzilla Presents the Hillside Scramblers'' in March 2004. The dispute culminated in a heated phone conversation between RZA and U-God on live radio, which ultimately saw the two reconcile. He has since returned to the group and is heavily featured on solo albums, Wu albums, and projects.

Live and Best-Of albums

2004 saw the unexpected return of the Clan to the live stage. They embarked on a short European tour before coming together as a complete group for the first time in several years to headline the Rock the Bells festival in California. The concert was released on CD shortly afterwards under the name ''Disciples of the 36 Chambers: Chapter 1''. At this time they also released a music-video greatest hits album named ''Legend of the Wu-Tang Clan''.

Death of Ol' Dirty Bastard

Ol' Dirty Bastard's career in Wu-Tang was marked by wild and criminal behavior. At the 1998 Grammy Awards, he protested the Clan's loss (in Best Rap Album) by interrupting Shawn Colvin's acceptance speech for her Song of the Year award. ODB was also arrested several times for a variety of offenses, including assault, shoplifting, wearing body armor after being convicted of a felony, and possession of cocaine. He was also in trouble for missing multiple court dates. In late 2000, Ol' Dirty Bastard unexpectedly escaped near the end of his rehab sentence, spending one month on the run as a fugitive before showing up on stage at the record release party for ''The W'' in New York City. Ol' Dirty Bastard managed to escape the club but was later captured by police in a McDonald's parking lot in Philadelphia and sent to New York to face charges of cocaine possession. In April 2001, he was sentenced to two to four years in prison. Once released from prison, he signed a one million dollar contract with Roc-a-Fella Records.

On November 13, 2004, ODB collapsed at approximately 5:29 p.m. at Wu-Tang's recording studio, 36 Chambers on West 34th Street in New York City. He was pronounced dead less than an hour later, just two days shy of his 36th birthday. His funeral service was held at Brooklyn's Christian Cultural Center.

Wu-Tang has paid him homage on more than one occasion. In August 2006, one of his sons came out at a Wu-Tang concert at Webster Hall and rapped "Brooklyn Zoo", along with his mother. Also during a concert at the Hammerstein Ballroom the Clan brought his mother out on stage while the entire occupancy sang along to "Shimmy Shimmy Ya".

A posthumous official mixtape titled ''Osirus'' featuring many new songs was released in March 2005, while ODB's Roc-A-Fella album ''A Son Unique'' was originally scheduled for release in 2005, but encountered numerous delays. It was then scheduled for a release on November 7, 2006 to commemorate the second anniversary of his death, however this did not happen. It was released on November 7, 2009, to commemorate the 5th anniversary of ODB's death. It was distributed by the Dame Dash Music Group.

VH1 Hip Hop Honors

Moments before the Wu-Tang Clan was set to perform at the 2006 Hip Hop Honors, things turned violent with an altercation involving Oli "Power" Grant and a former associate who was suing the group.

While initial reports stated that Nick Brown was along for the ride and got arrested for possession of cocaine, the group had issues with VH1's security staff, an actual confrontation took place between True Master and Power in a VIP area of the venue, said Power. "I ain't even gonna glorify that to no type of degree, but the bottom line was, yeah, you know there was a minor little altercation over there", Power said. "I see him and he's in the VIP on the strength of Wu-Tang so I kind of reacted, be it right or wrong... fuck!" The brief altercation between the two men resulted in a tense situation and ended with Power leaving the Hammerstein Ballroom. "I ain't even have to leave. I just stood there and talked for, like five or ten minutes. I made sure the rest of my people was able to stay because I told them, 'look if it was anything then let it be my problem. Let them go ahead and finish doing what they do.' I walked out the front, girls started taking some snapshots." No charges have been pressed against Oli "Power" Grant or anyone else affiliated with the Clan in relation to this incident.

Fourth round of solo albums, ''8 Diagrams''

2005 saw the release of RZA's first book, ''The Wu-Tang Manual'', the release of U-God's second album, ''Mr. Xcitement'' and the long-awaited collaboration between GZA and producer DJ Muggs, entitled ''GrandMasters''. The collaborative record received good reviews and played fairly well with fans, who by and large had been waiting to see the Wu step up the quality of their releases.

On March 28, 2006, Ghostface Killah released the street rap-oriented ''Fishscale'', to much critical acclaim and some commercial success. The entire Clan, including Cappadonna and the deceased ODB, appeared on the track "9 Milli Bros". The album also offered an expansion of Ghostface's traditional sound—precipitated by the moderately successful club song "Be Easy" and battle rhymes in the Just Blaze-produced "The Champ". After its reception from fans, label Def Jam asked Ghost to release another album that year; the result, ''More Fish'', excited fans and critics somewhat less.

On June 25, 2006, Inspectah Deck released a street album entitled ''The Resident Patient'', a prelude to his upcoming album, titled ''The Rebellion'', which is said to be his final solo album. Late summer of 2006 saw the release of Masta Killa's second studio album, ''Made in Brooklyn'', to lukewarm reviews, as well as Method Man's ''4:21... the Day After'', on which the rapper endeavored to make up for the poor response to ''Tical 0: The Prequel.'' Around this time, he was heavily featured in the media due to his displeasure with Def Jam's handling of his previous project. Despite what the rapper felt to be little promotion compared to other Def Jam artists, ''421...'' debuted in the Billboard Top Ten, and received much greater reviews than those of his previous album. Method Man also made the decision to fall back from Hollywood, and to only do acting work on films being handled by close friends.

The summer of 2007 was the original release date scheduled for Raekwon's long-anticipated sequel to his 1995 debut ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx'', entitled ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II''. The album was to be released on Dr. Dre's Aftermath Records, however, it would turn out to be released on Raekwon's Ice H2O Records, and EMI on September 8, 2009, after numerous delays.

Ghostface Killah released his seventh full length album ''The Big Doe Rehab'' in December 2007, and exactly one week later, Wu-Tang released their fifth full length group album entitled ''8 Diagrams'' on Steve Rifkind's SRC Records, whose now-defunct Loud Records released the group's four previous albums. In an interview with MTV.com, Ghostface Killah stated that he was upset with RZA for starting the ''8 Diagrams'' project while he was in the middle of writing and recording ''The Big Doe Rehab'', and further upset with RZA for giving ''8 Diagrams'' the same release date as ''The Big Doe Rehab'', for which RZA re-scheduled a release date one week later. The final outcome of ''8 Diagrams'' received mixed views from both fans and critics, and is regarded as being RZA's most experimental work to date. Both Raekwon and Ghostface Killah were unhappy with the album, and proposed recording a group album titled "Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang" without RZA production.

In the summer of 2008, RZA released ''Digi Snacks'', which was another Bobby Digital album. He used the album primarily to put over lesser-known Wu-Tang Clan affiliates such as Freemurder, Killa Sin, Black Knights and others. The summer of 2008 also the release of GZA's'' Pro Tools'' album.

Almost a year later, U-God released his third solo album entitled ''Dopium'', which features guest appearances from several Wu-Tang members, and affiliates, among others, and was met with mostly lukewarm reviews. Released one week later was ''Wu-Tang Chamber Music'', a side project executively produced by RZA, featuring live instrumentation from a Brooklyn soul band called The Revelations. The album features appearances from five Wu-Tang members, along with New York City mainstays AZ, Kool G Rap, Cormega, Havoc, Sean Price, and M.O.P. The first single from ''Chamber Music'' was a track titled "Harbor Masters" featuring Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, and AZ. To clear up confusion, RZA spoke about the album to Billboard.com:

}}

September 2009 saw the release of the long anticipated album; ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II'' which features guest appearances from several big name artists, and Clan members, with Ghostface being the most prominent, and also production from RZA, Dr. Dre, Pete Rock, and J Dilla, among others. The album debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200 and at number 2 on the Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and has been praised by most music critics. Several weeks later, Ghostface released ''Ghostdini: Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City'', which is a hip hop/R&B; album.

