Wu-Tang: An American Saga (2019–…): Season 3, Episode 8 - Liquid Swords - full transcript
GZA takes on the persona of "The Genius" as he journeys through an alternate New York City to unite the people using music from his debut solo album, Liquid Swords.
♪ I put mad pressure ♪
♪ On phony wack
rhymes that get hurt ♪
I'm not playing
with this one, cuz.
I'm in a whole other different
chamber on this, cuz.
'Cause you know I got
that staccato beat for you
with that Willie
Mitchell sample on it.
♪ I flow like the
blood on the murder scene ♪
Hey, yo, this is that
classic Genius fire.
Loving it, dog.
Geffen's
getting a little antsy.
The only thing
I'm missing now is just
the verses from the Clan, son.
And you know when we come
together, the music is raw.
It's irreplaceable.
My album might be the last time
we can pull that shit off, yo.
Yo.
Yo! Anybody home?
God. Fucking Jersey.
♪ Niggas are fascinated
how the shit begin ♪
♪ Get vaccinated, my logo
is branded in your skin ♪
♪ And when the MCs came
to live out the name ♪
♪ And to perform ♪
♪ Some had to snort cocaine ♪
Yo, peace!
Peace, god.
Power went out again.
Yeah, well, that's
Jersey for you.
Why are you sitting
here alone in the dark?
I ain't alone.
Well, talk to me.
What's been eating you?
Yo, you don't get it, 'Vine.
I did a whole album
with me spitting by myself
on every track.
That ain't work.
If the Wu-Tang
forms like Voltron,
and I'm the head,
how I'm supposed to function
without the body, god?
Yeah, but y'all haven't
been on the same album
- since 36 Chambers.
- Exactly.
That's why I gotta assemble
the entire team for my album.
Yeah, but you don't
got time for that, GZA.
The label needs the
album handed in to them
by next week, and
it's already gonna be
a challenge for
them to market it
without a radio-friendly single.
Look, instead of trying
to get Wu-Tang features,
let's try some other flavor.
Now, I heard D'Angelo gonna be
at Battery Studio next week.
Now, I'm sure RZA can get him
- to hop on a track with you...
- Man.
And then the label will
love that, know what I mean?
Man, fuck the label, 'Vine.
Fuck being friendly
to the stations.
They need to be friendly to us.
We the ones that the
people are coming to see,
to find out what we're saying.
However, the label are
investing in our music
and expanding our reach.
And watering us down.
Divine, I'm the one who
learned the hip-hop culture
from the Bronx.
The first Wu member to
get knowledge of self.
Meth got a hit with Mary.
You got Dirty with Mariah.
But GZA's album?
My album gotta be pure, god.
And all I need is my Wu brothers
to achieve that.
A'ight.
A'ight, well, let me see
if I can get two more
weeks with Geffen, okay?
But you gonna need
the Abbott to help you
convince your
brothers to jump on.
Especially the ones who
careers are blossoming.
Where's the Abbott?
Look, I don't know.
That nigga got back
from LA with these books
from the Bodhi Tree,
and now he's looking
for a Shaolin monk
named Sifu Shi Yan Ming.
A'ight, prophet.
You know what to do.
Yeah.
On some lyrical
swordsman-type banger.
I gotta connect with the Abbott.
Genius, help
us. We need you.
You're our only hope.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Peace.
It's me.
Lower them.
You-you-you...
You're the Genius.
I can't move.
My wheelchair's broken.
Let me see what I can do.
Hell, your motor's busted.
What are you doing out here?
I'm on my way to see the Abbott.
To give him this, and it broke.
Wait, so you know
where the Abbott is at?
Yes.
He's on top of the
Wu-Tang Mountain.
The labels
are on the precipice
of ending the culture,
putting us at the brink of doom.
We reunited once, but over time,
our brothers wanted to
outshine one another.
This allowed the head
of the labels, Cyrus,
to infiltrate them one by one,
using the ministers to buy up
all the broadcasting signals
and pump pop into the system,
keeping the masses
stuck on stupid.
They fragmented our
empire of culture
into separate fiefdoms like
Medina, Pelan, and Mecca.
Our radio signal is
the last true broadcast
of culture that is left,
which is why we've locked
ourselves in the booth.
But there's a prophecy.
The legend of the Liquid Sword,
which says that a man of
words, a genius perhaps,
will come forth to
save the culture
when he's needed the most.
That he will reunite
the brothers, somehow.
We'll start
here, in Medina.
But the fiefdoms
have never been further apart
than they are now.
There's Pelan, home
of the savages,
where beef isn't
served on a plate...
It's a way of life.
The desert, which has
truly been deserted
since the Fatherless
Child disappeared.
Mecca, land of the riches,
where they keep making it
and try to keep the
others from taking it.
Then there's the Zu,
the underground, and...
Medina, where
the gods are meaner.
Can I help you?
Yeah. We're looking
for Chief Irif.
He passed away a few years back.
I'm his daughter, Yenji.
Well, uh, do you have
anything good to eat?
We don't serve food here.
No one is allowed to grow
or sell food anymore.
I have only sake.
Filtered, unfiltered,
bitter, sweet, and spicy.
I'll try the spicy one.
I see you mastered
your father's recipe.
How did you know my father?
We used to work together
as imperial masters.
And I know one thing.
No one brews spicy
sake as he does,
and dead men can't brew,
so why don't you tell
me where your father is?
He's
in his old laboratory.
Positive Education...
Activates Constant...
Elevation.
Genius.
The culture was
usurped by Cyrus,
and the Ministers of
Culture turned out
to be culture vultures.
They tranquilized the
people with popotronics.
So you got a whole fiefdom
staring into oblivion?
Looks like they're
staring into emptiness,
but they're staring into
illusions and false images.
So why didn't you and your
daughter become affected?
Oh, we only listen
to the classics,
either on vinyl or through
this faint radio transmission,
all produced by the
Abbott or the Godfathers.
The classic headphones
were built with antennas,
but mine are damaged and
take forever to get a signal.
♪ Hell's wind staff ♪
♪ The rise of rap titans ♪
♪ Ninjas battling,
sword swinging ♪
♪ Cutthroat women,
whirlwind spinning ♪
♪ Save the children ♪
♪ Escape the poverty
we're living in ♪
Yo, who's broadcasting this?
♪ Hell's wind staff,
the rise of rap titans ♪
♪ Ninjas battling,
swords swinging ♪
♪ Cutthroat women ♪
♪ Whirlwind spinning,
save the children ♪
♪ Escape the poverty
we're living in ♪
♪ Hell's wind staff,
the rise of rap titans ♪
♪ Ninjas battling,
swords swinging ♪
♪ Cutthroat women ♪
♪ Whirlwind spinning,
save the children ♪
♪ Escape the poverty
we're living in ♪
♪ Hell's wind staff,
the rise of rap titans ♪
♪ Ninjas battling,
swords swinging ♪
♪ Cutthroat women ♪
♪ Whirlwind spinning,
save the children ♪
♪ Escape the poverty
we're living in ♪
Nobody's listening.
Somebody is always listening.
And even so, will
they be in tune?
Smart enough to
decipher the codes?
I don't understand why you
just don't spurt it out.
Because if the
ministers understand
what we're talking about,
they will make sure
we are disconnected
from the people forever.
We're running out of time.
We got, what, 36 hours
before the time runs out?
Before it's lights out for
you, me, and all we stood for?
To save our culture,
we gotta connect
all the fiefdoms.
It starts with the spreading
of the word through the music.
Our transmissions
have been broken
at these strategic points.
If we can get someone
to reconnect us,
we can sound the signal.
Yes, but they all
need to be connected
in order for us
to be successful.
Move as one.
Let me try this one.
♪ All day underground sound ♪
♪ From the hallway
on 4th and Broadway ♪
♪ To connect the dots to
Watts to hear what all say ♪
These lyrics have
messages in 'em.
♪ All day underground
sound from the hallway... ♪
All dope lyric have
messages. Hold on, hold on.
Underground...
All day underground sound.
Underground.
4th and Broadway.
Come on. Let's go.
I'm not going anywhere.
What do you...
It was good to see
you, brother...
But me and my daughter
are good where we're at.
What's the use of being woke
while everyone else is asleep?
Chief, I need you to join me.
Maybe if we get all
our brothers together,
we can reverse the effect
that the ministers put on us.
Make the culture
pure again, god.
Father, he's right.
Now is the time
to join the fight.
What happened
to the Abbott?
He couldn't help?
The Abbott
tried to help,
but he eventually
gave up on the people
and retreated to the mountain
to live as a recluse.
He didn't
give up on us.
He went to go
develop a new sound
to compete with the ministers.
They're only broadcasting
regurgitated music
sampled from familiar
hooky tracks.
They trying to put an end
to lyrical consciousness
and street lo-fi aesthetics.
Well, while the Abbott
is busy meditating,
the people out here hurting.
4th and Broadway.
Underground sound.
4th... and Broadway.
Yo, this is it.
It's the place where
the signal's broken.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
That's Manifesto,
the Underground King.
Looks like he's
completely lost it.
I can do it!
Yo, I got an idea.
Let's go. Boom!
Ah! Brother.
We got one of
the chambers connected.
Oh.
Try to broadcast.
♪ You gotta dip, dip,
dive, so socialize ♪
♪ Clean out your ears
and open your eyes ♪
♪ You gotta dip, dip,
dive, so socialize ♪
♪ Clean out your ears
and open your eyes ♪
♪ You gotta dip, dip,
dive, so socialize ♪
♪ Clean out your ears
and open your eyes ♪
♪ You gotta dip, dip,
dive, so socialize ♪
Manifesto.
My brother, it's
been far too long.
Peace, brother.
Pardon self.
The Fatherless Child warned us
that they were gonna make
us all fight each other.
Black versus white.
Asian versus Native.
Everyone against everyone,
and that's how I
lost all control.
Positive Education
Always Corrects Errors.
Glad to see you back on track.
We need you.
That's
what we have to do.
Reconnect all the signals.
That's how we'll
reunite the fiefdoms.
That's how we're
gonna free more minds.
If we're heading to
the top of the mountain,
we'll be passing through
a lot of savages.
Everyone is on they own shit.
Do or die.
Kill or be killed.
I know a way to avoid trouble.
We take the route
through the desert.
It'll add some more
time, but it's safer.
Lead the way.
: ♪ You gotta dip,
dip, dive, so socialize ♪
♪ Clean out your ears
and open your eyes ♪
♪ You gotta dip, dip,
dive, so socialize ♪
♪ Clean out your ears
and open your eyes ♪
♪ Clean out your ears
and open your eyes ♪
♪ You gotta dip, dip,
dive, so socialize ♪
♪ Clean out your ears
and open your eyes ♪
♪ You gotta dip, dip,
dive, so socialize ♪
♪ Clean out your ears
and open your eyes ♪
My lord.
We've lost one of the fiefdoms.
Someone reconnected
the severed signal.
It could be the one
the legends speak of.
Send our spies.
Round up any strangers.
We'll see if he's the
wielder of the Liquid Sword.
Bring him to me.
All of this was a playground
to the Fatherless Child?
Why did he abandon it?
He was the only one in our crew
who didn't need a book
to invoke his word.
Rumor in Medina was, he
gave in to the system,
just like the rest of us.
Y'all call this a desert?
It's not an actual desert,
but it is deserted.
Desert or not, I'm exhausted.
We need some water.
♪ Hectic inside ♪
♪ Baby, I'm so into you ♪
I'm starting to see a mirage.
♪ Darling,
if you only knew ♪
♪ All the things that
flow through my mind ♪
♪ But it's just a sweet,
sweet fantasy, baby ♪
♪ When I close my eyes,
you come and take me ♪
♪ On and on and on ♪
♪ It's so deep
in my daydreams ♪
You boys need a ride?
We got a man wheelchair bound.
He can ride with Wendy.
We'll strap him in.
You boys
gotta be thirsty.
You know these wizzes?
Nah, G-O-D,
but I'm trying to
get to know them.
I'm Roma,
and these are Roma's bitches.
Hey, fellas.
Why are you ladies
being so nice to us?
Women are known to be nice
when they're feeling nasty.
Hey, boys.
Sounds good to me.
Everything's
gonna be all right.
Come on. I got you.
Drink up.
Where are we?
You're in Roma's Lair.
Where's Darren?
He doesn't fit into our plan.
The fuck you trying
to do, torture us?
Ahh!
Your pain is our pleasure.
I ain't into that S&M shit.
Get me out of here. Get... fuck.
The minister has some questions.
Which one of you undies
reconnected the
signal in Medina?
I did.
Bring him.
Legend speaks
of one with a sword.
Where is your sword?
I don't know
what you talking about.
Who are you?
My attribute is Allah Justice.
They call me the Genius.
Why did you reconnect
the underground signal?
And how did you know
where to find it?
I get it.
You're the motherfucker
trying to keep people down.
Not keep them down.
Keep them in line.
By keeping them in line,
you're forcing them down.
If people aren't
exposed to the real,
they make a world on
they own of the fake.
People need art and culture!
It all starts with the music.
Yes.
That is why we have developed
the sound and the word
of the popular artist,
to be more susceptible
to the larger population.
We have gotten it
down to a science.
Recruit only pop artists.
In order to be pop,
you have to be popular,
and hip-hop has gained
great popularity.
So what's wrong with
the raw, uncut hip-hop?
Why are you trying to
dilute it or censor it?
Because it
inspires revolt!
I said we gotta get free
before Roma's bitches get back.
Yo, my ex girl, Christin,
she was a freak, but this?
This is some other level shit.
Come on, man.
Come on, god.
Get me out of this thing.
He's not the one of
legend, but we can use him.
He's handsome and has a
look that will resonate
with the common folks.
You should make him the offer.
If you sign with us,
we will show you
all that we are.
Make you appear rich
beyond your wildest imagination.
Put you in the shiniest clothes,
the most luxurious
mansions and cars.
Surround you with the
most exotic women.
Consume all the
abundance you desire.
You will be representative
of the culture.
All of those things that
you're promising me...
It's just shit.
Shit that's gonna be on a loan.
You want to use me
to lure the youth
into your illusion of luxury.
An illusion that they gonna
chase their whole lives...
but only a few will obtain.
Nah.
I'll pass.
Your brother seems to
be enjoying himself.
Fatherless Child!
Genius?
Brother, how could
you forget who you are?
Join us.
Enjoy the spoils of life.
Don't you
want to be a star?
Can't you picture
yourself in his position?
♪ Yo, picture bloodbaths
in elevator shafts ♪
♪ Like these murderous rhymes,
tight from genuine craft ♪
♪ Check the print ♪
♪ It's where veterans
spark the letterings ♪
♪ Slow-moving MCs is
waiting for the editing ♪
♪ The liquid soluble that
made up the chemistry ♪
♪ A gaseous element that
burned down your ministry ♪
He is the one.
The Liquid Sword
isn't a literal sword.
It is his tongue.
♪ Try to keep a
shark nigga guessing ♪
♪ Give crazy shouts,
son, here's the outcome ♪
♪ Cut across the semi-gloss
rhymes you floss ♪
♪ Shit is outdated, just
like neckloads of sterlings ♪
You coming, Dar?
Let's fucking go.
Right behind you.
♪ Blood splash, rushing
fast like running rivers ♪
♪ I be that whiskey
in your liver ♪
♪ Duel of the Iron Mic! ♪
♪ It's the 52 fatal strikes ♪
Stop him!
♪ This is not a '85 affair ♪
♪ Made clear when the
gods get on to perform ♪
♪ Storms blew up, Wu's up ♪
♪ Causing the crowd
to self-destruct ♪
♪ Who can withstand
the astonishing ♪
♪ Punishing stings
to the sternum? ♪
♪ Shocked in the
hip-hop livestock ♪
♪ Seeking for a
serum to cure 'em ♪
♪ The thugs kill for drugs
plus the young bucks bust ♪
♪ Ducking handcuffs ♪
♪ Throats get cut
when dough rush ♪
♪ Building lobbies are
graveyards for small-timers ♪
♪ Bitches caught in airports,
keys in they vaginas ♪
♪ No peace, yo, the
police mad corrupt ♪
♪ You get bagged up depending
if you're passing the cut ♪
♪ Plus shorty's not
a shorty no more ♪
♪ He's living heartless,
blinded by illusion ♪
♪ Finding it confusing ♪
♪ Duel of the Iron Mic ♪
♪ It's the 52 fatal strikes ♪
♪ Duel of the Iron Mic ♪
♪ It's the 52 fatal strikes! ♪
Return to the palace.
Thanks for saving me.
Thanks for being
who you are, brother.
We need you.
Assume your mantle, god.
You know, the Abbott always said
if we came together
for the common cause,
nothing could stop us.
Well, where's the Abbott now?
He's on top of the
Wu-Tang Mountain,
developing a new sound.
Well, I wish
he would come down from there.
That's what we're trying
to convince him to do now.
Well, I'll go back in here and
reconnect the desert signal
and let my people of the Zu know
that we all stand together.
Peace.
Proper Evaluations...
Activates Controllable Emotion.
Peace.
Maybe it was a bad idea
to lock ourselves inside.
Something's going on out there.
The desert interference
net is down.
Is this the
one from the prophecy?
And if so, can he reconnect
all the fiefdoms in time?
You got the next
broadcast ready?
Yeah, but we need to
expand our radius.
Pelan isn't the largest fiefdom,
but its sphere of influence is.
I mean, its reach
goes to Y.O. Now Rule
all the way to the
Palisades of New Jerusalem.
If we connect there, a
lot of ears'll be open.
Yeah, and maybe somebody
can open our doors.
Maybe.
♪ Move right
through the night ♪
♪ Give sight beyond sight ♪
♪ When the ears
hear the sound ♪
♪ They'll resound
from the light ♪
Damn.
I wish homegirl wasn't so crazy.
We could have made some
magical music together.
Yeah, the sound of
her whipping yo' ass
had a nice rhythm to it, right?
Ugh!
You hear that, Genius?
Yo, yo, yo. Hold
up, hold up, hold up.
♪ Move right
through the night ♪
♪ Give sight beyond sight ♪
♪ When the ears
hear the sound ♪
♪ They'll resound
from the light ♪
Light.
When the ears hear the sound,
they'll resound from the light.
When the ears hear the sound,
they'll resound from the light.
Light. Come on, man.
Been hearing a lot of
thunder, but no rain.
It's starting to come together.
Come on.
Get back
right now! - No!
They killed my baby!
We got ten of yours.
Well, we got
over a dozen of yours.
In the name of Allah,
this shit has to stop!
Our ancestors did not fight,
struggle,
and die for us to
be living like this.
Hey, yo, who the fuck are you
stepping up in the
middle of our square?
It's Justice, AKA the Genius.
Genius?
Nah, you must be a fucking fool
thinking you can run game
over here in my hood.
Nigga, this ain't your hood.
This hood belong to the Sunz.
Hoods don't belong
to none of us.
We all just rentin' it.
Pelan.
If you rearrange those letters,
you get the word plane,
meaning plane of intelligence.
This place used to be
on this highest plane.
Now it's devolved.
In order for us to evolve,
we must all get involved.
Man, how about I just let
this .44 barrel revolve,
and all the problems
out here'll be solved.
Problems still gonna
be here tomorrow, god.
And one day, you gonna
be on the receiving end.
Look, brother...
Everything goes
through a circle.
Now, in order to multiply,
we must add more circles.
Not repeat the same ones.
Man, this fool trying
to teach a math class.
Hey, yo, wait, wait,
wait, wait, wait.
This fool worth
a lot of credits.
Chill, yo.
Shit.
Hey, it's your
lucky unlucky day.
This you?
Hey, let's combine
and split the reward.
All right. That's a bet.
Nah, but that
record deal's mine.
Nah, son.
I been trying to get that
record deal for years.
Man, you sound stupider
than your music...
Wait, wait, wait, so y'all
will work together for evil,
but not for good.
Nigga, getting signed
to the major label
is for the good.
The ministers know
how to bless people.
Maybe if you got the right
people in those seats,
but not when it's ran by a bunch
of culture vultures, god.
Hey, yo. Tuck the guns up.
We taking this
pussy nigga alive.
My brothers, we
don't have to do this.
Bomb these niggas, god!
♪ Tommy ain't
my motherfucking boy ♪
♪ When you fake moves
on a nigga you employ ♪
♪ We'll all emerge
off your set ♪
♪ Now you know, God damn, I
show living large niggas ♪
♪ How to flip a Def Jam ♪
♪ And Ruff up the
motherfuckin' House ♪
♪ 'Cause I smother you Cold
Chillin' motherfuckers ♪
♪ I still Warner Brother ♪
♪ I'm Ruthless, my clan
don't have to act wild ♪
♪ That shit is Jive ♪
♪ An old Sleeping Bag Profile ♪
♪ The soft comedian rap
shit ain't the rough witty ♪
♪ On the reel to reel, it
wasn't from a Tuff City ♪
♪ Niggas be game, thinkin'
that they lyrical surgeons ♪
♪ They know they mic's
a phone to Virgin ♪
♪ And if you ain't boned a
mic, you couldn't hurt a bee ♪
♪ That's like going to
Venus driving a Mercury ♪
♪ The Capitol of this
rugged slang is Wu-Tang ♪
♪ Witty Unpredictable
Talent and Natural Game ♪
♪ Now, who's the
Bad Boy character? ♪
♪ Not from Arista, but firin'
weapons released on Geffen ♪
♪ So duck as I struck
with the soul of Motown ♪
♪ My central broadcasting
systems is lowdown ♪
♪ And Dirty, like
that Bastard ♪
♪ It's gettin' drastic ♪
Give 'em back their guns.
What?
Guns are only used
for war or for hunting,
and we don't go to
war with ourselves,
nor do we hunt each other.
When the time comes,
use them wisely.
I want more.
More.
We lost Pelan.
The people are returning
to the purer form.
We cannot allow this.
The purer form
cannot be emulated
by the rest of the industry.
We must keep the
people accepting
the watered-down
version of the craft.
Perhaps we can
negotiate with them.
Give them a small
piece of our spoils.
Avoid a war.
We will give them
what they deserve.
Annihilation.
That radio is a classic.
It should be able to
contact the station.
Come in.
Come
in. Come in. Come in.
Go ahead. This is Wu Radio.
Peace. This is Genius.
The wielder
of the Liquid Sword?
Indeed.
Yo, you've helped
give us a chance,
but there's still three
remaining chambers
that need to be connected.
The gold chamber of Mecca,
the rugged chamber
of the Shadow Boxer,
and the slums of Shaolin.
You can't make it to all
these fiefdoms in time.
I have a plan.
What if we split
up simultaneously
and reconnect it like that?
How will we do that?
Voltron.
When you reach the Abbott,
give him this message.
C-E-F-A.
All right,
look, fellas.
The only way we'll be
able to do this in time
is if we split up, like
the lions of Voltron.
Manifesto, you go to our brother
Johnny Blaze, the Shadow Boxer,
and tell him to
prepare his forces.
His flow will penetrate
the astral planes.
Give him this.
Chief Irif, you have to
go visit our brother,
the Wally King in Shaolin.
He may act if he sees this.
Darren, you ascend
to the top of the mountain
and go find the Abbott.
And I will go to the
gold chamber of Mecca.
Peace.
I'm sorry for your loss.
Look, I don't mean to disturb
you while you're mourning,
but we gotta talk.
I grew up in a small
project apartment.
Without my father.
My mother, she struggled to
keep the roof over our heads,
and I thought to myself,
"I'ma end her struggle."
I'ma... I'ma move into a big,
old house in the suburbs,
and we was gonna enjoy life.
And me, put in work.
Dedicate your time
to your craft,
and if you're lucky, one
day, you hit success.
But when you hit,
it takes up more of your time.
Day after day, month after
month, year after year.
You-you-you keep working
to keep the status
so you can come back
with another hit.
- Get a bigger home.
- Word.
You've done well for yourself,
and all from your art.
I work hard, son.
My schedule got so
busy, I barely stepped
in my mother's
house a dozen times.
Yo, I jumped onstage.
Spent nights in the
studio hundreds of times.
All the way up until the day
the reason I was doing it
is gone.
Taken from me
by a thief in the night.
The day she didn't wake up
is the day I fell asleep.
Yeah, but you can't
mourn forever, god.
A'ight? Now, the
people need you.
Hey, yo, fuck the people, son!
You don't mean that.
You're successful
because of the people.
They the ones that
supported you.
Where was the people
when I was in pain?
My mother passed, and
the world kept spinning.
People went on 'bout
they daily chores.
Eating, laughing, drinking
and shit, right, but my shit
came to a standstill.
I ain't want to get out of bed.
I ain't want to
see the sun shine,
but they still wanted to
write stories about me.
Niggas wanted new music,
photos, and interviews
and performances and shit.
Nigga, they ain't give
a fuck about my pain.
And family? Oh, word.
They only gave a
fuck about my money.
All they cared about was
their accommodations.
They would take my life
in order to take my place.
I shut 'em out.
I shut them motherfuckers off.
Look, life has no
partnership with death.
So guess what.
We gotta keep living.
Look, use everything that
you got to help the people.
Yo, burying it ain't
gonna benefit no one.
See, that's where you're wrong.
When I pass, my
servants gonna bury me
in the casket right
next to my mother.
Fill it with gold.
And who's that gonna benefit?
Me.
It's gonna benefit me.
I'ma live forever.
Know what I mean?
Like King Tut.
Son buried his riches and got
tour support for centuries.
Get this Black
brother up outta here.
He won't
flip the switch.
Now we won't have
everyone in the fight,
but we don't have time.
We've gotta attack.
Without his blockade,
we'd be flanked
from the left loose
of Mecca and Shaolin.
Yeah, but if the Abbott
sounds the signal,
Mecca will join
Shaolin on the attack.
But he won't sound a signal
without hearing the broadcast.
He will if he gets my note.
How are you so sure about that?
Because he's my brother,
and I know my brother.
The prophecy said we
needed everyone together,
but we don't have time.
It's our final broadcast.
Can I do the honors?
♪ Investigative reports ♪
♪ Rugged rhymesters ♪
♪ Crooked crimesters ♪
♪ Dime droppers,
25-to-lifers ♪
♪ Backstabbers, low blowers ♪
♪ Anxiety, brothers
trying me ♪
♪ Gunslingers, dead ringers ♪
♪ Dime droppers,
25-to-lifers ♪
♪ Backstabbers, low blowers ♪
♪ Illegal cocaine growers ♪
♪ Starvation, profanity ♪
♪ Anxiety, brothers
trying me ♪
♪ Gunslingers, dead ringers ♪
♪ Investigative reports ♪
Well, we did all
that we could do.
It's up to them now.
I'm switching to
two-way broadcast.
♪ Maximillion ♪
♪ Maximillion ♪
Shadowboxin'.
