Founding In 1981, cousins Robert Diggs, Gary Grice, and Russell Jones formed a group named Force of the Imperial Masters, later known as the All in Together Now Crew. Each member went under an alias: Diggs as Prince Rakeem or The Scientist, Grice as The Genius, and Jones as The Specialist. The group never signed to a major label, but caught the attention of the New York City rap scene and was recognized by rapper
Biz Markie. By 1991, The Genius and Prince Rakeem were signed to separate record labels. The Genius released
Words from the Genius (1991) on
Cold Chillin' Records and Prince Rakeem released
Ooh I Love You Rakeem (1991) on
Tommy Boy Records. The Specialist also took on a new name and became known as Ol' Dirty Bastard. RZA began collaborating with Dennis Coles, later known as Ghostface Killah, another rapper from the
Stapleton Houses in
Staten Island. The duo decided to create a hip-hop group whose ethos would be a blend of "
Eastern philosophy picked up from
kung fu movies,
Five-Percent Nation teachings picked up on the New York streets, and comic books". 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". The album received critical acclaim, and to date is regarded as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time. The success of their debut album established the group as a creative and influential force in the 1990s, allowing individual members to negotiate solo contracts.
Ol' Dirty Bastard's debut album,
Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version, was released in March 1995, and is considered a hip hop classic. The album is also credited with reviving the
mafioso rap subgenre. GZA's debut album,
Liquid Swords, was released in November 1995.
Liquid Swords features guest appearances from every Wu-Tang Clan member, and is linked together by excerpts from the 1980 movie
Shogun Assassin. Ghostface Killah released his first solo album,
Ironman, in October 1996.
Ironman was critically acclaimed and is widely considered to be one of the best of Wu-Tang solo albums.
1997–2000: Wu-Tang Forever, diversification and second string of solo albums Wu-Tang Clan re-assembled and released their second studio album,
Wu-Tang Forever, in June 1997; it debuted at number one on the
Billboard 200. The album's lead single, "
Triumph", is over five minutes long, features nine verses (one from each member plus Cappadonna and excluding Ol' Dirty Bastard who appeared on the intro and bridge), and no hook or a repeated phrase. The album was produced by RZA and 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.
Wu-Tang Forever was nominated for
Best Rap Album at the
1998 Grammy Awards, losing to
Puff Daddy; Ol' Dirty Bastard infamously protested the loss by interrupting
Shawn Colvin's acceptance speech for
Song of the Year.
Killah Priest, a close associate of the group, released
Heavy Mental in March 1998. That same month, Cappadonna released his debut album,
The Pillage. Affiliated groups
Sunz of Man and
Killarmy also released well-received albums, followed by
Wu-Tang Killa Bees: The Swarm—a compilation album released in 1998, 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, were also released. The second round of solo albums from Wu-Tang Clan members included second albums 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's
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. The frequent release of Wu-Tang Clan content between 1997 and 2000 was considered by some critics to have resulted in an oversaturation that was responsible for the group's decline in popularity.
2000–01: The W and Iron Flag The group reconvened again for their third album,
The W. Despite his incarceration in California for violating the terms of his
probation, Ol' Dirty Bastard was on the song "Conditioner", featuring
Snoop Dogg. Ol' Dirty Bastard's vocals were recorded via prison telephones.
The W was released in November 2000, and was mostly well received by critics, and included the single "
Gravel Pit". The album reached
platinum status. In 2001, Wu-Tang Clan released their fourth album,
Iron Flag. While originally featured on the cover of
Iron Flag, Cappadonna was airbrushed out of the artwork and largely 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 continued collaborating and touring with the group in the following years.
2004: Issues and resurgence In early 2004, U-God allegedly left the group. 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. U-God formed a 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. In 2004, the group 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 under the name
Disciples of the 36 Chambers: Chapter 1. On October 26, 2004, the group released a greatest hits album, ''
Legend of the Wu-Tang: Wu-Tang Clan's Greatest Hits''.
Death of Ol' Dirty Bastard Ol' Dirty Bastard's career was tumultuous. His run-ins with the law were well publicized—he was arrested several times for offenses including assault,
shoplifting, wearing
body armor after being convicted of a
felony, and possession of
cocaine, and he missed multiple court dates. In April 2001, he was sentenced to two to four years in prison. Once released from prison, he signed a million-dollar contract with
Roc-A-Fella Records. On November 13, 2004, Ol' Dirty Bastard collapsed at Wu-Tang's recording studio in New York City, and was pronounced dead later that night. Wu-Tang Clan paid him homage a number of times: 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, and during a concert at the Hammerstein Ballroom the Clan brought his mother out on stage for a sing-along to "Shimmy Shimmy Ya".
