Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men (2019): Season 1, Episode 2 - 102 - full transcript

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---
[swishing sword noises]

If what you say is true,

the Shaolin and the Wu Tang

could be dangerous.

Yes, my lord.

We saw them practicing
with each other.

Their kung fu
is first-class.

[Raekwon] So, who came
with the name?

Who came up with, "Yo,

we gonna call it
Wu-Tang Clan"?

I heard Ghost say
"Wu-Tang" first.



Yeah, it stemmed
from out there in the town.

So you didn't come up
with the wor--

you didn't come up
with the word "Wu-Tang"?

No, the Wu-Tang comes
from a movie.

Right, right, understand.

First of all, we was calling

the Ballantine ale... "the Shaolin"

and the Olde English
"Wu-Tang",

Wu-Tang shit.

Then the flick came.

But no, the flick--
no, the flick--

- the flick was first.
- [Ghostface] No.

[laughter]

I seen the movie already.



[Inspectah] He brought
the movie to you.

He didn't bring the movie to me!

I saw the movie on the deuce.

I brought it
to your flick, though.

[RZA] No, you brought it
to my crib, though.

You brought the tape,
but I... me and Dirty--

[Ghostface] You seen it.
I ain't know you seen it,

but I told you to watch
this shit like this, like, yo.

[overlapping chatter]

I ain't know that, man.

[overlapping chatter]

Hold on. Cut, cut!

No, no, Rae's made--
Listen, Rae's made it--

Rae's made it into a--

the rap, the music form.

As far as who you're gonna say
put the slang on the streets,

Tony put the slang
on the streets.

Who put the Wu-Tang Clan
into a movement?

- I started that Wu-Tang.
- [Ghostface] That was you.

As I said, you put-- yeah.

He put the movement
in it, definitely.

Who made it nothing
to fuck with?

We made it
nothing to fuck with.

That's right.

? jaunty music ?

???

[RZA] After Ohio,

I was awakened

to what my positive energy
could do,

what my intelligence could do.

I'm realizing

that I could bring
that energy

to the world
through music.

? contemplative music ?

[Inspectah] RZA's house
was the spot, man.

Like, it just became
the thing to do,

like, "Yo,
when you've done hustling,

let's go to RZA house."

RZA got the tracks.
He'd play the tracks.

We going on for hours,

spending the night,

waking up the next day

you know, sleeping on top
of each other.

He looked very determined.

He looked like
he was on a mission.

His aura just stood out
amongst...

everybody.

Literally, I was in
the streets a lot,

know what I'm saying?

But Meth was more serious
than me

when it came to
entertainment

and making his rhymes.

Just finding something else
to do

instead of just being
on the block,

selling drugs, wasting away,
and worrying about

if you're gonna get
locked up or not.

Come do this rap shit.

RZA was, like, a getaway thing

when it came to me
escaping our life.

The condition of the neighborhood
and the people--

that shit started hitting
family and friends.

You know, my brother is me.

You know what I'm saying?

There's no separation
in knowledge and understanding.

The father and the son
is one and the same.

I was just going
with the flow,

but I also felt...

there was gonna be
a breakthrough.

It was just a feeling
that I--I had.

I felt--I just felt that, like...

RZA came to everybody
with the proposal

and he told us exactly
what he wanted to do.

[RZA]
We got-- okay, we got--

we got a lot of offers
and shit,

but the best deal is the deal
that we got to do--

to do everything ourselves.

[Method Man] The creative control
type of--

[RZA] Right.

And it's the kind of deal

where none of us
ain't tied down.

You know, we can sign to
another label

and all that shit.

That's the kind of deal
we want,

where we gonna be no slaves
and shit,

'cause most
of these record companies

treat you like their son.

We gonna make it for ourselves

at the same time,
the singles, and...

...nobody gonna steal nothing from us
and shit.

That's our entire plan.

He knew how to speak

in a way where we all felt

what he's saying is real.

He told me,
"Just give me a year of your life

and after shit don't go right
after a year,

you can go back to doing
what you're fucking doing."

[indistinct chatter]

[Mook] Yo, that's one of
the next moves

we gotta do, man.
We gotta start

building something in Shaolin

of our own shit,
you know what I'm saying?

Real, man,
you know what I'm saying?

[Mook] At first, we was trying
to do everything together.

Every evening, I met with RZA.

We'd have dinner, we'd talk
about tomorrow's plan,

what we gonna do.

We started taking meetings

with different labels

and when we went for this deal,

it's one of the things
he told me

he need to have,
you know,

regardless of what, when,
and where,

we need to have
full creative control.

We gonna slaughter it, y'all.
We gonna take over this rap world.

[Ghostface]
Play with the niggas.

[Mook] You know, remember,

'cause he had a project before.

It was a dud.

"Ooh, We Love You, Rakeem."

Yo, this is Prince Rakeem,

the Wu-Tang slang master

with the Shaolin posse
on Staten Island.

Check out my video,
"Ohh, We Love You Rakeem,"

because I love you, too.
[laughs]

- [woman] Yes.
- [woman] Aoow.

[RZA] Sexy stuff.

? I've got too many ladies ?

? I've got to learn
to say no ?

? Ohh, we love you, Rakeem ?

? Ohh, Rakeem ?

[RZA] When I signed
to Tommy Boy,

I was 18 years old.

- What label you on?
- I'm on Tommy Boy Records.

[RZA] My record came out
at 19.

? Time is moving slow ?

? Life is a drag ?

? There's money to make ?

? And more girls to bag ?

? Fully aware
so I step up on the square ?

? Looking for what?
The cooty and the chair ?

[RZA] Got a few shows at 20,

the chance to go out,
move that record,

get some fans
and a few dollars in my pocket,

and that was it.

? Love to hear them scream ?

? Ohh, Rakeem ?

? And my ladies
love me deeply ?

? Because I'm handsome,
charming and freaky ?

? And when they need me
they won't go ?

? And now I'm stuck,
I should've said no ?

- ? No, no, no ?
- ? Ohh, we love you Rakeem ?

? And I love you too ?

? Oh, oh, we love you Rakeem ?

? Thank you ?

[RZA] It wasn't
successful, right?

The song wasn't the kind of vibe
I really was on, personally.

I didn't think I was to be sold
as a ladies' man.

? Ohh, we love you, Rakeem ?

But I didn't know no better.

Those are very, very,
smart people

at the top
of this music business.

They got their act together
at Tommy Boy.

I didn't know that
the label could be wrong.

Yo, it's the Wu-Tang Clan, boy.

It started from my man Genius

and Rakeem, you know,

being up in the business
and all of that.

Things ain't work out.

[GZA] I had an album out
on Cold Chillin'.

They try to get a fellow
to cross over

on some old crazy stuff
and put out something

that wasn't really going
with the flow,

you know what I'm saying?

Rakeem was on Tommy Boy, too.

They tried to front on him,
you know what I'm saying?

Now they fronting
on two members.

Two members of the clan, now,

so what happened now was...

it's time to--it's time to
do it ourselves, man.

You know what I'm saying?

'Cause yo, the-- in the street,
survival and all that.

You gotta protect your neck, man.
See, we from the streets, man.

Don't let these people

change you, baby.

Do what you gotta do, man.

