Unfortunately, the Clan only managed to sell just under 69k in their first week, which landed them at the #25 spot. Of course, the days of huge album sales are over for pretty much everybody, but the telling number is that low rank: in the past, when a Wu album dropped, it was going to land at the top of the chart, no questions asked. The somewhat disappointing numbers can be attached to several things, from all the public infighting perpetrated by Rae & Ghost that I think turned a lot of people off--either from listening in the first place or otherwise giving the record a fair enough shot when it landed from out of left field. Also, where is the video? Supposedly a dual vid for The Heart Gently Weeps & Take it Back was about to be filmed several weeks ago--but then again it seems so unlikely that the RZA could manage to get Rae, Ghost, & everyone else involved to show up for a video shoot in the first place, who knows if it even happened. But recently Inspectah Deck's comments seem to show that the Clan is swaying away from the RZA & that the (RZAless) Shaolin vs Wu-Tang project might actually materialize after all [even though both Inspectah Deck & the GZA have very recently discussed plans for fully-RZA-produced solo projects]. Add to this growing list the fact that the Wu tour just kicked off in Chicago a few days back with everyone in attendance except for the Abbot, & that according to people at those first shows, not a single 8 Diagrams track was performed.
Originally I had thought the first week's sales figures might make a natural stopping point for this blog project, but obviously there is still more & more relevant information to chronicle even after the release of the 8 Diagrams.
The Village Voice keeps bringing the heat in terms of the recent assortment of Ghost/RZA/Wu shit that's sprung up in the leadup to 8 Diagrams & Big Doe Rehab. This time Rob Harvilla reports from a recent chat with the Ghost. I think readers & fans understand what Ghostface is trying to get at here--certainly those turned off by the sound of the new album--but Harvilla is right to point out the potential hypocrisy of Ironman's stances. It's not that I consider RZA infallible or even really innocent of never being shady--but then we get into talking about Divine & a bunch of business things nobody really knows about. Regardless, Harvilla's article takes the standard line of commencing with the just-arrived Big Doe Rehab before leading into the reason everyone really wants to talk to Ghost all of a sudden: his status with the Wu-Tang Clan. Earlier in the article Ghost discusses how he identified with Jay-Z's Kingdom Come album, how Jay attempted a more mature record, only to be lambasted by the populace. Ghost said, "The people want you to stay a certain way for the rest of your life...People don't want change, man. But you're becoming a grown man. You can't be 45 years old talking about how many bricks, how many kilos you turned over, how many you sold, at 45. People have to start talkin' grown-man shit. I respected Jay-Z on that shit, you know what I mean?" The excerpt below picks up with a recap of the history of the rift between Ghost & RZA:
First came a public spat over scheduling—briefly, both records were set to come out the same day until Ghost balked and Wu mastermind RZA politely (and publicly, and somewhat grumpily) agreed to push Diagrams back a week. But in addition to loudly complaining of financial mismanagement, Ghostface is also joining Raekwon (on record, at least, his closest Wu ally) in attacking Diagrams itself.
"RZA is fumbling the ball," Ghost says. "You know what I mean? Fumblin' the ball. He wanna do what he do, when we trying to tell him, like, 'Yo, man, do this or do that.' His music wasn't sounding like how it was when we first came in. And it's hurting us. People want that old Wu-Tang shit, but you tryin' to make new shit—tryin' to play live instruments, instead of just goin' to the crates and just do what you do best. You still a master at what you do, but right now you ain't lookin' like that master, 'cause you tryin' to do other stuff. We were just upset with the way things was comin' out."
To be fair, Diagrams is a dense, abstract, deliberately nauseating, deeply disturbing piece of work—you'd think extensively biting "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" would make a song more accessible, not dramatically less—unlikely to halt the Wu's slide in the public consciousness, losing ground to fresher entities (Southern rap, primarily), a calamity that Ghostface's recent success has valiantly battled against. But it's unfair that the main thing we know about this record, a week before its official release, is that two of its biggest rappers seem to hate it. And even if after five listens you find it repulsive, that's still five hours or so of deep, bewildered fascination. Diagrams deserves better than I fear it's going to get.
