After his release from jail, Ghost joined RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Inspectah Deck, U-God and Ol Dirty b*stard to form the now iconic Wu-Tang Clan. Together, they made a difference in the Rap world, garnering critical praise for Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), the groups celebrated debut album in November 1993. The album was a resounding dose of Staten Island flavor and Ghostfaces voice was the first one heard on the project. Twenty years later, many still refer to 36 Chambers as an essential piece of the Hip Hop puzzle, an album that is often cited as one of the greatest releases in the genres history.
Going back though, its always important to remember that this isnt merely a legendary group for Ghostface Killah. With fans, the thought of Wu may bring up thoughts of classic songs, performances or music videos featuring bees. But for Ghost, the thought of Wu relays back memories of friendships he had when he was younger, good times he can recall with joy. Ask him about Wu-Tangs early days and you can nearly sense a smile form in his tone.
When the Wu first started, it was fresh to us, he says, gearing up for a show two decades after the groups first release. You had all the members. It was all different characters. It was a tight unit, and everybody was hilarious.
Imagine a young Wu-Tang riding around the nation on tour. Envision the ruckus. Picture the environment on the road. Ask Ghost to do the same, and hell explain that the ruckus was present, but there were also plenty of jokes thrown around and plenty of fun times too.
nikkas is funny mothafukkas, yo, Ghost added. A lot of those times, we were just laughin and snappin. He recalls jokes so great that hed dare any crew to challenge the Wu. If anybody wanna to snap against Wu-Tang Clan, man, youre gonna be in for some shyt. Meth, Rae U-God and even RZA, nikkas is funny mothafukkas.
In fact, the snaps were a part of the group before they even formed. As Ghost explained, several members of the group were involved in a Battle Rap event prior to becoming friends or group mates. At the event, they had to square off against each other and battle. A drug dealer put money up for the winning emcee. Guys decided to join on their own accord, never knowing how much closer theyd become after that evening.
Me, Cappadonna, Rae, RZA, Meth, Genius [GZA], Ol Dirty and U-God, I remember one time we battled each other before we was Wu-Tang Clan, Ghost shares, reminding himself of their battle at a New York nightclub. Cap had fukked around and won the money, because he said the drug dealers name that had put the money up for the Rap battle. He had his name in the rhyme, and the crowd just went fukkin bananas when Cap said the dudes name! He stepped off with the money though. But I never knew that one day we would become those members from Staten Island, that wed be in one group
it was definitely crazy. It was really, really crazy.
He understands those days are gone, however. Youll never get it back, though. With Ol Dirty b*stard [gone], youll never get those days back. Still, the group made headlines this year when they promised to have ODB on stage with them via virtual performance. So this year, Ghost will rejoin his Wu brethren for a series of shows (and snaps, perhaps). Their most talked about shows will likely be those Rock the Bells summer nights where the Wu will feature virtual performances of ODB. It may not be the same as it was, but its certainly an evolution and a change which has kept Wu-Tang in front of adoring fans and headlines. With this news, clothing deals and movie projects lined up to tell their story, the legend of the Wu continues after 20 years and its proving to be strong in 2013.