If they don't want
to accept your material, man,

do it yourself, man.

And I'm cool with a little bit
money save up your joint, man.

Do it yourself. What?

We did it ourselves!

Do it yourself.

[cheers and applause]

? Bring da motherfuckin' ruckus ?

? Bring da motherfuckin' ruckus ?

? Bring da motherfuckin' ruckus ?

- ? Bring da motherfuckin' ?
- ? Yo, yo ?

? Ghostface catch the blast
of a hype verse ?

? Glock burst, leave
in a hearse, I did worse ?

? I come rough, tough
like an elephant tusk ?

? Your head rush, fly
like Egyptian musk ?

? quiet synth music ?

- [RZA] Tang!
- [crowd] Wu-Tang!

- [RZA] Oh!
- [crowd] Wu-Tang!

- [RZA] Come on, louder!
- [crowd] Wu-Tang!

[RZA] Louder! Yeah!

[Mook] You know,
I don't think RZA knew

that it was gonna be
as big as it is.

I know he always probably
wanted it to be.

[RZA and crowd] Wu-Tang!
Wu-Tang!

[Mook] That's all he fucking
dreamed about, you know--

was being in this music shit.

[RZA] Give it up
for the Wu-Tang Clan!

[cheers and applause]

???

[U-God] Power is
another brother I knew

since I was a kid.

Power's a stone-cold
hustling machine.

Money-getting little nigga
from the block.

[indistinct chatter]

[laughs]

There's two things
that make you do good.

Either you're inspired
or you're desperate.

Everybody was hustling.

Divine Just, Power Cipher.

[Power] Divine is
my man, right?

Like, I never really
hung out with RZA, but

obviously, yeah,
this is my man brother.

He's like, "Yo!

You still wanna do
this music shit?

Yo, we gotta do it now

if you want to do it."

That's when, you know,

I started
forming my crew,

started forming my company.

What's up?
This big Power Cipher,

executive producer
on the Wu-Tang Clan joint,

you know what I'm saying?

[Mook] Power came
with a shoebox

full of cash.

Shit.
"Here."

But yo, who cares
about the money, man?

The shot is what it's worth.

[RZA] Then I went
to Mike McDonald,

my man Lask.

[Lask] I'm originally
from the Bronx.

I moved to Staten Island in 1976.

We moved to Park Hill.

? contemplative music ?

I was already established
in the industry

before Wu-Tang,
and I ran into RZA,

and he's like,
"Yo, I was looking for you."

RZA introduced MC.
You know,

"Mike could be a great help
with us."

[Lask] He's like, "Yo,

I ain't got no money
right now,

but once shit take off,

I got you,"

so I'm like, "Yo, let's do it."

All right, you vice president.

Mook was president
of management.

I was vice president
of management.

[laughs]
There was no office, man.

It's street, man.
[laughs]

We had no office.
The office is RZA's house.

The room was no bigger
than this, kid.

Right here is where
his little bit of equipment

was set up at.
I don't even think

he had a bed in there,
'cause I think

he used to sleep on the floor
in a sleeping bag.

And I already understood,
listening to shit,

"Yo, that shit is banging.

If people could hear that
on the radio,

they fucking with that."

I was the promotion man.

That was my thing.

So we's getting college play,
we's getting chart action,

so then me and RZA,

we put some money together,

we hired a publicist.

At the time, I ain't know
Divine was involved.

I found out Divine
was involved later.

[Mook] Divine...

...was still doing what he do,

but he was feeding
the program,

but he wasn't physically there.

'Cause he was away,

doing what he do
to feed the program.

[Lask] We didn't have
no guides,

so it was a lot of...

...trial and error.

It's, like, on-hands learning
and fronting a lot,

because we all came in this
together.

Didn't know the business.

Only a couple of us
knew some of the business.

It didn't matter, right?

I knew whatever
we was gonna try,

win, lose, or draw,

would probably be better

than what we was already doing.

[man] All right,
we're rolling.

My first gig in hip-hop

was doing A&R
at Jive Records.

I was a person that, uh,
recognized the talent

and then...

cajoled the label.

So, we had gotten the, uh,

Wu-Tang demo
with "Protect Ya Neck,"

"Method Man," maybe a couple
of other songs,

but nobody could touch it,

because it was
a non-exclusive deal.

There was no label
that was going to give RZA

a non-exclusive deal,
meaning that...

when any label
signs a group,

they have the exclusive right

to sign every single one
of them

if they choose to go do
their own solo deals,

so if I sign Destiny's Child,

I get Beyoncé.

We couldn't sign them,

but we met with RZA.

I really liked the music,

but more than the music,

I was just so impressed by him.

He had a really unique way

of looking at everything.

Talking about his music,

talking about his group,

his whole vision
for everybody.

First it's gonna be Meth,

and then it's gonna be GZA,

and then it's gonna be Dirty,

and then it'll be Ghost
and Rae.

We bonded right away,

and we've been friends
ever since.

[Ralph]
I'm the longest-running

music video show
in the world.

Hi, I'm DJ Ralph McDaniels,
and, uh...

welcome to New York's

number one video show,
Video Music Box.

I started in 1983.
We still come on.

For 35 years,

we've been doing
Video Music Box.

Voice of the street
till I die!

This is the--
the archives.

[coughs]

Um...

[Ralph] There's tons of tapes
down here.

This is stuff
that should be in a museum.

It should be in a better space,

'cause there's stuff here
that I don't even remember.

You know, like, I used
to come down here

and go, "Oh, yes, right here,"

and I could do that pretty much
with everything right here,

but if it's
back there somewhere,

I forgot what's back there now.

Let's go up here.

[grunts]

Um, okay, this is, uh,
Wu-Tang "Protect Ya Neck."

RZA said,
"Look, I got a video

for a song called
'Protect Ya Neck,'

and I'm gonna bring it to you

and, you know,
tell me what you think."

I said, "All right."

So he came

and it was all of these guys.

"What's going on here?
Who are these people?"

You know.

But that was the rest
of the Wu.

I throw in "Protect Ya Neck"

in the 3/4-inch deck,
the big cassette decks,

and boom.

I'm like...
"What the hell is this?"

? I smoke on the mic
like "Smokin' Joe" Frazier ?

? The hell-raiser
raising hell with the flavor ?

? Terrorize the jam
like troops in Pakistan ?

[Ralph] RZA said,
"Would you play it?"

I say, "Yeah, I'll play it.
I just, you know--

just clean it up, you know,
when you finish it."

He said, "You can
play it like that,"

so I said,
"It's got timecode on it."

He's like, "That's cool.
That's cool.

You can play it like that."

And I started
playing it for a while.

You know, I didn't know
what the reaction was,

you know, 'cause there was
nothing like that.

? First things first, man,
you... with the worst ?

? I'll be sticking pins
in your head ?

? Like a...nurse ?

? I'll attack any... ?

? Who's slack in his mack ?

? Come fully packed
with a fat rugged stack ?

? Shame on you
when you step through to ?

? The Ol' Dirty Bastard... ?

[Ralph] Steve Rifkind
called me, and he was like,

"Yo, Ralph, what d'you think of the Wu-Tang,
'Protect Ya Neck'?"

I say, "That was dope.
We're playing the video."

? Yo, chill
with the feedback ?

? Black, we don't need that ?

? It's 10 o'clock, ho,
where the...your seed at? ?

? Feelin' mad hostile
wearing Aéropostale ?

? Flowin' like Christ
when I speaks the gospel ?

He says, "Do you think
I should sign them?"

I said, "Absolutely."

? G-Gka-Genius ?

? Take us the...out of here ?

? The Wu is too slammin' for
these Cold Killin' labels ?

? Some ain't had hits
since I seen Aunt Mabel ?

? Be doin' artists in
like Cain did Abel ?

? Now they money's
gettin' stuck ?

? To the gum under the table ?

[Steve]
It was early '93.

- "Protect Ya Neck."
- [man] Steve?

- 'N.
- [man] "Steven".

I'm like,
"What the fuck is this?

This is a rock band."

So I tried reaching out to RZA.

No answer.

Went on for six weeks.

[man] You called him
for six weeks?

Six weeks, no answer,

and he just shows up.

He says, "The guys are here."

You know, "Do you want
to meet everybody?"

I'm like, "Yeah."

So, I'm in a guest office--

I want to say from here--

the size of this table.

And all nine guys come in

and they start performing.

[indistinct rapping]

? They drip right out the faucet ?

? I'ma walk these dogs
seven days a week ?

? Niggas just stay weak, yo ?

? Bless the Lord, speak ?

? We're on a real rap dip ?

? Yo, I got fat shit ?

? Just like fittin' in a phat whip ?

? Burning MCs
with the bad Gs of war ?

? Just like 25 MPV ?

? Embalming them like Tutankhamun ?

? Lightskin and charmin',
back-packed and armed ?

? And ready for the tons of fun ?

? And the ones get done ?

? Are the ones that are
mostly headstrong ?

? Bite the rhyme,
show 'em who's like that ?

? And packing my raps
compared to a MAC-10 ?

? Rhymes are wholesome ?

? All right, hold some ?

? Don't fuck with Golden Arms,
yeah, I told ya ?

? The radio today
is making moves ?

? With the airplay ?

? So I make my own way
to get a fair say ?

? Niggas here to get shot ?

? Making watered-down
hip-hop ?

? Trying to get played
midday at 12 o'clock ?

? Rhymes I design
hit the ground like the hammer ?

? Of Thor, rip the floor
like a circular saw ?

? You wanna be hard rocks,
grab your fake Glocks ?

? Watch, this is where
your madness stops ?

Boy, we got this going.

Wu-Tang.
Wu-Tang coming at you.

[Steve] Somebody comes
barging in

and says, "That's that shit,"

and then storms out.
Never saw him again.

Walked in, said it, left,

so I don't know if I got set up,
didn't get set up...

I thought that was one of
his fucking staff people.

I never saw the guy
ever again.

So he's saying he ain't know
the motherfucker either?

[man] He said he had no idea who--
he said some random guy

came in the office and said,
"Yo, that's that shit."

Yeah, no, he wasn't with us,
but yeah, it did-- that did happen.

I'm looking at that man
and I was just starting--

I mean, the energy
in the room that day,

just even the energy
of the record--

to me, that was about survival.

It wasn't like, "Oh, I'm--
I'm changing the industry."

This was like,
"I gotta jump-start

this fucking company."

[man] What magazine is that?

This is Beat Down, nigga.

[man] Tell us about it, kid.

A'ight, Beat Down.

Get this shit, $2, man.

Hey, y'all.

They still be getting
two beans for it, though,

but we got Wu-Tang
on the cover, all right?

[ODB] Nah, they post--
they get how much

the fuck they want to get,
they got us up on that beat.

[RZA] Wu-Tang on the cover
and shit, man.

You'd be like, "This is
fuckin' Staten Island advance."

[ODB] I almost lost it, man.
I don't even wanna be

in the scene and shit.
I ain't even wash up today,

and I hit--
and I had pussy.

[woman] I told you
you done stank.

I still got pussy
on my balls and dick right now.

- [woman] Eww. [laughs]
- [laughter]

[woman] Eww!

Smell like shit, too.

[indistinct chatter]

[Lask] RZA called me,

says, "Guys, Steve Rifkind's
interested in the group."

I was like, "I-I-I don't know."

He's a promoter,
you know what I'm saying?

So he can get your--

get your shit out there,
you know what I mean,

but as far as a label album--
you know.

He had this Twista,

and that wasn't
really happening.

Then he had another artist, too.
I forget.

RZA said, "There's nine of us.

You know, I need to shop

each guy on my--"

I have no problem with that,
as long as I have first right,

because, to me, the group
is always bigger than the solo.

He signed the Wu-Tang Clan
as a group,

but not the individuals.

If I go and get my guys signed

somewhere else,
they good, right?

We give you opportunity
to bid it, but...

you pass on it,

you know we're going
over here with them.

He had first right
to each member.

You know, if somebody
offered them a solo deal,

you run it past him.

If he could match it,
he match it.

If he can't,
you was free to go,

but that was revolutionary,
'cause it wasn't done before.

A month later, the deal
was done.

All he had
was 60 grand, he said.

What I got out of that?

I probably got about a G
out of that.

You know, he lucky,
'cause I don't remember

getting nothing,
you know what I'm saying?

"But," he say,

"I'm gonna let you do
anything you want to do.

No restrictions.

I support anything
y'all want to do,"

and that's all
we wanted to hear.

It wasn't about just getting
all the money now.

You know, it wasn't
about the dough, man.

It was about the--
the plug.

You know what I mean?
And the--the doing something

that you could feel good about,

you know, when it's time
to get pulled over or--

you know, like, "What?

You're fucking with me?

You don't want
to fuck with me, Officer.

You don't want
to fuck with me, man.

I got a fucking rap
fucking contract, man."

[indistinct chatter]

Y'all can't stop with that
camera.

What's up? Yo.

Look at this shit.
Turn around.

See that shit right there?

They fucking sweating us.
Listen.

They sweating us
for no apparent reason.

They on our dick
'cause they see us

with a little bit of something,

you know what I'm saying,
and they want

to come fuck with us.
That's my manager!

Know what I'm saying?

Focus on that shit.
Word up.

Why they fucking with us?

They always bring that shit
to the minority, man.

We can't have shit.

All right, no problem.

[Raekwon] They searching
people's shit like that, man.

That's sad, man.

We political, man.
We rap stars,

and look what we gotta
go through.

I'm letting you know,
this shit is real.

You find your gun?

[man] All right, listen to me.

If you want to discuss this,

we'll go back to the station house
and we'll talk about it.

Whatever, you want
to take it to that level?

- We can take it to that level.
- We'll take it to that level!

[indistinct chatter]

? somber music ?

[Raekwon] And you just
see how it's so hard

for people in the ghetto

to fucking be able to make it,

'cause nine times out of ten,

we all criminals in they eyes,

and that's fucked-up.

You know what that's for?

'Cause they said they heard

somebody had a gun in there.

- They do that shit all the time.
- They heard.

We' here with babies, man.

All this shit for nothing.
Look.

They acting like--like
they had M16s

or some shit over there.

Look at that shit, man.

[indistinct chatter]

Killer Hill! Stay out!

- Get out of here!
- Killer Hill! Stay out!

Ah!

