Ok, let's start with the first album, "A Better Tomorrow." The current drama seems to be between Raekwon and RZA over the quality of the album. Raekwon's stance seems to be that the RZA has fallen off on his production and direction he wants to take the album. Rae has likened him to "A coach and you won rings back in the day, but now your team is in ninth place. It's time for a new fucking game plan" I 100% respect this stance (never put out weak shit.) You have one of the biggest, most loyal fan bases in all of music and you should put forward your best work. The rap to sports analogies didn't end there, Rae compared his "strike" from the Wu to Kobe or Kevin Durant not even taking the floor if their agent didn't like the look of the contract. The Wu is a team, but if a member doesn't get what they feel they deserve the won't play. RZA spoke to Hot97 on this issue, he knows the value of each team member. He knows what a verse from them costs, what a beat from him costs, some members deserve more than others, but they are just unable to communicate and reach this agreement. It has been over 20 years since "36 Chambers" changed the game and with these two new releases you have the worlds attention again. Releasing a sub-par album, especially when the first one they plan to release publicly, not only will disappoint your fan base, but diminish the clamor and bargaining power your one of a kind, art/music installation they have cocked and ready to shoot. While the RZA and Raekwon go back and forth, on the "he said" / "No he said" tip, "A Better Tomorrow" doesn't seem so likely for this group.
However, the common misconception from these interviews is that Raekwon will not be "Once Upon A Time In Shaolin." As far as I know, this album is done, it has already been recorded in secret, with out issue by all of the members of Wu Tang. Produced by Tarik "Cilvaringz" Azzougarh, it appears this album is sitting on his computer in Marrakesh according to this video recently released by Forbes.
Now if you have been living under a rock, and couldn't figure it out from the video this album will only be pressed once, put in a one of a kind silver plated box, and sold the highest bidder. If you are worried you will never hear this you are in luck. The album itself will be going on tour to museums around the world where you get a chance to listen to the album in it's entirety. Now this is all we know at the moment. What happens after it is sold, if it will leak before hand, how much will it go for, who will be the buyer, will it be good, is ODB on it? All speculation. Why we constantly argue over things we have no control over just seems to be human nature, but if that is the case, human nature pisses me the fuck off and yet, I am not immune.
So let's ride that train.
I wanted to write this to address some complaints on this venture. For the people saying they will personally leak the project, or petitioning Wu Tang to "just give me the album for free" I feel the need to say "please, go fuck yourself." You are one of the main reasons they are doing this, they want to bring back the value of music that your entitled ass has squandered. We used to respect and revere musicians and their craft. It used to take a year or more to put together an album and perfect it and then SELL it to fans. Working for money? What a concept. I don't want to sound like a 27 year old geezer telling you that kids don't respect music, nor take the time to enjoy or listen critically, but a majority don't and it's just a fact in the post Sean Parker world.
For the people who claim they are alienating their fan base, or that this is one big publicity stunt, I would also like you to get over yourself. Now I understand a superstar like Beyonce can just drop an album without warning, but an aging rap group who has paid dues could still use publicity in the lead up to a release. There are way too many people getting butt hurt about a musician or group who treats the music business like a business, you know with marketing, publicity, and money! It is one of the few professions where consumers feel that work shouldn't be rewarded monetarily. There are way to many justifications to go into on that world view, but I think you get the gist by now.
As for the alienating the fan base folks you may have the strongest argument, but unfortunately it is all based on "What if's" while ignoring all the other options to consume this project, and support this group you are fans of. The Jay-Z and Samsung collab on "Magna Carta Holy Grail" seemed to work out well for the fans, at least in terms of access to the content; while the music didn't live up to lofty expectations. This seems to be a similar approach, with one sale they will make the money that a classic group deserves, but the fate of the album is up in the air after this transaction. A good bet for the outcome of this album (again just speculation like everyone else) is that one person or company like a Samsung, Apple, Virgin, will buy it for the asking price, use it for personal marketing like the series of phone ad's with a Hov tie in. Wu Tang will get paid, and then the purchaser may release it for the public to enjoy. This may happen after you passed the opportunity to listen for yourself when it was on tour, after you decided you didn't like Wu Tang any more and didn't go to their show, after you blasted them publicly over something you have zero knowledge over, after stealing their back catalog because "the old stuff was so much better, I can't get my fucking style out of '94." After all of that you may still get a chance to hear this for free due to one leak, or one generous Wu-Tang fan. With that, the lesson about valuing art, making music a business again, being creative while still true to self goes out the window.
But here I am, making guesses about something I have little knowledge about. Being a fan of an artist doesn't mean blind or in this case, deaf allegiance to everything they do. But please, all I ask is think outside the box for once in your life and stand up for artistic creativity. If the album drops, and the music sucks feel free to blast me in the comments. Until then, shut the fuck up and enjoy the ride, you claim to be fans for a reason. They are doing this for you, and for the music community at large because we all know by now that Wu-Tang is really for the kids.
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