♪ I breaks it
down to the bone gristle ♪
♪ Ill-speaking scud missile ♪
♪ Heat seeking,
Johnny Blazing ♪
♪ Nightmares like Wes
Craven, niggas gunning ♪
♪ My third eye seen it
coming before it happened ♪
♪ You know about them
fucking Staten kids ♪
♪ They smashing
everything, uh ♪
♪ In any shape,
form, or fashion ♪
♪ Now everybody talking
'bout they blastin' ♪
♪ Hmm ♪
♪ Is you bustin' steel
or is you flashing? ♪
♪ Hmm ♪
♪ Talking out yo' asshole ♪
♪ Should have learnt about
the flow and peasy afro ♪
♪ Ticallion stallion ♪
♪ Chinky-eyed and snot-nosed ♪
♪ From my naps to the
bunion on my big toe ♪
♪ I keeps it moving ♪
♪ Know just what
the fuck I'm doing ♪
♪ Rap insomniac ♪
♪ Fiend to catch
a nigga snoozing ♪
♪ Slip the cardiac, arrest me ♪
♪ Exorcist hip-hop possess me ♪
♪ Crunch a nigga
like a Nestle ♪
♪ You know my steez ♪
♪ Burning to a third degree ♪
♪ Sneaky-ass alley
cat, top pedigree ♪
♪ The head toucher,
industry party bum rusher ♪
♪ You don't like it,
dick up in you, fuck ya ♪
Shadow.
Shadow boxin'.
Shadow boxin'.
Shadow boxin'.
Shadow... shadow boxin'.
What are you
doing here, little man?
I've come to find you...
Give you help,
and seek help from you.
I know you're looking
for a different sound,
but it's gonna take time
for you to develop it
and time for the people
to get used to it.
Until then,
you have to keep doing
what's been working for you.
Abbott, the people need you.
Your sister needs you.
We can't win without you.
All right, save your breath.
Must
deliver the signal.
Join the fight.
What's the signal?
So...
come, boy.
Choose life or death.
♪ The only man a ho wait for ♪
♪ Is the sky-blue Bally kid
in '83 rocked Tale Lords ♪
♪ My Memorex
performed tape decks ♪
♪ My own Fostex ♪
♪ Watch out for Haiti bitches ♪
♪ I heard they throw hex ♪
♪ Yo, Wu whole platoon
is filled with raccoons ♪
♪ Corner-sittin' wine
niggas sippin' Apple Boone ♪
♪ This ain't no white cartoon ♪
♪ 'Cause I be duckin'
crazy spades ♪
♪ The kid hold white shit
like blacks rock ashy legs ♪
♪ Why is the sky blue? ♪
♪ Why is water wet? ♪
♪ Why did Judas rat to
Romans while Jesus slept? ♪
♪ Stand up, you're
out of luck ♪
♪ Like two dogs stuck ♪
♪ Iron Man be sippin'
rum out of Stanley Cups ♪
♪ Unflammable Noriega
aiming knives ♪
♪ Stay windy in Chicago ♪
♪ Spine tingle, mind boggles ♪
♪ Kangols in rainbow colors ♪
♪ Promoters try to hold dough ♪
♪ Give me mine before Po
wrap you up in so-and-so ♪
♪ I ran the Dark Ages,
Constantine the Great ♪
♪ Henry the Eighth ♪
♪ Built with Genghis Khan ♪
♪ The red suede Wally Don ♪
♪ Hey, yo,
camouflage chameleon ♪
♪ Ninja scaling your building ♪
♪ No time to grab the gun ♪
♪ They already got your
wife and children ♪
♪ A hit was sent
from the president ♪
♪ To raid your residence ♪
♪ Because you had
secret evidence ♪
♪ And documents on how
they raped a continent ♪
♪ And lynched the prominent,
dominant Islamic ♪
♪ Asiatic, Black Hebrew ♪
♪ The year 2002 ♪
♪ The battle's
filled with the Wu ♪
♪ 6 million devils just
died from the Bubonic flu ♪
♪ Or the Ebola virus under
the reign of King Cyrus ♪
♪ You can see the weakness of
a man right through his iris ♪
♪ Unloyal snakes get thrown
in boilin' lakes of hot oil ♪
♪ It boils your skin ♪
♪ Chicken heads getting'
slim like Olive Oyl ♪
♪ Only plant the seed
deep inside fertile soil ♪
♪ Fortified with essential
vitamins and minerals ♪
♪ Use the sky for a blanket ♪
♪ Stuffin' clouds
inside my pillow ♪
♪ Rollin' with the
Lamb, 12 tribes ♪
♪ 144,000 chosen ♪
♪ Protons, electrons
always cause explosions ♪
Wu-Tang! Wu-Tang!
Wu-Tang! Wu-Tang!
You believe you freed the people
and gave them back
their culture,
but it will not last.
There will be new ways
to keep them in line.
Not if I have anything
to do about it.
You and I are the same.
Two cultures fighting to
make our mark on this world
while we can.
Well, I'm afraid you won't
be able to see that world.
Your Liquid Swords
will not work on me.
Cool. That's why
I got a real one.
♪ All right, well, okay ♪
♪ Well, if you like
the way it sounds ♪
[singing along] ♪
Then clap, man ♪
Yo, this shit is a
masterpiece, god.
Mm, better than that
Cuban Linx album.
I told... yo.
Hey, you only saying that shit
- 'cause it's your album, nigga.
- Nah, nah, nah, cuz.
I'm saying that 'cause I got
every Wu-Tang Clan member on it.
I feel you.
Look, I think... I think
this album is gonna
expand us to a whole
new breed of fans, yo.
We gotta keep this
momentum going, though.
I got all the brothers coming
to this session tonight, nigga.
Word, word, word.
All good, but yo.
I gotta go down to
Medina real quick.
I gotta meet with Priest.
Yeah, Geffen talking
about giving me
my own production deal
to start signing artists.
I see you, nigga.
Yeah.
I see you. Yeah.
Well, cuz, you ain't
the only one learnin'
the other side of
the business, guy.
Hey, apparently not.
Hey, yo, yo. What
about the session?
I'll be back before
y'all wrap it up, bro.
Just hit me.
Suu!
Yo! Peace.
Yo, what up, 'Vine?
Yo, what up with you?
- Long time no see,
sir. - I know.
That Shaolin monk don't let
you check yo phone no more?
Oh, watch out, yo.
Yo, I been in the studio
blasting music, a'ight?
A'ight,
well, see, that's why
I installed that phone light.
Oh, I know. Shit went
off, like, ten times.
It's fucking irritating, yo.
Well, excuse me, because
I only hit you up twice,
and that was for good news,
because GZA's "Shadowboxin'"
is number one on Hot 97,
and the album is about
to debut in the top ten
on the fucking Billboard
charts, my nigga.
Come on, god. RZA: Hey, yo.
- Get the fuck out of here,
yo. - You did it again.
Another hit release!
Hey, look, look.
That's what happens when
the Wu stands together.
Yo, we got another
session tonight.
We're bound to produce
another banger.
All right, well, you
gonna have to miss me,
because, uh, I told Nia that
I'd be back in by 11:00,
so I'll check in
with you tomorrow.
Hey, uh, tell her
I say what's up.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, I will.
And, uh, you know what?
Maybe you should
listen to these.
Peace, lord.
I ain't gonna make it tonight.
I'm working on this
joint with Redman.
Shit gonna be bananas, son. One.
Yo, peace, cuzo.
I'm at this crazy
party with Mariah.
I'm about to put a baby in
one of these R&B chicks, son.
Peace. It's Rebel.
Yo, send somebody to pick me up.
I'm not driving out tonight
dodging all them fucking deers.
Hey, yo, Bobby
Steels, this Ghost.
- I'm here with Rae.
- Yeah, thun.
We uptown with Jodeci right now.
We 'bout to splash this
"Feenin'" you remix.
Know what I mean?
This shit
gonna be fire!
Ooh!
We'll catch
you next week, son.
Out.
Yo, Abbott.
U-G-O-D here.
Yeah, I ain't gonna make it
out to the woods tonight, man.
Gotta take care of
something with Dontae.
You know what it is. One.
Peace to the
god. It's Killa.
Yo, Abbott, since I'm
already on the Brooklyn side,
I'ma roll with
GZA to this thing,
know what I'm saying?
By the way...
Yeah.
You need to do a
video for that joint.
Peace.
I might as well
take my ass back to LA.
JIMMY: ♪ As I walk this
land of broken dreams ♪
♪ I have visions
of many things ♪
♪ But happiness is
just an illusion ♪
♪ Filled with sadness
and confusion ♪
♪ What becomes of
the brokenhearted ♪
♪ Who had love that's
now departed? ♪
♪ I know I've got to find
some kind of peace of mind ♪
♪ Maybe ♪
♪ The roots of love
grow all around ♪
♪ But for me they
come a-tumblin' down ♪
♪ Every day heartaches
grow a little stronger ♪
♪ I can't stand this
pain much longer ♪
♪ I walk in shadows
searching for light ♪
♪ Cold and alone, no
comfort in sight ♪
♪ Hoping and praying
for someone who care ♪
♪ Always moving
and going nowhere ♪
♪ What becomes of
the brokenhearted ♪
♪ Who had love that's
now departed? ♪
♪ I know I've got to find
some kind of peace of mind ♪
♪ Help me ♪
♪ I'm searching though
I don't succeed ♪
♪ But someone look,
there's a growing need ♪
♪ All is lost, there's
no place for beginning ♪
♪ All that's left is
an unhappy ending ♪
♪ Now what becomes of
the brokenhearted ♪
♪ Who had love that's
now departed? ♪
♪ I know I've got to find
some kind of peace of mind ♪
♪ I'll be searching
everywhere ♪
♪ Just to find
someone to care ♪
♪ I'll be looking every day ♪
♪ I know I'm gonna find a way ♪
♪ Nothing's gonna stop me now ♪
♪ I'll find a way somehow ♪
Get on the line!
