Yahoo Lifestyle Legendary Music Group Hints at Breakup After Final Tour
They were famous for an album and a Drake track that said they were “forever,” but apparently that’s no longer the case. Legendary hip-hop crew Wu-Tang Clan has announced its final tour, billed as Wu-Tang Forever: The Final Chamber.
The trek, which will take the group to 26 cities, kicks off June 6 in Baltimore and wraps up July 18 in Philadelphia.
“This is a special moment for me and all my Wu brothers to run around the globe together one more time and spread the Wu swag, music, and culture,” leader RZA said in a statement. “Most importantly to touch our fans and those who have supported us throughout the years. On this tour we’re playing songs we’ve never played before to our audience and me and our production team have designed a Wu-Tang show unlike anything you’ve ever seen.”
Wu-Tang has a history that dates back to 1992. A year later, the group released its debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), in which the group combined its unique take on hip-hop with their love of kung fu films and comic books.
The group’s second album, 1997’s Wu-Tang Forever, debuted on top of the Billboard 200 and garnered rave reviews, cementing its position as one of the most beloved and critically acclaimed hip-hop groups.
Along with the success, Wu-Tang has also experienced tragedy. Founding member Ol’ Dirty Bastard had numerous brushes with the law and served two years behind bars for possession of cocaine and wearing body armor following a felony conviction. On Nov. 13, 2004, he collapsed at the group’s New York recording studio and died later that night.
Following ODB’s death, Wu-Tang reunited in 2007 for the album 8 Diagrams and released follow-up albums in 2014 and 2015. It’s 2015 album, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, however, was not widely distributed. The group claimed only one copy was in existence making it a collector’s item. It was purchased for $2 million by "pharma bro" Martin Shkreli, but later seized and sold by the U.S. government to help repay debts from his fraud schemes.
Several of its members--including RZA, GZA, Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, U-God, and Masta Killa—have released solo albums. RZA and Method Man have also appeared in films, and the group’s story was dramatized in the 2019 Hulu miniseries Wu-Tang: An American Saga.
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