Five years after
the release of their last album, Iron Flag, Wu-Tang Clan has reunited for
their long awaited follow-up by signing a new record deal with the man credited
for bringing them to the masses.Steve
Rifkind, CEO of SRC Records, announced the acquisition of the Staten Island collective
this week in a video on his blog, thelabel.blog.com.Although
a new album had long been discussed, things didn’t get rolling until Wu-Tang
was recognized at this year’s VH1 Hip-Hop Honors, according to Rifkind, who
consistently stayed in touch with group member and lead producer RZA."Not
only did I want, as a fan, want one more Wu-Tang record, but RZA also wanted one
more Wu-Tang record," the mogul revealed to AllHipHop.com. "And then
when we started discussing it a few months ago, the timing of it was just really
perfect."We
always talked about it, but the timing was never really right," Rifkind continued,
citing recently released "great albums" from Ghostface Killah (Fishscale,
More Fish) and Method Man (4:21… The Day After) as signs of the
Clan’s imminent return to form.While
plans are solidified for one Wu-Tang album, Rifkind remained optimistic about
future group releases. "We’re
going to start with this one album and then let’s see where it all goes,"
Rifkind explained. "Everybody else has all their other careers. People are
acting now. People are owning their own businesses. But it’s definitely one
record."Rifkind
predicted that work will begin on the new album at the beginning of 2007 with
a release date for later in the year. A
major tour will also follow, he added. As
for Wu-Tang’s mindstate going into the project, Rifkind has good news for
faithful fans. "The
mind state is the 36," he shared, alluding to the title of the group’s classic
1993 debut Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). "That’s
what we’re bringing it back to," Rifkind said. "Listen to Ghost’s
album, how amazing it is. Listen to Meth’s album. Listen to what Rae’s
spitting now. It’s hot."Wu-Tang
is among the artists put on the public radar by Rifkind, who helped break Mobb
Deep, Big Pun, Xzibit, Tha Alkaholiks, Lil’ Flip, dead prez and others. With
SRC, the executive is ushering in a new line up of established artists such as
Remy Ma, David Banner, Pharoahe Monch and Akon, who is enjoying the success of
his latest album Konvicted. The
release has currently sold more than 2 million copies worldwide. "We
ended the year off strong, extremely strong," said Rifkind. "When you
focus on breaking acts, which we specialize in doing, that’s what we’re going
to do. We’re expecting an incredible year from Remy next year, an incredible
year from Banner. More carryover of Akon. We have this kid Topic out on the West
Coast that’s incredible. Young Cash out of Tallahassee, Fla. I mean we’re
really, really excited. Pharoahe Monch. We’re extremely excited of the releases
we have next year." Rifkind
founded Loud Records in 1992 and released the Wu-Tang Clan’s breakthrough album,
Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). The
group also crafted a groundbreaking deal under Rifkind’s watch, which allowed
each member to record seperate solo albums on other labels. The
result was a slew of classic albums from Wu-Tang Clan members Method Man, RZA,
GZA, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Inspectah Deck, U-God and Masta
Killah.