♪ On phony wack
rhymes that get hurt ♪
I'm not playing
with this one, cuz.
I'm in a whole other different
chamber on this, cuz.
'Cause you know I got
that staccato beat for you
with that Willie
Mitchell sample on it.
♪ I flow like the
blood on the murder scene ♪
Hey, yo, this is that
classic Genius fire.
Loving it, dog.
Geffen's
getting a little antsy.
The only thing
I'm missing now is just
the verses from the Clan, son.
And you know when we come
together, the music is raw.
It's irreplaceable.
My album might be the last time
we can pull that shit off, yo.
Yo.
Yo! Anybody home?
God. Fucking Jersey.
♪ Niggas are fascinated
how the shit begin ♪
♪ Get vaccinated, my logo
is branded in your skin ♪
♪ And when the MCs came
to live out the name ♪
♪ And to perform ♪
♪ Some had to snort cocaine ♪
Yo, peace!
Peace, god.
Power went out again.
Yeah, well, that's
Jersey for you.
Why are you sitting
here alone in the dark?
I ain't alone.
Well, talk to me.
What's been eating you?
Yo, you don't get it, 'Vine.
I did a whole album
with me spitting by myself
on every track.
That ain't work.
If the Wu-Tang
forms like Voltron,
and I'm the head,
how I'm supposed to function
without the body, god?
Yeah, but y'all haven't
been on the same album
- since 36 Chambers.
- Exactly.
That's why I gotta assemble
the entire team for my album.
Yeah, but you don't
got time for that, GZA.
The label needs the
album handed in to them
by next week, and
it's already gonna be
a challenge for
them to market it
without a radio-friendly single.
Look, instead of trying
to get Wu-Tang features,
let's try some other flavor.
Now, I heard D'Angelo gonna be
at Battery Studio next week.
Now, I'm sure RZA can get him
- to hop on a track with you...
- Man.
And then the label will
love that, know what I mean?
Man, fuck the label, 'Vine.
Fuck being friendly
to the stations.
They need to be friendly to us.
We the ones that the
people are coming to see,
to find out what we're saying.
However, the label are
investing in our music
and expanding our reach.
And watering us down.
Divine, I'm the one who
learned the hip-hop culture
from the Bronx.
The first Wu member to
get knowledge of self.
Meth got a hit with Mary.
You got Dirty with Mariah.
But GZA's album?
My album gotta be pure, god.
And all I need is my Wu brothers
to achieve that.
A'ight.
A'ight, well, let me see
if I can get two more
weeks with Geffen, okay?
But you gonna need
the Abbott to help you
convince your
brothers to jump on.
Especially the ones who
careers are blossoming.
Where's the Abbott?
Look, I don't know.
That nigga got back
from LA with these books
from the Bodhi Tree,
and now he's looking
for a Shaolin monk
named Sifu Shi Yan Ming.
A'ight, prophet.
You know what to do.
Yeah.
On some lyrical
swordsman-type banger.
I gotta connect with the Abbott.
Genius, help
us. We need you.
You're our only hope.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Peace.
It's me.
Lower them.
You-you-you...
You're the Genius.
I can't move.
My wheelchair's broken.
Let me see what I can do.
Hell, your motor's busted.
What are you doing out here?
I'm on my way to see the Abbott.
To give him this, and it broke.
Wait, so you know
where the Abbott is at?
Yes.
He's on top of the
Wu-Tang Mountain.
The labels
are on the precipice
of ending the culture,
putting us at the brink of doom.
We reunited once, but over time,
our brothers wanted to
outshine one another.
This allowed the head
of the labels, Cyrus,
to infiltrate them one by one,
using the ministers to buy up
all the broadcasting signals
and pump pop into the system,
keeping the masses
stuck on stupid.
They fragmented our
empire of culture
into separate fiefdoms like
Medina, Pelan, and Mecca.
Our radio signal is
the last true broadcast
of culture that is left,
which is why we've locked
ourselves in the booth.
But there's a prophecy.
The legend of the Liquid Sword,
which says that a man of
words, a genius perhaps,
will come forth to
save the culture
when he's needed the most.
That he will reunite
the brothers, somehow.
We'll start
here, in Medina.
But the fiefdoms
have never been further apart
than they are now.
There's Pelan, home
of the savages,
where beef isn't
served on a plate...
It's a way of life.
The desert, which has
truly been deserted
since the Fatherless
Child disappeared.
Mecca, land of the riches,
where they keep making it
and try to keep the
others from taking it.
Then there's the Zu,
the underground, and...
Medina, where
the gods are meaner.
Can I help you?
Yeah. We're looking
for Chief Irif.
He passed away a few years back.
I'm his daughter, Yenji.
Well, uh, do you have
anything good to eat?
We don't serve food here.
No one is allowed to grow
or sell food anymore.
I have only sake.
Filtered, unfiltered,
bitter, sweet, and spicy.
I'll try the spicy one.
I see you mastered
your father's recipe.
How did you know my father?
We used to work together
as imperial masters.
And I know one thing.
No one brews spicy
sake as he does,
and dead men can't brew,
so why don't you tell
me where your father is?
He's
in his old laboratory.
Positive Education...
Activates Constant...
Elevation.
Genius.
The culture was
usurped by Cyrus,
and the Ministers of
Culture turned out
to be culture vultures.
They tranquilized the
people with popotronics.
So you got a whole fiefdom
staring into oblivion?
Looks like they're
staring into emptiness,
but they're staring into
illusions and false images.
So why didn't you and your
daughter become affected?
Oh, we only listen
to the classics,
either on vinyl or through
this faint radio transmission,
all produced by the
Abbott or the Godfathers.
The classic headphones
were built with antennas,
but mine are damaged and
take forever to get a signal.
♪ Hell's wind staff ♪
♪ The rise of rap titans ♪
♪ Ninjas battling,
sword swinging ♪
♪ Cutthroat women,
whirlwind spinning ♪
♪ Save the children ♪
♪ Escape the poverty
we're living in ♪
Yo, who's broadcasting this?
♪ Hell's wind staff,
the rise of rap titans ♪
♪ Ninjas battling,
swords swinging ♪
♪ Cutthroat women ♪
♪ Whirlwind spinning,
save the children ♪
♪ Escape the poverty
we're living in ♪
♪ Hell's wind staff,
the rise of rap titans ♪
♪ Ninjas battling,
swords swinging ♪
♪ Cutthroat women ♪
♪ Whirlwind spinning,
save the children ♪
♪ Escape the poverty
we're living in ♪
♪ Hell's wind staff,
the rise of rap titans ♪
♪ Ninjas battling,
swords swinging ♪
♪ Cutthroat women ♪
♪ Whirlwind spinning,
save the children ♪
♪ Escape the poverty
we're living in ♪
Nobody's listening.
Somebody is always listening.
And even so, will
they be in tune?
Smart enough to
decipher the codes?
I don't understand why you
just don't spurt it out.
Because if the
ministers understand
what we're talking about,
they will make sure
we are disconnected
from the people forever.
We're running out of time.
We got, what, 36 hours
before the time runs out?
Before it's lights out for
you, me, and all we stood for?
To save our culture,
we gotta connect
all the fiefdoms.
It starts with the spreading
of the word through the music.
Our transmissions
have been broken
at these strategic points.
If we can get someone
to reconnect us,
we can sound the signal.
Yes, but they all
need to be connected
in order for us
to be successful.
Move as one.
Let me try this one.
♪ All day underground sound ♪
♪ From the hallway
on 4th and Broadway ♪
♪ To connect the dots to
Watts to hear what all say ♪
These lyrics have
messages in 'em.
♪ All day underground
sound from the hallway... ♪
All dope lyric have
messages. Hold on, hold on.
Underground...
All day underground sound.
Underground.
4th and Broadway.
Come on. Let's go.
I'm not going anywhere.
What do you...
It was good to see
you, brother...
But me and my daughter
are good where we're at.
What's the use of being woke
while everyone else is asleep?
Chief, I need you to join me.
Maybe if we get all
our brothers together,
we can reverse the effect
that the ministers put on us.
Make the culture
pure again, god.
Father, he's right.
Now is the time
to join the fight.
What happened
to the Abbott?
He couldn't help?
The Abbott
tried to help,
but he eventually
gave up on the people
and retreated to the mountain
to live as a recluse.
He didn't
give up on us.
He went to go
develop a new sound
to compete with the ministers.
They're only broadcasting
regurgitated music
sampled from familiar
hooky tracks.
They trying to put an end
to lyrical consciousness
and street lo-fi aesthetics.
Well, while the Abbott
is busy meditating,
the people out here hurting.
4th and Broadway.
Underground sound.
4th... and Broadway.
Yo, this is it.
It's the place where
the signal's broken.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
That's Manifesto,
the Underground King.
Looks like he's
completely lost it.
I can do it!
Yo, I got an idea.
Let's go. Boom!
Ah! Brother.
We got one of
the chambers connected.
Oh.
Try to broadcast.