And furthermore, isn't RZA just trying to do what Jay-Z tried to do, what Ghostface says you must do: evolve? Grow and develop and experiment, even at the risk of pissing off your fans? "We just need to go back to what we been doin'," Ghostface insists. "If we not gonna go back to what the people—if you tryin' to get somethin' new, then do it right . . . Not just a beat with a bunch of rhymes goin' different types of ways, and the beat's not even all that, but you want everyone to sing on it."
Diagrams could undoubtedly benefit from some warmth, some familiarity, some semblance of sanity. But a drop or two of its wide-eyed, half-crazed eccentricity wouldn't have killed The Big Doe Rehab, either. As the tiff gets uglier and more public, interviewers lately have inundated Ghostface with Wu questions, to his understandable frustration: "I don't care if you ask me about it, but let's not just sit there and go for 40 minutes on it," he says. But a reconciliation is crucial here: It could reinvigorate what remains one of East Coast rap's most beloved franchises, and boost to new heights Ghostface, its star attraction, highly evolved relative to his competition but battling a whiff of staleness within his own outstanding catalog. But is it possible to make peace? "I'm not sure," Ghost says. "I can't tell you that, because it's serious with Wu-Tang Clan right now. It's serious. So I don't know." What would have to happen for everyone to reconcile? "I can't even tell you. I can't even tell you. I can't even tell you."
* * *
INS, U-God, Ghostface Killah
A much needed change of pace is now available in video form from KotoriMag.com. We've seen pieces of this long video interview before (specifically where RZA, sitting in a red booth, discusses The Heart Gently Weeps) but this more substantial cut is definitely worth your time. Unfortunately, only three members end up in front of the camera, but the good news is that two of these, U-God & Inspectah Deck, are fresh faces to the 8 Diagrams hype game. After 12 rounds of Ghost said this, RZA said that, hearing an extended, wholly positive description of the album along with some new faces is quite refreshing.
Voila more Ghostspeak, this follow up clip to a previous Ghost interview from the other day, specifically addressing his absence on the Life Changes track. Ironman insists the true fault lies with the RZA--didn't see that one coming--saying that the beat was never delivered to him. One could go on & on trying to hash out what all this means or who is telling the truth & who is not--I lack the energy to keep breaking it down. & in the end it has become too painful as the back & forth has sped up instead of dissipating. One thing that comes to mind is that the way Ghost goes on & on about how something wasn't delivered to him & all of the other shitty little reasons why he isn't on the song, it makes you wonder why he never asked about the track, as he'd known about it for two years & after all they were playing it at several shows along the Rock the Bells tour. Oh yeah, Ghost didn't show for most of those dates...
The initial intention of this blog project was to celebrate the arrival of the album, not chronicle the demise of the Clan. Come on guys, can you stop going to the media as your middle-persons, & call each other!
Pyro Radio recently reported a new interview between the RZA & SK Vibemakers. The entire thing can be downloaded in mp3 format here, though the file is huge. As usual I will excerpt the pertinent pieces of information below.
S: So why now with this album because many of us thought that there would never be another Wu Tang album?
R: First of all it was on me really I felt like it should be done, I felt like I needed to come back and do something about the situation, I`m doing well with things, with films, scores and life is looking better for me I ain’t gonna front but I walked away from Hip Hop but I walked away without closing the book and with Wu Tang it was the same, even if guys put there solo albums out every year, life Ghostface puts an album out, Method Man but you still don`t get that collaborative spirit and I knew I had to come back and do it one more time for the people because we ain’t making a lot of money from this, there`s money there don`t get me twisted but it`s not like the sort of money with what I`m doing already but this a sacrifice, a worthwhile sacrifice because I`m doing it for my crew and for the fans that want another dose of this
S: A couple weeks back we spoke to Steve Rifkind and obviously your first 4 albums were released through Loud Records and Loud was shut in 2001, but now your back with him again opening up Loud records for just one record, what`s it like being back with Steve Rifkind?
