TF Archives

Wu-Tang Winter! - Wu-Tang Clan to Release Comeback Album in (Australian) Winter

Author: Newzfusion
Tuesday, January 30, 2007

The star-studded rap collective, The Wu-Tang Clan, featuring Rza, Gza, Method Man, Raekwon The Chef, Ghostface Killa, Inspektah Deck, Masta Killa and U-God are taking time off from their individual projects to release the groups fifth album and their first new material since 'Iron Flag' in 2001.

Band member RZA has confirmed that the band will release a new LP entitled '8 Diagram' in the US later this year. '8 Diagrams' is appropriately named after a kung-fu flick and will feature each of the original members minus the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. During their six-year hiatus, all nine members of the New York rap collective have released solo albums. The groups most infamous member, ODB (born Russell Tyrone Jones), died in 2004 from an accidental overdose while recording his third solo project.

The Wu-Tang Clan will put the album out on Steve Rifkind's latest label, SRC, and will receive distribution through Universal Records. SRC founder Steve Rifkind has a long association with Wu-Tang dating back to its seminal 1993 debut, 'Enter the 36 Chambers', released on his Loud Records label. Rifkind is also credited for breaking rap acts like Mobb Deep, Big Pun and Xzibit, among others. His current SRC roster includes Akon, Remy Ma and Pharoahe Monch.

Rza told AllHipHop.com, "It's like when we first started with Steve. We put out real hip-hop at a time when it was turning into pop or R&B. We brought the focus back to the music in its rawest form, without studio polish or radio hooks." RZA also revealed his thoughts on the current state of hip-hop, commenting, "People want something that gives them an adrenaline rush. We're here to supply that fix. How could hip-hop be dead if Wu Tang is forever- We're here to revive the spirit and the economics and bring in a wave of energy that has lately dissipated."

'8 Diagrams' will feature a previously unreleased performance by Ol' Dirty Bastard and a tribute to the rapper from his former bandmates titled 'Life Changes'. It will mark the first time the group has reassembled in the studio since Ol’ Dirty’s death in 2004.
 
RZA has been the driving force behind the reunion, actively pushing the process forward for a number of years. Interviewed by Billboard.com in 2005 he went on record saying,"I know everybody has a lifestyle they have to maintain,Let's just say a Wu-Tang Clan album is worth a couple million dollars. Once 10 guys get on it, it's still worth a couple hundred grand. Some guys' lifestyles require them to make five or six hundred thousand dollars a year regardless. Maybe doing Wu-Tang will make you that much money, but doing it by yourself could you make you a million, because there aren't so many hands involved. But for the legacy, I think we should be willing to make that sacrifice and get it cracking."

The group last reunited to play the 2004 Rock the Bells festival in California (released as the CD/DVD "Disciples of the 36 Chambers") and staged a North American tour last year.

If you need your Wu-Tang fix prior to the upcoming release, Nature Sounds will on Feb. 6 release the collection 'Wu-Tang Clan & Friends - Unreleased'. The 20-track set rounds up rare material produced by the group's DJ, Allah Mathematics, including remixes of "Wu Banga" and "Da W'."

Additionally,before the cur

Tags