[cheering]

[rap instrumentals
playing in background]

[indistinct rapping]

???

I want to give a shout-out
to my girl, Jennifer!

...I love you!
What's up?

Yeah, b-bum-bum-bum.

I wanna say "peace"
to my brother Haas,

the nigga in C94.
Peace, boy.

Oh, what's up?
I'd like to give a shout-out

to Marissa and Jennifer
and to all my girls...

I want to give a shout-out
to my nigga

born scientifical
Van Dyke projects.

Shout out to my sister Peggy.
I love you!

Yo, I wanna give a shout-out
to MGP!

We in here, Carl,
but bring your full effect.

Zulu king's in the house.

[cheering]

You too, Mom!
Sue 60--

I wanna make a shout-out

to my motherfucking brother,
Method Man.

Wu-Tang in the house!

I wanna give a shout-out
to the whole GP crew!

Hey, yo, Now Born.
Now Born's in the house, dog!

I'd like to give a shout-out
to all my peoples in Shaolin.

[man] Wu-Tang!

[man]
Shaolin's coming through.

Protect your
motherfucking neck, kid.

Protect your necks, niggas.

This world is real.

[Method Man] Now check it.

I'm cool with the peoples
from Park Hill,

I'm cool with peoples
from Stapleton,

I'm cool with peoples
from the wild, wild west,

the jungle, [inaudible].

Now what I'm saying is, right,

there's some shit being spread.

Know what I'm saying?

Niggas is going and shit--

Whatever, whatever.
Do your shit,

but don't involve
my peoples with that.

We out here trying
to get our shit legal,

you know what I'm saying?

Don't knock us because we
trying to get our shit legal.

We real, we came from the same
place y'all came from.

You know what I'm saying?

If y'all with me,
where y'all at?

My peoples if you with me,
where y'all at?

[indistinct chatter]

[Method Man] Yo, yo!
Shaolin! Shaolin! Shaolin!

[they chant]

Yeah, now RZA, bring that back...

[Method Man] I was actually born
in Long Island.

'71, March 2nd,

to Genola Williams

and Clifford Smith, Sr.

My old daddy was young,
my mom was young,

and I think they had kids
too early.

Either both of them
wasn't ready,

one of them wasn't ready--
I don't know.

I'm not here to judge Dad.

I just know that as a child,

we would move around a lot

without him.

Sometimes, he would probably
be sleep in the bed

and we packed up
and we gone,

'cause Genola done packed up
the kids

and went back home
to Indiana.

He would always find us,
though.

He--he loved his kids,
you know.

I know for a fact
my father loved me, man,

'cause he used to try
and steal me.

You know?

He would try and take me.

"I want my son."
You know what I mean?

My mother wasn't having
any of that.

We wound up going to

a...shelter
for battered women

in Brooklyn.

I had to be, like,
six, seven years old.

It was an experience that
I--I cherish,

because it's the reason
why I even ended up

in Staten Island.

See, the thing
about the shelter was

they would take women in

off the street
like, right then and there.

Extreme cases, whatever.

That's a dangerous situation
regardless,

men beating on women.

I've never put my hand
on a woman, no.

The lady that ran the place
was a Muslim lady

named Ummi.

"Ummi" means "mother", of course.

Just the people
that lived there

there was an African family,
Renaldo and his family, and...

Wayne and Ronnie,
who had been there

before I was there,

and just, you know,
I took to them

off top, 'cause we were,
like, besties.

They gonna bug out
when they see this shit,

because they probably think
I don't remember them

or they don't know it's me.

It's me, Ronnie, Wayne,
and Sean. Yeah.

I used to go
through depressions,

'cause all my friends
were leaving,

'cause you couldn't stay there
that long,

and I remember Jose
was the first one who left.

Wayne, Ronnie--

it was just sad, 'cause I ain't have
no friends there anymore.

I used to just sit by myself.

I wouldn't eat.

Just thinking about, like,

you know, "When is it our time
to get the fuck out of here?"

And that time came.

Our first month
in Staten Island,

we lived with Ummi...

and then my mother found
a place.

The apartment we moved in--
I did not like it.

The look--it smelled funny,

it was weird-looking and shit,

'cause I'm a Long Island kid.
Green grass...

You know, suburbia.

Black middle class.
Very black middle class.

But I adjusted, made friends,

and this was my first exposure
to hip-hop.

[hip-hop music playing]

???

[GZA] It feels good

to still be out, performing,

25 years later.

I mean, it's always good
to be in a studio

as one, as a single unit,

sharing thoughts and ideas

and rhymes.

It always feels good
to be together

and get around each other.

[music briefly plays
on computer]

[jaunty percussive music
resumes]

???

[no audible dialogue]

[RZA] One thing
about the Wu-Tang Clan:

most people don't know
that it started

with a man with an idea
and a business,

pursuing a dream.

- [man] And that's you.
- That's me.

It started with me,
Mr. Robert Diggs,

having the experience
in the industry--

a bad experience,
but an experience

that also gained me knowledge.

I went and formed
Wu-Tang Productions.

I have my own record label.

So, Wu-Tang Productions
is a company,

similar to Def Jam,

and I pursued talent
to join me,

and the talent did join me.

? We make music,
we make tragic ?

? We make music ?

? The words came up
without the music ?

I then went and got contracts
drafted up,

and I signed
a 50/50 production deal

with each individual.

But the Holy Qur'an says

make it work with your brother,

but put it in a contract

to secure it on paper.

I was never signed to Loud.

I was signed
to Wu-Tang Productions.

We was all signed, yeah,

except for Genius.

I was never signed

to Wu-Tang Productions.

I told RZA, "Man, we family.
I mean, we don't--

I don't need to sign anything.

As long as I keep my word

and you keep yours,

we're good."

- [man] And rolling.
- Okay.

Back in those days,
you had, you know,

signing directly
to the record label,

or, in some cases,
you had the option

of signing a production deal,

and a production deal
was basically,

you have a--a company

that signs to the label

and you sign artists
underneath your company.

It--it's easier, in a sense,

to tell these labels, "Hey,

I am Whatever Productions.

These guys are under me.
You deal with me directly."

But in the long run,

you know, when people realize

that the label went
through you,

you know, they paid you
and you paid them,

then they wonder why
how come they don't get

all the money from the label.

You know?
It becomes a problem.

"Like, yo, how come I'm ain't
get paid as much as you,

and blah, blah, blah, and
you didn't do much

for this record,"

and it--you know,
it gets touchy,

and, you know,

it's a form of control, too,
you know,

so I could see that
being a problem,

'cause people don't want
to be controlled.

? dramatic music ?

Yeah, yeah, yo,
what's up?

This is Lefty Left
on the left-hand side

and I'm right here now

at Firehouse Studios.

We gonna go check out
the Wu-Tang Clan.

Follow me.

[GZA] "Protect Ya Neck"
was already out there.

Ralph McDaniels
was playing a video...

[Method Man] When you think
about "Protect Ya Neck,"

we just displayed
all the swordsmans we got

so now it was time to record.

Yeah, Firehouse.
Yeah, we in here now, y'all.

[RZA] "Enter the Wu-Tang
(36 Chambers)."

You know, Prince Rakeem's...

Here we are.
This is it.