2005–10: Solo albums and 8 Diagrams In 2005, RZA released a book titled
The Wu-Tang Manual. In the same year, U-God's second album,
Mr. Xcitement and a collaboration between GZA and producer
DJ Muggs, entitled
Grandmasters were also released. On March 28, 2006, Ghostface Killah released
Fishscale, to much critical acclaim and some commercial success. The entire group, including Cappadonna and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard, appeared on the track "9 Milli Bros". The same year, Ghostface Killah released
More Fish. On June 25, 2006, Inspectah Deck released an album entitled
The Resident Patient. Also released in 2006 were
Masta Killa's second studio album,
Made in Brooklyn, and
Method Man's
4:21... the Day After. Ghostface Killah released his seventh full-length album,
The Big Doe Rehab, in December 2007. In 2007, Wu-Tang Clan released their fifth album,
8 Diagrams, on Steve Rifkind's new label
SRC Records. This album marked the inclusion of Cappadonna as an official member of the group. 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, as well as giving
8 Diagrams the same release date as
The Big Doe Rehab, for which RZA rescheduled a release date one week later. The outcome of
8 Diagrams received mixed views from both fans and critics, and is regarded as being RZA's most experimental work to date. Raekwon and Ghostface Killah were unhappy with the album, and proposed recording a group album titled
Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tan without RZA production. That album would eventually become Raekwon's fifth solo album
Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang. In 2008, RZA released
Digi Snacks, under the name Bobby Digital. The album included lesser-known
Wu-Tang Clan affiliates such as Freemurder, Killa Sin, Black Knights, and others. In the same year, GZA released the album
Pro Tools. In September 2008, RZA announced that he had signed 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 would be available online beginning September 23. RZA said: "The time is right to bring some older Wu material to the masses digitally. 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". In 2009, U-God released his third solo album,
Dopium, which features guest appearances from several Wu-Tang Clan members, and affiliates, among others, and was met with mostly lukewarm reviews.
Wu-Tang Chamber Music was released in the same year, a side project executively produced by RZA, featuring live instrumentation from a Brooklyn soul band The Revelations. The album features appearances from five Wu-Tang Clan members, along with
AZ,
Kool G Rap,
Cormega,
Havoc,
Sean Price, and
M.O.P. Its first single, "Harbor Masters" featured Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, and AZ. RZA spoke about the album to Billboard.com: "I think the
Chamber Music title is very fitting. This music is totally in the chamber, or in the mind-frame of Wu-Tang like in the [
Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)] days. But it's not a Wu-Tang album. The whole Clan's not on this album. But it couldn't be in any other category but Wu-Tang". Raekwon's
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II was released in September 2009, 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 was initially intended to be released on Dr. Dre's
Aftermath Records. 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 Killah released
Ghostdini: Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City. Talk of the album
Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang re-surfaced in July 2009; originally planned as a Wu-Tang album without RZA's input. The project evolved to include RZA only vocally, with no contribution to production. Raekwon stated "[It'll] be alter egos challenging each other, really allowing RZA to fall back on the production and allowing us to give him a flashback memory to the things we know we need from the abbot [RZA]. We want him to be involved [with the album as an MC], but the concept was for him not to be involved production-wise". Soon after, Ghostface Killah cemented the details: the record, featuring other Wu-Tang Clan members, was to 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, Ghostface Killah estimated the release date of the album to be the end of 2009 or January 2010. It was then 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 had been confirmed by Raekwon that
Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang would in fact be his next solo album and that
Wu-Massacre is a separate album, while the rapper stated that he himself had petitioned to have
Wu-Massacres release date postponed in order to yield more studio time. On February 25, 2011,
Wu Tang Live At The Palladium NYC was released through the group's 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.
