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Wu-Tang Clan And Nas Announce Co-Headlining ‘NY State Of Mind Tour’

Tickets On Sale Starting Tuesday, April 26th at 10am Local at LiveNation.com

Today, Hip Hop icons Wu-Tang Clan  and Nas  have announced their upcoming legendary co-headlined NY State of Mind tour. Produced by Live Nation, the 25-city tour kicks off on Tuesday, August 30th at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in St. Louis, MO making stops across North America in Atlanta, Toronto, Austin, and more before wrapping up in Los Angeles, CA at Hollywood Bowl.

TICKETS: Tickets go on sale starting Tuesday, April 26th at 10am local at livenation.com

PRESALE: American Express® Card Members can purchase tickets in Clarkston MI, Toronto, ON, Newark NJ, Houston TX, Austin TX, Oakland, CA and Los Angeles, CA before the general public beginning Tuesday, April 19th at 10am local time through Monday, April 25th at 10pm local time.

Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets in select markets beginning Tuesday, April 19th at 10am local time until Monday, April 25th at 10pm local time through the Citi Entertainment program. For complete presale details visit www.citientertainment.com .

NY STATE OF MIND TOUR DATES:

Tue Aug 30 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre*

Thu Sep 01 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center*

Fri Sep 02 – Tinley Park, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre*

Sat Sep 03 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre^

Sun Sep 04 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage^

Wed Sep 07 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center*

Thu Sep 08 – Camden, NJ – Waterfront Music Pavilion*

Fri Sep 09 – Hartford, CT – XFINITY Theatre*

Sat Sep 10 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center*

Tue Sep 13 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center^

Wed Sep 14 – Virginia Beach, VA – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach*

Fri Sep 16 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live*

Sat Sep 17 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek*

Sun Sep 18 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion*

Tue Sep 20 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre*

Wed Sep 21 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre*

Thu Sep 22 – Atlanta, GA – Lakewood Amphitheatre*

Sat Sep 24 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center^

Sun Sep 25 – Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater^

Mon Sep 26 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion*

Thu Sep 29 – Phoenix, AZ – Ak-Chin Pavilion*

Fri Sep 30 – Irvine, CA – FivePoint Amphitheatre*

Sat Oct 01 – Oakland, CA – Oakland Arena^

Sun Oct 02 – Wheatland, CA – Toyota Amphitheatre*

Tue Oct 04 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl^

*Citi Presale Available

^American Express® Early Access Available

About Wu-Tang Clan

Founded in New York City’s Staten Island in the early 1990s, the Wu-Tang Clan is comprised of members RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, U-God, Masta Killa, Inspectah Deck, Cappadonna, and the deceased Ol’ Dirty Bastard (ODB). Their name is a reference to a 1983 martial arts film.

Led by the production of RZA, samples from martial arts films have thematically appeared throughout the group’s music, as have samples of classic funk and soul tracks from artists like Rick James, James Brown, and Syl Johnson. As a group, Wu-Tang Clan have three platinum albums among their eight LPs, and the group’s complete anthology (including solo albums) has more than 85 full-length releases. More than just rappers, Wu-Tang Clan are entrepreneurs and successful cultural influencers, with an empire that features everything from clothing lines and video games to books and acting credits.

Wu-Tang Clan on Tour

Considered by many to be the greatest hip-hop group of all time, Wu-Tang Clan have been touring as a unit since their debut record — Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) — came out in 1993. The now triple-platinum release vaulted the New York City group with songs like “C.R.E.A.M.” (Cash Rules Everything Around Me) and “Protect Ya Neck” that are about as recognizable as anything in the rap canon.

Their live sets are a family affair, with every member of the crew representing their lyrical contributions to the Wu’s eight studio albums, as well as notable cuts from the Wu-Tang solo discography. With the omnipresent Wu-Tang “W” flanking all angles of the stage, there’s a familiarity to Wu-Tang Clan’s music that gives their shows unique mass appeal.

Whether they’re delivering the 36 Chambers record front to back on the album’s 25th Anniversary Tour, or tracks from GZA’s seminal Liquid Swords and Raekwon’s mafioso-minded Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, or honoring the legacy of their departed brother, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, every Wu-Tang Clan show is a celebration of prolific careers as individuals and especially as the most storied group in hip-hop history.

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Nas (Nasir Jones) first reached an international audience when his track “Halftime” was tapped by producer MC Serch as the opening cut on 1992’s Zebrahead movie soundtrack. Signed to Columbia Records, the first full-length album by poet and rhyme-master Nas arrived in 1994, Illmatic . The RIAA platinum hip-hop landmark featured “It Ain’t Hard To Tell,” “The World Is Yours,” and “One.” 1996 brought the breakthrough double-platinum It Was Written (#1 R&B for 7 weeks, #1 pop for 4 weeks), with his first major crossover singles “Street Dreams” and “If I Ruled the World (Imagine That).” Success continued with the double-platinum I Am in 1999 (again #1 pop and #1 R&B), with the chart singles “Nas Is Like,” “Hate Me Now” (featuring Puff Daddy), and “You Won’t See Me Tonight” (featuring Aaliyah).

Subsequent albums by Nas included: the RIAA platinum Nastradamus  (1999, #2 R&B, #7 pop, with “Nastradamus” and “You Owe Me,” featuring Ginuwine); the platinum Stillmatic  (2001, #1 R&B, #5 pop, with “Got Ur Self A…,” “ “One Mic,” and “Rule”); the platinum God’sSon  (2002, #1 R&B, with huge R&B/pop crossover hits “Made You Look” and “I Can”); and the platinum double-CD Street’s Disciple  (2004, #2 R&B, #5 pop, with “Bridging the Gap” and “Just a Moment”). And his 2012 album, Life Is Good  earned him 4 Grammy nominations including Rap Album of the Year and is certified RIAA gold.

