Biography
Emerging in 1993, the Staten Island, New York-based Wu-Tang Clan proved to be the most revolutionary rap group of the mid-'90s -- and only partially because of their music. Turning the standard concept of a hip-hop crew inside out, the Wu-Tang Clan were assembled as a loose congregation of nine MCs. Instead of releasing one album after another, the Clan were designed to overtake the record industry in as profitable a fashion as possible -- the idea was to establish the Wu-Tang as a force with their debut album and then spin off into as many side projects as possible. In the process, members like RZA, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, and Redman would become individual stars. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine