How The Music Business Tore Apart the Wu Tang Clan

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The ugly side of the music industry is that business will always be a controlling factor in the dynamics of a group of artists. Creative differences, profit split issues, management concerns, egos, and superstars outshining other members will always be prevalent within a group of entertainers. Unfortunately, these factors played a key role in the history of the greatest rap group ever, the Wu-Tang Clan.

From the streets of Shaolin, a group of eight lyrical swordsmen became hip-hop’s hottest group in the mid 90’s. This was an all-star group of emcee’s from Staten Island and Brooklyn joining forces to become a hip-hop supergroup. There’s no tighter knit family in hip-hop than the Wu-Tang Clan, exemplified by the group still being together nearly 30 years after their debut album hit the shelves.

Despite drama, lawsuits between members, public disagreements, and disappearing acts from obligations to the Wu, the group is still close enough to this day that they can come together and not let their past issues ruin their brotherhood. While watching Showtime’s excellent documentary titled “Of Mics and Men” on YouTube, I noticed how the group’s issues throughout the years could be traced back to the business side of the music industry.

RZA was the mastermind of this new group that would become the Wu-Tang Clan. Grabbing the best lyricists from the Stapleton Houses and Park Hill Projects in Staten Island helped form the brotherhood from the start. They were family because they group up together. Creating a record just meant putting their rap battles on an official track.

RZA turns to an associate of the Wu-Tang, Mathematics, for help designing the logo. RZA pays Mathematics $400 for the logo, which was half of his rent at the time. Just imagine if Mathematics would have asked for 1% of all net income generated from use of his logo.

Protect ya neck was the group’s first single and let the world know in 5 minutes that these young rappers from Staten Island were the next big thing in music.

Steve Rifkind of Loud Records took notice and made the smart decision to sign the Wu-Tang Clan to a record deal. The music industry is shady and full of stories where artists get taken advantage of but labels still need to take a large financial risk that rarely pays off. The Wu-Tang Clan had one single, 8 artists, and didn’t exactly make radio friendly music.

Within two years, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) had gone platinum selling over one million copies. The reason why artists don’t earn as much as you’d think is that the one million copies sold means $10 million in revenue for the label. 15% royalties to the group would be $1.5 million. That gets split eleven ways. Assuming an uneven split since the original investors would want a larger share and deductions for recording costs and marketing, each artist probably made around $50k total over two years or $25,000 per year from royalties.

The Wu-Tang Clan is one of the highest selling groups of all time and was able to tour the world for years so I hope that none of the artists are struggling financially in 2021, but you can quickly see how much a group needs to sell or how much they need to make on tour in order to have an income that pays the bills. If the Wu-Tang Clan started today in an era where selling 10,000 albums the first week is the norm, they would really struggle to make ends meet.

With the album experiencing some mainstream success, it was time for each individual artist to have their own solo career. RZA incorporated Wu-Tang Records on March 9th, 1995 establishing the company that will own all recordings for the Wu-Tang Clan. What RZA did differently was allow each individual member a chance to sign a solo recording deal with different labels. This allowed each member to pursue their solo careers separate from the group and separate from Loud Records.

Power started Wu Wear years earlier but was now seeing gross sales hit multiple eight figures per year. He also helped produce the Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style video game. The brand was everywhere mainstream and the group even earned a tour with Rage Against the Machine, who were one of the largest rock bands touring at the time.

In the “Of Mics and Men” documentary, Divine said that all of the artists leaving their contract with Wu meant he was losing out on $10 million every single year. RZA wanted what was best for each artist and allowed it. I think a desire for an artist to become their own brand is inevitable in the music business, but it means splintering the group collective that existed for so long.

[mekkimaru]

The guy who design the Wu Tang logo deserves so, SO much more. That logo is as iconic as the Batman symbol, and infinitely cooler

[GabeD]

I met RZA in 1996 at my job and talked to him. Without giving me details of his issues, he told me the music business sucks and it always takes from you more than you take from it. He mentioned trying the film industry at the time and I see he is mildly successful at it. Nice guy. He is the glue that’s held any bit of the group together all this time.