R: I think Steve Rifkind is the only Record Executive that would be able to put out a Wu Tang Album, because most executives are just putting the what I call cookie cutter type of hip hop, just throwing it out there and not even caring about the purity of the sound or the purity of the people, I`m not saying the 8 Diagrams album is the same as the 36 Chambers, but the purity of us makes like it regardless so even with `My Heart Gently Weeps` which is well produced you got John Frusciante from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Dhani Harrsion the son of George Harrsion playing acoustic guitar, you got Erykah Badu singing the hook this sounds like a BIG song but once Ghostface and Raekwon start rapping the pop of it leaves, it`s not only the spirit of the music, it`s the spirit of the mc`s there voices. But with Steve Rifkind I think that he is the only executive that can deliver with his job, the reason I say that is that most executives want to tell you what to do, he`s the type of executive that trusts his artists, he came to me like yo I want to do it how we done it in 93, in 1993 you asked me what you wanted and I said yes and that`s how we gonna do it tell me what you want from this campaign
S: My Heart Gently Weeps is that the first single
R: Yeah that`s the first official single, you know Wu Tang always got an underground single then we got an official single, the underground single was at first `Watch Your Mouth` but we had a little sample problem with that and if you got that song already you got lucky (laughs) you know Sk Vibemakers got it though, but the rough single now is `Take It Back` for any that wants to hear us air it out with no remorse and `My Guitar Gently Weeps` is a Song that you can hear us air it out but in a song format, the videos are being filmed in a weeks time I`m co directing it with Malik Sayeed.
S: Are there any external features on the 8 Diagram album?
R: Not really any mc`s, Streetlife is the only other mc on there that`s not signed on as a legal member and for the fans that ever wondered if Cappadonna is an official member, he is now officially and legally signed on as a member of Wu Tang we sorted that out this year, George Clinton’s on there, most people think he`s from the west coast but he`s from the East Coast his house is actually only a few miles from my house and George Clinton and ODB were really tight, they spent a lot of personal time together and cos ODB`s spirit is not here physically on this record you remember on Iron Flag when I had Flava Flav who`s just as wild, but to me George Clinton gave me some of that ODB flavour that you wouldn’t be able to get.
S: Are there any ODB vocals on the album?
R: I think there’s one or two vocals on there’s, there’s one which is a performance ODB did back in 1992, before any of the albums, it was a demo we had in my crib, the 16th chamber and that`s the bonus track.
S: I`m hearing about all the internal conflicts with Wu Tang, after all the delays the album is meant to come 4th of December and Ghostface was gonna bring out his album the same day, and then were hearing that he was upset that there both coming out on the same day and he tried to get it pushed back, what`s the story with that?
R: That’s a true story, what happened was that the Wu Tang album was scheduled to be released in September, but we went on tour so it took longer to finish the record, then we thought October but there was more touring (laughs), the time I put aside for the record wasn`t enough time for everyone to do what they gotta do, so the record kept getting pushed, then the record was meant to get pushed and was meant to be released November, but there were sample issues, making a record is different from the old days, nowadays they got the producer to sign 50 pieces of paper, which I don`t even understand yo, but you gotta go through with this but then we finally got to December the 4th nobody was aware, well I wasn’t aware, Steve Rifkind wasn`t aware I think half of the Wu Tang Clan were aware that Ghostface was doing a new album, he just put out an album .
S: We would of thought there was such a cohesion in the crew
R: Na, na it`s like everybody`s solo life, is there solo life, we all keep our solo life to our selves, sometimes intentionally and sometimes unintentionally, if you asked Ghostface why most of Wu Tang never knew he wasn’t bringing out an album he wouldn`t give you a good reason cos he`d be like I thought they knew, because that`s how Ghost is, if you call him a hundred times you aint gonna get to talk to him, he even says how Ol Dirty Bastard became Ol Dirty Bastard because of his name he feels like he became Ghost, his moms can`t find him sometimes you know what I mean (laughs). But to cut a long story short the dates did collide and at one point Steve Rifkind as executive was like yo I`m moving it , Ghost has to move his date because he felt that the solo members is never as important as the group.
S: So there`s no arguments over money or anything?
R: Na let me finish I aint gonna air it out cos I`m doing a special interview with Funkmaster Flex to air it out but I`ll give you something you can work with, so when Steve Rifkind got involved it got the point were the people in the building were making it a tug of war whether to move Ghostfaces record because the Wu Tang is a bigger campaign, so Ghost really got twist off about that, I mean really twist off to the point he went out and verbally expressed himself, so once he done that I didn`t think it was a big deal we`ll come December it aint a big deal we don`t want it to be a problem, cos it`s not a problem for us, the wise thing to do is that Ghost should have held his record till next year because he put out an album last year and it didn`t really have the same kind of success it usually does so therefore you need to take a chill pill and get your stocks back up, get this Guitar Gently Weeps video which is a big big thing for you and come back like yo it`s Ghost
S: Is there any conflicts with direction of sound though?
R: Right now it`s hard to put the finger on the conflict, right now I think it`s delusion going on, have you guys got the album?
S: Na we just got it, we aint had a chance to listen to it though.
R: Go and listen to it and let me know how you feel cos like I was telling Raekwon, it really aint about how we feeling about the album we put out albums every year, like Raekwon put an album out August 28th right called `Ice Water`, it was put out on Babygrande, he put that record out with full control of the sound, full control of what he wanted to do and he put it out, have you heard it, have you heard about it, did it make a dent to this hip hop world no, there`s many records that come out from the crew, but now it`s time for us to do this, it`s time to let the Rza be the Rza too, don`t let me not be who I am, because I let you be who you are, it`s time for everyone to play there part, but I think right now everyone’s used to playing there own part, even myself I`m used to waking up everyday and not having to do interviews and come to the UK but for the cause I`m here and if you look at it from a stand point why is only Rza here, I should be the last person here cos i already put my work in, but this is how much dedication I’ve got to Wu Tang Clan and the cause, so as far as all them rumours your hearing were gonna clear that up with a live interview cos i know what`s being said i`ve seen the youtube shit and all that(laughs). I can curse?
S: Yeah you can curse man (laughs)
R: (laughs) I didn`t know that shit motherfucker, shit motherfucker, shit(laughs)
RZA goes on to discuss the forthcoming 3rd volume from Bobby Digital, called DigiSnacks, happily featuring Baretta 9 & Reverend William Burk. The interview is lengthy & typo-laden but worth the effort. It's a couple days old--it was actually released a few days before Ghost's latest round of insanity (at this point, what could it be but publicity?). But then again it's hard to get ahold of where everyone is, if things are getting resolved or not, if the video for Heart Gently Weeps will actually get done or not, given that Rae & Ghost are two of the three major participants on that track. It's a strange time to be following the Wu this closely.
* * *
On Wutang-corp.com there is a hopeful rumor for fans of the original version of Wolves, as previewed recently on The Wake Up Show--that the original version is the one included on US copies of 8 Diagrams. It would be something of a consolation to the 2 European bonus tracks ("Tar Pit" & "16th Chamber") which we will not be able to enjoy on our copies.
* * *
There are now some YouTube links available of another interview with the RZA, this one performed by DJ Semtex. The feature is split into three parts, with the 2nd pertaining most to the 8 Diagrams. The other portions are available from YouTube. RZA directly addresses both Ghost & Rae, interestingly mentioning that Ghost initially chose 10 beats from 8 Diagrams to record on. & then given the sheer number of Raekwon performances on the album--how could the final product be a denouncable surprise to them? The saga continues...
