Raekwon Has Been Recently Talking About The Much Fabeled "Wutang Record Deal" That Everyone Thought Was Crazy In The 90s He Said That Wutang For All 9 Members Got $60 000

Here Is A Article Where He States That

http://urbanologymag.com/um/?p=3616

At 8:30 Of The Video Below He Starts Talking The Wu Tang Deal



Do You Think The Wu Tang Clan Got Played By The Industry? Or Was It A Good Deal?

That deal was a powerful game changing deal- theres more to it than just the nominal signing fee they got- while they got less money upfront (to split amongst many men) they got much freedom to make money down the road- their unprecedented deal gave them ownership of publishing, freedom to sign a solo agents with other labels which would basically allow them to get paid as a group and solo- the creative and movement freedom the wu got was huge-

check this excerpt from Wu: Story of Wu Tang Clan movie for more insight especially
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=en ... ijqGmH8f2k

also go to 4.40 of this one to see how Wu's deal changed the game
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moAOz_ly ... ure=relmfu
go to

Wu Tang Never Got Publishing The Rza, & Wu Tang Productions Did Ghostface Has Sued Multiple Times In Regards To Unpaid Royaltys
http://allhiphop.com/2009/09/24/ghostface-wins-judgement-against-wu-tang-productions/

Also Do You Think It Was Good That They All Signed To Different Labels As Solo Artists? Or Would HAve It Been Better To Be At 1 Label?

If You Look At Wu Now, & What Became Of Them Do You Think It Was A Smart Move To Take That Type Of A Deal?

the merits of the wu tang deal was the autonomy they (or at least the management side of them) exercised in the industry

re publishing- true each member did not own their own publishing but it was still owned by the management side of the crew and not the label-

both RZA (in Wu-Tang Manual) and Rae (in youtube clip) speak on how the solo branching off hurt the crew's unity and cohesiveness

was it smart? it depends on what the goal was- if the goal was to build a recognizable brand that launched many solo careers and side projects then indeed it was successful and wouldnt have been if all were on one label- w wu solos on multiple labels clan members were able to drop solo albums around the same time- in wu tang manual RZA talks about how 3 labels collaborated to make a wu tang bin or display promoting i think ODB, GZA and RAE which led the labels to more profit...

however, the brand and solo success came at the expense of the clan brotherhood

so as is fitting w Wu-Tang it is a yin yang thing

I Disagree With The Assessment Saying They Couldn't Drop Scheduled Albums On Their Own Or All Be On 1 & Drop Music In A Timely Manner

I Agree That Wu Tang Is Recognizable & They Created Many Musical Gems Up Until Wu Tang Forever However Many Things Since Then Have Been Exposed From Rza's Basic Productions To Bad Business Practices To These Deals Which Leave A Bad Taste For Their Legacy

true, being on one label doesnt necessarily mean delayed releases of product- YMCCB is a good example of that- No Limit to take it back to time of WU's decline from "top pop spot supremacy" did just that indie-

in Wu Tang Manual RZA describes the business goal as

"divide ourselves and conquer the record industry... it's usually best to keep all your artists under one umbrella because you get a bigger payday. But I wanted the industry to work for me... have friendly competition with my product" (76).

He then talks about the Winter campaign in 95 where Geffen, Loud, Def Jam and Elektra made a triple deal for Christmas Wu-Tang Family tree (77).

Its basically send out many soldiers under a common banner to claim/ collaborate with existing industries- the freedom for a crew of hardcore hiphop men to have that power in the industry was history making



yes 97 was their apex in terms of "top pop spot supremacy", yes there has been lows in quality and consistency of music since but theres been just as much if not more classic material and culture still being manifested!

The brand is wuniversal- WU-TANG FOREVER

im still a great fan/disciple and look forward to what they add to their legacy

- speaking of deals i dont know all the business details... of course we read the lawsuits and all... i just think there legacy is just so epic and human- so damaged and grand by life

theres basic and then theres minimalist... RZA's come with both successfully and unsuccessfully

in suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuumation, wu tangs legacy lives up to the phrase "divide and conquer"

I Personally Dont Mind His Minimal Style He Had Some Great Productions In The Past But Some Of His Records In The Glory Days Like Cream Are Suspect From A Producer DJ Point Of View Because All He Did For Them Was Turn The Bass Knob

I Agree That Wu Tang Made A Impact In The 90s That Cannot Be Denied & I Think They Still Have 1 More Album Left In Them That Could Be Great

However They Conquered & Divided Themselves So Much That Now There IS No Credibility & Trust Between Them

As a whole group yes but they Bullied them individual contracts & set the trend!!

But Were Their Induvidual Contracts That Good?

The Rza Ate Off Everyone But What About The Rest Of Them?