[man] 'Sup, baby?
Look into the camera.

- What's going on, baby?
- The fuck you wanna know, man?

[indistinct chatter]

I'm gonna get rich this shit.
You know what I'm saying?

Old GZ back in this piece,
what you eating, fish, do?

[man] Word up.
What's going on?

Do you wanna give me
some freestyle off the dome

a little later on?

It's the manager right here,
Mike.

What's going on, baby?
How you doing?

What's going on?
Peace.

My man, Inspectah Deck.

What's up, baby?
What's up?

[Inspectah]
Firehouse Studios.

It was like a little
hole-in-the-wall spot.

It had some decent equipment
in there.

I remember the pipes
and everything

coming through there.

You know, it used to get hot

and we used to just have

mad people coming in and out.

It was a party
every night.

Method Man,
what's up, baby?

Love, love.
What's up, yo?

My man, Raekwon the Chef.
What's up?

What's going down
up in this piece, son?

It's on, baby, I'm telling you.

This year is our year, man.

[Raekwon] I was excited,
you know, from looking

at something on TV

to saying,
"Damn, I could do that,"

to now,

I'm getting that shot!

It's like, "Holy shit.
Niggas giving me the floor?

Oh, I'm gonna..."

Shh, shh.
If it make it, it make it.

If it don't, shh.
It was just about being there.

You know, we making some noise

and we about to blow
the fuck up.

Geniusisjust
the beginning

of what's about to take place.
Know what I'm saying?

We gonna rock
the fucking rap industry.

We gonna fuck everybody up.

I don't give a fuck.
We fucking running

all this shit.
Know what I'm saying?

Well, 'cause shit
definitely ain't gonna be

the same no more.
Trust me.

? somber orchestral music ?

???

[ODB] I got three babies out here.

I like to see my children
and they wake me up.

???

Where I grew up,

it was always a struggle.

Being with the Wu-Tang Clan--

I could change
a lot of things in my life.

???

I got my earth,
my wife right here.

Know what I'm saying?
Shaquita be earth

in the name ofAllah.

I love my wife,

dearly.

[Icelene]
We had our first two children

while we lived here.

Yeah, 112 Putnam Avenue.

We used to put our milk out
on the, um--

on the ledge.

We ain't have no refrigerator.

We went through a lot.

???

We were righteous people

in the nation of gods
and earths.

They're not like
other kids

because they have knowledge.

Knowledge, wisdom,
and understanding.

They know the real
true meaning of it.

He was god, and I
was considered as the earth,

and earth
has to be watered.

[laughs]
So being watered means

that just nourished me,
and take care of me,

and teach me
how to take care of myself.

By this time, he done gave me
my name and everything.

"Shaquita be earth
in the name of Allah,

for I be the one who reflects

the light of Allah
into the seats of Allah,

thus bringing forth
these positive reactions

of the one and only.

I be the reproducer
for what Allah borns.

Being black is being beautiful,

for all things come
from original

Peace, I sincerely love
Allah's mathematics

is good for the mind
and good for the body."

Uh, sorry.

[cries]

He, um...

He made me, um...

...remember that,
'cause when we were in a--

in a bathroom
in his apartment,

I wasn't allowed
to leave the bathroom

until I knew it,

and he wouldn't let me
out of the bathroom.

He said, "No,
when you learn that,

and what your name means,

then you can come out
of the bathroom,"

and I stayed in there
for hours... [laughs]

...'Cause I didn't like
to study,

and I didn't want to, um--
I didn't want to learn it,

but, um, I see that he wasn't
letting me out of the bathroom,

and he's seeing I have problems
with studying,

so he was on the other side
of the bathroom,

and we would go over,
word for word,

sentence for sentence,

and I would learn how to--
what it meant,

and it just took me a long time
to get it, but I got it,

and then, by me going
through that,

it meant a lot to me,

'cause he made me learn it,

and once I learned it,

I kept it with me all my life.

Yeah, yeah, it did.

It sort of--at that point,
it just changed my whole life,

'cause I had a meaning
to my name.

No one never gave me
a meaning to my name.

My grandma named me Tracy,
'cause I look like a Tracy,

but it was just real special.

? smooth music ?

I think that
what was different about them

was that you could really hear

the truth through their lyrics.

That was definitely
one of the things

that we had in common

because we was coming
from this--

we was cut
from the same kind of cloth.

You know, I was able
to just let my frustration off

on the microphone.

? Sometimes I wonder
do I deserve to live ?

? Am I gonna burn in hell
for all the things I did ?

It was like, [sighs]
I got that out.

You know.

One of my friends,
Saul Moskovich, had, uh...

like, uh, "36 Chambers,"
like, on tape,

so I was, like, nine or ten,

and we listened to it

just, like, over and over
and over

and over and over
and over again.

You know, I remember, like,
we were really into

"Cash Rules Everything
Around Me,"

and, like, my friends
would listen to it,

and it's a really sad song
in a lot of ways,

and the beat is kind of sad,
and, like,

it just always seemed like

the music I listened to
had a very hard approach

to these
terrible circumstances,

and, I think,

some of the Wu-Tang songs

were the first songs

that I heard that had, like,

an approach
that really acknowledged, like,

the sadness, um,
and, like, the pain of it.

And I think even to--
to take it further,

I think that's why they was

the most successful,

because...they

was masters at expressing

their pain.
You know?

Being able to speak it
where you could understand it

and, you know, it didn't--
it never went over your head,

you know?

[Bobbito] WKCR 89.9 FM.

My name is Bobbito Garcia.

[Stretch]
DJ Stretch Armstrong.

[Dontae] I heard 'em up
on Stretch and Bobbito's show,

and then I remember
finding out

that they weren't all signed
to Loud,

that they all had
individual options.

Peace to Bobbito!

Shout out to everybody
in Shaolin!

? First of all, son,
peep the arson ?

? Many brothers
I be sparkin' ?

? And bustin' mad light
inside the dark ?

? Call me dough snatcher ?

? Just the brother
for the rapture ?

? I hang glide
holdin' on strong ?

? Hard to capture ?

[Dontae] And I took
a cab up there

and I went to meet 'em.
RZA knew who I was,

and he was like, "Yeah,
you knew me when I was wack,

when I was fucking
with Tommy Boy Records."

? somber music ?

RZA, Masta Killa, and Dirty

all came to my office.

I thought that Meth
was a standout star,

and I was like, "Where's Meth?"
and he was like,

"Yeah, I'ma put Meth
over here with Russell now,"

like he's gonna be on Def Jam.

I'll sign that piece today.

Def Jam.

It's going DZA.

Hell yeah. Ah!

Ah! Go--Ah, shit, nigga.

Yeah.

Sitters said they'll buy it.

Getting fucked up now
to celebrate.

[laughs]

"But I-I want to put Dirty here
with the gods."

You know,
he's a very smart guy, RZA.

He knew what everything was.
He's playing chess,

so he had already, I think,
in his mind--

even before I met him,
he probably wanted to put

Dirty on Elektra.

I think he thought that was

the place for him to be.

[Method Man] We had labels that

would usually be competing
against each other

actually working
with each other

for our cause.

Insane.

Unheard of.

RZA had the plan,

but who knew?

And, uh...

I guess I got lucky.

I guess we all did.

