Nas & Wu-Tang Clan 🎶

From its origins in Staten Island, Wu-Tang Clan has emerged from the East Coast rap milieu of the early 1990s to become one of the most influential hardcore hip hop groups of all time. Its lyrics are simultaneously dark, twisted, acerbic, aggressive and filled with pop culture references. The group takes its name from the 1983 martial arts film

Shaolin and the Wu-Tang
a theme which it has revisited on its albums from time to time. The group frequently collaborates with other famous hip hop performers, including

Nas

Mobb Deep

Busta Rhymes

Kanye West

and MF Doom.

'Enter the Wu-Tang'

Wu-Tang Clan formed in 1992 with rap artist

RZA

as producer and leader. The group released its debut studio album,

Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)

on November 9th, 1993. Although it peaked at only No. 41 on the US chart, the album eventually sold more than 3 million copies in the United States alone on the strength of its two singles, Protect Ya Neck and Method Man. The hotly anticipated follow-up album,

Wu-Tang Forever
came out in 1997 and immediately reached a peak position of No. 1 on the US chart. According to the RIAA, it eventually sold more than 4 million copies. The album was also one of its most critically well-received with a nomination for Best Rap Album from the Grammy Awards. Wu-Tang Clan followed up this success with

The W

in 2000, which sold a million copies in the US, and

Iron Flag

in 2001, which sold more than half a million. Following the tragic death of group member Ol' Dirty Bastard, Wu-Tang Clan released

8 Diagrams

in 2007,

A Better Tomorrow

in 2014 and

Once Upon a Time in Shaolin

in 2015. On the festival circuit, Wu-Tang Clan has appeared at the

RBC Bluesfest

Riot Fest

Lollapolooza

and

Coachella

One of Wu-Tang Clan's most memorable performances was at Coachella 2013, when the full group reunited after creative differences over the previous album kept some of the members apart.