Wu-Tang Clan management

[Wu-tang Fan]

O.K. so 1993 was the year of 36 chambers.Big impact on rap music.
Before we hardly know who the Wu-Tang Clan is we get Only Build 4 Cuban Linx about two years later.Then at the near end of the same year we get G.Z.A.'s Liquid Swordz.Then Ghost-Face Killah drops his first solo album.
Four years after 36 chambers we have Wu-Tang Forever with a completely different style and a bit late to keep the momentum from there first album.Then the W.Then Iron Flag

What I'm showing people from this topic is that the way they did it like with solos just after the first album made it confusing for people,and they would probably have had more solo success if they establised themselfs first before dropping solo projects.

So this is how I would have done it:

1993:36 Chambers good success.
Time in between:Relax/promote album
1995:drop a second Wu-Tang album possibly called the "W"
Time in between:Relax/promote album
1997:drop a third Wu-Tang album called "Iron Flag"
Time in between Relax/promote album
2000:drop a fourth and final Wu album called "Wu-Tang Forever"


And then and ONLY then start dropping solo projects.

And another thing I think the Wu didin't do was T.V. advertising,because you see rappers like 50 Cent and Eminem advertised on T.V. but I didn't see the likes of Wu-Tang advertised on it.Also I would make a few more chart songs like Gravel Pit to make Wu-Tang appeal to the masses.But I just think that there were loads of missed opptunitys and things were spoiled by rushing.

So basically I would like to see what other people have to say about the way it was managed

[pablobaluba]

i think you are aberrating. you're talking bullshit.
this is how it is...why do we have now to think if they did correct or not. they did what they did and i'm proud of them.

[Bungle]

read the Wu Tang Manual, it'll all make more sense to you, read about the 5 year plan, it wasnt about appealling to the masses, it was about controlling the industry, which is exactly what happened, but it didnt stop with music, it moved into clothes, movies, toys, nail polish, books, comics, tv shows, dvds of live shows (disciples of 36 was ill), radio - does anyone else from uk remember '97 just before wu tang forever dropped & they took over tim westwood show for 3 hours ?? tim didnt speak the whole time near enough, they even started to go over into the next shows time slot for like 1/2 hour or something.

the solo albums thing wasnt confusing at all, not for me nor the people i'm with, it made more sense if anything, they just kept coming & coming & coming, all the while everyones getting paid and everyones getting some spotlight in one way or another, also think of the solo albums like this, they werent solo albums, they looked it but they werent, because every album dam near every member is on there, its just Tical was Mefs starring roll, Return to 36 was Dirtys, Cuban Linx was Raes and so on, and why was everyone signed to different labels as soloists ?? control.

the whole thing was about control and taking over.

[Welshkillabee]

[QUOTE=Bungle]read the Wu Tang Manual, it'll all make more sense to you, read about the 5 year plan, it wasnt about appealling to the masses, it was about controlling the industry, which is exactly what happened, but it didnt stop with music, it moved into clothes, movies, toys, nail polish, books, comics, tv shows, dvds of live shows (disciples of 36 was ill), radio - does anyone else from uk remember '97 just before wu tang forever dropped & they took over tim westwood show for 3 hours ?? tim didnt speak the whole time near enough, they even started to go over into the next shows time slot for like 1/2 hour or something.

QUOTE]

That was the shit Dirty cracked me up that day when he wouldnt speak to anyone male in the phone in. A classic Radio 1 show , you can get it off the net.

[Bungle]

That was the shit Dirty cracked me up that day when he wouldnt speak to anyone male in the phone in. A classic Radio 1 show , you can get it off the net.

thats the one, i got it on tape somewhere, it'll take me forever to find it, but i got it, when i find it, i'll post it.