2011–present: A Better Tomorrow, and Once Upon a Time in Shaolin A Better Tomorrow On June 29, 2011, Raekwon announced that the group were working on a new studio album, still in early stages. Ghostface Killah later said that the album would be released in May 2012. Members went back and forth on the issue. While GZA hinted that a new album was unlikely, the RZA said a new Wu-Tang Clan album might happen after all, on the occasion of the group's 20th anniversary, though Raekwon doubted it. On January 9, 2013, work on the sixth Wu-Tang Clan album was announced via the group's official Facebook page. In early March 2013 Method Man announced that the Clan was working on a sixth studio album and it would be released during 2013 in celebration of their 20-year anniversary since
36 Chambers. Cappadonna has said the album is in recording process taking place in New York, Los Angeles and the Wu mansion in New Jersey. RZA has also said he had talked to
Adrian Younge about working on a song for the album. On April 11, 2013, it was announced via a press release that their upcoming sixth studio album would be titled,
A Better Tomorrow and was set to be released in July 2013. During late April 2013, the Clan performed at the 2013
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. On May 17, an unreleased Wu-Tang song titled "Execution in Autumn" was released for purchase through RZA's record label
Soul Temple Records. They performed at the 2013
HOT 97 Summer Jam at
MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, twenty years after they performed at the first annual Summer Jam concert. On June 5, 2013, the first promotional single "Family Reunion" featuring Masta Killah, Method Man, Ghostface Killah and RZA was released via the Soul Temple Records website. In June 2013 RZA said so far every member of the Clan except Raekwon and GZA had put in work on the
A Better Tomorrow album and that recording was being done at the Wu-Mansion, and the Wu-Mansion West. Unreleased verses from Ol' Dirty Bastard will also be featured on the album. He also stated he was hoping to release the album in November 2013. In July 2013 Cappadonna indicated the album was half way finished. Once November 2013 arrived, RZA gave an update on the album, saying that not every member had been significantly working on the album. He gave credit to Method Man, Cappadonna, U-God and Masta Killa for working hard on the album, while saying he needed more effort from Ghostface, Raekwon and GZA. Shortly after Method Man stated that Raekwon had not worked on the album at all, and Ghostface had only recorded two songs for the album so far. In late November, RZA suggested that the album was approximately six weeks from completion. In January 2014, the group posted a message on their Facebook page, saying: "The new Wu album 'A Better Tomorrow' coming soon." After several disputes between Raekwon and RZA about the direction of the group and album, they reconciled, with the latter agreeing to record verses for
A Better Tomorrow. On October 3, 2014, it was announced that the album will arrive December 2, 2014, courtesy of a new deal with
Warner Bros. Records. The album was released late 2014.
Once Upon a Time in Shaolin in 2015 In March 2014 it was reported that in addition to work on
A Better Tomorrow, a Wu-Tang Clan compilation album entitled
The Wu – Once Upon A Time In Shaolin had been recorded, with Wu-Tang-affiliated producer
Cilvaringz as the primary producer instead of RZA. The album, a double album consisting of 31 tracks, was not given a conventional commercial release and only one copy has been produced; the copy toured in museums, art galleries and music festivals before being sold at a high price to a single individual. In August 2014, a reporter from
Forbes traveled to
Marrakesh to meet Cilvaringz and hear a 51-second snippet of a song from the album, which featured
Cher. The snippet was subsequently put on their website. The album is encased in a handcrafted silver-and-nickel box made by British-Moroccan artist Yahya and features never-before-heard music recorded over years. RZA stated he has been receiving multiple million dollar offers for the album. Despite the album's exclusivity it made an appearance in electronic dance music producer
Skrillex's music video for his song "Fuck That" even though he did not purchase the project. The album was sold through Paddle8, an online auction house, for $2 million to
Martin Shkreli. When the
FBI arrested Martin Shkreli on December 17, 2015, they did not seize the Wu-Tang Clan album. Following the victory of
Republican candidate
Donald Trump in the
2016 U.S. presidential election, Shkreli broadcast excerpts from the album on streaming platforms
Periscope and
Hitbox.tv. In July 2021, it was announced that the album had been again sold by the US government for an undisclosed amount (later revealed as $4 million USD), following Shkreli handing it over to the FBI in 2018 after being convicted of defrauding investors. The new owner of the album is the PleasrDAO group.
The Saga Continues On August 25, 2017, Wu-Tang Clan released the song, "People Say", which featured Redman. RZA announced that the song would be part of an upcoming album, titled
The Saga Continues. The album was released on October 13 under the name "Wu-Tang", as U-God was absent from it. The Saga Continues was primarily produced by
Mathematics, and debuted at number 15 on the Billboard 200.
Las Vegas residency and Black Samson, the Bastard Swordsman In December 2023, it was announced that Wu-Tang Clan would host "Wu-Tang Clan: The Saga Continues… The Las Vegas Residency" at
The Theater at Virgin Hotels in
Paradise, Nevada; in the process, they became the first hip-hop act to ever receive an
artist residency. The collective started performing at the residency in February 2024. On February 6, 2025, Wu-Tang Clan announced that they would release a new joint project with producer and tour DJ Mathematics, titled
Black Samson, the Bastard Swordsman, on April 12 of the same year, in coincidence with
Record Store Day. The distribution of the album, which was inspired by
Blaxploitation movies would be initially limited to 5,000
2xLP copies sold at participating Record Store Day retailers. The final concert was held in
Philadelphia on July 18, 2025. == Members ==