Talk of the album ''Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang'' re-surfaced in July 2009; originally planned as a full-on Wu album without RZA's input, the project evolved to include RZA from an MC standpoint, without contributing to production. Raekwon stated:

Speaking to MTV.com, Method Man revealed his, Ghostface Killah's and Raekwon's plans to record a separate album as a trio:

Soon after, Ghostface Killah cemented the details: the record—featuring other Wu-Tang Clan members—will consist primarily of him, Method Man, and Raekwon. The title, as announced in three separate trailers (directed by Rik Cordero) promoting the upcoming release, is ''Wu-Massacre''. Speaking on their willingness to complete the album, Ghost said the three would begin recording within the next few months and estimated the release date to be the end of 2009 or January 2010.

More recently, it was announced that the album would be pushed back from December to March 30, 2010; the single, "Meth vs. Chef Part II," was released after the announcement. Produced by Mathematics, it is an update of the song "Meth vs. Chef" from Method Man's first solo album, ''Tical'', featuring verses by only Method Man and Raekwon. It has been confirmed by Raekwon that ''Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang'' will in fact be his next solo album and that ''Wu-Massacre'' is a separate project, while the rapper stated that he himself had petitioned to have ''Wu-Massacre'''s release date postponed in order to yield more studio time.

While it is currently unclear whether RZA will be producing on ''Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang'', Raekwon has stated the album will come in 2010 and that the sound will represent the contrast between the traditional Wu-Tang mentality and Raekwon's Staten Island background:

}}

In terms of ''Wu-Massacre'', Method Man recently charged Def Jam with rushing the project, while the trio revealed an updated tracklisting.

GZA will be releasing ''Liquid Swords II'' produced by RZA. It is tentatively due for a 2011 release. Masta Killa is also working on his third solo album ''Loyalty Is Royalty''. Ghostface Killah recently announced three new solo albums, the first of which is scheduled for a December 2010 release, titled ''The Apollo Kids''. The next two, ''Blue & Cream'', and ''Supreme Clientele Part II'' are scheduled for 2011 releases. In 2010, Redman announced that he had been officially inducted into the Wu-Tang as the "eleventh member;" Cappadonna is presumed to be the tenth, although Redman has not appeared on any Wu-Tang group releases before or since ''The W''. He also announced that, in addition to his own album ''Muddy Waters 2'', he and Method Man will begin recording ''Blackout! 3'' and filming "How High 2."

On February 25, 2011,Wu Tang Live At The Palladium NYC was released through the groups official Facebook page as a collectors digital download. This included exclusive, unreleased freestyles. It was limited to 100 downloads before the page was disabled after this figure was reached.

Business deals

In September 2008, RZA announced that he had inked a deal with digital music company The Orchard to release the Wu-Tang Clan's back catalogue worldwide digitally, for the first time. In addition to forthcoming material, the Wu-Tang Clan's catalogue includes 13 previous releases that have been previously unavailable digitally, including recordings by the group as a whole, U-God, Wu-Syndicate, Killarmy, Shyheim, West Coast Killa Beez, Black Knights and others, and will be available online beginning September 23. "The time is right to bring some older Wu material to the masses digitally," said RZA, de-facto leader of Wu-Tang Clan. "Our fans have been dedicated and patient and they're hungry to hear the music that has set us apart from so many others. Hip-hop is alive in Wu Music, and with The Orchard, we've got a solid partner that understands our audience and is committed to doing all they can to help us reach the fans. I'm definitely looking forward to working with them to see what else we all come up with. There's much more to come."

Documentaries

Gerald K. Barclay directed the Wu-Tang documentary, entitled ''Wu: The Story of the Wu-Tang Clan'', which premiered on BET on November 13, 2008. The documentary was released on DVD on November 18, 2008. On November 10, 2009 a documentary on Ol' Dirty Bastard was released entitled; ''Dirty: The Official ODB Biography''. The documentary features interviews and stories from his family members, Wu-Tang members, and affiliates, as well as old interviews with Ol' Dirty, and live performances.

''Wu Tang Saga'', featuring footage of the Clan dating back to the early nineties through their most recent tours was released on February 25, 2010.

''Legendary Weapons''

On June 7, 2011, it was announced that Wu-Tang Clan will be releasing a new album called ''Legendary Weapons'' on July 26, 2011. According to a press release, the album features a throwback sound that has been inspired by Kung-Fu imagery, a long running theme in Wu-Tang Clan's releases.

Sixth studio album

On June 29, 2011, Raekwon announced that the group were working on a new studio album, still in early stages. Ghostface Killah later revealed in an interview during their European Rebirth Tour that the album should hit the shelves in May, 2012.

Influence

Wu-Tang has influenced many current-day hip hop acts in the areas of rapping, production technique, subject matter and image. Among these contributions have been RZA's sampling style, certain Clan members' mafioso rap personas, usage of slang terms, and the tendency of artists to run in tightly knit groups.

Production

According to RZA, he tries to have no more than 20–25% sampling on any given record, something starkly different from many other major hip hop groups. He uses "the sampler more like a painter's palette than a Xerox. Then again, I might use it as a Xerox if I find rare beats that nobody had in their crates yet". He played much of the piano himself, with Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk as major influences; for instance, he created the piano part to "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'" after watching the Thelonious Monk documentary, ''Straight, No Chaser''.

RZA's production technique, specifically the manner of chopping up and/or speeding or slowing soul samples to fit his beats, has been picked up by currently popular producers, most notably Kanye West and Just Blaze, the two main producers behind Roc-A-Fella Records. West's own take on RZA's style briefly flooded the rap market with what was dubbed "chipmunk soul", the pitch bending of a vocal sample to where it sounded as though the singer had inhaled helium. Several producers at the time copied the style, creating other offshoots. West has admitted that his style was distinctly influenced by RZA's production, and RZA has acknowledged his influence in an issue of ''Scratch'' magazine, saying he wished he had produced "Jesus Walks" and "Breathe", two 2004 hits produced by Kanye West and Just Blaze, respectively. Kanye West commented:

}}

Lyrics

Raekwon's ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...'' helped (with the likes of Kool G Rap) popularize the Mafia theme in rap music that remained widespread for more than half a decade. The landmark album touted a lifestyle patterned on drug dealing, regrets of living in harsh conditions, and partying (including popularizing the Cristal brand of champagne) which Nas, Mobb Deep, Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, and other popular artists all borrowed and/or expanded upon these themes at points in their respective careers.

The Wu-Tang Clan's slang has long been a staple of their music, wherein members would blend Five Percenter terms, Kung Fu/oriental words, and comic book and street terms to create their own nicknames for actions, people, places and things (such as the christening of Staten Island as "Shaolin Land" and money as "C.R.E.A.M."). RZA noted in the ''The Wu-Tang Manual'', that Raekwon was the resident slang-master of a great deal of the slang used by the group.

Image

Before the Wu-Tang Clan's debut in 1993, few popular rap music acts operated in large groups, and at nine main members with several affiliates, the Wu was the largest around at that point. No other group was composed of such a large number of skilled rappers and personalities. Since that time, several collective-sized groups been recorded together, and gained popular status, including Dipset, G-Unit, LA Symphony the Dungeon Family, D12, and No Limit Records. Though the Wu-Tang Clan may not have been directly responsible for the formation of the group prototype in hip hop, they helped encourage popular acceptance of the idea. They were also among the first to start the trend in hip hop of diversification in fashion; the creation and pioneering of a hip hop clothing line was an idea which was later picked up by Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z and Puff Daddy, among others.

Syndication

Wu-Tang management

Oli "Power" Grant and RZA's brother Mitchell "Divine" Diggs are the controversial executives who have been handling the business side of the Wu Tang empire since 1997, and are responsible for large amounts of products such as the ''Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style'' video game and Wu Wear which were released in the late 90s and early 2000s. The two stay behind the scenes for the most part but do occasionally step into the public eye. Oli "Power" Grant is a childhood friend of several clan members.

Oliver "Power" Grant has also acted in numerous films including ''Belly'', ''Black and White'', ''When Will I Be Loved'' and others. He also won the 24th Annual Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race in Long Beach, beating out seventeen other celebrity and professional drivers. "Power" was mentioned in Raekwon's lyrics in the street anthem "Incarcerated Scarfaces", saying "Peace to Power and the whole unit".

Mitchell "Divine" Diggs has been mentioned in several songs by Wu-Tang members, such as by RZA in his song "Brooklyn Babies" with "My big brother Divine he push the Benz well", and Raekwon in the song "The Turn" with "Divine got me, nigga, the boss, he pop me".