Ghostface has a new response for the RZA. The Rhapsody interviewed Ghost recently in advance of his approaching solo album Big Doe Rehab. The report begins with the standard prealbum fare, but soon becomes interesting as Ghost addresses/denounces both Tony Yayo & prior collaborrator Lord Superb [Lord "If you don't bring me some motherfuckin' cognac I'll kill you" Superb]. Then Ghost turns to 8 Diagrams & the RZA.
Shifting to the upcoming Wu album, how would you say the music on 8 Diagrams measures up to classics like "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'"?
Could never match up. You crazy?!
Raekwon recently had voiced his displeasure with 8 Diagrams’ musical direction. Are you happy with how the album came out?
That shit is wack. I heard RZA was changing some of the beats around the last minute. I didn’t hear that. I don’t know what y’all listening to out there. I never heard it. I’m with Raekwon.
Both you and Rae had spoken about being owed money by the Wu hierarchy. RZA stated in an interview with Tim Westwood that he doesn’t owe anyone money.
I just won my court case from them niggas. The suit been in there for three years. So put that out there. They just lost their fuckin’ case. So who don’t owe who money? Let’s get it straight, RZA. That’s all I’m sayin’, baby. It was a loss, they lost. L-O-S-T. That’s really it.
How you and RZA’s relationship now?
I don’t see RZA, man. That nigga’s real sneaky. I love him, though. Ain’t no bad blood. Ain’t nobody doing no bad to him. It’s just that you can’t get money with a nigga.
Meanwhile, Big Dough Rehab drops Dec 4th, a week before 8 Diagrams. Like the Rhapsody writer mentions in his/her intro: there used to be a time when the world would be excited to get a new solo one week & a new Clan album the next. Perhaps the time to return to that sort of mindstate has arrived.
* * *
& now SOHH has their own interview with Ghostface, where he continues his separation tactic. But Kanye & Pharell? Ghost & Rae might have more credence if they didn't continually have bad ideas & questionable projects.
"RZA ain't listening," Ghost revealed. "He wanted to make [8 Diagrams] how he wanted it and it ain't come out right. He wanna always do the whole thing himself, produce the whole album. We're like, let's bring in some other producers too. Bring in Kanye, bring in Pharell. You ain't gotta do the whole thing yourself. He wanna make his own instruments and shit and it sounded real horrible."
"So now it's like when fans come up to me like, 'Ghost, why you let them put that out,' it's like nah, we ain't taking the blame for that," Ghost continued. "That's what Rae was saying. We ain't co-signing that. It's like, the game is different. It's not how it was 10 years ago. We're trying to tell him, you can't just put a Wu-Tang album out and just think it's gonna sell just because. We been gone for what, six years? It's hard to win new niggas. A lot of the fans now was in fucking diapers when we first started doing this. That's why a nigga like me drop every year. I stay relevant."
* * *
& now even more from Ghost, this one from MTV, in which he calls the album "bullshit" over & over... is anyone else starting to get tired of all of this?
Ghost recently participated in a radio interview with Peter Parker, where he continued his recent campaign against the RZA. Ghost reiterated that he originally didn't plan to be on the album, he cosigned Rae's recent comments against the production on the album, & the word is that some beats may be replaced causing a delay in the release of 8 Diagrams. Until we hear this from RZA or Rifkind I wouldn't take this as gospel or even close to being true--but overall Ghost's ego seems overblown. His upcoming album Big Doe Rehab does seem promising in the fledgling stages, as it will heavily feautre Raekwon, though the single is the standard Ghost first single fare, a halfhearted stab at a radio-friendly track that is somewhat enjoyable. It will be interesting to see if the two release dates hold firm--Ghost's on Dec 4, 8 Diagrams on the 11th--without a doubt the two albums will be heavily compared both sales & quality-wise, which may give a bit of finality to the dispute between Ghost & Rae vs RZA.
* * *
* * *
Billboard recently published an article on Raekwon's recent denounciations, with a short comment from RZA at the end:
Although he declined to address specific gripes, RZA talked to Billboard yesterday about the inherent difficulties of blending his sensibilities with those of his group mates.