Over the years, Nas has also been the featured guest on a number of crossover hits by other artists, among them: Allure (“Head Over Heels,” 1997); Missy Elliott (the #1 “Hot Boyz,” 1999); fellow Queensbridge rapper Mobb Deep (“It’s Mine,” 1999); Jagged Edge (“I Got It 2,” 2002); J-Lo (“I’m Gonna Be Alright,” 2002); Kanye West (“Classic (Better Than I’ve Ever Been),” 2006); DJ Khaled (“Nas Album Done,” 2016); Swizz Beats (“Echo,” 2018); Jhene Aiko (“10K Hours,” 2020) and others.

In August 2020, Nas released King’s Disease . King’s Disease  marked Nas’ first new album in 2 years. The album was entirely produced by Hit-Boy, and Gabriel “G Code” Zardes serves as the albums co-executive producer. The album won “Best Rap Album” at the 2021 GRAMMYs, marking Nas’ first ever GRAMMY win.

In August of 2021, Nas released King’s Disease II , a sequel to the GRAMMY Award winning album. King’s Disease II was executive produced by Nas and Hit-Boy and features collaborations with Eminem, EPMD, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, YG, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Hit-Boy & more. The album earned a nomination for “Best Rap Album” at the upcoming 64th GRAMMY Awards. Most recently, Nas released a surprise album titled Magic featuring A$AP Rocky and DJ Premier.

In addition to his successful career in music, Nas has pursued a career in motion pictures that began with his co-starring role (alongside DMX) in 1998’s cult classic crime drama Belly , a film by director Hype Williams (with whom Nas has done several music videos). Most recently, he was the executive producer of the 2016 Netflix series.

The Get Down .

Nas is also the co-founder of Mass Appeal Records.

About Live Nation Entertainment

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) is the world’s leading live entertainment company comprised of global market leaders: Ticketmaster, Live Nation Concerts, and Live Nation Sponsorship. For additional information, visit www.livenationentertainment.com .

MEDIA CONTACTS:

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Wu-Tang Clan & Nas Team Up for 2023 N.Y. State of Mind Tour: See the Dates

The trek will hit North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

By Starr Bowenbank

Starr Bowenbank

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The bulk of the N.Y. State of Mind Tour dates will take place in North America beginning in September. Nashville is up first on Sept. 20, with the tour continuing in Brooklyn, Atlantic City, Toronto, Chicago and more through Oct. 22 with a big finish at the Yaamava Theatre in Highland, Calif.

Tickets for the North American shows are available for early access through American Express starting Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 10 a.m. local time through Thursday, March 2, 10 p.m. local time. General on sale begins on Friday, March 3, at 9 a.m. local time via  livenation.com .

See the full list of tour dates and the official tour poster below.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Wu Tang Clan (@wutangclan)

2023 N.Y. STATE OF MIND TOUR DATES

Australia + new zealand.

• Tue May 9 – Auckland, NZ – Spark Arena
• Fri May 12 – Brisbane, AU – Brisbane Entertainment Centre
• Sat May 13 – Sydney, AU – Qudos Bank Arena
• Sun May 14 – Melbourne, AU – Rod Laver Arena
• Fri June 2 – Stockholm, SE – Avicii Arena
• Sat June 3 – Copenhagen, DK – Royal Arena
• Mon June 5 – Berlin, DE – Parkbuhne Wuhlheide
• Tues June 6 – Amsterdam, NL – Ziggo Dome
• Wed June 7 – Paris, FR – Accor Arena
• Fri June 9 – Dublin, IE – 3Arena
• Mon June 12 – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
• Tue June 13 – London, UK – The O2

NORTH AMERICA

• Wed Sep 20 – Nashville, Tenn. – Bridgestone Arena
• Fri Sep 22 – Hollywood, Fla. – Hard Rock Live
• Sat Sep 23 – Jacksonville, Fla. – Daily’s Place
• Sun Sep 24 – Tampa, Fla. – Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino^
• Tue Sep 26 – Washington, D.C. – Capital One Arena
• Wed Sep 27 – Brooklyn, N.Y. – Barclays Center
• Fri Sep 29 – Atlantic City, N.J. – Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall
• Sun Oct 01 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
• Mon Oct 02 – Laval, QC – Place Bell
• Wed Oct 04 – Columbus, Ohio – Schottenstein Center
• Sat Oct 07 – Minneapolis, Minn. – Target Center
• Sun Oct 08 – Chicago, Ill. – United Center
• Tue Oct 10 – Winnipeg, MB – Canada Life Centre
• Fri Oct 13 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place
• Sat Oct 14 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome
• Mon Oct 16 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
• Tue Oct 17 – Portland, Ore. – Moda Center
• Wed Oct 18 – Seattle, Wash. – Climate Pledge Arena
• Sat Oct 21 – Las Vegas, New. – MGM Grand Garden Arena
• Sun Oct 22 – Highland, Calif. – Yaamava Theatre*

^ Daytime Pool Party Performance *On-sale: March 6 at 10 a.m. local

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Music | Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA talks about his first-ever…

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Music | wu-tang clan’s rza talks about his first-ever ballet with the colorado symphony, the rapper and composer’s dance piece is part of the symphony’s imagination artist series.

Even for an artist who excels at trying new things, RZA’s “A Ballet Through Mud” is a risk.

“We’re excited here, but a little bit nervous,” said the Grammy-nominated rapper, composer and co-founder of the legendary hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. “Denver is the first place that will see this dream, but it’s something we want to show to other people as well.”

RZA traveled to Denver this week to rehearse the new work, which will join his “36 Chambers of Shaolin” as part of Colorado Symphony’s Imagination Artist Series. The mouthful of a title is one of the symphony’s most heavily promoted fusion experiments, so far bringing in respected artists RZA, Denver’s own Nathaniel Rateliff, and Broadway star Mary-Mitchell Campbell.

RZA will lead his own double-header world premiere on Friday, Feb. 17, and Saturday, Feb. 18, at Boettcher Concert Hall, followed by Rateliff with the Colorado Symphony at Boettcher March 3 and 4. The series offers a sort of blank check for the artists, who can create, reinterpret and curate works with the backing of a full orchestra — and whatever else is needed for realize the vision.

