To celebrate over two decades together, legendary rap crew the Wu-Tang Clan were gearing up to release their new reunion album A Better Tomorrow this year. The album, which has yet to receive a proper release date, has been delayed quite a bit. Now, RZA says it's because Wu legends like Ghostface Killah and Raekwon have been half-assing it.
Speaking with Grantland, RZA essentially expressed that he's not mad, just disappointed with the progress of the new LP, pointing out that he's put thousands of dollars into getting his New Jersey recording studio the Wu Mansion ready in the process.
Here's RZA's statement in full:
It's like, wow, I kept trying to pull people together. I spent a lot of money and a lot of time this year. I put my movie career on hold for the first half of the year because I was focusing on making this. I went down to Memphis, I went down to Philadelphia, I came back to the East Coast to reopen the Wu Mansion. I invested thousands of dollars to rebuild it so that we can have a place to record a new album. And when I scheduled that to happen, only a few good brothers showed up.
And one of the guys who showed up the most was Method Man. He showed the most tenacity, he was the most vocal, he showed up the most, and he got the most lyrics on the new album. He's already recorded eight or nine songs. He's been on it. You know, I give Cappadonna credit, he's been really on it. U-God has been present. Masta Killa be representing. Inspectah Deck has been somewhat present. Ghost has been, you know, 20 percent present. And Raekwon hasn't shown up at all. When you look at somebody like Masta Killa and U-God, they seem to have that original hunger to complete the legacy. I respect that everybody [is] busy with they own lives. I started with a plan that I thought would work. Now maybe my plan not working.
RZA went on to explain that the album could be done, if more of the Wu-Tang members would just bother trying. "I feel like we have enough material on the album. I just need Raekwon to come onboard fully. I need some more energy from Ghost and GZA. If they give that energy, I will give us a great last album. If they don't give us the energy, I gotta figure out a plan B."
Over on Twitter, Raekwon seemingly shrugged off RZA's words, saying, "Yea i just read that rza article? Shit is funny to me. I love u rza, u know what it really is."
Stay tuned for more information on A Better Tomorrow as it becomes available.
Speaking with Grantland, RZA essentially expressed that he's not mad, just disappointed with the progress of the new LP, pointing out that he's put thousands of dollars into getting his New Jersey recording studio the Wu Mansion ready in the process.
Here's RZA's statement in full:
It's like, wow, I kept trying to pull people together. I spent a lot of money and a lot of time this year. I put my movie career on hold for the first half of the year because I was focusing on making this. I went down to Memphis, I went down to Philadelphia, I came back to the East Coast to reopen the Wu Mansion. I invested thousands of dollars to rebuild it so that we can have a place to record a new album. And when I scheduled that to happen, only a few good brothers showed up.
And one of the guys who showed up the most was Method Man. He showed the most tenacity, he was the most vocal, he showed up the most, and he got the most lyrics on the new album. He's already recorded eight or nine songs. He's been on it. You know, I give Cappadonna credit, he's been really on it. U-God has been present. Masta Killa be representing. Inspectah Deck has been somewhat present. Ghost has been, you know, 20 percent present. And Raekwon hasn't shown up at all. When you look at somebody like Masta Killa and U-God, they seem to have that original hunger to complete the legacy. I respect that everybody [is] busy with they own lives. I started with a plan that I thought would work. Now maybe my plan not working.
RZA went on to explain that the album could be done, if more of the Wu-Tang members would just bother trying. "I feel like we have enough material on the album. I just need Raekwon to come onboard fully. I need some more energy from Ghost and GZA. If they give that energy, I will give us a great last album. If they don't give us the energy, I gotta figure out a plan B."
Over on Twitter, Raekwon seemingly shrugged off RZA's words, saying, "Yea i just read that rza article? Shit is funny to me. I love u rza, u know what it really is."
Stay tuned for more information on A Better Tomorrow as it becomes available.