"My idea with this album was to have an hour of your day be different -- you go into this other world of beats, hardcore lyrics and imagery of hip-hop," he said. "I wanted the listener to be stimulated by the music. I don't know if everybody agreed with it. Everybody has their own opinion. This is in my vision at the end of the day."
* * *
* * *
RZA very recently appeared on The Wake Up Show, & debuted a portion of Campfire, which is, in short, incredible upon first listen. It features Meth & Ghost preceded by a long, quintessential sample from an old kung fu flick, the contents of which are pretty ironic given the current tension within the Clan. Meth can't resist referencing Justin Timberlake along with other stars, & his verse ends, then Ghost's begins, referencing their loyalty to the RZA. If we were to simply judge from the music alone, hype for 8 Diagrams would be reaching peak status--all of the tracks sound great, the chemistry within the Clan seems decent enough on record--but of course we all know better. RZA's interview on the Wake Up Show is excellent, recapping the history of the Clan, from the demo eras, to 36 Chambers, Forever, & beyond. He has a finished copy of 8 Diagrams in hand, & plays part of the first track, Campfire, which is linked by itself above. Then, Take it Back is played &, interestingly, is referred to as the first single. RZA goes on to answer some random questions about current events & general hip hop--& he even goes on to say that Ghostface is the illest current MC.
Definitely looks like Ghost & Rae's hope for some beats to be replaced is pretty futile, since The Abbot had a copy of the finished product in hand.
At the very end of the Wake Up Show interview, they go to play Stick Me For My Riches, & though the track gets cut off for lack of editing, RZA mentions that the full track features Meth, INS, RZA & GZA--which is unequivocally great news.
Initial reports said the Wu-Tang album had more outside production than usual…
The original album, we had a song from Marley, a song from DJ Scratch, a beat that was produced by Q-Tip, Easy Moe Bee. At the end of the day though, we only ended up with the Easy Moe Bee track, a Mathematics produced track and that’s it, mostly because of samples. Marley’s track, the sample wasn’t gon' clear in time. DJ Scratch, who had a crazy ill fucking song, he had a couple of songs he brought in. But the one that we finally got lyrics on, we couldn’t clear the sample. So the sample clearances kinda threw off my rhythm of plannin’ the album. At the end of the day too, the Clan didn’t verbally attack every song. Even the Q-Tip song, which I thought is a unique production, we collaborated on. We kinda wanted Ghost to spit on it, but he didn’t really set it off and shit, so we kinda put it to the side.
What’s going on with your solo joint, The Cure?
To be honest with you, I wrote The Cure. The way this world is, it kinda discouraged me. Even on the new Wu album, I tried to give you a little taste of what my heart be at as far as lyrically. And I’ve had to take some of those songs off, because sometimes the brothers just feel that sometimes the God is going in too deep. The world ain’t with the deep shit. To me, this whole album 8 Diagrams, is vegetable, son. It ain’t hamburger, it ain’t french fries either. You can’t get it at Mickey D’s. You gotta go to the health food store to get this shit. That’s what we need. It’s time for that balance. Even us as an artist, it’s hard to accept balance in my life. I know I love some ghetto, Cuban Linx shit. That’s the epitome of the Wu. At the same time, we got enough niggas, I’ll still kill and all this other shit. Who gives a fuck if you killed, how much money you got and all this other shit, yo? It’s about the heart and the mind.
It's pretty amusing that people are still asking about The Cure at all. Furthermore, I could kick whoever it is (probably Raekwon, judging from past reports) giving the veto to some of RZA's more metaphysical stylizations. After all, his lyrical prime, in some ways, was in '97, with his performances on Forever and the second Gravediggaz album, The Pick, The Sickle & The Shovel. A plethora of RZA verses would do nothing but benefit 8 Diagrams.
These tidbits are also interesting because it shows that RZA is not entirely obstinate in the making of this album, as Rae seemed to indicate in his most recent video interview. Watch Your Mouth will be missed, & I think everyone really wanted to hear the Q-Tip collab. This perhaps indicates that Thug World is also gone, which would be unfortunate.