In RZA’s case, that includes dancers and a celebrated choreographer, as well as a full choir and other backing baubles, to support the musical and spoken-word performances, and even a pop-in from Stravinsky’s towering “The Rite of Spring.” Critics have long called RZA, 53, a genius who has yet to find a genre that he can’t master, and it’s easy to see why.

“We were actually able to get Yusha-Marie Sorzano to choreograph, who’s danced with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater,” RZA said excitedly via phone during a break from rehearsals at Boettcher this week. “I gave her the story of the ballet and she put her brain to it, pulling a great cast of dancers who are also acting out their roles and characters. … We started this project here in Denver a year ago to this day (Feb. 14), when I was out here having Valentine’s Day dinner with my wife. We had to come out to see the vibe and if we could get the dancers to find the groove and the tempos, you know? To see if the music was speaking to them.

“I have very weird tempos by the way,” RZA added. “It’s very self-generated, because I don’t write to clicks.”

RZA has been working on the project in fits and spurts since the early days of the pandemic, having felt inspired to write his first classical album, then ballet, after years of acclaimed film scores (see Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill,” volumes 1 and 2), directing and acting gigs, producing duties, and side projects. Meanwhile, Hulu just premiered Season 3 of the semi-fictionalized Wu-Tang biographical drama “Wu-Tang: An American Saga,” and RZA’s panoply of projects never put him far from the news cycle.

RZA acknowledged that he can be a challenging, and deeply demanding, band leader and composer. “A Ballet Through Mud” is advertised as R-rated, with material that may be sensitive to some viewers.

“I was sitting there during COVID thinking, ‘I’m going to write a classical album and no one’s going to stop me!’ ” he said. “So I did that, but then I was like, ‘Who’s going to play it?’ I could of course go to my Hollywood team and get a couple of my old collaborators. But I feel like there’s something special about (Colorado Symphony resident conductor) Christopher Dragon and (artistic director) Tony Pierce and (artistic operations manager) Dustin Knock.”

RZA’s sunny relationship with Colorado Symphony started in 2021 with an orchestra-backed Wu-Tang performance at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. It was RZA’s first concert since COVID-19 quarantine had ended, and a deeply meaningful one for him. The performance — with the full Wu-Tang Clan on stage and OutKast’s Big Boi opening — further honed “36 Chambers of Shaolin” and was a sold-out hit, paving the way for the current collaboration.

“Inspiration only works if everybody keeps their cool, and this group did, even when I wanted to make a U-turn or step on the gas,” RZA said with a laugh. “Nobody made me feel uncomfortable or that they couldn’t rise to the challenge. …

“This is a really unique way to bring in artists from diverse backgrounds,” he said. “As a Black man, it’s great to see such an evolved orchestra, because there’s a certain stigma between classical musicians and rock or hip hop. The musicians here are all cool, and some of them are even Wu-Tang fans.”

“RZA and the Colorado Symphony Present: 36 Chambers of Shaolin and A Ballet Through Mud.” A hybrid dance, music and spoken-word program, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17, and Saturday, Feb. 18, at Boettcher Concert Hall, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 1000 14th St. Tickets: $15-$98 via 303-623-7876 or coloradosymphony.org/tickets

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REVIEW: Wu-Tang Clan, Nas and De La Soul bring hip-hop classics to Rogers Place

Through it all, there were references to this year being the 50th anniversary of hip hop, even an 'In memoriam' segment honouring rappers and DJs who have died far too young, a reminder that the music and the movement are a larger cause than the acts on stage.

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There’s a school of thought that rap music peaked somewhere in the early to mid-1990s.

REVIEW: Wu-Tang Clan, Nas and De La Soul bring hip-hop classics to Rogers Place Back to video

Let’s say 1993-’94.

Which is fitting, since Wu-Tang Clan and Nas, who released debut albums in both of those years, made a pretty good case for it Friday night at Rogers Place.

The two acts — both routinely in the conversation of best rap group and best rapper ever — brought the New York State Of Mind Tour through Edmonton, highlighting their best work, but also rap history.

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In what could easily be described as RZA’s Rap Cavalcade, the co-headlining set started with a hype video honouring New York hip hop that would put most sports teams’ intros to shame, followed by his own animated kung-fu segment before the Wu-Tang ringleader started calling out his crew one by one, like he was setting out a chessboard.

GZA. Inspectah Deck. Raekwon. U-God. Masta Killa. Ghostface Killa. All got a little solo spotlight before launching into group classics Da Mystery of Chessboxin’ and Bring Da Ruckus.

Key among the pieces of this lineup is the chaotic energy of Young Dirty Bastard, the son of original Wu-Tang member Ol’ Dirty Bastard, as he jumped and howled through his dad’s verses more than convincingly.

Being a co-headlining show, instead of Nas playing the middle slot on the bill, his two sets were sandwiched between the three Wu-Tang outings.

He wasted no time illustrating why he’s one of the best in the rap game, putting his lyrical dynamism on display as he prowled the stage solo, backed only by a drummer and DJ, knocking out hits from his first few albums, including Hate Me Now, and N.Y. State of Mind.

Back to the 36 Chambers, as it were, with the members of Wu-Tang rattling off material from Raekwon and Ghostface’s outstanding solo albums (circa 1995 and ’96) before bringing back the whole crew for Wu-Tang Clan Aint’ Nuthin’ ta F’ With.

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And before you could ask yourself, ‘Where has ‘Method Man BEEN this whole time?’ he triumphantly bounded on stage for his verse, like he was RZA’s secret weapon, causing at least three-quarters of the floor-seat ticketholders to instantly whip out their phones to start recording.

This culminated in a three-song run of fan favourites from the group’s debut album, including Shame on a N****, C.R.E.A.M. and Protect Ya Neck.

From there it was back to Nas for another exhibition of his skills on the microphone (did I mention the two acts went for nearly two and a half hours?), keeping the crowd hyped with The World Is Yours, Nas is Like, and others, before capping off his night with If I Ruled the World (Imagine That). The show could have ended there and the crowd would have been perfectly satisfied.