Method Man however has voiced his displeasure with Mitchell "Divine" Diggs of the Wu-Tang management, "Number 1 on my shit list right now is Divine from Wu-Tang management. He took something major from me that he had no intention of giving back."

RZA's cousin John "Mook" Gibbons is now the head of Wu-Tang Management who manage the affairs of Cappadonna, Blue Raspberry and the Watchmen.

Collective appearances

Several members, including Raekwon, Inspectah Deck and Method Man, appeared as themselves in the movie ''Black and White''.

Members of the group have appeared in several Comedy Central shows, most notably two appearances on ''Chappelle's Show.'' The first was in episode 107, in a sketch titled "Wu-Tang Financial", in which RZA and GZA run an investment firm, lampooning the over-saturation of hip hop endorsed brands (which Wu-Tang were guilty of at one point). The second appearance was in episode 201, in the sketch "Racial Draft 2004", in which the group is drafted to become ethnically Asian. In another sketch there is a news report parody of the opening sketch of "Method Man", with a man describing Method Man torturing him. Various members have also appeared in episodes of ''Upright Citizens Brigade'' and ''Crank Yankers.'' On the latter, they performed "In The Hood" in puppet form.

Several members appeared in ''Scary Movie 3'' (2003) (with many other rappers) in a scene where, originally coming to save the day, they end up arguing with other rappers until guns are drawn and everyone shoots each other to death.

RZA, Cappadonna and affiliate group Killarmy made an appearance in the "Adolf Hankler" episode of the HBO sitcom ''The Larry Sanders Show''. In the episode, the group are booked to perform on the show-within-the-show by guest host Jon Stewart, who then comes into disagreement with the show's network over whether or not the Clan are "too urban" for the show's audience. In one of their two scenes, the group is seen rehearsing the song "And Justice For All" and in the other scene, they are awkwardly conversing with the show's sidekick character Hank Kingsley, who asks where 'Dirty Old Bitch' is.

In 2003, RZA and GZA appeared in the Jim Jarmusch movie ''Coffee and Cigarettes'', in the sketch "Delirium" with Bill Murray.

In late 2006, Wu-Tang was honored as one of the premier and influential rap groups by VH1's 2006 Hip Hop Honors with other influential performers: Afrika Bambaataa, Beastie Boys, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, MC Lyte, Rakim and Russell Simmons.

RZA

In 1999, RZA made a brief appearance in Jim Jarmusch's ''Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai'', a film he also scored. He also starred with fellow rapper Xzibit in the movie ''Derailed''. RZA appeared as himself in a scene in Jim Jarmusch's ''Coffee and Cigarettes'' with GZA and Bill Murray. He has since appeared in ''American Gangster'', a 2007 crime drama film directed by Ridley Scott and in the 2009 film ''Funny People'' directed by Judd Apatow.

RZA scored the first film of Quentin Tarantino's ''Kill Bill'' saga. He has gone on to score several more productions including ''Blade: Trinity'', ''The Protector'', ''Freedom Writers'' and several others, as well as producing all of the music to a Japanese style cartoon ''Afro Samurai'', which also featured other artists such as GZA, Talib Kweli, Big Daddy Kane and Q-Tip.

RZA was featured as a guest on ''The Colbert Report'' on October 14, 2009 to promote his new book, ''The Tao of Wu''.

RZA also acted as referee in the music video for Vampire Weekend's "Giving Up The Gun".

Method Man

Method Man has had recurring roles in critically acclaimed television shows such as HBO's ''The Wire'' in which he plays the character "Cheese" Wagstaff, HBO's ''Oz'', ''The Twilight Zone'', ''Third Watch'', and the recurring character of Drops on ''CSI''. He hosted a series on MTV for a brief period called ''Stung'' and has made numerous appearances as himself on TV shows such as ''Mind Of Mencia'', ''Chappelle's Show'', and others.

He also co-starred with Redman in his own Fox sitcom called ''Method & Red'' in late 2004; however, after only a short time on the air, the show was put on hiatus and never returned. Method Man later complained in the press about Fox's influence on the show's style, claiming that "there's been too much compromise on our side and not enough on their side" and bemoaning the network's decision to add a laugh track. Before the show even aired, he told fans not to bother watching it.

His first prominent role came in 1998 with the film ''Belly'' along with fellow rappers Nas and DMX. He has since added many credits to his name, including roles in the films ''Garden State'' and ''One Eight Seven'', with starring roles in the feature films such as ''How High'', ''Soul Plane'' and others. He also played a small role in the 1997 film ''Cop Land''.

On March 27, 2007 Redman confirmed on BET ''Rap City'' that the sequel to the movie ''How High'' is currently being written, by Dustin Lee Abraham, who also wrote the first movie.

He had a guest appearance in the music video for the 2003 "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys, where he played the role of her boyfriend. Beanie Sigel also called upon Method Man's acting skills for his 2005 video "Feel It in the Air", where Method Man played an undercover cop leading an operation against Sigel.

Method Man has fallen back from pursuing more acting roles after the situation with his sitcom on Fox left a bad taste in his mouth, and now mostly just acts if the project is being handled by a friend of his, as was the case with ''CSI'' and ''The Wire''

He also appears in the 2008 parody film ''Meet the Spartans'', as leader of the breakdancing Immortals.

Method Man appears in the film ''The Wackness'' as a Jamaican drug dealer and on ''Burn Notice'' as a record label CEO.

Raekwon

Raekwon was the focus of a VH1 "RockDoc" about blood diamonds, where he along with Paul Wall and others visited Sierra Leone. During the shooting of the documentary, Raekwon became the first American rapper to perform in Sierra Leone. Raekwon and Damon Dash are in the process of filming a movie called C.R.E.A.M., a project directed by the Wu Tang rapper.

Ghostface Killah

Ghostface Killah released a doll in his likeness along with a series on daily habits and lifestyle for MTV called "The Pretty Toney series" into various short episodes. He appeared in a sketch on the show ''Human Giant'' and twice as himself on ''30 Rock''.

Video games

All nine original members of the group were featured in the game ''Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style'', released for the PlayStation on October 31, 1999, as well as a special collector's edition controller. Ghostface Killah and Yung Dirty Doucette, as well as collaborators, Redman and Keith Murray, also play themselves in all three games in the Def Jam video games ''Def Jam Vendetta'', ''Def Jam Fight For NY'', and ''Def Jam: Icon''.

Method Man is a huge fan of video games himself and has publicly stated that he loves playing ''SOCOM'' online with other PlayStation 2 users, and is part of an online clan ("KMA/Kiss My Ass"). ''His SOCOM II'' name is "ICU". He has a fellow SOCOM player featured on a skit on his album 4:21.

A video game from Acclaim, ''9Dragons'', also sports the name Wu-Tang Clan in one of the ingame branches.

In EA's ''Army of Two'', main character Salem talks about Wu-Tang asking his team mate Rios who the best member is. Salem says it's RZA but he says Ghostface Killah is pretty good himself. In the ending cut scene, a reference is made when Salem says "Survey says?" and Rios replies "You're dead". The exchange referenced the lyric, "And the survey says? / You're dead!" from "Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthin' Ta F' Wit", from the album ''Enter the Wu-Tang Clan (36 Chambers)''.

Several tracks by Clan members and affiliates such as Method Man, Ghostface, Cappadonna, Trife, DJ Mathematics and others were featured in the 2006 game ''Saints Row''.

The video game of ''Afro Samurai'', based on the cult TV series, was released in January 2009 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Its soundtrack, like the show, was produced by RZA.

Clothing line

Oli "Power" Grant was one of the first to move from music to clothes. The executive producer of the Wu-Tang Clan, Grant started making clothes in the early 1990s, with little success. But in 1995, with the platinum success of ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)'', suddenly the manufacturers that earlier wouldn't extend Power credit saw the potential. Power opened four Wu Wear stores, in New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Norfolk, Virginia., the line is carried in Macy's, Rich's, and d.e.m.o, among others; Power says he earned $10 million in 1998.

1997 saw the release of Wu-Tang's multi-platinum double-LP ''Wu-Tang Forever'' which launched the clothing line, Wu-Wear, to all new heights.