[LifeofKairo]

It still blows my mind that some of the independent artists I work with (running their digital marketing and merch sales) make way more money than many label artists. Indie for the win!

[mzzah]

bruh rza deserves whatever more he got than everyone else. hes the only one that believed and had that vision. he had the discipline to stay on track, to try and keep everyone on track. He really was looking out for everyone. with out rza who wouldve put in the work to give each one of them the sound they wanted, the sound they rocked with. he knew them best.

[djdubuque]

There's 9 members in Wu-Tang Clan. RZA, GZA, ODB, Ghostface, Method Man, U-God, Inspectah, Masta Killa, and Raekwon. And then Cappadonna is member #10.

[investinstyle-financeinves]

A music group is only as good as the collective energies of its members. Once individual members begin to pursue their own paths, the group will have a much harder time staying together.

[verbalkint]

I love the Wu but like all things of creation, they have their peaks, they have their valleys. They had their creative pinnacle. Most likely when they were unified in their hunger in the chase. With success and acclaim comes division, envy, and splinter. Take the Wu Tang for what they were. An incredible hip hop collection who’s time in the sun shone brighter than most. Peace

[lee]

Without RZA, there's no Wu Tang. You need the genius mindset and visionary at the head. He was always going to get the bigger of the money because not only was he the producer but he was the visionary who cut most of these deals. The good part is that their still together and there all eating till this day so they made it thru the storms.

[leoalphaproductions]

Music and business don’t mix. You add money to art and it becomes dirty and rigid, it becomes a chore where you’re busier chasing the $$$ than you are in exploring your artistic freedom and experimentation.

Everything has its time and place. Business is business, and art is art.

[Rallarberg]

The fact that RZA got Loud to allow individuals to sign their own deals elsewhere is nothing less than mindblowing. Be that in 1991 or in 2021.

Back in 2012, a local festival here in Norway booked half of Wu-Tang ("Wu Legends"), but the festival went bankrupt after the festival manager and the Wu-Tang promoter got scammed before the festival could kick off. Raekwon and GZA still came to town and did a show at a music bar owned by the festival manager, with a 500ish capacity, and boy they pulled off a hell of a show. Mad props.

[NKB_POE]

if RZA is not the leader Wu won't survive, imagine how to balance a that amount of people, RZA def deserve more shares

[apap]

Wu-Tang first rap group to have their own video game, made kung fu movies popular again, started their own clothing line and here came Diddy biting off of them.

[TheRagnarok]

The fact is RZA was and always will be the heart and soul of the group. He’s the driving force behind what Wu Tang is. He got busy and got interested and involved with a lot of other shit, primarily Hollywood shit and affiliated acts. He didn’t have enough time, energy, and motivation to keep holding shit together. Once his presence as the glue through production and direction started slipping the effects were apparent. Not taking anything from Mathematics, 4th Disciple, Arabian Knight, etc. but RZA had the formula. People downplay the significance of when Deck lost what probably would have been a masterpiece in the flood of RZA’s studio. They all say that album would have been Liquid Swords level in the group pantheon. I believe if Decks album as intended would have released earlier the dynamic of the group would have been different and maybe things wouldn’t have degraded as fast or in the manner they did.

[pmorton]

That first EP was on HEAVY rotation on the bus ride to school back in 93'...Wu is forever...

[EWUFBIiswatching]

This is why I love the way artists have used the internet for their music. These dudes are selling like 4K-6k albums, but getting streams and views that make them millionaires without having to hand that money to a label.

[Dashi]

It's so crazy on how successful these guys are/were. Got to figure, 7-10 of these guys sold Gold or better, no group has ever, ever done that!

[ghostpodgameing]

They was speaking facts when they said Cash rules everything around me 😔

[KtotheG]

Wu Tang needs a 2 hour long feature film biopic. I've been waiting for it.

[Wrestlelesson]

That Logo mannn is something verry special it makes me feel Wu Tang is calling me like when people see the Batman Logo something like seeing the old WWF logo strong bonds 💪🏽

[salt_gawd]

thanks for summarizing up the documentary.