But there was still plenty of Wu left in the tank, as the full crew hit the stage one last time building from Reuinted, through GZA’s 4th Chamber, some Ol’ Dirty classics performed by his son, culminating in arguably their best song, Triumph, with such a crescendo that I almost couldn’t make out Ghostface screaming through his verse. But it was a triumphant exclamation point on the night.

Through it all, there were references to this year being the 50th anniversary of hip hop, even an ‘In memoriam’ segment honouring rappers and DJs who died far too young, a reminder that the music and the movement are a larger cause than the acts on stage. Though they loomed large.

Opening act De La Soul, now a duo after the death of David ‘Trugoy’ Jolicoeur, got the crowd out of their seats with a brief set jammed with classics like Stakes Is High, Rock Co.Kane Flow, A Rollerskating Jam Named “Saturdays” and Me Myself and I. They also got a surprise assist from a Brooklyn rap legend in his own right, Talib Kweli, who provided a lyrical counterpoint to rapper Posdnuos.

A special shout-out must be given to DJ Scratch, former DJ for EPMD, who worked to get the crowd hyped up for the show with a set of rap classics and impressive turntable skills, showcasing why he’s an award-winning turntablist.

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Wu-Tang Clan Announce 2024 Las Vegas Residency [Updated]

Additional shows have been announced for September 27th and 28th

Wu-Tang Clan are set to continue their takeover of Las Vegas in 2024 with additional shows at the Theater at Virgin Hotels.

“Wu-Tang Clan: The Saga Continues… The Las Vegas Residency” initially kicked off over Super Bowl weekend in February and was followed by another pair of concerts on March 22nd and 23rd. Now, two additional shows have been scheduled for September 27th and 28th.

Get Wu-Tang Clan Tickets Here

Tickets go on sale this Friday, March 29th at 10:00 a.m. PT via AXS .

Once tickets go on sale, fans can look for deals via StubHub , where orders are 100% guaranteed through StubHub’s FanProtect program. StubHub is a secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand.

“Hip-hop is rich in its content and what it offers creatively to an audience,” Wu-Tang mastermind RZA said in an interview with The New York Times , adding that he wants to “show that hip-hop can go where any other art form has gone before.”

He continued, “I’m in that spirit of loving where there’s a hub of art and then loving that I — in my talent and the Wu-Tang brothers — can add to that hub and of course eventually invite more hip-hop artists to come and play in this sandbox with us.”

The residency has thus far featured all nine members of Wu-Tang Clan — RZA, GZA, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Raekwon, Masta Killa and Cappadonna, as well as a surprise appearance from Redman and a live nine-piece band.

Last year, New York City declared November 9th as Wu-Tang Day and lit up the Empire State Building in the group’s signature black and yellow colors in celebration of the 30th anniversary of their seminal debut,  Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) .

Be sure to check out where  36 Chambers  and “C.R.E.A.M.” rank on our lists of the best  hip-hop albums  and  songs  of all time.

Wu-Tang Clan 2024 Tour Dates: 05/10-12 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Block Party 09/27 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Theater at Virgin Hotels 09/28 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Theater at Virgin Hotels

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RZA says Wu-Tang Clan's 'camaraderie' and 'vitality' is stronger than ever for Vegas debut

Wu-Tang Clan is preparing t o make history.

When the New York-bred collective hits the stage Friday at The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas , the nine-piece outfit will become the first hip-hop group with a theater residency in the city.

“Wu-Tang Clan: The Saga Continues … The Las Vegas Residency” follows last year’s worldwide N.Y. State of Mind tour and will bring the hip-hop icons to Vegas Friday and Saturday, as well as March 22-23.

The hardcore rappers who are keeping classics such as “Protect Ya Neck,” “Triumph,” “C.R.E.A.M.” and “Uzi (Pinky Ring)” in the hip-hop lexicon wrapped “Wu-Tang: An American Saga,” a fictionalized account of the group’s history co-produced by RZA for Hulu, last spring.

“It took five years of my life and I’m proud of what we did,” RZA says.

Along with RZA, the entire Wu-Tang Clan is expected at the Vegas shows: GZA, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Raekwon, Masta Killa and Cappadonna.

Chatting with USA TODAY from Los Angeles, RZA opined on the Super Bowl, his blackjack skills and his new classical – yes, classical – album.

More: New Edition announces 2024 Las Vegas residency, teases new music: "It makes sense"

Question: How does it feel to bring the first hip-hop theater residency to Las Vegas?

RZA: It’s super cool. You think about Vegas, like, I’m a Sinatra Rat Pack fan. For Wu-Tang and hip-hop in general to play in that arena and to have a chance to have a part of that good time, it feels really good. We had just finished the N.Y. State of Mind tour and we were going to take a year off , but this was an opportunity we couldn’t say no to.

How long has this been in the works?

Me and my management partner have talked about it for more than three years. We actually tried to attempt this more than five years ago and at the time we had some Hollywood buddies producing "Magic Mike (Live) ," but it didn’t make sense economically and with the timing. The Wu had some rust to get out of our own system and with the documentary ( 2019's "Of Mics and Men") , the Hulu series and the tour, we are back, our vitality and our strength are up and our camaraderie is stronger than ever.

Since you’re opening the residency on Super Bowl weekend, tell me who you hope will win the game.

It’s a tough one. You have the legendary Kansas City, but you have San Francisco and I’ve been with them since Jerry Rice. Any time (the 49ers) step in the building you’ve got to pay homage. Unless they’re playing New York.

Jets or Giants?

I’m kind of neutral. But if I go to my house, they’re leaning toward San Francisco because there are so many fans in our family. But Kansas City, what they’ve done, it’s so commendable. Now if it would have been the (Baltimore) Ravens in the Super Bowl it would have been an easy answer – East Coast, always!

What plans do you have for the new show since you have a new playground?