Method Man was unhappy with the decision to bring Wu Tang into the fashion world with Wu Wear, despite the brand being a major money-maker for the group. "When Wu-Wear started making shoes and sneakers and pants, it was shoddy material. I never rocked that shit."

In 1999, Nike released a Wu-Tang Clan themed dunk hi. The shoes were produced in low quantities. Their rarity and popularity makes them very sought after, leading reseller prices to be as much as $7,500.

A partnership between Wu Tang and the Alife NYC clothing group took place in 2007 through 2008 for an exclusive series of custom sneakers, t-shirts, hoodies and other accessories for both men and women. The collection was named "A Wu-Tang Life".

Controversy

G-Unit

Ghostface had a non publicized feud with 50 Cent in the late 1990s and early 2000s. On 50 Cent's track "How to Rob" insults were aimed at many high-profile rappers, including Wu-Tang. In the early 2000s the argument made it on to wax with skits titled "Clyde Smith" on ''Supreme Clientele'' featuring a low-pitched recording of what most fans believe to be Raekwon's voice derisively making fun of 50 Cent's behavior and his methods of attracting attention to himself. The skit also joked at other unnamed "gangster rappers" in New York. 50 Cent took offense and came back with a short track dissing Wu-Tang Clan, and Ghostface in particular. 50 rose to fame, both he and Ghostface talked in interviews with SOHH.com and Hot 97 Radio about the supposed argument, both saying that the argument was never that serious and nothing major had happened.

A supposed diss song, "Small Change (Who The Fuck Is 50 Cent)", which circulated the web in the beginning of 2001 was rumoured to be by the Clan, but was proven to be recorded by Polite of American Cream Team (Raekwon's then side-project).

G-Unit member Tony Yayo has alleged that Ghostface had a ghostwriter for his critically acclaimed album ''Supreme Clientele''. In an interview with spin.com, Yayo claimed that Far Rockaway native Superb, who guested on the album, wrote a majority, if not all, of the lyrics. In an interview with hiphopdx.com Raekwon, who also appears on the album, responded saying: "He [Tony Yayo] know damn well he [Superb] ain’t write that fuckin’ album. I don’t even wanna get into shit like that, because it just makes me upset that muthafuckas be running they mouth all kinda ways. But at the end of the day, I think Ghost gonna have to really say what he gotta say." However, in a November, 2007 interview with Rhapsody Music, Ghost responded with "...'Perb [Superb] is Rae’s [Raekwon] man. He been in the studio a few times while we’re doing shit. He ain’t write shit. All ‘Perb contributed was a couple of lines that you could put in the air. When we write, we all do that. “Say this one right here” or “Put this one right here.” We all catch lines with each other ‘cause you in the studio. You got niggas around you that write. Even if he did write a verse, he could never make an album of mine. He couldn’t make an album, you feel me? I made Supreme Clientele what it is. Those are my stories, based around whatever they’re based upon. It’s me. I can’t see what songs ‘Perb wrote. He ain’t write “Mighty Healthy” or “One” or “Apollo Kids” or “Cherchez LaGhost” or “Saturday Nite” or “Malcolm.” U-God called Tony Yayo "a bitch" in an interview with Undergroundhiphop.com, and threatened to beat him down when he sees him, but said that no diss tracks will be recorded. Paper Plates, one of the tracks from GZA's Pro Tools album released in 2008 is known to be a 50 cent diss track. The feud between GZA and 50 started in a concert in London, where GZA was performing and during the concert he was responding to what the crowd had to say about the current state of Hip Hop particularly in the Mainstream world. Soulja Boy and 50 cent were both mentioned. GZA made some comments such as, "Fifty doesn't have any motherfuckin' lyrics. You got a lot of record sales, a lot of money nigga but no TALENT!"

50 cent responded back to GZA on his thoughts about his comments directed at Soulja Boy, whom he has a good relationship with personally. "Recently I seen a video on YouTube and the video was of the GZA, that's short for The Genius. He's a 'Genius,' I'm sure everyone else has forgotten who he is also. Kid is 16 years old and we Googled you; you were born in '66. He was born in 1966 (laughs). Listen, I have an old school Chevy Impala your age." 50 has yet to record a diss track in response to GZA's "Paper Plate."

The Notorious B.I.G.

During his career, The Notorious B.I.G. had a checkered relationship with the Wu-Tang Clan. He collaborated with Raekwon on the 1994 Ron G song "Stop the Breaks," which also featured Killa Sin and KRS-One; the following year, on B.I.G.'s debut album ''Ready to Die'', Method Man was featured on the song "The What" (and was the only featured rapper on the album.) The song, "The What," was produced by Easy Mo Bee, who had strong ties to Notorious B.I.G. as well as several Clan members, such as RZA and GZA. According to Method Man, though even at this point friction was present between Biggie and the Clan, the two rappers got along:

}}

In 1995, on the album ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...'', Raekwon and Ghostface Killah commented on Big in a skit called "Shark Niggas (Biters)." Alleging that he copied the cover from Nas' landmark release ''Illmatic'', as well as styles from other rap artists. This generated longstanding controversy over their differences with Biggie, and in later interviews, both rappers would downplay the incident:

}}

In the ''Wu-Tang Manual'', a book by the RZA on the origins of the Wu-Tang Clan, he recalls a concert at which Biggie and Wu-Tang both performed, at which Raekwon and Ghostface were reportedly under the influence, and angry at some comments BIG made in The Source. In RZA's view, had the artists and their entourages met up that night, things could have gotten violent, but nothing of the sort ever occurred. It is worth mentioning that on B.I.G.'s final studio album ''Life After Death'' he took a shot back at Raekwon on the song "Kick in the Door" (which was a diss song to several other rappers as well) with the line; "Fuck that, why try/Throw bleach in ya eye" which was a response to lyrics from Raekwon's song "Ice Water", where Raekwon rhymed; "...To top it all off, beefin' for White/Pullin' bleach out, tryin'a throw it in my eyesight." On the posthumous 1997 song "Victory," released on Puff Daddy's album ''No Way Out'', B.I.G. also rhymes, "Militant/Y'all faggots ain't killin' shit," in response to a Ghostface Killah line on the song "Criminology" where he raps; "RZA baked the track and it's militant/Then I react like a convict, and start killin' shit." It is also worth mentioning that B.I.G. chose RZA to produce the track "Long Kiss Goodnight", a song allegedly aimed at Biggie's longtime rival Tupac Shakur, which appeared on ''Life After Death''. RZA went on to comment about the collaboration, saying,

}}

On the same album, B.I.G. gave thanks to Wu-Tang in the album's liner notes, and also inserted lyrics praising the Wu-Tang Clan single "C.R.E.A.M."; on the song "Notorious Thugs," he states, "I'mma tell you like a nigga told me/Cash rules everything around me." On his 2002 album ''God's Son'', Nas references the feud on his song "Last Real Nigga Alive," inferring that although he and Big had their differences, they were friendly; while he was also on good terms with Raekwon, neither Big nor Raekwon got along, and both warned Nas the other would copy his lyrics and style. In 2006, Ghostface and Raekwon did a posthumous collaboration with Biggie, on the song "Three Bricks," which was originally intended to appear on the posthumous Biggie album, ''Duets: The Final Chapter'', but it instead became a bonus song on the Ghostface Killah album ''Fishscale''. In 2008, Raekwon did a cover of Jadakiss' hit "Letter to B.I.G.," injecting his own thoughts on his deceased former rival.

Sean Combs

In 1998, ODB rushed onstage unexpectedly during Shawn Colvin's acceptance speech for "Song of the Year" at the Grammy Awards, and began complaining that he had recently purchased expensive clothes in anticipation of winning the "Best Rap Album" award that he lost to Sean Combs. Before being escorted off-stage, he implored the audience, "I don't know how you all see it, but when it comes to the children, Wu-Tang is for the children. We teach the children. Puffy is good, but Wu-Tang is the best. I want you all to know that this is ODB, and I love you all. Peace!" His bizarre onstage antics were widely reported in the mainstream media. Dirty made it known on The Howard Stern Show that he meant no disrespect to Combs, but that feelings were hurt on Combs' end. Later that night Combs' bodyguards would physically threaten ODB, but Dirty insisted to his friends and family in attendance that no violence broke out. Following the award show, Howard Stern asked Dirty about the incident with Diddy's bodyguards on his radio show, but Dirty wouldn't play up the incident as he didn't want to shine a bad light on hip hop because of one minor altercation.