That's pretty cool.
Pretty cool.

???

[ODB] Yo, yo, yeah, yeah.

Know what I'm saying?

Getting ready
to do something with Elektra,

you know what I'm saying?

Watch out for it.

It's called "Dirty Kung Fu."

You know, it's gonna
come to you loud.

[laughter]

Yo, ignore these niggas, yo.

All right,
what's going on, man?

- Hi.
- [laughter]

This is my little sister
over here.

I'm saying?
Just chilling

and shit,
you know what I'm saying?

[Dontae] So when I signed him,
RZA literally brought me

the two-inch reels,

and he was like, "Yo,

here's the record."

I was like, "What the fuck?"

[laughs]

- Yo.
- [man] That finish weak.

Nigga dissing me.

[laughs]

[man] Go ahead, man.

Yo, check it out.
Yo, yo--

[Dontae] Dirty was
a genius. Like, you know,

he was a brilliant guy.

The whole album cover
was his idea.

"I want to make my album, uh,
my welfare card,"

and he brought his card.

It's strictly fucking welfare.
You know what I'm saying?

'Cause I've been living
in a shelter

all my life and shit.

[Dontae] You know,
he sold a lot of records.

He was a star.

White people love
Ol' Dirty Bastard.

You know, and it's fucked-up,
why they love him, right?

They love him because
he's like Flavor Flav.

He's a fucking clown.

You know, some liberal

clandestine racism to me.

Dirty was being Dirty,

but to me, he was never a clown.
He was brilliant.

This is how I get my money.

You know?
I'm not ashamed.

Don't you be ashamed!

There was a, um,
food stamp card

that I had as an ID,

and he didn't have one,
but I had one,

and it had my picture on it,

and he put his face on it
and used the same thing.

He put "36 Chambers"

or "ODB."
He just fixed it up

and that's what was
his album cover,

and he just did that,
and he's like,

"Oh, I got a great idea,
Shaquita."

I'm like, "Really?"
[laughs]

I say, "You can't do that."
I say, "No, it's embarrassing,"

'cause I was embarrassed
to be on food stamps.

I never was ashamed of welfare.

I love being on welfare.
I don't care.

You owe me 40 acres
and a mule anyway.

For real.

I wasn't asked to come here.

Know sayin'?

From--from--
from a bad action,

you're gonna get
a bad reaction, you know?

You make a dollar bill

and it's only paper.

That's all it is, is paper.

Know saying?
And then you make us fight

and kill one another

over paper.

That's how I feel about it,

and that's how I'm always
gonna feel about it, man.

? The GZA
on the motherfucking set ?

? We got the prince,
the RZA ?

? The Ol' Dirty Bastard ?

? Kicking mad shit ?

[GZA] It felt good,

especially after leaving
Cold Chillin'.

???

Boy. Yes, yep.

[Inspectah] I just rememberjust
hearing them beats

for the first time.

[GZA] Almost like
striking back.

We'll show them.

[indistinct chatter]

[Method Man] I mean,
I sat there watching

RZA make the beat, you know.

Well, you see him have the record.
It was--it was

you know, a lot of
[scatting]

playing the shit,
looping it.

[scatting]

Playing the shit,
looping it.

? smooth music ?

But the thing that
I paid attention most to

was when he caught the melody.

???

It was like, "Ooh,
that right there sounds dope.

???

Raekwon and Power,
Deck, and Meth

would come over often.

[Inspectah] God bless,
you know, RZA's mom.

She used to welcome us in

and then kick us out.

She used to make us
go out on the balcony,

so RZA had to get
the long mic cord,

and while he's inside the house

we on the balcony, on the mic,
and he's working the beats

and we just passing the mic
back and forth,

and he's just
recording everything.

RZA wanted that dusty,

45 record,

"shit popping off the needle"

style of music,
you know what I mean?

He felt that the more closer
we are to the streets,

the more respect
it's gonna get.

I pick the beat up,

and let Deck and Raekwon go,

and they got on this track, yo,

and they both did

about 64 bars apiece.
[laughs]

Me and Rae did, like,
three verses apiece on that.

Anyway, that song was called

"The Lifestyle
of the Mega-Rich."

That's "Lifestyles
of the Mega-Rich,"

It's simply
that freestyle shit, G.

But it had no hook.

Method Man had the best hooks,

hands-down.
You know what I mean?

And if I wanted a hook,

"Yo, Meth, I need a hook
for this shit."

[Method Man] My boy
Raider Ruckus got locked up.

He used to write me
these letters

and I remember him

putting "C.R.E.A.M."
in one of them.

Gotta get this C.R.E.A.M.

Cash Rules
Everything Around Me.

[both] C.R.E.A.M.--Cash Rules
Everything Around Me.

Because cream rises, you know?

So money make you rise,
so "cream" was money.

? Cash rules
everything around me ?

? C.R.E.A.M. get the money
Dollar, dollar bill, y'all ?

? Cash rules
everything around me ?

? C.R.E.A.M. get the money ?

? Dollar, dollar bill, y'all ?

? Cash rules
everything around me ?

? C.R.E.A.M.,
get the money ?

? Dollar, dollar bill, y'all ?

and I was like,
"S--that's it right there."

Deck and Rae, man.

Like, that is Wu-Tang
right there

when I think of Wu-Tang
and shit

in my--in--in my head.

[RZA]
Yo, Rae, come here, man.

[falsetto] What up?

Hey, Rae, you ready?

I can't even fucking hear it!

I got the shit jacked, G.

I can hear it, but turn it up.

? Take you
on a natural journey ?

- You all set, Rae?
- [man] Here we go.

? Yo, I grew up
on the crime side ?

? The New York Times side ?

? Staying alive was no jive ?

? Had secondhands ?

? Mom's bounced on old man ?

? So then we moved
to Shaolin land ?

? A young youth, yo,
rocking the gold tooth ?

? 'Lo goose
only way I be getting ?

? The G off was drug loot ?

Raekwon's first verse

just was a--

I think a great way

to describe growing up
in New York.

His voice and his--his cadence
followed by Inspectah Deck.

? Motherfucking lifestyles
and shit ?

[RZA] "22 long hard years
and I'm still struggling".

? It's been 22
long hard years ?

? I'm still struggling ?

? Survival got me bugging ?

? But I'm alive on arrival ?

? I peep at the shape
of the streets ?

? And stay awake
to the ways of the world ?

? 'Cause shit is deep ?

"And I'm alive on arrival".

[laughs]
Instead of dead on arrival,

I'm alive on arrival.

You know what I mean?
They describe his life.

? A man with a plan, a dream ?

? To make cream, which fail ?

? I went to jail
at the age of 15 ?

Each one of them describing
their lives, I think,

was--was powerful.

[Method Man] When this
nigga came home from camp,

I look up,
I remember looking for Deck

for three days,
'cause everybody was buzzing,

talking about, "Yo, Deck is--
Deck--Deck--Deck--

this nigga--this nigga nasty."

Never even heard
the nigga rhyme.

Used to be in his house
all the fucking time.

And, do you remember
when he spit?

I think it was the one--

"the rhyme
where I shine like gold."

[Method Man] That rhyme.
That was the first verse.

I told him that the other day.
"Average Flow" shit.