The whole Clan is invited to be there. It should always be everyone, but you never know if someone misses a flight or gets sick, but we’re all scheduled to rock. The show is a little different than what fans have seen, a nice thematic vibe. We think Wu-Tang has brought to hip-hop a rugged, gritty energy and we’re bringing it back to the East Coast vibe of New York – hoodies, the subway, the concrete. The show is designed to pay homage to New York in the ‘90s. New York is the city we grew up in that we love and we miss a little bit of that. New York is known to inspire the world. Hip-hop was birthed there and now the whole world is adding it to their culture and their wardrobe.

You’re only doing four shows between February and March. Should we expect more?

We’re looking at more dates but we can’t talk about it yet. We’re going to carve out some time.

One of the VIP packages includes playing a round of blackjack with you guys. Are you a skilled player?

I love blackjack, but the guy you’re going to have to watch out for is the GZA ; he’s pretty good. It should be fun, first and foremost. It’s sharing a private moment with us and one thing people might not know about us is that we’re a bunch of guys on one tour bus playing blackjack and spades and rolling dice and we thought, what can we share with our fans? Let them see us in our habitat.

What do you like to do when you go to Vegas?

To be honest, when I spend my time on the West Coast and I need a dose of art and I can’t run to Broadway, I go to Vegas. I’ve seen so many shows, concerts, The Beatles’ “Love,” all of the Cirques. I’ve even seen the Jabbawockeez!

It’s been almost 10 years since Wu-Tang’s last album ("Once Upon a Time in Shaolin"), about five since the EP ("Wu-Tang: Of Mics and Men.") Any plans for something new or is everybody mostly doing their own thing?

(Wu-Tang producer and DJ) Mathematics and myself have been producing something cool since we’ve been on the road with the guys. As far as Wu is concerned, sometimes you capture things and we may have enough for another “Saga Continues” (the first compilation was released in 2017).

On the personal side, I’ve completed my first classical album, “ A Ballet Through Mud, ” that should be out in a few months. I created it first as a performance with the Denver Symphony last February and then went and recorded in the studio with an orchestra and then on the John Lennon (Educational Tour) Bus . The bus would follow us on tour and when everyone went to the clubs after a show, I went into the bus to work on the album.

What is the meaning of the title?

A lotus grows out of the mud. Sometimes we think the mud is dirty, but look at the flowers that grow out of it. Here’s me, a hip-hop guy who wanted to compose. Some might feel that’s a little muddy, but I think the idea that even me, a kid who dropped out in ninth grade who had a lot of problems early on in his life and with the law and finding identity and eventually game with the Wu-Tang – that guy can give you music that can be the score of your life.

More: Dead & Company Las Vegas residency at The Sphere extended from May into July

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Wu-Tang: An American Saga

The show tracks the Wu Tang Clan's formation, a vision of Bobby Diggs, who strives to unite a dozen young Black men who are torn between music and crime but eventually rise to become the unl... Read all The show tracks the Wu Tang Clan's formation, a vision of Bobby Diggs, who strives to unite a dozen young Black men who are torn between music and crime but eventually rise to become the unlikeliest of American success stories. The show tracks the Wu Tang Clan's formation, a vision of Bobby Diggs, who strives to unite a dozen young Black men who are torn between music and crime but eventually rise to become the unlikeliest of American success stories.

• Ashton Sanders
• Shameik Moore
• Siddiq Saunderson
• 121 User reviews
• 6 Critic reviews
• 2 wins & 9 nominations total

Episodes 30

• Bobby Diggs …

• Sha Raider …

• Dennis 'D-Love' Coles …

• Mitchell 'Divine' Diggs

• Oliver 'Power' Grant

• Shurrie Diggs
• Ason Unique …

• Inspectah Deck …
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• Trivia Every episode is named after Wu-Tang Clan songs.
• Connections Referenced in Harmontown: Cliffhanger! (2019)

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• Runtime 49 minutes

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Review: Nas and Wu-Tang Clan bring a NY state of mind to Toronto

September 5, 2022 Radheyan Simonpillai

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NY State of Mind Tour  with  Wu-Tang Clan and Nas at Budweiser Stage, Sunday, September 4. Rating:  NNNN

We’re late into the NY State Of Mind tour stop in Toronto when Wu-Tang Clan ringleader RZA stops the performance to do a census check. He and his squad (minus Method Man) had just been hopping on the Budweiser Stage to the 4 th Chamber, the twiney ensemble track from GZA’s Liquid Swordz album. The fans bouncing along in the audience hadn’t been getting as much lift as these rappers who are about as old as hip-hop itself and RZA took the opportunity to shame the younguns.

“How many y’all muthafuckas in here was born in the 1990s? Make some noise,” RZA commands to humble whoops. He then calls on the 80s-born demo who trample the 90s kids with a thunderous roar, but only to be outdone by those from the 70s.

Of course, there was going to be a wide range in age and demographic at the NY State Of Mind show organized by LiveNation. The diverse crowd were sporting baggy and skinny jeans, jerseys and flannels, bringing a real collision of the eras along with a heavy cloud of ganja smoke to an event uniting 90s legends Wu and Nas. The latter’s classic banger from 1994’s Illmatic lends this tour its name.

Nas – who along with RZA was giving the most endurance, energy and enthusiasm – performed hits as recent as Rare but leaned heavily on tracks from his earth-shattering debut, performing classics like Represent, Memory Lane, Halftime, The World Is Yours and It Ain’t Hard To Tell, confidently relying on the audience to chant lyrics like “sleep is the cousin of death” back at him. Wu likewise gave the audience their fill from their 1993 LP, 36 Chambers, performing eight of the album’s dozens tracks, along with hits from Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx and their 1997 follow-up Wu-Tang Forever. Busta Rhymes, who was also supposed to bring adrenaline hits like Rhymes Galore to the show, was regrettably missed.

The show hits the nostalgia factor hard, with Nas at one point shouting out all the hip-hop heads in the audience who would have copped his album in the cassette tape days. But it’s not nostalgic in that way that can feel lazy, winning easy affection from the audience with all the “remember when” setups.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Budweiser Stage (@budweiserstage)

The NY State Of Mind tour is lovingly crafted, opening with a mesmerizing montage splashed across the five giant screens on stage that took us back to 90s east coast hip hop with nods to BDP, Big L, Biggie, The Fugees and Big Pun. Those screens, flanked by a DJ and live drummer, created environments throughout the show to enhance the performances. Not that these icons needed that much of an assist. They were in surprisingly rare form, keeping pace with their flows from more than a quarter-century ago.