[LordReveal]

Before 36 Chambers, the collective known as Wu-Tang Clan were actually workin on solo careers (i.e. Method Man had a poular neighborhood song called "Panty Raider"). Then RZA decided to promote all these aspiring artist under the Wu-Tang umbrella. That was the point: Come out as Wu-Tang Clan so that people can get familiar with each individual member in one album. So after 36 Chambers we get Method Man's Tical. It was only right b/c Method Man was the most popular & charismatic member on the 36 Chambers album (his solo "Method Man", his chorus in "C.R.E.A.M", his verse on "Protect Ya Neck", the interlude where he explains & describes each Wu member, the skit with him & Raekwon: "I fuckin, I fuckin...). I remeber a time when most people thought HE was the leader of Wu.
Anyways then we got ODB's album (which actually was supposed to come out b4 Meth's but Def Jam was rushing Meth with the deadline). ODB was another popular memeber on 36 Chambers (due more to his crazy & funny & original rhymin style). Alot of people remember that Raekwon had some of the most vivid & compelling rhymes on 36 Chambers ("C.R.E.A.M." & "Can It Be So Simple"). He also had mad street buzz. The result: the classic Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... You could see where I'm going with this. The way they did it was perfect in my opinion, b/c when the solos were released they still sounded raw & hungry. What if they did 2 or 3 more Clan albums and then the solos. They would of been multiplatinum artists and then they would of lost that hunger by the time they released their solos. They established themselves on 36 Chambers then they had to prove themselves with the solo projects. And they did prove themselves. Just look at the results.

[Analyze]

WuTang Fan I see that your old 15 so maybe that has alot to with your lack knowledge. Rap circa '93 and rap post Eminem is two totally different things. First off after 36, Meth dropped and recieved a Grammy for "All I Need" then Dirty, than Rae. Second budgets were significantly smaller than today standards, if you wanna take a look back Wu was like G-Unit of today they ran shit, but unlike them faggots their shit was hot, new and different. Thrid, the way RZA had it set they were all on different labels so one label would be going off the monetum of a artist from a different label and the AR's didnt know how to market shit. What Fucked the Wu up is after Forever niggas decided they could do it without RZA and thats what killed it opened the door for these bums out here today. One last thing I forgot when you brought a clan solo release you could expect to hear atleast five or six clan joints so it was self promotion, and when niggas went away for that forumla you get shit like the Prequel.

Wu Forever

[THE W]

nothing really wrong with what they did. those albums were selling pretty well back then. the only thing that i think they didnt do right(other then disbanding from Rza in 97) is they signed multi album deals to all these labels. i remember Rza talking about how he wanted to get everyone on wu-tang or razor sharp records but he couldnt cuz he would have to buy all those contracts out.

wu-tang really didnt need any promotion back then, their promotion was their albums. they had notoriety and a good reputation for puttin out classics and people bought their albums not so much because they were all over TV and radio, but because of their last albums. what wu-tang did was a phenomanon. they put out raw, underground hiphop and it was commercially successful. hardly anyone, if not no one, can say they did that.

[Paco_Mtl]

O.K. so 1993 was the year of 36 chambers.Big impact on rap music.
Before we hardly know who the Wu-Tang Clan is we get Only Build 4 Cuban Linx about two years later.Then at the near end of the same year we get G.Z.A.'s Liquid Swordz.Then Ghost-Face Killah drops his first solo album.
Four years after 36 chambers we have Wu-Tang Forever with a completely different style and a bit late to keep the momentum from there first album.Then the W.Then Iron Flag

What I'm showing people from this topic is that the way they did it like with solos just after the first album made it confusing for people,and they would probably have had more solo success if they establised themselfs first before dropping solo projects.

So this is how I would have done it:

1993:36 Chambers good success.
Time in between:Relax/promote album
1995:drop a second Wu-Tang album possibly called the "W"
Time in between:Relax/promote album
1997:drop a third Wu-Tang album called "Iron Flag"
Time in between Relax/promote album
2000:drop a fourth and final Wu album called "Wu-Tang Forever"


And then and ONLY then start dropping solo projects.

And another thing I think the Wu didin't do was T.V. advertising,because you see rappers like 50 Cent and Eminem advertised on T.V. but I didn't see the likes of Wu-Tang advertised on it.Also I would make a few more chart songs like Gravel Pit to make Wu-Tang appeal to the masses.But I just think that there were loads of missed opptunitys and things were spoiled by rushing.

So basically I would like to see what other people have to say about the way it was managed

fuck dude.....no solos till 2000???? i think that woulda fuct shit up even more.....i mean look at g-unit theyre kiliin it theyve realased how many solos in the past 2 years......fuck the masses anyway.....wu is wu cuz wu is wu.........i wouldnt change anythin.....what goes up eventulaly comes down. u jus gotta accept it.

