Some of my regular readers may think, “no way, Wu-Tang is not a boy band!”. But, after watching Wu-Tang: An American Saga, I beg to differ, dear readers. I have always enjoyed the occasional Wu-Tang as a switch up to my main focus on true pop boy bands, and watching this bio-series made me get back into their music, and see them as they truly are – a boy band with a diverse set of members, and the same trials and tribulations as any other boy band.
For those of you not familiar with Wu-Tang, they are a rap group that started with three cousins – RZA (the unofficial leader), GZA and Ol’ Dirty Bastard – who together got a bunch of their friends from Staten Island together to form the group. The rest of the members are Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa and, later, Cappadonna. They signed with Loud records in 1993 and put out their debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang, in November of that year. The unique thing about their agreement with Loud was/is that their individual members had the ability to sign deals with other record labels for their solo projects – something super original and not done before.
Here are the reasons I think Wu-Tang can be considered a boy band:
- They don’t play instruments.
- There are 9 or 10 members depending on the era, and each with a different vibe and with a different role within the group.
- These guys are ENTERTAINERS.
Deep down at the heart of the band, Wu-Tang is just like every other boy band. They have their members – all who fill different roles within the band. For example, you might say that Method Man is the heartthrob – the member that has an outgoing personality, is front and center on a number of songs and often has the spotlight shone on him. And you could definitely say Ol’ Dirty was the bad boy – the member that got into the most trouble, wrecked his fair share of hotel rooms had a number of run ins with the cops. And we could probably also say that Raekwon is the shy one – the reluctant member, the one hesitant to join the group and maybe not as in to all of the fame and drama that comes with being a successful super group! They joined the band, but fame and all of the adoring fans wasn’t something they bargained for.
The Chatty Enthusiast 