Raekwon kicked things off with Incarcerated Scarfaces. Naturally clips of Al Pacino playing Scarface would grace the screen behind him. The fun Wu iconography, killer bee graphics and clips from grindhouse martial arts flicks that the group often fetishized would continue to provide the backdrop to songs like Bring Da Ruckus and Duel Of The Iron Mics.

Nas had a considerably more rigorous aesthetic to his performances. A screen hanging over the stage read out the F train stop for 21 Street station in his home turf Queensbridge. The other screens behind Nas had him floating gently above Queensbridge midrises as he performed The Message off Stillmatic. A child’s painting of Queensbridge with Malcolm X lit up his performance of Made You Look. Memory Lane is accompanied with archival photos from the community. A showstopping performance of NY State Of Mind that had Nas literally flexing by the end of it ran with clips from Martin Scorsese’s classic Taxi Driver. And the stage was pretty much transformed into a blinding Times Square when Nas gave an emotionally-charged rendition of If I Ruled The World.

The performance, which ran two hours from when Wu first took the stage, had to come to end, as RZA explained, before the 11 o’clock curfew. The show, scheduled to begin at 8 pm, didn’t really get going until 8:45, and audience members were trickling in long after that, probably held back by the monstrous traffic and scramble for parking. Getting to Budweiser Stage during the CNE and a Toronto FC game at BMO Field was a nightmare.

The show ended with Raekwon shouting out the Toronto rap scene. “Y’all got some hot muthafucking heroes in the game,” he said not naming anyone specifically. That sign off came after fiery final performance of Nas’s sombre and rousing One Mic as the entire Wu-Tang Clan stood behind him in solidarity. It was a beautiful communal conclusion to a post-lockdown summer as Nas remixed one of his lines to yell, “we’re stronger now Toronto.”

@justsayrad

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The Troubled History Of The Wu-Tang Clan

RZA. GZA. Method Man. Ghostface Killah. ODB. Raekwon. Inspectah Deck. U-God. Masta Killa. Some instinctively rise up from their chair to salute those names, while others give them a long look and wonder whether they're YouTube celebrities or new types of Pokemon. Still, even the most casual music fan should recognize the name of the collective unit these nine men were the original members of: the Wu-Tang Clan. 

Easily one of the (if not  the ) most recognizable and famous groups of the 1990s rap scene, the Wu-Tang Clan has influenced the hip hop scene like few others. The clan and its affiliates have released over a hundred albums, its members have been involved in countless projects, and as Stereogum notes, they even have their own TV series called  An American Saga  and a four-part documentary,  Of Mics and Men.  That's success, that is.

However, it hasn't always been smooth sailing for the collective. From their humble beginnings at Staten Island to the many (often self-imposed) hurdles they've had to climb since then, the story of the group is riddled with difficulties. Let's take a look at the troubled history of the Wu-Tang Clan. 

The Wu-Tang Clan's endless internal squabbles

If you ever find yourself wondering where the beef is, chances are it's between two or more members of the Wu-Tang Clan. As Vulture tells us, the group had internal tensions from the very beginning, but they originally managed to channel this into their creative work. The group's mastermind and producer, RZA, even deliberately pitted Wu-Tang members against each other in order to win "the right to appear" on the songs. 

While RZA managed to act as a mediator between bandmates until 1997, their fall tour with Rage Against the Machine that year finally seemed to crack the thin veneer of unity, and the group had to pull out of the tour because of interpersonal tensions (and a bunch of Wu-Tang members just plain not showing up to the shows). After that, their many internal battles have been rather well-publicized, as the Wu-Tang members haven't been shy to speak about their various beefs with each other. Interestingly, a good chunk of the animosity seems to have turned against RZA himself, who's been sued by at least two of his group members and has been in the receiving end of numerous public digs from Raekwon and U-God in particular.

The FBI used to suspect the Wu-Tang Clan of all sorts of major crimes

Every self-respecting famous artist has an enemy or two, but leave it to the Wu-Tang Clan to have beef with none other than the FBI. As Vice tells us, said beef was largely a one-sided thing nursed by the Bureau. From 1999 to 2004, the FBI (along with the NYPD) investigated the Wu-Tang Clan about a whole host of alleged crimes, ranging from gang ties to drug crimes and money laundering. 

One particular object of their interest was Russell Jones, aka Ol' Dirty Bastard, who incidentally died the same year the investigations died down. However, the feds were also completely fine with labeling the entire group with the tag "281F," which means the FBI at one point considered the Wu-Tang Clan a "major criminal organization." As Billboard notes, even murder charges were on the table for a while, as the investigators suspected that RZA and Raekwon had ordered hits on two men who robbed their family members. 

The unexpected death of ODB

As you can probably guess by his street name, Ol' Dirty Bastard was a controversial character. As  Vulture  tells us, he was something of the wild man of the Wu-Tang Clan, with his solo career dealings and failure to show up to concerts drawing ire from bandmates. However, his chapter in the Wu-Tang legacy would ultimately be a tragic one, as in 2004, ODB unexpectedly died at a recording studio.

According to  Rolling Stone , the controversial rapper died of a heart attack brought on by a cocktail of the painkiller Tramadol and cocaine, shortly before he would have turned 36. Birthdays aside, this happened at a particularly unfortunate point of ODB's career. He'd recently been released from prison, a reality show based on his life was set to premiere soon, and he was putting together his latest solo album,  Osirus.  What's more, he ended up leaving this mortal coil in less than exemplary terms with his Wu-Tang brothers. Just one day before his death, Method Man had called him out onstage for no-showing to a Wu-Tang Clan gig.