* * *
The following appears in a new MTV article about the Ghost & Rae situations. For the most part, the article recaps the growing fued between the participants. It ends thus:
In a 2003 reader-generated interview with Blender magazine, Method Man designated RZA's business partner, Divine, as the #1 person on his "shit list" when presented with the question. Meth claimed the Wu-Tang Management associate "took something major from me that he had no intention of giving back."
A representative for the RZA, when reached by MTV News, said the RZA's only comment in regards to the financial dispute Ghostface and Raekwon are claiming was that, "It's all his fault, and he'll take the responsibility."
So RZA continues to play the role of peacemaker while Ghost & Rae rely on complaining publicly. Regardless of the facts of the situation at hand, RZA remains the only participant acting appropriately. If only this were simply for the publicity...
...has just become (fittingly) the Ghostface & Raekwon situation.
I've been meaning to recap all of the difficulties Ghost has created for the Clan & 8 Diagrams since before this blog began. Today, Raekwon added himself to the mix with these two youtube interviews with Miss Info.
When Ghost first voiced his problems, the biggest concern for the Wu fan was that the disharmony might hamper Clan chemistry, & cause the album to suck. The fact that they weren't exactly getting along wasn't especially troublesome, because to all long-time fans of the Wu they are known as one of the most discordant collectives in all of music (which is saying a lot). The word they've always used is family, & this applies nicely, as they've had their many quarrels but always managed to come back together.
But Ghost's recent denunciation of (presumably) RZA & Divine was the most public Clan beef perhaps ever, & rightfully caused nervousness in the fanbase. While at this point it seems that the album surely won't suck, it's important to recap & examine the details of the developing dissent within the Clan. Also, when it was only Ghost who was denouncing the RZA publicly, that could be chalked up to his growing distance from the group combined with his growing ego, & somewhat easily cast aside. With Rae adding himself to the mix, this becomes somewhat more difficult.
Word of Ghost's issues with RZA coincided with the announcement of 8 Diagrams. The first reports of the fledgling project featured RZA talking about the reunited Clan minus one glaring member--Ghostface. Surely, no one should be excluded, but Ghost has been perhaps the most (musically) visible member in the past few years, & has risen from a mid-level if underappreciated member to a media & fan favorite.
The cited reason over Ghost's absense was a disagreement over money, specifically payment for the Rock the Bells tour. Incidentally, at the New York show I attended, Ghost was MIA. All of this lead to a fair amount of dubious attention & apprehension from the media & fan sectors over the 8 Diagrams project as a whole. Anxiety was soon quelled, however, as announcement came that Ghost was finally on board, & then as the first three songs leaked, wham, Ghostface was on each of them. End of story.
But of course that would be too easy, & as the 8 Diagrams release date slid back through October, through November (briefly landing on November 13th, which will be the 3rd anniversary of Dirty's death), onto December 4th, the Ghostface situation reappeared, this time much more serious. This report came from MTV's Mixtape Monday:
You'd think all would be well in the land of the Wu-Tang Clan right now. The Shaolin set finally settled on a date for their long-delayed The 8 Diagrams comeback. But if you ask Ghostface Killah, things actually aren't that sweet with the Wu. Ghost is fuming that the group's album is set to drop on the same date as his next solo album, The Big Dough Rehab. According to him, he had that date already secured, but setbacks with the Wu project planted The 8 Diagrams on the same day. And now he's not budging, he said. At all.
"I had December 4 for the longest," he explained. "But the Wu album, brothers was kinda late on doing whatever they were doing and pushed it back ... on my date. You can put this in there, I'm not [mad at] all the members. It's not based on the members, but the hierarchy at Wu-Tang Clan is on some bullshit. They trying to fuck around and make me push my album back and doing all this. But niggas ain't fucking around or give us money when we did them Wu-Tang tours. The first one, they paid us after a while, but this last one, niggas is holding onto a lot of money. And [they're] upset based on that. It's a battle right now." Ghost did not specify exactly which Wu members are the "hierarchy."
