Legendary hip hop collective Wu Tang Clan are surrounded by mystery and rumour, but rapper Method Man has broken ranks to confirm that the group are not splitting up.
Now reduced to eight members following the death of Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Wu Tang Clan remain a hugely influential force in hip hop. Their 1993 breakthrough album ’36 Chambers’ tore through the rap scene, with its ferocious rhymes and head spinning beats.
However with that many members the group never again regained the potency of their early recordings. Side projects followed, with pivotal members such as GZA and RZA venturing off to do their own thing.
Wu Tang Clan re-united for the double album ‘Wu Tang Forever’, which debuted at number one on the Billboard charts dispute being barely advertised by their record label. Since then, however, the collective have endured more downs than ups before releasing their last album ‘8 Diagrams’ in 2007.
The death of Ol’ Dirty Bastard shook Wu Tang Clan, and many argue they have not been the same without his chaotic influence. Rumours began to circulate earlier this year that the rap collective had broken up, but in a new interview Method Man claimed this was certainly not true.
“We never split up. People need to stop taking shit out of context,” he told the New York Daily News.
Rumours were heightened when rapper Ludacris mentioned a possible split in one of his songs. “Even Ludacris, who I respect a lot, kind of upset me with a song he had where he mentioned Wu-Tang broke up,” Method Man said.
Method Man was the first member of the group to release a solo album, and has enjoyed the most commercial success. The rapper has picked up a Grammy, and even starred in cult stoner comedy ‘How High’.
“There has never been an official statement that said, ‘We’re done’ or ‘I’m out,'” he explained. Asked about a possible tour, or even new material, the rapper said “there’s things we’ve got to take care of first before anybody even starts to discuss that.”
