At
the Source Hip-Hop Music Awards, the
Wu-Tang Clan — minus an incarcerated Ol’
Dirty Bastard and a sidelined Cappadonna, who missed a
flight — showed up in full force, squelching any
talk of friction in the rap family.
"It’s
the Wu," Ghostface Killah said, pointing to the golden
"avenging eagle" that adorned his giant Wonder
Woman-style bracelet. He said the bird’s wings, which
are shaped in a "W," represent unity in the
Wu-Tang Clan.
"Love,
baby," Raekwon said. "Love is the elevation
of understanding. We’re getting older, we’re growing as
a family. We’re regular, we’re sincere, we have hearts.
That’s what keeps us together — the fact that we
know we put something together that struck the world."
"We’re
gonna keep popping it off until the day cats don’t have
no more air in their lungs," RZA said.
Although they’re
not breaking up, all of them said they’re putting together
individual projects. Method
Man, who’ll be featured heavily with Redman on the soundtrack
to their "How High" comedy in December, said
he’s taking his time on a third solo album.
"I’m
not really working but I’m working," he tried to
explain. "When I get the feeling, I go in. It’s an
in-and-out thing."
While LPs
by U-God, Inspectah Deck, Masta Killa, and GZA are also
coming way down the line, RZA, using his alter ego Bobby
Digital, will drop Digital Bullet on Tuesday. Raekwon
and Ghostface have been working together on their respective
albums, R.A.G.U. (February 5) and Bulletproof Wallets
(November 13). As
they did with Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx and Ghostface’s
Ironman albums, both artists will perform on the bulk
of each other’s tracks.
"We’re
gonna give the people what they want," Raekwon said.
"Check for a lot of stories, a lot of loops, raw
rhymes. We’re gonna take it there.
"R.A.G.U.
— I just looked in the refrigerator one day and peeped
it," he continued. "When you break down Ragu,
its like ‘Rae And Ghost Uniting.’ We ain’t been around
in awhile. We the source of a lot of things that jumped
off. A lot of that jewelry that y’all be calling out,
we’re the source of all that."
"Bulletproof
Wallets, that [title] came to me," Ghost said. "I
was in a zone one day. That was like a year ago. It sounded
tough, so I just wanted to stick with that. We’re slang
artists — that’s how we paint our pictures."
Ghost’s musical
Picasso impression can be heard on the single "Never
Be the Same," which features rhymes about being driven
to tears by a cheating mate. The smooth, midtempo track
is bolstered by Rae and Carl Thomas, who sings the hook.
Ghost’s "Good Times" is also circulating around;
it samples the theme song to the cut’s TV show namesake.
Method Man
said it’s not clear when the Clan will unite on wax for
their fourth album. "We gotta take our time with
it because it’s not a game," he said. "We know
people, if they don’t listen to anybody else out there,
they listen to Wu-Tang and what we’re saying. That’s why
it takes so long."
And although
it may be awhile before we see ODB again, RZA said the
Clan’s wildest member is staying strong.
"The
god ‘Ol Dirty is going through his trial and tribulations,"
RZA said of his incarcerated cousin. "We’re all in
his corner. The situation is definitely a no-good situation,
but the god is holding up his head, he’s clearing up a
lot, so it’s gonna be all good."