"The Big Dough Rehab is my album," he continued. "8 Diagrams is their album. But it ain't got nothing to do with the regular members. 'Cause I love Raekwon, Masta Killa, U-God, Genius, all them. But it's on right now."
Ghost said he's frustrated because his album would have been finished by now had he not chosen to be loyal and go on tour with the Clan over the summer as part of the Rock the Bells ticket with Rage Against the Machine. He even claimed Steve Rifkin, who signed the group to Loud and is releasing their latest album, put calls in to execs in hopes of stopping Ghost's album from seeing the light of day. (Inquiries made to Rifkin's office had not been returned as of press time.) In the meantime, Ghost is moving ahead with his album. The first single, "Celebrate" — featuring Kid Capri and produced by Sean C. — should be leaking soon, he said. Others set to contribute to The Big Dough Rehab are Scram Jones, Raekwon and Method Man.
Ghost is also set to drop a book, "The World According to Pretty Toney," on December 4. The book — based on skits from MTV2 — will feature Ghost dishing out his particular brand of advice on a number of topics, from gambling to education. As far as Ghost's participation on The 8 Diagrams, though, so far he's only jumped on a handful of tracks.
"I got on some of them," he said. "A few of them. ... Niggas better pay my fucking money. Matter of fact, they can keep the money — just get me out of their life right now. They can keep that money, it's all good now. I don't even wanna talk about it no more."
Such a report was public & serious enough to trouble any serious Wu fan. At this time, also, we'd only heard a few tracks, & the fate of the album was surely in doubt. This report was quickly followed by a response from RZA, also on Mixtape Monday, which revealed the current 8 Diagrams release date, December 11th, video of which follows.
The hope among Wu fans was that with the release date duel settled, Ghost might calm down again. But after a few quiet weeks, yesterday we received this report, from a show on NYC radio station Hot97:
Cipher Sounds just played Take It Back.. But before that he was talking about the drama with Ghostface & Wu... He said Ghost left him a voicemail saying, "Yo play my new record [Celebrate] ... make sure it's MY shit... not that WU-TANG shit."
Then Cipher Sounds was just saying how this hurts him, because he grew up listening to Wu, etc...
& then, almost as if it is too much at once, we get the Raekwon interviews which further elucidate the rift between RZA & the Clan.
But several facts go against Raekwon's points in these videos. He argues for quality control, saying the entire Clan is not on board with what RZA is doing musically, while the latest project Rae has helmed, the Ice Water record, is barely worth listening to. Furthermore, while Ghost's two 2006 albums had plenty of quality material on them, there were some serious mistakes, especially with personnel. I mean, how are you going to put Shawn Wiggs on a track with Redman? Also, Rae's performance on the tracks we've heard from 8 Diagrams is decidedly understated--occasionally just lazy. There are times in this interview when he acts more animated than during his verses on the album. & all of this coming from someone who can't even get a label to release the supposedly-classic followup, Cuban Linx II, to 1995's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. & how have Raekwon's RZA-less projects been in the intervening years? Ice Cream pt 2, anyone? & what about the fact that the music we've heard so far from 8 Diagrams is pretty much undeniably dope? I could go on.
Raekwon does bring up a very interesting concept--a Clan album without the RZA. Of course, the chances of a project such as this actually happening are pretty slim at this point, given the fact that for one, most projects announced by the Wu never materialize and two, RZA is the organizer of the Clan. Without him, they wouldn't be anywhere. It seems that Raekwon remains aware of this fact, at least moreso than Ghostface, but given some of the utter shit that has appeared on Rae's recent projects, it is certainly his ears that are broken, not the RZA's. His report is troubling, but if Rae becomes the new leader of the Clan, then I am truly concerned for the welfare of the group.
Yes, the Wu-Hierarchy, especially Divine, has been notoriously shady about money owed, but such are internal issues. The music is external, & right now the music is good.