Ghostface appeared on the 2002 Bad Boy Records release, ''We Invented the Remix'', along with Combs on the remix to the song "Special Delivery." Ghostface even gives Bad Boy Records a shout out for inviting him on the track when he raps "Bad Boy, thank you for this special delivery." Combs was one of the executive producers for Method Man's 2004 album ''Tical 0: The Prequel'', although Meth later voiced his displeasure with the final product. "On the third LP, it was suggested to bring in Harve Pierre and P Diddy. Who am I to argue? Puff knows how to sell some records. But that wasn't the direction to go in, and I know that now." In 2006, Method Man also called out Combs' decisions on the posthumous Notorious B.I.G. album ''Duets: The Final Chapter'', saying that Biggie never would have rocked with some of the sub-par rappers featured on it. He also brought up the fact that he was the only other rapper that Biggie chose to feature on his debut album ''Ready to Die''.

Mase

After badmouthing Wu-Tang at a concert, Bad Boy recording artist Mase had a run-in with Ghostface and his entourage at a club in New York City. There was some sort of physical altercation between Mase's and Ghostface's camps, and Mase left the incident with a broken jaw. Kanye West is among several rappers who have made reference to the incident, rapping "...if you could feel how my face felt/ You would know how Mase felt..." on his single "Through the Wire". Shyheim also referred to the incident in a freestyle, with the line "The Empire State, where Ghostface retired Mase". In the June 2007 issue of ''Hip Hop Connection'' magazine, Wu-Tang affiliate Cilvaringz stated that Ghostface had in fact done time in jail for "beating up" Mase.

Joe Budden

In 2009, Joe Budden posted a video blog voicing his opinion on a "Best rapper" readers' poll posted in ''Vibe'' magazine. Throughout the video, Budden gave examples of rappers who were ranked too high, and claimed to be better than half of the rappers on the list. Some of the people he mentioned were Melle Mel, Prodigy, Ol' Dirty Bastard, and Method Man. At the end of the video, he went on to say that he'd beat Method Man in a battle if they were face to face. Shortly after this, Budden called into Ed Lover's Power 105.1, and took his claim on Method Man even further by stating, "Lyrically, I will cut that man's head off his shoulders". Several weeks later, Joe Budden did a freestyle track titled "D.O.A. Freestyle", which many speculated of containing subliminal shots towards Method Man and several members of Wu-Tang. Method Man was overseas while all of this occurred, but eventually spoke out about it on several radio interviews. While Raekwon was on the Rock the Bells tour with Joe Budden and his group Slaughterhouse, the two got together to settle any bad blood.

This calmed things down for a short while, until Wu-Tang member Inspectah Deck released a Joe Budden diss track entitled "House Nigga", which was a response to Budden's remarks. A few days after releasing this track, on July 9, 2009, Deck went on stage at the Columbia, MD show of Rock the Bells, during Raekwon's set, and told the audience the reason for the diss track was because "the nigga tried to diss my brother, he tried to shit on my nigga like my nigga aint a made man ... fuck Joe Budden" (referring to what Budden said about Method Man). Joe Budden did not retaliate with a diss track, but however, posted a five-minute video blog in which he said that he wanted to slap Deck and called Deck a coward. At the San Bernardino stop of Rock the Bells, Raekwon approached Budden with his Ice Water Inc. entourage, resulting in Budden getting punched in the right eye. Shortly after this occurred, Joe Budden posted yet another online video blog of him with an ice pack over his eye, with many speculating Raekwon as the one who did the assault.

It was later revealed that the punch was thrown by a member of Raekwon's entourage named Hanz. Hanz stated that he "did not appreciate Budden speaking disrespectfully about Inspectah Deck and Method Man in interviews over the summer." He further commented "I punched him in the face because he was outta line. I look at him like, not the school yard bully, but the motherfucker that's always picking on a motherfucker that don't fuck with nobody. To say something about a nigga like Meth is crazy, Meth don't fuck with nobody. I'm not gonna sit here and say Rae made me do it, that was a spontaneous decision on my own. I'm glad I did it, 'cause he got a big mouth...It wasn't actually planned, he could have actually changed that whole situation as it unfolded, as it went on".

Although Joe Budden and Raekwon reportedly were sat down and forced to settle things on the final day of the tour, Budden released a video on his website challenging Raekwon to a one-on-one fight, and called on all his fans to help persuade Raekwon to accept, despite the fact that it wasn't Raekwon who threw the punch. Raekwon however did not accept, and explained that he is a grown man with a family, and that fighting would be childish. He also stated "This has never ever been a Wu-Tang versus Slaughterhouse thing, this is about a kid who gets off on doing blogs. My thing is this, I'm a business man, I'm here to make money, take care of my family and keep as many people safe and sound as possible. We not gonna take it there 'cause that's little shit, we are grown men. I will never jump out the window to sacrifice the situation with my family for something that ain't worth it". Since the incident, Budden has stated in interviews the feud was over, and Raekwon made a similar announcement during a show, stating that he "had love" for Joe Budden.

Wu-Tang affiliates

The Wu-Tang Clan's range of big-name, non-Wu-Tang artists has expanded exponentially since their early days. Close collaborators to individual members or the group as a whole include or have included mainly East Coast-based artists, including Redman, Mobb Deep, Busta Rhymes, Erick Sermon, Nas, Pete Rock, and others. The Wu-Tang clan also has many "affiliates" which receive support, financial and otherwise, from within the Clan. These are collectively known as the Wu-Tang Killa Beez.

Killa Beez

The association of these artists with Wu-Tang varies greatly. They include a plethora of solo artists and groups, both past and present. Many on this list are virtually unknown, while many are already successful musicians in their own right. Generally, the most acclaimed Wu-Tang affiliates are the ones with the closest actual ties to members of the group.

Easy Mo Bee

In the late '80's, future Wu-Tang Clan co-founders RZA and GZA were signed under different monikers to Cold Chillin' Records, the label home of Big Daddy Kane and Kool G. Rap, among others. During their tenure, producer Easy Mo Bee provided RZA (under the name Prince Rakeem) with his first hit single, "Ooh I Love You Rakeem", and produced much of GZA's (under the alias The Genius) true first album, ''Words From the Genius''. Around this time, according to the Wu-Tang Manual, RZA accredits Easy Mo Bee with mentoring him and providing equipment for RZA to continue practicing beatmaking.

In 1994, after linking up with Bad Boy Entertainment, Mo Bee began producing a fair share of ''Ready to Die'', The Notorious B.I.G.'s debut album. The only rap feature on the album was Method Man, who appeared on the Easy Mo Bee-produced "The What." 1998 saw the producer produce for RZA once again, on the Ras Kass song "The End," and Wu-Tang member Raekwon was featured on Easy's solo album, ''Odyssey 2000: Now or Never'' alongside Busta Rhymes on the song "Let's Make a Toast." Seven years later, Mo Bee would go on to co-produce alongside RZA on the group's fifth group album, ''8 Diagrams''. Wu-Element producer True Master has also credited Easy Mo Bee with teaching him certain production tips, such as snare, hi-hat and volume change techniques.

Nas

In 1995, New York rapper Nas became the first artist with no previous ties to the Wu-Tang to be featured on any Wu-Tang album—namely, Raekwon's ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...''. Following this appearance, Nas and Raekwon began to collaborate more often, frequently being featured on the same songs. That same year, Nas and Raekwon appearaed on Mobb Deep's ''The Infamous'', on the track "Eye For An Eye;" in 1998, they appeared on the Fat Joe single "John Blaze," alongside Big Pun and Jadakiss. During the same time period, Nas and Method Man co-starred in the film ''Belly'', and collaborated on its soundtrack. Nas was later featured on the Wu-Tang Clan album ''The W'', on the song "Let My Niggas Live," which also featured Raekwon, as well as Inspectah Deck. In 2009, before the release of his anticipated ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II'', Raekwon stated that Nas was intended to be on the song "Broken Safety" with Jadakiss, but Nas was never able to find time to record. However, Nas was able to appear on Raekwon's fifth solo album titled ''Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang'' on the song "Rich and Black".