[PN_00]

WuTang Fan I see that your old 15 so maybe that has alot to with your lack knowledge. Rap circa '93 and rap post Eminem is two totally different things. First off after 36, Meth dropped and recieved a Grammy for "All I Need" then Dirty, than Rae. Second budgets were significantly smaller than today standards, if you wanna take a look back Wu was like G-Unit of today they ran shit, but unlike them faggots their shit was hot, new and different. Thrid, the way RZA had it set they were all on different labels so one label would be going off the monetum of a artist from a different label and the AR's didnt know how to market shit. What Fucked the Wu up is after Forever niggas decided they could do it without RZA and thats what killed it opened the door for these bums out here today. One last thing I forgot when you brought a clan solo release you could expect to hear atleast five or six clan joints so it was self promotion, and when niggas went away for that forumla you get shit like the Prequel.

Wu Forever

that's why instead of a 5 year plan they should have planned for longer, like a 10 year plan maybe

also i think they shouldnt have all got on different labels....

[gi0vanni]

nothing really wrong with what they did. those albums were selling pretty well back then. the only thing that i think they didnt do right(other then disbanding from Rza in 97) is they signed multi album deals to all these labels. i remember Rza talking about how he wanted to get everyone on wu-tang or razor sharp records but he couldnt cuz he would have to buy all those contracts out.

wu-tang really didnt need any promotion back then, their promotion was their albums. they had notoriety and a good reputation for puttin out classics and people bought their albums not so much because they were all over TV and radio, but because of their last albums. what wu-tang did was a phenomanon. they put out raw, underground hiphop and it was commercially successful. hardly anyone, if not no one, can say they did that.

yes!

[Ouroborous]

Their back catalog is awesome.
Fuck whats already been released which can't be altered I just want the new shit..........
I thought Iron Flag was sick...........i'm just worried bout future stuff (if their is any.......)

[LuGhostDog]

Wu's roots represent the struggle and overall victory of the Clan in Hip - Hop history. Now the Kings are runnin the game and the streets where their whole uniqueness begun.WU FOR NOW AND WU FOREVER.

[Rooty P]

O.K. so 1993 was the year of 36 chambers.Big impact on rap music.
Before we hardly know who the Wu-Tang Clan is we get Only Build 4 Cuban Linx about two years later.Then at the near end of the same year we get G.Z.A.'s Liquid Swordz.Then Ghost-Face Killah drops his first solo album.
Four years after 36 chambers we have Wu-Tang Forever with a completely different style and a bit late to keep the momentum from there first album.Then the W.Then Iron Flag

What I'm showing people from this topic is that the way they did it like with solos just after the first album made it confusing for people,and they would probably have had more solo success if they establised themselfs first before dropping solo projects.

So this is how I would have done it:

1993:36 Chambers good success.
Time in between:Relax/promote album
1995:drop a second Wu-Tang album possibly called the "W"
Time in between:Relax/promote album
1997:drop a third Wu-Tang album called "Iron Flag"
Time in between Relax/promote album
2000:drop a fourth and final Wu album called "Wu-Tang Forever"


And then and ONLY then start dropping solo projects.

And another thing I think the Wu didin't do was T.V. advertising,because you see rappers like 50 Cent and Eminem advertised on T.V. but I didn't see the likes of Wu-Tang advertised on it.Also I would make a few more chart songs like Gravel Pit to make Wu-Tang appeal to the masses.But I just think that there were loads of missed opptunitys and things were spoiled by rushing.

So basically I would like to see what other people have to say about the way it was managed

Wrong. Read the Wu-tang Manual. The 5 Year Plan was brilliant.

[Bungle]

Wrong. Read the Wu-tang Manual. The 5 Year Plan was brilliant.

exactly, if that 5 year plan was weak, then there probably wouldnt be wu tang like we know it, since 36 chambers wu tang is still growing, and still strong, the 5 year plan worked to perfection, he promised them all that he would get them off the street doing negative shit and take them to the top, make them a household name, and when my mother (who knows fuck all about hip hop) is bumping Wu, i think they did something right.