photo from www.wutang-corp.com
Since the Wu-Tang Clan’s 1992 inception, it seems hardly an English noun has escaped the stamp of its distinctive prefix: Wu-Wear, Wu-Elements, Wu-Revolution, Wu-Massacre, Wu-International, etc. And the list keeps growing.
Today, the folks at Wu-International celebrated another milestone, releasing an interview with “legendary” Dutch producer, Moongod Allah, the first international musical affiliate of Wu’s ever-growing brand. It’s the first in a series of five interviews with members of Wu-Elements, the production team that works on material by Wu-Tang Clan members and their associates. The rather histrionic press release reads: “What ever happened to Moongod Allah…? Has he stopped making music? Where is he now and why is he so silent??” A few answers: he works at The Rockacademie, developing a bachelor’s degree in MCing (“As a RZA disciple this was a golden opportunity,” he says), he’s completed at least 46(!) albums with Cilvaringz, along with 2,000 of his own songs and unreleased beats (and if you want to know anything else, you can e-mail him at info@doktermoon.com).
Other hip hop artists might have their clothing lines and their vodkas, but no other group or artist (except maybe the Insane Clown Posse) has spread its brand as far or demonstrated as much staying power as the Wu. Its core members are still active: Tuesday saw the release of Wu-Massacre, the much-hyped album by Method Man, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon (with one track produced by RZA), which has so far received generally favorable reviews, and their first non-musical venture, Wu-Wear, is still going strong. Along the way, there have been Wu Tang books, video games, and comic books, and craziest of all, registration ended yesterday for Wu-Competition, a nationwide search for the “next 9 Generals in Wu-Tang,” which promises a major recording deal, music videos, international tours, and “most importantly, the right to bear the Wu-Tang ‘W.’”
And really, the “W” is all that matters. The group’s not afraid of trying to expand their brand with diverse and uncharted strategies, even if they sometimes mean fan-submitted content (and all the dubious grammar that comes with it). All that matters is the spread of their image and the enthusiasm that propels it. Because if getting compared to the cast a successful NBC sitcom in a brief but powerful Internet phenomenon is any measure of relevance, they’re still doing something right.
Lydia Fong is New York-based writer and editor. She is the former music editor of Evil Monito Magazine; her work has also appeared in Shape, Psychology Today and SEED. When not writing or blogging, she can be found wishfully attempting to learn new songs from Drum Techniques of Led Zeppelin.
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