Mobb Deep

In 1995, the same year that Raekwon's debut came out, the Wu-Tang rapper appeared on Mobb Deep's seminal ''The Infamous''; aside from "Eye For An Eye," he and Ghostface Killah appeared on the track "Right Back At You." A year later, Method Man and Raekwon made appearances on separate tracks on the duo's followup album, ''Hell on Earth''. In 1998, Mobb Deep member Prodigy was featured on "The Game," a song from Pete Rock's solo debut ''Soul Survivor'', once again alongside Ghostface Killah and Raekwon. The same year, Prodigy made an appearance on Big Pun's debut album ''Capital Punishment'', on the song "Tres Leches (Triboro Trilogy)," also featuring Inspectah Deck as well as produced by RZA. Furthermore, Prodigy and Method Man collaborated on the soundtrack to Bulworth, on the DJ Muggs-produced song "Bulworth," which also featured KRS-One and Kam.

In 1998, Mobb Deep appeared on Method Man's second album, ''Tical 2000: Judgement Day'', on the song "Play IV Keeps," which was produced by Mobb Deep producer Havoc. Havoc also appeared on Raekwon's 2003 album, ''The Lex Diamond Story'', on the song "King of Kings," and in 2006 he produced the song "Somebody Done Fucked Up Now" for Method Man's album ''4:21... The Day After''. More recently Havoc collaborated with the Wu on J. Dilla's posthumous single "24K Rap" alongside Raekwon, and "Evil Deeds" from the Wu-Tang Clan compilation album ''Chamber Music''. Raekwon also leaked a 2009 song with Mobb Deep called "Road to Riches." Havoc also made a guest appearance as a producer and rapper on the song "Your World, My World" which was a bonus iTunes track off of Raekwon's fifth studio album ''Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang''.

Redman & Erick Sermon

Both Wu-Tang rapper Method Man and Def Squad member/EPMD protege Redman were signed to Def Jam Records in 1994; their first recorded collaboration was "Double Deuces," a commercial recorded for St. Ides malt liquor. Both were also featured on "Got My Mind Made Up," a 2Pac song from his Death Row Records album ''All Eyez on Me''. The collaboration led to a hit single, "How High," and Method Man and Redman would make guest appearances on every subsequent album either of them have put out thus far in their careers, including the Erick Sermon-produced "Whateva Man," a single from Redman's 1996 album ''Muddy Waters''. In addition the duo has made many guest appearances together, including LL Cool J's 1997 hit "4, 3, 2, 1", produced by Erick Sermon and 1999's "Rap Phenomenon," on the posthumous Notorious B.I.G. album ''Born Again''.

In 1998, Method Man released his second album, ''Tical 2000: Judgement Day'', which sported two tracks produced by Sermon, on one of which Redman guested. A year later, Redman and Method Man released ''Blackout!'', a collaboration album that featured production from Erick Sermon, RZA, and Wu-Elements producers 4th Disciple and True Master. In 2000, Redman appeared on the Wu-Tang Clan's third group album, ''The W'', on the song "Redbull" alongside Method Man and Inspectah Deck; he also appeared on Ghostface Killah's second album, ''Supreme Clientele'', alongside Ghostface, Method Man and Cappadonna. In the late 90's to the early-to-mid 2000's, Redman and Method Man made several appearances in film and television together, including the comedies "How High" and "Soul Plane", and the short-lived sitcom Method & Red.

Sermon made a return to Method Man's music with 2006's ''4:21... The Day After'', for which the producer served as co-executive producer alongside RZA and Method Man himself, producing or co-producing four tracks. The producer also worked on rapper Busta Rhymes' Aftermath Entertainment album ''The Big Bang'', co-producing the song "Goldmine" with Dr. Dre, a song featuring the Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon. This collaboration culminated in Sermon producing the song "Baggin' Crack" on Raekwon's 2009 album ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II'', as well as two songs on ''Blackout! 2'', Method Man & Redman's followup to the 1999 record. In 2011, Sermon resurfaced to produce the song "Every Soldier in the Hood" for Raekwon's latest album, ''Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang''.

Pete Rock

Like Easy Mo Bee, New York producer Pete Rock first began his association with the Wu-Tang before it was formally founded—by playing mentor to RZA, then under the moniker Prince Rakeem. In the book "The Wu-Tang Manual," RZA admits to effectively stealing equipment from the successful producer, borrowing and never returning an MPC. Pete first produced for the Wu-Tang when its members Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Inspectah Deck and Method Man made appearances on his 1998 album ''Soul Survivor''. The following year, the producer provided beats for Raekwon's second album ''Immobilarity'', Inspectah Deck's debut album ''Uncontrolled Substance'', and Wu members RZA and GZA appeared on Pete's 2004 followup solo album ''Soul Survivor II''. Since then the frequency of Pete Rock's collaborations with the Wu-Tang have increased, as he provided production for Ghostface Killah's two 2006 solo albums, ''Fishscale'' and ''More Fish''; Masta Killa's 2006 second album ''Made in Brooklyn''; the Raekwon- and Masta Killa-featuring song "PJ's" from his own third solo album, ''NY's Finest''; the single "A Yo" from Method Man & Redman's ''Blackout! 2''; the song "Sonny's Missing," from Raekwon's ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... pt. II''; and the track "How You Like Me Baby?" from Ghostface Killah's latest album ''Apollo Kids''.

The L.O.X.

Jadakiss, one-third of Yonkers, New York-based group the L.O.X., first collaborated with a member of the Wu-Tang Clan in 1998 on the single "John Blaze" with Raekwon. While the collaboration led to associations with Nas and Fat Joe as well, Jada's group began to collaborate with the Wu-Tang on a more regular basis. L.O.X. member Sheek Louch collaborated with Method Man and Redman on ''Ryde or Die vol. 2'' in 2001, on the track "Two Tears in a Bucket." He also appeared on Raekwon's third album ''The Lex Diamond Story'' in 2003; in 2004, Jadakiss appeared on "Run," the RZA-produced hit single from Ghostface Killah's ''The Pretty Toney Album,'' which also featured the song "Metal Lungies," a collaboration with the other two L.O.X. members, Styles P and Sheek Louch. The following year Ghostface appeared on Louch's 2005 album, ''After Taxes''; in 2006, Sheek made a return appearance on Ghostface's ''Fishscale'', and Raekwon appeared alongside Jadakiss and others on Hi-Tek's album ''Hi-Teknology 2: The Chip'', on the song "Where it Started At." Ghostface Killah appeared on L.O.X. member Styles P's 2007 album, ''Super Gangster (Extraordinary Gentleman)'', and Styles was set to appear on Ghostface's ''Big Doe Rehab'', having recorded a version of the song "Tony Sigel A.K.A. Barrel Brothers" with Styles.

In 2009, Jadakiss featured Raekwon and Ghostface Killah on his album ''The Last Kiss'', on the single "Cartel Gathering", and Raekwon featured Jadakiss and Styles P on his album ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II''; Sheek Louch and new D-Block addition Bully also appeared on the Method Man, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon album, ''Wu-Massacre''. Inspectah Deck has also stated that he intends to reach out to Jadakiss to appear on his next and final album, ''The Rebellion''. In addition, Ghostface and Sheek Louch have announced that they are recording a collaboration album called ''Wu-Block''.

