The Wu-Tang Clan is a pioneering hardcore hip hop group, originally from Staten Island, New York, USA.

The name of the group itself originates from the Wudang (or Wu-Tang) Mountains in the Hubei province of China, which are a traditional center of Chinese martial arts ; RZA and Ol’ Dirty Bastard adopted the name for the group after seeing the kung-fu film Shaolin and Wu-Tang, which features an invincible collective of mercenary warriors known as the Wu-Tang (many dialogue excerpts from the film were used on their debut album). The group have also developed various backronyms for the name (as hip hop pioneers like KRS One and Big Daddy Kane did with their names), including "Witty Unpredictable Talent And Natural Game", "Wisdom, Universe, Truth, Allah, Nation, and God" and "We Usually Take All Niggaz Garments". Wu-Tang was designed to become an empire, to take over the hip hop community through saturation of like minded artists. The group is generally well-known for thumping, surreal beats and aggressive lyrics loaded with metaphor, references to life in New York, and allusions to Chinese folklore and martial arts film.

The Wu-Tang Clan first became known to hip hop fans, and to major record labels, in 1993 following the release of the independent single Protect Ya Neck, which immediately gave the group a sizeable underground following. 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 and the debut album Enter the Wu-Tang : 36 Chambers in late 1993 was popular and critically-acclaimed, though it took some time to gain momentum.

Enter the Wu-Tang : 36 Chambers did indeed establish the group as a creative and influential rap group in the early nineties, allowing GZA, RZA, Raekwon, Method Man and Ol’ Dirty Bastard to negotiate solo contracts.

With solo careers established, the Wu-Tang Clan came back together to release the enormous double album Wu-Tang Forever in June 1997. It was eagerly anticipated and entered the charts at number one after selling 600,000 in its first week ; no mean feat for an album that made very little attempt to have wide commercial appeal, and whose lead single Triumph was a five minutes plus nine-MC "posse cut" with no chorus. The sound of the album mostly built upon the sounds of the previous three solo albums, with RZA increasing his use of keyboards and string samples, as well as for the first time assigning much of the album’s production to his proteges True Master and 4th Disciple (known as the "Wu-Elements"). The group members also appeared much more ambitious lyrically than on 36 Chambers, with many verses on the album being dense stream-of-consciousness narratives heavily influenced by the teachings of the Five Percent Nation.

However, the live tour supporting the album was cancelled halfway through amid rumors of internal disputes. Wu-Tang Forever also marked the end of RZA’s "five year plan" ; at the group’s inception, he promised the group if he had total control of the Wu-Tang empire, it would conquer the hip hop world within five years. After Forever’s success, RZA ceased to oversee all aspects of Wu-Tang product as he had previously, delegating much of his existing role to associates such as Oli "Power" Grant and his brother Mitchell Diggs. This move was designed to enable the Wu-Tang empire to expand further and further into the fabric of the hip hop industry, and in accordance with this an extremely large amount of Wu-Tang music was to be released over the next two years.

Immediately post-Forever, the focus of Wu-Tang was on promoting emerging affiliate artists rather than the members itself. The group’s close associate Cappadonna, who first appeared on Raekwon’s debut and was a large presence on both Ironman and Wu-Tang Forever, followed the group project with March 1998’s The Pillage, and soon after Killah Priest (like Cappadonna a close associate of the Clan, though not an official member) released Heavy Mental to great critical acclaim. Affiliate groups Sunz Of Man (of which Killah Priest was a member) and Killarmy (which included RZA’s younger brother) also released albums while a compilation album, Wu-Tang Killa Bees : The Swarm, was also released showcasing these and more Wu-affiliated artists as well as including new solo tracks from the group members themselves.

Occasional solo albums would still excite the hip hop world and Method Man and ODB remained popular, but their sound was becoming heavily imitated by others, and they were no longer superstars of hip hop. Fans also bemoaned the lack of RZA input on the post-Forever 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.

In 2000 the group reconvened to make a new album : minus Ol’ Dirty Bastard who was incarcerated in California for violating the terms of his probation. The group’s latest album (as a group) was 2001 Iron Flag, made without the participation of the still-incarcerated Ol’ Dirty Bastard, and which received mixed but mostly positive reviews.

Wu-Tang Clan Discography :

Wu-Tang Clan Albums :

2007 : Wu-Tang Clan "8 Diagrams"
2004 : Wu-Tang "Legend of the Wu-Tang Clan : Greatest Hits"
2004 : Wu-Tang Clan "Disciples of the 36 Chambers"
2001 : Wu-Tang Clan "Iron Flag"
2000 : Wu-Tang Clan "The W"
1999 : Wu-Tang Clan "Wu-Chronicles"
1998 : Wu-Tang Clan "The Swarm Vol 1"
1997 : Wu-Tang Clan "Wu-Tang Forever"
1993 : Wu-Tang Clan "Enter the Wu-Tang(36 Chambers)"

Official Wu-Tang Clan Site : www.wutangcorp.com

Wu-Tang clan wallpaper :	Wu-Tang clan logo :
Wu tang clan wallpaper	wu-tang logo

Source : Wikipedia
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