Do You Think That Maybe The Labels Divided Them Weaking The Whole Group?

you cant look at it like he just turned up the bass knob, he completely changed the way hip hop music sounded
the way and what he sampled and how he used it, the machines he used to distort, the way he recorded the beats and the vocals
it was all revolutionary

granted the "ghost dog" days as i like to call it, he went and did some stuff i didnt like at all but he tried his own thing

as far as the deals go, it is what it is, a lot of people sign shitty deals...thats the nature of the beast

and it cant really be argued because without the initial deal, they wouldnt have been able to branch off like that
and 1 label would have been spread too thin to release all the solo projects properly...you have meth, odb, rea, gza, ghost
94-96... (might have been gza, rea, ghost) cant remember the order they came out

you also cant look at it in terms of today, or the hay day of rap deals...this was mid 90's
wu tang made rap cool again...thats my opinion and i am not the biggest wu head but...they stopped a lot of sucker shit from poppin

I Cannot Say If The Tools He Used Were Revolutionary Or They Way He Recorded It I Am Talking About Music

I Can Say That He Just Turned Up The Bass Knob Because It IS Proven Check Out Cream



All He Did Was Fatten The Drums He Didnt Even Change The Pattern Or Anything I Woudn't Even What He Did Producing Just Looping

Not Many Labels Wanted To Sign The Whole Wu Tang They Wanted To Sign Members & Divide Them No Label Is Spread Thin That IS Just Something They Say To Let You Know Your Project Aint A Priority Yet The Biggest Thing They Got Was Distribution & Exposure

When I Was Younger Everyone Heard These Crazy Super Deals But If The Hayday Was $60 000 For 9 People That IS Crazy Dont You Think?

I Agree They Brought A Hard Edge Gritty Sound That Brought Balance With The Other Sounds They Also HAd Some Of The Most Talent & Potent Mcs That Were Musically On Point

imo this is the most important question you asked in this thread or at least the most meaningful to me

the wu represented unity, to be specific unity among visible minority and working class people- many powers that be are scared of lower class, (Black) men uniting in a powerful and positive way to empower their fellow peoples

i always found that media interviewers and article writers try to create or aggravate tension between the clan- ie they play off the internal competition within wu tang to foster more divisiveness- it seems like every interviewer media hints or comments about wu break ups- while one can argue that it is because wu family drama sells there is a more sinister motive underneath...

divide and conquer has always been a tactic of the devil (and I dont mean that in the lmtd 5% definition)

human kind, you and I
come combine, unify!

The Wu Got Played Hard With The Media They Did Not Realize That Most The Music Media Is Pretend Journalist That Are Wannabee Musicians That Could Not Make It

Most Music Journalist Have No Credibility & Their Job IS To Do The Bidding Of Labels To Do What The Labels Tell Them To Create Friction Destroy Groups Etc It IS All Calculated

I Agree That Wu Had Many Facets But Even As Fans You Could Tell Who Was Going To Sign The Bigger Deals & Who Had The Talent Or Marketability Etc

The Wu Tried To Divide & Conquer But They Seem To Have Been The Ones That Got Divided & Conquered

yo saw this vid last night and thought of ur thread...

here's words from the Abbot himself as to how the wu tang deal was both a blessing and a curse- check out 12.30



on another note, cant wait for "Man w the Iron Fist" movie
Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

Listening To The Interview Makes Me Laugh & Makes The Wu Legacy Look So Bad Its Embarrassing

Rza Saying He Was Ahead Of The Game Because Some Mcs Carrying Guitars Now He Saying He Put Guitars In Black Hands Is Hilarious He Must Have Forgot Chuck Berry & Jimi Hendrix & Other Great Black Gutiarists

You Can Tell Homeboy Is Smoking That Marion Barry & Looking For A Cheque He Aint Made Hot Beats In Years I Would Even Venture To Guess He Probably Had A Ghost Producer Judging By His Music Output These Days

This Cat Who Used The Same Corny Slang For Years Is A Walking Gimmick Who Is A Theft A Lying Fraud He Talking Like He Is Wu Tang But Without The Wu He Was A No Talent Industry MC & Producer Named Rakeem So For Him To Diss The Wu Saying That He Did So Much Work Especially When You See What His Idea Of Producing Is Laughable

I Can Almost Say With 100% Certainty That Probably Was Stealing Money From His Friends Because He Was In The Industry & Knew How It Worked So He Took Advantage Of Some People By Telling Them To Sign Bad Deals So He Could Profit Off All Of Them

This Guy Seemed Great Back In The Days If You Dont Know About Music But If You Know All The Facts You Know He Is A Industry Fraud That Should Have Stuck To Doing Bad Nintendo Commercials