Busta Rhymes

New York rapper Busta Rhymes first collaborated with the Wu-Tang Clan on the remix to his 1996 single "Woo-Hah!! (Got You All In Check)", which featured Ol' Dirty Bastard. Also that year, Busta was featured on the soundtrack to "Space Jam", where he and Method Man appeared on the song "Hit 'Em High" alongside B-Real, Coolio, and LL Cool J. 2000 witnessed Ghostface Killah and Raekwon appear on Busta's album ''Anarchy'', on the song "The Heist;" Busta also appeared with Raekwon on Easy Mo Bee's solo album, ''Odyssey 2000: Now or Never'', and guested on ''The W'' on the song "The Monument." Busta would later appear on Method Man's album ''Tical 0: The Prequel'', assisting on the hit single "What's Happenin'," while convincing Raekwon to record his sequel to the critically acclaimed 1995 album ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx''. Serving in an executive producer capacity, Busta helped Raekwon assemble ''Cuban Linx II'' and provided the rapper with a link to Aftermath producer Dr. Dre. Raekwon appeared on Busta's 2006 album ''The Big Bang'', on the Dr. Dre/Erick Sermon-produced song "Goldmine," and Busta made a return appearance on the Dr. Dre-produced "About Me" from 2009's ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II''. In addition, Busta later appeared on Capone-N-Noreaga's 2010 album ''The War Report 2: Report the War'', their first on Raekwon's vanity label IceH20 Records, on the song "The Oath," which also featured Raekwon. Busta also made an appearance on Ghostface Killah's album ''Apollo Kids'' later that year on the song "Superstar," and appeared in 2011 on Raekwon's fifth solo album ''Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang'' on the song "Crane Style".

AZ

AZ began his career as an affiliate of Nas, but over time has strengthened his ties with other artists, including the Wu-Tang Clan. The Brooklyn rapper first recorded with the Wu in 1996, when Raekwon joined him for a RZA-produced remix of his first single, "Doe or Die." In '98, the rapper linked up with RZA again on the album ''Pieces of a Man'', with the RZA-produced song "Whatever Happened (The Birth)." 2005 brought another collaboration; on his album ''AWOL'', AZ featured Raekwon and Ghostface Killah on his single "New York." In '09, AZ was featured on the Wu-Tang compilation album ''Chamber Music'', and is set to appear alongside Raekwon and Ghostface again in 2010 on DJ Kay Slay's album ''More Than a DJ''.

Kool G Rap

Kool G Rap began appearing with the Wu-Tang starting in 1997, on the single "Cakes," produced by and featuring RZA for the soundtrack to ''Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai''. In 2003, G Rap appeared on Inspectah Deck's album ''The Movement'', on the song "Framed;" he went on to make appearances on the Ghostface Killah/Trife da God joint album ''Put it on the Line'', RZA's ''Afro Samurai: Resurrection soundtrack'', and the Wu-Tang's ''Chamber Music''. Recently, it has been announced that Raekwon and G Rap are recording a collaboration album together.

DJ Muggs

West coast producer and Cypress Hill co-founder DJ Muggs began collaborating with the Wu-Tang in 1995, when RZA and U-God appeared on the RZA-produced Cypress Hill song "Killa Hill Niggas," from the album ''III: Temples of Boom''. In 1997, Muggs produced the Method Man/Prodigy collaboration, "Bulworth." In addition, RZA and GZA appeared on his album ''Soul Assassins I'', and GZA appeared on the 2000 followup, ''Soul Assassins II''. In return, Muggs produced a song on GZA's 2002 album ''Legend of the Liquid Sword''. The partnership led to Muggs and GZA recording the 2005 joint album ''Grandmasters'' (billed as DJ Muggs vs. GZA, the first in a series of "DJ Muggs vs." albums), released to some critical acclaim. 2005 also saw Muggs produce the song "Black Opera" for Skillz, which featured Raekwon. Additionally, GZA appeared on the DJ Muggs-produced Planet Asia album, ''Pain Language'' in 2008. In 2009, Raekwon spoke about recording new material with DJ Muggs, presumably for his album ''Cuban Linx II'', although no new collaborations surfaced until he appeared on the song "Chase Manhattan" from the DJ Muggs/Ill Bill album ''Kill Devil Hills''.

MF Doom

The underground rapper/producer MF Doom's first collaboration with the Wu-Tang Clan was in 2005, when he appeared with the RZA on "Biochemical Equation" (which RZA also produced), from the compilation album ''Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture''. When Doom anonymously submitted a beat tape for Ghostface Killah, several of his tracks made the cut for Ghostface's 2006 albums ''Fishscale'' and ''More Fish'', including the song "9 Milli Bros.," which featured the Wu-Tang Clan in its entirety. Doom also provided production for Masta Killa's 2006 album ''Made in Brooklyn''. An album-long collaboration with Ghostface Killah was rumored for several years, and various songs leaked that reportedly were recorded for the project, which was to be entitled either ''Ghostface Meets Metalface'' or ''Swift & Changeable''. The project has not yet surfaced, but in July 2009 Ghostface reported having recorded his parts for the record and said he was simply waiting for Doom to finish his parts. Since ''More Fish'', several new collaborations by the two have surfaced, including "Chinatown Wars" (from the soundtrack to Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars), "Angeles," "The Mask," and the J. Dilla-produced "Sniper Elite" and "Murder Goons."

Kanye West

Producer/rapper Kanye West, formerly of Roc-A-Fella Records, built a production and rapping style closely based on various members of the Wu-Tang Clan. In 2000, he got some of his first major production placements on former Bad Boy producer D-Dot (née The Madd Rapper)'s debut album, ''Tell 'Em Why U Madd'', including the song "Ghetto," which featured Raekwon. In 2001, West produced the bulk of Jay-Z's successful and highly praised album ''The Blueprint'', implementing an augmented version of a technique pioneered by RZA; Kanye has since revealed that the beats he and fellow Roc producer Just Blaze produced were originally created for Ghostface Killah, before announcing that Ghostface inspired his sound and style. During the recording sessions for West's 2004 debut ''College Dropout'', Wu-Tang member and then-Roc-A-Fella artist Ol' Dirty Bastard recorded a chorus and backing vocals for the song "Keep the Receipt," which was left off the album but released on a mixtape.

In 2006, Kanye was featured on the remix to Ghostface Killah's hit single, "Back Like That." In 2010, West and Raekwon collaborated again on the Kanye-produced remix to Justin Bieber's single "Runaway Love." Following up on the song, Raekwon guested on several tracks cut from West's upcoming ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'', which were released as songs in the producer's weekly G.O.O.D. Fridays series. On the album's proper release, Raekwon was featured on the track "Gorgeous" alongside West and Kid Cudi; in addition, RZA co-produced the song "Dark Fantasy" with West and producer No I.D., and appeared on the song "So Appalled" alongside Jay-Z, Pusha T and CyHi da Prince.

Other artists

Ghostface Killah's ''Fishscale'' also boasted work by underground sensation and Detroit, Michigan producer J. Dilla, who died shortly after. However, just as the producer's music has continued to surface in other artists' projects, several productions Dilla created for Raekwon made the final cut of the rapper's 2009 album. The year 2009 witnessed the release of the long-delayed, highly anticipated ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II''. The album made heavy use of longtime and short-term Wu-Tang associates, featuring frequent collaborators Pete Rock, Erick Sermon and Busta Rhymes while cementing the associate status of newer associates: namely, Beanie Sigel, J. Dilla, The Alchemist and Dr. Dre, all of whom have worked—in a limited capacity—with the Wu-Tang Clan previously.

As of 2010, the number of Wu-Tang affiliates has grown further: Capone-N-Noreaga, a rap duo from Queens, New York City, signed with Raekwon's IceH20 Records on February 18, 2010 and enlisted the Wu-Tang rapper to serve as an executive producer of their latest album, ''The War Report 2''. In addition, the compilation album Wu-Tang Chamber Music is almost completely produced by Fizzy Womack of M.O.P. alongside RZA, the band The Revelations and others, and features M.O.P.'s Billy Danze. Bun B has also appeared on several songs with Wu-Tang members in 2009-10: after being featured on Method Man & Redman's ''Blackout! 2'', Bun made appearances on Raekwon's ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II (Gold Edition)'', made up of tracks cut from the original product, and appeared on Redman's latest album ''Reggie'' alongside Redman and Method Man.

Members

RZA (born Robert Diggs, 1969) – The de facto leader of the group. He produced the entirety of ''Enter the Wu-Tang'' and the majority of the tracks on subsequent Wu-Tang albums. He has also produced many of the group's solo efforts, especially early on. Considered a producing pioneer, recently his popularity has transcended hip-hop. Thanks to Jim Jarmusch giving him his break with ''Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai'', he has gone on to score several Hollywood films such as the first installment of Quentin Tarantino's critically acclaimed ''Kill Bill'', Tony Jaa's ''The Protector'' and Ridley Scott's ''American Gangster''. Most recently he scored the music for the anime series ''Afro Samurai''. Before signing with SRC Records in early 2007, RZA was flooded with offers from Bad Boy Records, Aftermath Entertainment, Interscope and Def Jam among others. Rza is currently working with Shavo Odadjian of System of a Down on an album titled "Achozen" still with an impending release date. The first single "Deuces" was released on April 22, 2008. A second single, "Salute/Sacrifice", was released on November 13, 2009.