♪ You gotta dip, dip,
dive, so socialize ♪
♪ Clean out your ears
and open your eyes ♪
♪ You gotta dip, dip,
dive, so socialize ♪
♪ Clean out your ears
and open your eyes ♪
♪ You gotta dip, dip,
dive, so socialize ♪
♪ Clean out your ears
and open your eyes ♪
♪ You gotta dip, dip,
dive, so socialize ♪
Manifesto.
My brother, it's
been far too long.
Peace, brother.
Pardon self.
The Fatherless Child warned us
that they were gonna make
us all fight each other.
Black versus white.
Asian versus Native.
Everyone against everyone,
and that's how I
lost all control.
Positive Education
Always Corrects Errors.
Glad to see you back on track.
We need you.
That's
what we have to do.
Reconnect all the signals.
That's how we'll
reunite the fiefdoms.
That's how we're
gonna free more minds.
If we're heading to
the top of the mountain,
we'll be passing through
a lot of savages.
Everyone is on they own shit.
Do or die.
Kill or be killed.
I know a way to avoid trouble.
We take the route
through the desert.
It'll add some more
time, but it's safer.
Lead the way.
: ♪ You gotta dip,
dip, dive, so socialize ♪
♪ Clean out your ears
and open your eyes ♪
♪ You gotta dip, dip,
dive, so socialize ♪
♪ Clean out your ears
and open your eyes ♪
♪ Clean out your ears
and open your eyes ♪
♪ You gotta dip, dip,
dive, so socialize ♪
♪ Clean out your ears
and open your eyes ♪
♪ You gotta dip, dip,
dive, so socialize ♪
♪ Clean out your ears
and open your eyes ♪
My lord.
We've lost one of the fiefdoms.
Someone reconnected
the severed signal.
It could be the one
the legends speak of.
Send our spies.
Round up any strangers.
We'll see if he's the
wielder of the Liquid Sword.
Bring him to me.
All of this was a playground
to the Fatherless Child?
Why did he abandon it?
He was the only one in our crew
who didn't need a book
to invoke his word.
Rumor in Medina was, he
gave in to the system,
just like the rest of us.
Y'all call this a desert?
It's not an actual desert,
but it is deserted.
Desert or not, I'm exhausted.
We need some water.
♪ Hectic inside ♪
♪ Baby, I'm so into you ♪
I'm starting to see a mirage.
♪ Darling,
if you only knew ♪
♪ All the things that
flow through my mind ♪
♪ But it's just a sweet,
sweet fantasy, baby ♪
♪ When I close my eyes,
you come and take me ♪
♪ On and on and on ♪
♪ It's so deep
in my daydreams ♪
You boys need a ride?
We got a man wheelchair bound.
He can ride with Wendy.
We'll strap him in.
You boys
gotta be thirsty.
You know these wizzes?
Nah, G-O-D,
but I'm trying to
get to know them.
I'm Roma,
and these are Roma's bitches.
Hey, fellas.
Why are you ladies
being so nice to us?
Women are known to be nice
when they're feeling nasty.
Hey, boys.
Sounds good to me.
Everything's
gonna be all right.
Come on. I got you.
Drink up.
Where are we?
You're in Roma's Lair.
Where's Darren?
He doesn't fit into our plan.
The fuck you trying
to do, torture us?
Ahh!
Your pain is our pleasure.
I ain't into that S&M shit.
Get me out of here. Get... fuck.
The minister has some questions.
Which one of you undies
reconnected the
signal in Medina?
I did.
Bring him.
Legend speaks
of one with a sword.
Where is your sword?
I don't know
what you talking about.
Who are you?
My attribute is Allah Justice.
They call me the Genius.
Why did you reconnect
the underground signal?
And how did you know
where to find it?
I get it.
You're the motherfucker
trying to keep people down.
Not keep them down.
Keep them in line.
By keeping them in line,
you're forcing them down.
If people aren't
exposed to the real,
they make a world on
they own of the fake.
People need art and culture!
It all starts with the music.
Yes.
That is why we have developed
the sound and the word
of the popular artist,
to be more susceptible
to the larger population.
We have gotten it
down to a science.
Recruit only pop artists.
In order to be pop,
you have to be popular,
and hip-hop has gained
great popularity.
So what's wrong with
the raw, uncut hip-hop?
Why are you trying to
dilute it or censor it?
Because it
inspires revolt!
I said we gotta get free
before Roma's bitches get back.
Yo, my ex girl, Christin,
she was a freak, but this?
This is some other level shit.
Come on, man.
Come on, god.
Get me out of this thing.
He's not the one of
legend, but we can use him.
He's handsome and has a
look that will resonate
with the common folks.
You should make him the offer.
If you sign with us,
we will show you
all that we are.
Make you appear rich
beyond your wildest imagination.
Put you in the shiniest clothes,
the most luxurious
mansions and cars.
Surround you with the
most exotic women.
Consume all the
abundance you desire.
You will be representative
of the culture.
All of those things that
you're promising me...
It's just shit.
Shit that's gonna be on a loan.
You want to use me
to lure the youth
into your illusion of luxury.
An illusion that they gonna
chase their whole lives...
but only a few will obtain.
Nah.
I'll pass.
Your brother seems to
be enjoying himself.
Fatherless Child!
Genius?
Brother, how could
you forget who you are?
Join us.
Enjoy the spoils of life.
Don't you
want to be a star?
Can't you picture
yourself in his position?
♪ Yo, picture bloodbaths
in elevator shafts ♪
♪ Like these murderous rhymes,
tight from genuine craft ♪
♪ Check the print ♪
♪ It's where veterans
spark the letterings ♪
♪ Slow-moving MCs is
waiting for the editing ♪
♪ The liquid soluble that
made up the chemistry ♪
♪ A gaseous element that
burned down your ministry ♪
He is the one.
The Liquid Sword
isn't a literal sword.
It is his tongue.
♪ Try to keep a
shark nigga guessing ♪
♪ Give crazy shouts,
son, here's the outcome ♪
♪ Cut across the semi-gloss
rhymes you floss ♪
♪ Shit is outdated, just
like neckloads of sterlings ♪
You coming, Dar?
Let's fucking go.
Right behind you.
♪ Blood splash, rushing
fast like running rivers ♪
♪ I be that whiskey
in your liver ♪
♪ Duel of the Iron Mic! ♪
♪ It's the 52 fatal strikes ♪
Stop him!
♪ This is not a '85 affair ♪
♪ Made clear when the
gods get on to perform ♪
♪ Storms blew up, Wu's up ♪
♪ Causing the crowd
to self-destruct ♪
♪ Who can withstand
the astonishing ♪
♪ Punishing stings
to the sternum? ♪
♪ Shocked in the
hip-hop livestock ♪
♪ Seeking for a
serum to cure 'em ♪
♪ The thugs kill for drugs
plus the young bucks bust ♪
♪ Ducking handcuffs ♪
♪ Throats get cut
when dough rush ♪
♪ Building lobbies are
graveyards for small-timers ♪
♪ Bitches caught in airports,
keys in they vaginas ♪
♪ No peace, yo, the
police mad corrupt ♪
♪ You get bagged up depending
if you're passing the cut ♪
♪ Plus shorty's not
a shorty no more ♪
♪ He's living heartless,
blinded by illusion ♪
♪ Finding it confusing ♪
♪ Duel of the Iron Mic ♪
♪ It's the 52 fatal strikes ♪
♪ Duel of the Iron Mic ♪
♪ It's the 52 fatal strikes! ♪
Return to the palace.
Thanks for saving me.
Thanks for being
who you are, brother.
We need you.
Assume your mantle, god.
You know, the Abbott always said
if we came together
for the common cause,
nothing could stop us.
Well, where's the Abbott now?
He's on top of the
Wu-Tang Mountain,
developing a new sound.
Well, I wish
he would come down from there.
That's what we're trying
to convince him to do now.
Well, I'll go back in here and
reconnect the desert signal
and let my people of the Zu know
that we all stand together.
Peace.
Proper Evaluations...
Activates Controllable Emotion.
Peace.
Maybe it was a bad idea
to lock ourselves inside.
Something's going on out there.
The desert interference
net is down.
Is this the
one from the prophecy?
And if so, can he reconnect
all the fiefdoms in time?
You got the next
broadcast ready?
Yeah, but we need to
expand our radius.
Pelan isn't the largest fiefdom,
but its sphere of influence is.
I mean, its reach
goes to Y.O. Now Rule
all the way to the
Palisades of New Jerusalem.
If we connect there, a
lot of ears'll be open.
Yeah, and maybe somebody
can open our doors.
Maybe.
♪ Move right
through the night ♪
♪ Give sight beyond sight ♪
♪ When the ears
hear the sound ♪
♪ They'll resound
from the light ♪
Damn.
I wish homegirl wasn't so crazy.
We could have made some
magical music together.
Yeah, the sound of
her whipping yo' ass
had a nice rhythm to it, right?
Ugh!
You hear that, Genius?
Yo, yo, yo. Hold
up, hold up, hold up.
♪ Move right
through the night ♪
♪ Give sight beyond sight ♪
♪ When the ears
hear the sound ♪
♪ They'll resound
from the light ♪
Light.
When the ears hear the sound,
they'll resound from the light.
When the ears hear the sound,
they'll resound from the light.
Light. Come on, man.
Been hearing a lot of
thunder, but no rain.
It's starting to come together.
Come on.
Get back
right now! - No!
They killed my baby!