When he came over and dropped
"Average Flow Niggas"--

Yeah, he blew niggas
out of the water with that one.

That's when we was
all at Stapleton.

You remember,
you used to come

from Park Hill, and then
we'd go to Stapleton?

You know, we knew
we was gonna see Ghost, RZA,

GZA might be there,

Dirty might be on his way
on the ferry.

Yo, let me tell you something.
This is like a test, man.

Everybody keep their little doss
to themselves,

- but it's like, "Yo, it's hard."
- No, niggas are still sharing.

No, niggas are still
sharing bars, dog.

- A few lines.
- I crumpled up mad papers,

writing rhymes
with these niggas, yo.

We wrote rhymes
together, though.

We write rhymes together,
but--but not everybody.

[Raekwon] When Inspectah Deck came out

with "I smoke on the mic,"

that's when I knew that
"Yo, you know what?

I ain't waiting
for nobody else.

I'm getting up next."

We knew how to feed
off each other,

you know what I mean?
'Cause RZA started to learn

who sound good with who.

That's the worst shit
you can do

to an MC in the studio

- while he writing.
- [Inspectah] Bug anybody?

"Yo, check this shit out
I just wrote."

"Nah, nigga, I'm writing
right now."

[laughter]

It's like he might come through
with the crazy shit

and then just kill your shit.
Like, damn...

- Deck was definitely known for that, too.
- Yeah, yeah.

He--he the first.
He go first.

He humble as fuck.

He had us
in that studio for hours,

trying to follow
one of his verses.

It's a challenge, B.

[U-God] Deck was a little
fucking monster.

?...and I ask: what's it worth ?

? Ready to give up
so I seek the old Earth ?

? Who explained workin' hard
and now you maintain ?

? To learn to overcome
the heartaches and pain ?

? We got stick-up kids,
corrupt cops, and crack rocks ?

? And stray shots
all on the block that stays hot ?

? Leave it up to me... ?

[Ghostface] All of us
was around each other

for that first album.

Everybody was there
all the time.

? Ain't tryna hear
what I'm kickin' in his ear ?

There was a lotta input.

Everything was

critiqued, tight,
and was no feelings involved.

???

Yo, shit is getting 'tiqued
out here.

???

? Yo ?

[Raekwon]
Hey, you, it's nighttime.

[Cappadonna]
And it was just fun.

We was just there.

The spirit was in the air.

[Inspectah] And it's like,
"Yo, what's happening?"

Like, yeah, we just looking
at each other, like

"You ready? You ready?"

But that's Mister Smith, right?

That's all Inspectah Deck
killing that shit.

Inspectah Deck?

What's the name of this joint
right here?

Enough about here.

It's called "C.R.E.A.M."

Mm, yeah.

? Dollar, dollar bill, y'all ?

I'm here, bro.
Steve from Loud Records.

Kick a little song
for me, Steve. What's up?

Waiting to have Wu-Tang
finish their album

so we can get this out
and go platinum with it.

- [man] That's about it?
- That's about it.

I have nothing to say.
I don't like to talk.

[man] All right, I hear that.
Oh, Steve, yo.

Everybody was young.

Pan that shit the fuck up.

[Mook] The only way
you sell a product:

motherfuckers gotta know
you got a product,

and then they gotta know
that that shit is good.

I had to market that album,
mold it,

hit the streets
with the dudes.

Interviews...

'Cause you dealing
with a group

of righteous men right here.

We the gods, man,
and our job is to teach.

[Mook] Shows...

Wu-Tang is coming
to your neighborhood pretty soon.

Power Cipher, Divine!
Power Cipher, Divine!

Power Cipher, Divine!

[Mook] Guest appearances,
walkthroughs...

[woman laughs]

Hey, thank you.

[woman] Everybody else
was full.

[Mook] Anything I could find
to get them noticed,

get them out there
in the street,

to make motherfuckers
listen to 'em.

???

[Lask] You know,
it was all new.

I mean, you put a single out
and it took off.

Next thing you know,
you're doing shows, you're in demand,

and when we're out there,
we all learning.

We're all making mistakes.

We only here to show
and prove the realism.

We ain't here just to be
rhyming, man.

[Lask] They was hungry.

We was going for Boston,

to Florida, back up,
Virginia, Philly...

Sometimes we'd do two, three shows
in one night.

You know, I remember
going to Philly and do a show

and then we had
to be at the Fever

in the Bronx
the same night,

and we just on the highways,

speeding, 100 miles an hour,

zipping back to the Bronx.

? Cash rules
everything around me ?

? C.R.E.A.M., get the money
dollar, dollar bill, y'all ?

? A young youth, yo, rockin'
the gold tooth, 'Lo goose ?

? Only way I begin
the G off was drug loot ?

? And let's start it
like this, son ?

? Rollin' with this one
and that one ?

? Pullin' out gats for fun ?

? But it was just a dream ?

? For the teen
who was a fiend ?

? Started smokin' woolies
at 16 ?

Hi, my name is Tonya.
I want to give

a shout-out
to my son, Dontae,

and a shout-out
to my man, U-God.

[Method Man] Peace, baby, you.

You'll be home in a minute.

I love you, my nigga.

U-God was in jail
at the beginning.

[U-God] I came in

out of the fucking can,

so I'm trying to adjust
to all this shit

that was going on.

I got two felonies,
so I gotta report

to the parole officer.

You know, is it cool

to go to Baltimore
to do the show?

For the most part,
he was working with me.

You know, as long as they see
that you're making moves...

That's just the beginning,
all right?

It's just the beginning!

We did it...

...the only way
we knew how to do it.

We just did it.

[man] If you came out here

to see Wu-Tang,

let me hear you say

"Wu-Tang!"

Wu-Tang!

- [man] Wu-Tang!
- Wu-Tang!

- Wu-Tang!
- Wu-Tang!

[man] We up in this Wu-Tang Clan
record release party,

you know what I'm saying?

I got the clan right here.

I got Inspectah Deck,
I got U-God.

Shaolin is in the house, man.
36 Chambers.

This the RZA's sister.
Sharif. What's up, baby?

Yo, this party is mad phat.

Mad industry people,

mad girls.

We got mad celebrities
up in here.

Loud Records up in this piece,
you know what I'm saying?

My man Dres
from Black Sheep.

What's up, baby?
How you doing?

Just taking it easy, bro.

Oh, we got West Coast flavor
here.

We got MCA
up in this piece.

What's up, baby?

Yeah, I'm just chilling,
know what I'm saying,

over here on the East Coast

at the Wu-Tang Clan party.

Oh, shit, we got Sadat
up in this piece.

What's up, bro?

Lounging, man.
You got some hot-ass lights.

I got my man Evil Dee from
Black Moon up in this piece.

[man] Fucking Buckshot Shorty
and Dru-Ha and shit.

? Rolling with the kids
is not your kind ?

? Whether you're deaf, dumb,
and blind ?

? Nah ?

Yo, get a look at this crowd!

[man] Say it now,
motherfucking house!

[all] Wu!

[man] Wu-Tang!

- [all] Wu-Tang!
- [man] Wu-Tang!

[all] Wu-Tang!

[man] Wu-Tang!

[crowd] Wu-Tang!

[man] Wu-Tang!