Ghostface Killah (born Dennis Coles, 1970) – He has a very distinctive, abstract, energetic and emotional style of rapping and is arguably the most consistent member of the group. He had a large role in Raekwon's ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...'' and later released his debut album ''Ironman'' to critical acclaim . Mainstream hip-hop press credits his second album ''Supreme Clientele'' with "saving the Wu." He has enjoyed similar success over the course of eight solo albums, more than any other member of the group.

GZA (born Gary Grice, 1966) – He is the oldest member of the group as well as the most experienced, having begun rapping in 1976, when hip hop was still a local New York phenomenon. He was also the first to release an album, ''Words from the Genius'', which was released in 1991 on Cold Chillin'/Reprise. The interplay between and other members on the group's recordings shows him as the wisest MC of the group. He is known for his laid-back flow, deliberate style, and complex use of metaphor, containing references to Samurai films, chess and 5 Percenter teachings. ''Liquid Swords'', his Wu-Tang debut album, is often considered among the group's best work, perhaps only challenged by Raekwon's ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...''.

Inspectah Deck (born Jason Hunter, 1970) – He was one of the star members of the group, gaining attention by providing stand-out performances on both Wu-Tang albums and on other member's solo albums as well as being a popular guest rapper in 1997 and 1998. He is considered by many in the fanbase as the stand-out member on ''Wu-Tang Forever'', although his later solo albums failed to live up to the high expectations. Inspectah Deck is known for his ability to use metaphors and deliver complicated rhyme-schemes. He is also a successful producer, providing beats for many artists both in and out of the Wu-Tang family such as Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Big Pun, Prodigy and others.

Masta Killa (born Elgin Turner, 1969) – He was the only member not already an experienced rapper at the time of the group's formation, and was extensively mentored by GZA during his early days with the group. He was largely absent on the group's first album due to his being incarcerated, though he did contribute the classic final verse to the track "Da Mystery of Chessboxin", He also had stand-out verses to ''Wu-Tang Forever'' and other members solo albums, delivered with an intelligent talk-rap style. Fans have praised his work on classic Wu tracks like "Duel of The Iron Mic", "Snakes" or "Winter Warz" among others. He was also the last to release a solo album, though when he finally did release ''No Said Date'', it was generally well received and considered one of the best post-2000 Wu-Tang releases.

Method Man (born Clifford Smith, 1971) – He was the youngest member of the Wu-Tang Clan and the first to release a Wu-Tang solo album with ''Tical'', his career went on to become the most successful in the group, while maintaining an underground rep. His career is highlighted by platinum sales and a Grammy for ''I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need'' with Mary J. Blige. He is recognized by his distinct voice and smooth, yet "grimy" flow. He has also had a significant acting career with many film and television credits to his name, most notably the popular series, ''The Wire'', where he portrayed the character of Cheese Wagstaff, the lieutenant of drug lord Proposition Joe. He also acted in the comedy film ''How High'' and the sitcom ''Method & Red'', both co-starring with Redman, with whom he also made an album in 1999 titled ''Blackout!'' as well as the 2009 sequel ''Blackout! 2''. Method Man's friendship with the Notorious B.I.G. is credited for preventing more heat between Biggie, Raekwon and Ghostface.

Ol' Dirty Bastard (born Russell Jones, 1968–2004) – Arguably the most eccentric and erratic member of the group, his wild behavior drew significant media – and often police – attention. He was known for his off beat rhymes, charismatic ululations, slightly garbled style, and unpredictable vocal inflections. ODB was among the most popular members of Wu-Tang, with high sales and guest spots with industry giants like Mariah Carey. He collapsed in Wu-Tang's recording studio on November 13, 2004 and was pronounced dead less than an hour later, with a later autopsy confirming an accidental drug overdose to be the cause of his death.

Raekwon (born Corey Woods, 1970) – Nicknamed "The Chef" for having "lyrical flavor", and ability to cook cocaine into "crack rock." His lyrics contain extensive use of New York slang (and some of which he invented), which is often delivered in an aggressive, fast-paced manner. He is also known for his vivid storytelling about wealth, power, and prestige derived from the illegal drug trade. His influential solo album ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...'' is often credited with initiating the Mafioso rap phenomenon of the mid-to-late-1990s, and is generally considered one of the best of the solo albums by both fans and critics. The sequel to the influential album was released in late 2009 titled ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II''.

U-God (born Lamont Hawkins, 1970) – A founding member with his own solo career, U-God's has had a relatively low profile, in part due to his limited exposure, from being incarcerated for most of the recording of ''36 Chambers'', in which he only delivered short verses on "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'" and "Protect Ya Neck." He is known for delivering strong verses, his unique "bass-like" voice, and his style of blaxploitation rap.

Cappadonna (born Darryl Hill, 1969) – After growing up as friends with many of the Clan members, Cappadonna made his debut as an affiliate of the Wu-Tang Clan on Raekwon's hit single "Ice Cream". He was also a guest star, along with Raekwon, on Ghostface Killah's solo debut album, ''Ironman''. He made his first appearance on a Wu-Tang Clan album in 1997 on ''Wu-Tang Forever'' on the single "Triumph". Following his appearance on ''Forever'', he contributed significantly to the group's third studio album, ''The W'', at which point his appearances were no longer marked with "Feat. Cappadonna", as they had been on ''Forever''. After a falling out with RZA the next year over royalties, he did not appear at all on the group's subsequent album ''Iron Flag''. He eventually reunited with the group for their concert at 2004's Rock the Bells, and appeared on 2007's ''8 Diagrams''.

Cappadonna's current status as an official member is unclear. While long referred to by both the group and fans as the "Unofficial Tenth Member", there is no confirmation on whether he actually became the official tenth member following the death of Ol' Dirty Bastard. While MTV.com's biographies of both him and the group claim that he is an official member, their subsequent bios on the group's official website do not list him as such. Also, while his vocals on ''8 Diagrams'' were not marked with "Feat. Cappadonna", much like ''The W'', he does not appear on the front cover with the original eight living members, and is not featured in the album's booklet with a picture, although he is included in the group's shout-out's sections. A 2007 interview about the Clan before the release of ''8 Diagrams'' also claims that RZA officially added him as a member, but there are no quotations or statements to back up this claim within the article.

Discography

''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)'' (1993)

''Wu-Tang Forever'' (1997)

''The W'' (2000)

''Iron Flag'' (2001)

''8 Diagrams'' (2007)

''Wu-Tang Clan's sixth studio album'' (2012)

References

External links

Official Wu-Tang Clan website

* Category:American hip hop groups Category:American dance musicians Category:East Coast hip hop groups Category:Hip hop collectives Category:Members of the Nation of Gods and Earths Category:Musical groups established in 1992 Category:Musical groups from New York City Category:Musical octets Category:People from Staten Island Category:Rappers from New York City Category:Supergroups

ang:Wu-Tang Clan cs:Wu-Tang Clan da:Wu-Tang Clan de:Wu-Tang Clan es:Wu-Tang Clan fr:Wu-Tang Clan fy:Wu-Tang Clan ko:우 탱 클랜 hr:Wu-Tang Clan it:Wu-Tang Clan he:וו טאנג קלאן sw:Wu-Tang Clan la:Wu-Tang Clan lt:Wu-Tang Clan hu:Wu-Tang Clan nl:Wu-Tang Clan ja:ウータン・クラン no:Wu-Tang Clan pl:Wu-Tang Clan pt:Wu-Tang Clan ru:Wu-Tang Clan stq:Wu-Tang Clan simple:Wu-Tang Clan sk:Wu-Tang Clan sl:Wu-Tang Clan sr:Wu-Tang Clan sh:Wu-Tang Clan fi:Wu-Tang Clan sv:Wu-Tang Clan ta:வூ-டாங் கிளான் tr:Wu-Tang Clan uk:Wu-Tang Clan zh:武当帮