​Method Man was almost a victim of a drive-by shooting

The Wu-Tang Clan is a massive collective, but would it still exist if one of its key members had died before they made it big? Possibly not, said Wu-Tang mastermind RZA in a 2009 interview with the CNN (via XXL ). In fact, he said that they almost got to test this theory, seeing as founding member Method Man almost perished in a drive-by shooting incident when they were so young that they weren't Wu-Tang quite yet.  

According to RZA, Method Man had been on his way to buy some marijuana at the Staten Island house that would later feature on the group's "Protect Ya Neck" music video when RZA spotted his friend and called him over. Mere moments after Method Man had jogged to RZA's side of the street, someone started shooting at the house he'd just been standing in front of. Method Man had narrowly avoided the hail of bullets, but one of their friends died in the shootout . 

RZA almost went to jail for shooting a guy in the leg

One of the first times a Wu-Tang Clan member (well, a future member at that point) had a run-in with the law was also nearly the most influential one. As Oxygen tells us, the group's leading figure, RZA, was arrested in 1991 for allegedly shooting a man named Willie Walters in the leg. This was a major problem for his future prospects, because as the man himself put it, "Black dudes don't really go to trial and win." 

According to RZA's interview with CNN (via XXL ), he would've had to serve eight years if found guilty, which might very well have been disastrous for the Wu-Tang Clan. Fortunately for him, the jury ultimately believed that his actions were self-defense, and he was acquitted in 1992. Even more fortunately, he gained some serious insight from the incident that would serve him well over his career. RZA says that the time spent alone in the jail cell contemplating his choices, along with his promise to his mother to stay on the "straight and narrow path" in the future, gave him focus and enabled him to "get serious" in his new stomping grounds in New York's Staten Island . 

​U-God's parole trouble and personal tragedy

Most musical groups have that one member whose name no one can recall or who everyone just likes less than the others. According to The New Yorker , U-God is Wu-Tang Clan's take on that guy, as he's "the least loved member" of the group. However, it must be noted that U-God has a story behind his relatively insignificant Wu-Tang role. 

U-God was part of the inner circle of friends and family that would eventually morph into Wu-Tang Clan, but he was also a drug dealer who ended up behind bars after a "careless confrontation" with a rival in 1992. This happened to coincide with the rest of the group working on the first Wu-Tang album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) . When U-God got out, his rapping style was comparatively simple and unrefined, and his role in the group's rise remained fairly small due to both this and his repeated parole violations whisking him back behind bars at key moments. 

Despite all this, he kept churning away in the background, solving conflicts between other Wu-Tang members and doing grunt work no one else wanted to do. Oh, and for a time, he was doing all this while coping with an incident where an acquaintance used his two-year-old son as a human shield during a shootout. The child survived but suffered permanent damage. The rest of the group, save for his friend Method Man, reportedly didn't even bother to support U-God in his time of crisis.

Wu-Tang Clan and the strange ​Divorce Court allegations

In 2015, Consequence of Sound reported that a strange thing had transpired in an episode of the show  Divorce Court . A man started a Wu-Tang-themed, viral ramble by claiming that his spouse had slept with the Wu-Tang Clan. Yes, the entire Wu-Tang Clan. 

In the interest of accurate reporting, The Daily Beast  noted that the woman said she'd indeed met the Wu-Tang Clan after a show, and ended up in their hotel room where they partied — or, as she put it, "talked about politics" — until morning. However, the woman insisted that the group behaved in a very gentlemanly manner, and no unfaithful activities took place. 

Meanwhile, members of the group have argued against both the supposed act ever occurring and, it seems, their alleged status as gentlemen. Method Man dismissed the whole situation as "fake" and called the lady an "old-er thot" who was way too elderly to move in their groupie circles. RZA later agreed, saying, "When I saw her, I was like, I  ain't  been there."

​Inspectah Deck, teenage prisoner

Multiple members of the Wu-Tang Clan have spent some time behind bars, but few of them describe the effects of prison more eloquently than Inspectah Deck. According to an interview with  Hip Hop DX , Deck was first "locked up" at the tender age of 15, and he describes pretty vividly how he felt the incident destroyed his dreams and forced him to build a hard shell. Incarcerated at an early age with no people from his neighborhood to rely on and having to deal with adult prisoners — some of whom were actual killers — he realized that his only chance for survival was to rely on himself and learn from his surroundings. 

The rapper describes this period as the birth of his Inspectah Deck persona, and he says that his teenage stint in jail taught him to bide his time, watch what was going on, and know when to make his moves, a skill set he says helped him survive when he was eventually released back on the streets. Not that he thinks much higher of life as a "free" underprivileged kid — he even compares the kind of poverty and lack of opportunities that he and others like him grew up with to a prison cell. 

Weapons charges run in Ghostface Killah's family

Ghostface Killah is not the first (or last) musician to own a gun , but oddly, his bloodline has managed to get in legal trouble with firearms in at least two documented generations. MTV News tells us that in 1997, the rapper got in hot water with the authorities when the police stopped his car in Harlem over a traffic violation. Ghostface Killah jumped out and started getting confrontational, and when the officers noticed that he was wearing a bulletproof vest, it was "probable cause to search both you and your car" time. A handgun was discovered, and an arrest ensued. 

According to SI Live , in 2015, the world discovered that the phrase "like father, like son" was very much true in the Ghostface Killah household. Ghostface's adult son, rapper and Wu-Tang affiliate Sun God, was running from detectives who were raiding his home. He then threw away a handgun and was promptly caught, arrested, and eventually sentenced to three years in prison for his troubles. Allegedly, this wasn't even the first time he ditched a gun, as authorities claimed he'd pulled a similar stunt in 2013. They also alleged Sun God was in cohorts with a gang called the Komrad Militant Bloods.

Cappadonna's homeless stint

Cappadonna's status within the Wu-Tang Clan has been under some debate, but according to a 2014 interview with  Hip Hop DX , group leader RZA considers him very much an official member, and has done so since the  8 Diagrams  album of 2007. However, things were quite different a few years before said album. 