We got ten of yours.
Well, we got
over a dozen of yours.
In the name of Allah,
this shit has to stop!
Our ancestors did not fight,
struggle,
and die for us to
be living like this.
Hey, yo, who the fuck are you
stepping up in the
middle of our square?
It's Justice, AKA the Genius.
Genius?
Nah, you must be a fucking fool
thinking you can run game
over here in my hood.
Nigga, this ain't your hood.
This hood belong to the Sunz.
Hoods don't belong
to none of us.
We all just rentin' it.
Pelan.
If you rearrange those letters,
you get the word plane,
meaning plane of intelligence.
This place used to be
on this highest plane.
Now it's devolved.
In order for us to evolve,
we must all get involved.
Man, how about I just let
this .44 barrel revolve,
and all the problems
out here'll be solved.
Problems still gonna
be here tomorrow, god.
And one day, you gonna
be on the receiving end.
Look, brother...
Everything goes
through a circle.
Now, in order to multiply,
we must add more circles.
Not repeat the same ones.
Man, this fool trying
to teach a math class.
Hey, yo, wait, wait,
wait, wait, wait.
This fool worth
a lot of credits.
Chill, yo.
Shit.
Hey, it's your
lucky unlucky day.
This you?
Hey, let's combine
and split the reward.
All right. That's a bet.
Nah, but that
record deal's mine.
Nah, son.
I been trying to get that
record deal for years.
Man, you sound stupider
than your music...
Wait, wait, wait, so y'all
will work together for evil,
but not for good.
Nigga, getting signed
to the major label
is for the good.
The ministers know
how to bless people.
Maybe if you got the right
people in those seats,
but not when it's ran by a bunch
of culture vultures, god.
Hey, yo. Tuck the guns up.
We taking this
pussy nigga alive.
My brothers, we
don't have to do this.
Bomb these niggas, god!
♪ Tommy ain't
my motherfucking boy ♪
♪ When you fake moves
on a nigga you employ ♪
♪ We'll all emerge
off your set ♪
♪ Now you know, God damn, I
show living large niggas ♪
♪ How to flip a Def Jam ♪
♪ And Ruff up the
motherfuckin' House ♪
♪ 'Cause I smother you Cold
Chillin' motherfuckers ♪
♪ I still Warner Brother ♪
♪ I'm Ruthless, my clan
don't have to act wild ♪
♪ That shit is Jive ♪
♪ An old Sleeping Bag Profile ♪
♪ The soft comedian rap
shit ain't the rough witty ♪
♪ On the reel to reel, it
wasn't from a Tuff City ♪
♪ Niggas be game, thinkin'
that they lyrical surgeons ♪
♪ They know they mic's
a phone to Virgin ♪
♪ And if you ain't boned a
mic, you couldn't hurt a bee ♪
♪ That's like going to
Venus driving a Mercury ♪
♪ The Capitol of this
rugged slang is Wu-Tang ♪
♪ Witty Unpredictable
Talent and Natural Game ♪
♪ Now, who's the
Bad Boy character? ♪
♪ Not from Arista, but firin'
weapons released on Geffen ♪
♪ So duck as I struck
with the soul of Motown ♪
♪ My central broadcasting
systems is lowdown ♪
♪ And Dirty, like
that Bastard ♪
♪ It's gettin' drastic ♪
Give 'em back their guns.
What?
Guns are only used
for war or for hunting,
and we don't go to
war with ourselves,
nor do we hunt each other.
When the time comes,
use them wisely.
I want more.
More.
We lost Pelan.
The people are returning
to the purer form.
We cannot allow this.
The purer form
cannot be emulated
by the rest of the industry.
We must keep the
people accepting
the watered-down
version of the craft.
Perhaps we can
negotiate with them.
Give them a small
piece of our spoils.
Avoid a war.
We will give them
what they deserve.
Annihilation.
That radio is a classic.
It should be able to
contact the station.
Come in.
Come
in. Come in. Come in.
Go ahead. This is Wu Radio.
Peace. This is Genius.
The wielder
of the Liquid Sword?
Indeed.
Yo, you've helped
give us a chance,
but there's still three
remaining chambers
that need to be connected.
The gold chamber of Mecca,
the rugged chamber
of the Shadow Boxer,
and the slums of Shaolin.
You can't make it to all
these fiefdoms in time.
I have a plan.
What if we split
up simultaneously
and reconnect it like that?
How will we do that?
Voltron.
When you reach the Abbott,
give him this message.
C-E-F-A.
All right,
look, fellas.
The only way we'll be
able to do this in time
is if we split up, like
the lions of Voltron.
Manifesto, you go to our brother
Johnny Blaze, the Shadow Boxer,
and tell him to
prepare his forces.
His flow will penetrate
the astral planes.
Give him this.
Chief Irif, you have to
go visit our brother,
the Wally King in Shaolin.
He may act if he sees this.
Darren, you ascend
to the top of the mountain
and go find the Abbott.
And I will go to the
gold chamber of Mecca.
Peace.
I'm sorry for your loss.
Look, I don't mean to disturb
you while you're mourning,
but we gotta talk.
I grew up in a small
project apartment.
Without my father.
My mother, she struggled to
keep the roof over our heads,
and I thought to myself,
"I'ma end her struggle."
I'ma... I'ma move into a big,
old house in the suburbs,
and we was gonna enjoy life.
And me, put in work.
Dedicate your time
to your craft,
and if you're lucky, one
day, you hit success.
But when you hit,
it takes up more of your time.
Day after day, month after
month, year after year.
You-you-you keep working
to keep the status
so you can come back
with another hit.
- Get a bigger home.
- Word.
You've done well for yourself,
and all from your art.
I work hard, son.
My schedule got so
busy, I barely stepped
in my mother's
house a dozen times.
Yo, I jumped onstage.
Spent nights in the
studio hundreds of times.
All the way up until the day
the reason I was doing it
is gone.
Taken from me
by a thief in the night.
The day she didn't wake up
is the day I fell asleep.
Yeah, but you can't
mourn forever, god.
A'ight? Now, the
people need you.
Hey, yo, fuck the people, son!
You don't mean that.
You're successful
because of the people.
They the ones that
supported you.
Where was the people
when I was in pain?
My mother passed, and
the world kept spinning.
People went on 'bout
they daily chores.
Eating, laughing, drinking
and shit, right, but my shit
came to a standstill.
I ain't want to get out of bed.
I ain't want to
see the sun shine,
but they still wanted to
write stories about me.
Niggas wanted new music,
photos, and interviews
and performances and shit.
Nigga, they ain't give
a fuck about my pain.
And family? Oh, word.
They only gave a
fuck about my money.
All they cared about was
their accommodations.
They would take my life
in order to take my place.
I shut 'em out.
I shut them motherfuckers off.
Look, life has no
partnership with death.
So guess what.
We gotta keep living.
Look, use everything that
you got to help the people.
Yo, burying it ain't
gonna benefit no one.
See, that's where you're wrong.
When I pass, my
servants gonna bury me
in the casket right
next to my mother.
Fill it with gold.
And who's that gonna benefit?
Me.
It's gonna benefit me.
I'ma live forever.
Know what I mean?
Like King Tut.
Son buried his riches and got
tour support for centuries.
Get this Black
brother up outta here.
He won't
flip the switch.
Now we won't have
everyone in the fight,
but we don't have time.
We've gotta attack.
Without his blockade,
we'd be flanked
from the left loose
of Mecca and Shaolin.
Yeah, but if the Abbott
sounds the signal,
Mecca will join
Shaolin on the attack.
But he won't sound a signal
without hearing the broadcast.
He will if he gets my note.
How are you so sure about that?
Because he's my brother,
and I know my brother.
The prophecy said we
needed everyone together,
but we don't have time.
It's our final broadcast.
Can I do the honors?
♪ Investigative reports ♪
♪ Rugged rhymesters ♪
♪ Crooked crimesters ♪
♪ Dime droppers,
25-to-lifers ♪
♪ Backstabbers, low blowers ♪
♪ Anxiety, brothers
trying me ♪
♪ Gunslingers, dead ringers ♪
♪ Dime droppers,
25-to-lifers ♪
♪ Backstabbers, low blowers ♪
♪ Illegal cocaine growers ♪
♪ Starvation, profanity ♪
♪ Anxiety, brothers
trying me ♪
♪ Gunslingers, dead ringers ♪
♪ Investigative reports ♪
Well, we did all
that we could do.
It's up to them now.
I'm switching to
two-way broadcast.
♪ Maximillion ♪
♪ Maximillion ♪
Shadowboxin'.
♪ I breaks it
down to the bone gristle ♪
♪ Ill-speaking scud missile ♪
♪ Heat seeking,
Johnny Blazing ♪
♪ Nightmares like Wes
Craven, niggas gunning ♪
♪ My third eye seen it
coming before it happened ♪
♪ You know about them
fucking Staten kids ♪
♪ They smashing
everything, uh ♪
♪ In any shape,
form, or fashion ♪
♪ Now everybody talking
'bout they blastin' ♪
♪ Hmm ♪
♪ Is you bustin' steel
or is you flashing? ♪
♪ Hmm ♪
♪ Talking out yo' asshole ♪
♪ Should have learnt about
the flow and peasy afro ♪
♪ Ticallion stallion ♪
♪ Chinky-eyed and snot-nosed ♪
♪ From my naps to the
bunion on my big toe ♪
♪ I keeps it moving ♪
♪ Know just what
the fuck I'm doing ♪
♪ Rap insomniac ♪
♪ Fiend to catch
a nigga snoozing ♪
♪ Slip the cardiac, arrest me ♪
♪ Exorcist hip-hop possess me ♪
♪ Crunch a nigga
like a Nestle ♪
♪ You know my steez ♪
♪ Burning to a third degree ♪
♪ Sneaky-ass alley
cat, top pedigree ♪
♪ The head toucher,
industry party bum rusher ♪
♪ You don't like it,
dick up in you, fuck ya ♪
Shadow.