[cheering, chanting]

[U-God] It was just new.

It was different,
it was grimy,

it was hard.

It was the essence of us
from the streets,

and we was really living
that shit.

Shaolin representing
this joint.

[U-God] Just, like,

you can absorb energy

and that shit just stick
to you.

It just spilled out
in the music.

But yo, Cream,
that stand for money, man.

Cash rules everything
around me, man.

? Cash rules everything
around me ?

? C.R.E.A.M., get the money ?

? Dollar, dollar bill, y'all ?

? It's been 22
long, hard years ?

? I'm still strugglin' ?

? Survival's got me buggin' ?

? But I'm alive on arrival ?

? I peep at the shape
of the streets ?

? And stay awake to the ways
of the world ?

? 'Cause shit is deep ?

? A man with a dream
with plans to make cream ?

? Which failed, I went to jail
at the age of 15 ?

? A young buck
sellin' drugs and such ?

? Who never had much ?

? Tryin' to get a clutch
at what I could not ?

When "C.R.E.A.M." dropped,

that's when shit got funky.

? The court played me short,
now I face incarceration ?

? Pacin', goin' upstate's
my destination ?

? Handcuffed in the back
of a bus, 40 of us ?

? Life as a shorty
shouldn't be so rough ?

They dropped
the fucking music video

and the record
the next day after.

More things just started
popping off, then.

We did Arsenio Hall.

Please give it up
for Wu-Tang Clan.

Go, yo.
Go, go, go.

???

[indistinct shouting]

Since tonight is the night

of all nights!

Most people
gather around

to see the show

that is coming
through your town.

My name,
besides you don't know,

is Wu-Tang!

[U-God] That shit
went from

200,000 sales.

That shit went to 500,000,

then 500,000 to 700,000,

then 700,000 to 1.2 million
to 1.5 million.

Then shit just went nuts
after that.

? Cash rules
everything around me ?

? C.R.E.A.M., get the money,
dollar, dollar bill, y'all ?

? Wu-Tang ?

? Wu-Tang, Wu-Tang ?

? Wu-Tang, Wu-Tang ?

? Wu-Tang, Wu-Tang ?

After that, I knew life
was never gonna be the same.

? Cash rules
everything around me ?

? C.R.E.A.M., get the money ?

? Dollar, dollar bill, y'all ?

? Cash rules
everything around me ?

? C.R.E.A.M., get the money,
dollar, dollar bill, y'all ?

???

Music, to me,

is a reflection
of what you go through.

We in the hood.
We don't go to therapy.

We just take it
for what it was.

If somebody get their head
blown off in front of us,

or we duck shots
and we fuck around

and get into scuffs
and fight and get cut

or get shot, or grazed, or--

we just wipe it off
and keep it going.

Then my son got shot.

? uneasy music ?

[RZA] U-God, one of our
members--his son Dontae--

he got blasted,

understand, around the way--

Force-fire shootout, man,
you know what I'm saying?

- [Dontae] Mommy!
- [Tonya] What?

[Dontae] My boy, Method Man. Woo!

[Tonya] That's nice.

Dontae, you know
he lost his spleen.

- [man] How old is he?
- He's two years old.

Lost his spleen [inaudible].

Yeah, he's paralyzed
in one leg.

He's going through therapy
right now.

We gonna push it.

Up a little bit more.
High up. High up.

High up, high up.
There.

And so let's see
if you can do this.

One, two.

Oh, you're doing
such a good job.

We just realized that

all that gold record
and all that

will not really save you

from the brutality

or from the subtext you gotta
go through

[inaudible].

- Wu-Tang.
- Wu-Tang!

[applause]

Welcome home, Dontae Hawkins,

Staten Island's littlest hero.

Aww.

[man] There's a lot of Dontaes
out there.

[woman] Look at Dontae!

[man] And we, as a society,

owe it to these young people

to make life safer for them,

so that's our mission.

This is a Staten Island story,
ladies and gentlemen.

This is our story.

We're not gonna let them

forget Dontae.
We can't.

? The Charmels' "As Long
As I've Got You" playing ?

? No fire is too hot ?

? No snow is too cold ?

???

? Youth will never leave me ?

? I'll never grow old ?

? Never, never ?

? Never, never ?

? I feel free as a bird ?

? Flyin' around in the blue ?

? As long as, baby ?

? As long as I've got you ?

???

? As long as I've got you ?

? You ?

? As long as I've got you ?

???

[ship horn honks]

? contemplative synth music ?

[Power] Arsenio Hall?

Forget about it.

Shit was perfect.

It was beautiful.

???

We came out
and we made our mark,

and I think

dudes lost sight of

how that actually
really happened.

???

Man, we done came
a long way.

Yo, this is Rakeem's brother...

Divine was always
my man, right?

Wu-Tang, baby.
Watch out!

Watch out!
It's coming down, baby!

[indistinct chatter]

[Lask] Well, Divine, I mean,

early, early on,
I didn't really see him

that often.
You know what I mean?

I started seeing him
a little later.

Like, I remember one time,

RZA came and he say, "Yo,

Power and 'Vine's
gonna be part of management."

You know what I mean?

More or less.
So I was like,

"Okay, you know, whatever."

[Power] I mean, Mook and Lask--

a lot of people
don't know our business

and didn't know our business.

They just seeing everything
coming together

and yeah, those guys
worked for us.

When they came, they was
work for hire,

and we was growing,

so we needed somebody

to be a manager every day.

I ain't know
they were investors.

I was like, "Yo, like, okay,"
but like,

I didn't understand.

I'm thinking

"Okay, now we got
to split this four ways."

Like, "Oh, man."
You know?

Just when we starting
to make money,

now my--my cut's getting lower.
[laughs]

[electronic beep]

???

[man] This is, uh,
Divine interview, take one.

- [clapboard claps]
- [electronic beep]

No.

RZA's kept a--a ban

on my--my ability
to speak publicly.

He's just been like, "No,
they're not ready for you."

RZA's like, "Vine, you are
a fucking tyrant."

[laughs]

I am a tyrant,

and not in the negative sense
of the word.

I'm a businessman.

I think about business

when I'm asleep,

but I can honestly tell you

that them motherfuckers
drove me

to the point whereas I lost it,

and I lost myself

because I stopped believing
in who I was.

I basically wasn't allowed
to speak,

but now he's like,
"Eh, your 25 years is up.

You're free to go do
whatever you want."

[laughs]

? mellow hip-hop music ?

???

? Yo, yo ?

? Champagne nights
on the corner mad heavy ?

? Around the time when I was
beefin' with Wizzy ?

? Starks, State,
and Claybourne drawers ?

? Dickin' bitches down,
they man come through ?

? Damn near kissed the ground
jumpin' out of big shit ?

? With Benetton pajamas on ?

? Line my soldiers up, strategize ?

? Then I move my pawns ?

? Should've been Italian ?

? How I'm getting that Parmesan ?

? Talkin' 'bout the ones ?

? You keep puttin'
those commas on ?

? And I'ma keep hope alive ?

? 'Cause mad lil' niggas
look up to me outside ?

? Breaking dawn blunted ?

? Yums in they mouth ?

? I drop a jewel,
they see the C-ciphers ?

? Then bounce ?

? Peace, God, you see Rae... ?