As MTV News tells us, the year 2003 saw Cappadonna in a very strange place . Not only was the rapper accusing the Wu-Tang Clan of unfair treatment, but he was also going through an extremely rough patch in his personal life. His relationship with his wife (who was also his manager) was falling apart, and his response to the assorted crises in his life was apparently to, uh, enter a life of voluntary homelessness.

Cappadonna took to living on the streets and even started driving an illegal $10 cab in Baltimore, while simultaneously accusing the Wu-Tang Clan of owing him money. Still, he did manage to reach full Wu-Tang Clan membership status, so whether you think this was a legitimate personal crisis or a particularly inspired negotiation tactic, things seem to have worked out in the end. Still, whatever was going on at the time, Cappadonna said that his homeless cab driver stint was not determined by financial realities. As he put it, "It was by choice. But it was more of my way of rebelling against the materialistic world."

Wu-Tang Clan's copyright trouble

Wu-Tang Clan's album  Once Upon A Time in Shaolin  is a noteworthy album despite the fact that virtually no on has heard it in full. As Billboard describes, the infamous pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli bought the sole copy of the album for a reported $2 million in 2015 and teased releasing it for two years until his eventual sentence for securities fraud, upon which court ordered him to forfeit the album (along with a ton of other assets). 

While the album and its owner were having their misadventures, Artnet News tells us that Wu-Tang leader RZA was facing a  Once Upon A Time in Shaolin- themed challenge of his own. After it (allegedly) transpired that the album illegally used artwork by Jason Koza, the artist slapped the Wu-Tang mastermind and a number of other parties involved in the album's sale with a copyright-infringement lawsuit. 

While sources say Shkreli was able to dodge his part of the suit thanks to a clause he'd woven into the purchase agreement, the case was eventually settled to the apparent satisfaction of Koza's lawyer and with an utter lack of comment from RZA's law guy. While we can only speculate on the specifics of the settlement, we can always seek comfort from the way Koza's legal complaint text referred to the album's title: "Once upon a time a great artist named Jason Koza lived in Copiague, New York." 

​Masta Killa's cartoon violence

It stands to reason that famous people don't always agree with the things the media writes about them, but sometimes, their reaction is pure overkill. According to The New York Times , one of these incidents came when Wu-Tang Clan member Masta Killa learned about an article in the magazine Rap Pages . The story featured a caricature-style illustration about the group that he wasn't completely on board with, and when the writer of the piece, Cheo Coker, later came to interview him for a different story, the rapper decided to make his feelings known by unleashing a nasty tirade and straight-up punching him in the eye. 

Coker tried to explain Masta Killa that he was merely the writer of the piece and had nothing to do with the illustrations. Another band member challenged the writer about the fact that they hadn't made it on the cover of the magazine, which was another thing that poor, assaulted Coker had zero authority over. In the end, Coker ended up leaving the situation without pressing charges, though he later said, "Today, the first call I'd make is to the law offices of Johnnie Cochran."

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Wu-Tang Clan Continues Las Vegas Residency in Fall 2024

by Em Casalena March 25, 2024, 2:04 pm

Wu-Tang Clan is back again and will kick off another rendition of their Las Vegas Residency at Virgin Hotels! The residency was a big deal back when it started on Super Bowl weekend earlier this year. There was another pair of shows in May, and now the hip-hop collective is bringing it back again in September.

Videos by American Songwriter

There are no supporting acts for this residency, but it will likely feature all nine members of the Clan: RZA, GZA, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Raekwon, Masta Killa and Cappadonna. Redman will likely make an appearance along with a live band.

The Wu-Tang Clan 2024 Residency will start on September 27 in Las Vegas, Nevada at The Theater at Virgin Hotels. The two-day residency will end on September 28.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Wu Tang Clan (@wutangclan)

Fans are already pumped for the upcoming residency.

“Was so happy to see Redman surprise us!!! Classic moment I will never forget. 👐🏽 definitely going again in September,” said one fan on the Instagram announcement.

Presale for this residency will start on March 26 at 10:00 am PT via AXS . Use the code “CREAM” to secure your spot. 

General on-sale should begin on March 29. If you don’t want to deal with the presale, head over to Stubhub to see what’s available after general on-sale. You might get lucky and find cheaper tickets. Plus, Stubhub is backed by the FanProtect Program, meaning all purchases on the platform are guaranteed to be legitimate and scam-free.

It’s not clear if the Wu-Tang Clan 2024 Residency will continue past September, so get your tickets now just in case!

Wu-Tang Clan 2024 Residency Dates

September 27 – Las Vegas, NV – The Theater at Virgin Hotels

September 28 – Las Vegas, NV – The Theater at Virgin Hotels

Photo by Tim Mosenfelder

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Wu-Tang Clan Serve Up Classic Surprise During Historic Las Vegas Residency

Wu-Tang Clan closed out their historic run in Las Vegas with a moment no one in the crowd expected.

On Saturday night, March 23, the veteran rap group closed out their first-ever residency at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. During the show, the New York-based crew delivered a few of their classic hits as well as their individual joints like Raekwon's "Ice Cream" to the late Ol' Dirty Bastard's collection of hits, which were performed by his son Young Dirty Bastard. Fans were shocked when they saw Method Man pull up to the show with his longtime friend Redman .

In the video, you can see Meth kick things off by delivering his verse from "Da Rockwilder" before Redman makes his surprise entrance. According to HipHopDX , Red and Meth performed other songs like “Y.O.U.” The show ended with a powerful performance of "Triumph" by all eight living members (sans GZA ).

Wu-Tang Clan have been rocking the stage as a family for the past couple of months as part of their “Wu-Tang Clan: The Saga Continues … The Las Vegas Residency." They first announced their plans to take over Sin City back in December. Their opening night, which occurred right before Super Bowl LVIII on February 9 and 10, had all nine members performing their classic cuts from "Bring Da Ruckus" to "C.R.E.A.M."

A few days after their recent sold-out show, the crew announced their plans to extend the residency with new dates for September 27 and 28. Tickets go on sale this Friday, March 29 at 10 a.m. PT. See more details about their next pair of shows below.