Shadow boxin'.
Shadow boxin'.
Shadow boxin'.
Shadow... shadow boxin'.
What are you
doing here, little man?
I've come to find you...
Give you help,
and seek help from you.
I know you're looking
for a different sound,
but it's gonna take time
for you to develop it
and time for the people
to get used to it.
Until then,
you have to keep doing
what's been working for you.
Abbott, the people need you.
Your sister needs you.
We can't win without you.
All right, save your breath.
Must
deliver the signal.
Join the fight.
What's the signal?
So...
come, boy.
Choose life or death.
♪ The only man a ho wait for ♪
♪ Is the sky-blue Bally kid
in '83 rocked Tale Lords ♪
♪ My Memorex
performed tape decks ♪
♪ My own Fostex ♪
♪ Watch out for Haiti bitches ♪
♪ I heard they throw hex ♪
♪ Yo, Wu whole platoon
is filled with raccoons ♪
♪ Corner-sittin' wine
niggas sippin' Apple Boone ♪
♪ This ain't no white cartoon ♪
♪ 'Cause I be duckin'
crazy spades ♪
♪ The kid hold white shit
like blacks rock ashy legs ♪
♪ Why is the sky blue? ♪
♪ Why is water wet? ♪
♪ Why did Judas rat to
Romans while Jesus slept? ♪
♪ Stand up, you're
out of luck ♪
♪ Like two dogs stuck ♪
♪ Iron Man be sippin'
rum out of Stanley Cups ♪
♪ Unflammable Noriega
aiming knives ♪
♪ Stay windy in Chicago ♪
♪ Spine tingle, mind boggles ♪
♪ Kangols in rainbow colors ♪
♪ Promoters try to hold dough ♪
♪ Give me mine before Po
wrap you up in so-and-so ♪
♪ I ran the Dark Ages,
Constantine the Great ♪
♪ Henry the Eighth ♪
♪ Built with Genghis Khan ♪
♪ The red suede Wally Don ♪
♪ Hey, yo,
camouflage chameleon ♪
♪ Ninja scaling your building ♪
♪ No time to grab the gun ♪
♪ They already got your
wife and children ♪
♪ A hit was sent
from the president ♪
♪ To raid your residence ♪
♪ Because you had
secret evidence ♪
♪ And documents on how
they raped a continent ♪
♪ And lynched the prominent,
dominant Islamic ♪
♪ Asiatic, Black Hebrew ♪
♪ The year 2002 ♪
♪ The battle's
filled with the Wu ♪
♪ 6 million devils just
died from the Bubonic flu ♪
♪ Or the Ebola virus under
the reign of King Cyrus ♪
♪ You can see the weakness of
a man right through his iris ♪
♪ Unloyal snakes get thrown
in boilin' lakes of hot oil ♪
♪ It boils your skin ♪
♪ Chicken heads getting'
slim like Olive Oyl ♪
♪ Only plant the seed
deep inside fertile soil ♪
♪ Fortified with essential
vitamins and minerals ♪
♪ Use the sky for a blanket ♪
♪ Stuffin' clouds
inside my pillow ♪
♪ Rollin' with the
Lamb, 12 tribes ♪
♪ 144,000 chosen ♪
♪ Protons, electrons
always cause explosions ♪
Wu-Tang! Wu-Tang!
Wu-Tang! Wu-Tang!
You believe you freed the people
and gave them back
their culture,
but it will not last.
There will be new ways
to keep them in line.
Not if I have anything
to do about it.
You and I are the same.
Two cultures fighting to
make our mark on this world
while we can.
Well, I'm afraid you won't
be able to see that world.
Your Liquid Swords
will not work on me.
Cool. That's why
I got a real one.
♪ All right, well, okay ♪
♪ Well, if you like
the way it sounds ♪
[singing along] ♪
Then clap, man ♪
Yo, this shit is a
masterpiece, god.
Mm, better than that
Cuban Linx album.
I told... yo.
Hey, you only saying that shit
- 'cause it's your album, nigga.
- Nah, nah, nah, cuz.
I'm saying that 'cause I got
every Wu-Tang Clan member on it.
I feel you.
Look, I think... I think
this album is gonna
expand us to a whole
new breed of fans, yo.
We gotta keep this
momentum going, though.
I got all the brothers coming
to this session tonight, nigga.
Word, word, word.
All good, but yo.
I gotta go down to
Medina real quick.
I gotta meet with Priest.
Yeah, Geffen talking
about giving me
my own production deal
to start signing artists.
I see you, nigga.
Yeah.
I see you. Yeah.
Well, cuz, you ain't
the only one learnin'
the other side of
the business, guy.
Hey, apparently not.
Hey, yo, yo. What
about the session?
I'll be back before
y'all wrap it up, bro.
Just hit me.
Suu!
Yo! Peace.
Yo, what up, 'Vine?
Yo, what up with you?
- Long time no see,
sir. - I know.
That Shaolin monk don't let
you check yo phone no more?
Oh, watch out, yo.
Yo, I been in the studio
blasting music, a'ight?
A'ight,
well, see, that's why
I installed that phone light.
Oh, I know. Shit went
off, like, ten times.
It's fucking irritating, yo.
Well, excuse me, because
I only hit you up twice,
and that was for good news,
because GZA's "Shadowboxin'"
is number one on Hot 97,
and the album is about
to debut in the top ten
on the fucking Billboard
charts, my nigga.
Come on, god. RZA: Hey, yo.
- Get the fuck out of here,
yo. - You did it again.
Another hit release!
Hey, look, look.
That's what happens when
the Wu stands together.
Yo, we got another
session tonight.
We're bound to produce
another banger.
All right, well, you
gonna have to miss me,
because, uh, I told Nia that
I'd be back in by 11:00,
so I'll check in
with you tomorrow.
Hey, uh, tell her
I say what's up.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, I will.
And, uh, you know what?
Maybe you should
listen to these.
Peace, lord.
I ain't gonna make it tonight.
I'm working on this
joint with Redman.
Shit gonna be bananas, son. One.
Yo, peace, cuzo.
I'm at this crazy
party with Mariah.
I'm about to put a baby in
one of these R&B chicks, son.
Peace. It's Rebel.
Yo, send somebody to pick me up.
I'm not driving out tonight
dodging all them fucking deers.
Hey, yo, Bobby
Steels, this Ghost.
- I'm here with Rae.
- Yeah, thun.
We uptown with Jodeci right now.
We 'bout to splash this
"Feenin'" you remix.
Know what I mean?
This shit
gonna be fire!
Ooh!
We'll catch
you next week, son.
Out.
Yo, Abbott.
U-G-O-D here.
Yeah, I ain't gonna make it
out to the woods tonight, man.
Gotta take care of
something with Dontae.
You know what it is. One.
Peace to the
god. It's Killa.
Yo, Abbott, since I'm
already on the Brooklyn side,
I'ma roll with
GZA to this thing,
know what I'm saying?
By the way...
Yeah.
You need to do a
video for that joint.
Peace.
I might as well
take my ass back to LA.
JIMMY: ♪ As I walk this
land of broken dreams ♪
♪ I have visions
of many things ♪
♪ But happiness is
just an illusion ♪
♪ Filled with sadness
and confusion ♪
♪ What becomes of
the brokenhearted ♪
♪ Who had love that's
now departed? ♪
♪ I know I've got to find
some kind of peace of mind ♪
♪ Maybe ♪
♪ The roots of love
grow all around ♪
♪ But for me they
come a-tumblin' down ♪
♪ Every day heartaches
grow a little stronger ♪
♪ I can't stand this
pain much longer ♪
♪ I walk in shadows
searching for light ♪
♪ Cold and alone, no
comfort in sight ♪
♪ Hoping and praying
for someone who care ♪
♪ Always moving
and going nowhere ♪
♪ What becomes of
the brokenhearted ♪
♪ Who had love that's
now departed? ♪
♪ I know I've got to find
some kind of peace of mind ♪
♪ Help me ♪
♪ I'm searching though
I don't succeed ♪
♪ But someone look,
there's a growing need ♪
♪ All is lost, there's
no place for beginning ♪
♪ All that's left is
an unhappy ending ♪
♪ Now what becomes of
the brokenhearted ♪
♪ Who had love that's
now departed? ♪
♪ I know I've got to find
some kind of peace of mind ♪
♪ I'll be searching
everywhere ♪
♪ Just to find
someone to care ♪
♪ I'll be looking every day ♪
♪ I know I'm gonna find a way ♪
♪ Nothing's gonna stop me now ♪
♪ I'll find a way somehow ♪
Get on the line!