JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Before Wu-Tang Clan debuted in 1993, Staten Island was the only New York City borough that got zero respect in hip-hop. That all changed after the original members of the Wu combined their love for kung fu flicks and Five Percenter philosophy with their rough and rugged experiences surviving their city's brutal crack era. The result was the groundbreaking album "Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PROTECT YA NECK")
WU-TANG CLAN: (Rapping) I smoke on the mic like Smokin' Joe Frazier the hell raiser, raisin' hell with the flavor.
SUMMERS: Now, more than 30 years later, Philadelphia is their last stop on a 27-city North American farewell tour. Tonight, it's billed as The Final Chamber. NPR music's Rodney Carmichael says these hip-hop gods who turned their urban mythology into a global movement might not be ready to ghost us just yet. Rodney joins us now. Welcome back.
RODNEY CARMICHAEL, BYLINE: Hey. What's going on, Juana?
SUMMERS: Hey, good to talk with you. Rodney, tell us more about what it was about "Enter The Wu-Tang" that made it such a turning point for hip-hop during its golden age.
CARMICHAEL: So Wu-Tang emerged at a time when hip-hop was really making this major shift onto the pop charts. Like you said, it was '93, and Dr. Dre and Snoop had the whole world exhaling chronic smoke and, you know, trying to mimic this G-funk sound they had. And this was West Coast production at its finest. It was sleek and clean. It sounded expensive and engineered for the radio.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NUTHIN' BUT A 'G' THANG")
DR DRE AND SNOOP DOGGY DOGG: (Rapping) One, two, three and to the four. Snoop Doggy Dogg and Dr. Dre is at the door ready to make an entrance so back on up.
CARMICHAEL: Then Wu-Tang comes out sounding like the total opposite. I mean, RZA's beats were not funky. They were musty.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PROTECT YA NECK")
WU-TANG CLAN: (Rapping) Deep in the dark with the art to rip the charts apart. The vandal, too hot to handle - ya battle, you're sayin' goodbye like Tevin Campbell. Roughneck...
CARMICHAEL: There was no possible way that this dank, dark, soulful underground sound was supposed to compete commercially. But, you know, this collective also contains several of the most charismatic gifted MCs ever. And when RZA masterminded an unprecedented recording contract that basically gave each member in the group the freedom to sign solo record deals too, Wu-Tang broke all the rules and pretty much bum-rushed the industry.
SUMMERS: Rodney, I had the chance to go to the first stop on this tour when it rolled through Baltimore earlier this year.
CARMICHAEL: Nice.
SUMMERS: And when we were preparing to go and, like, buying the tickets, the one thing I kept wondering is whether this is actually the end. Is Wu-Tang cashing in, or is this actually retirement?
CARMICHAEL: Well, first, props for going to the first stop on the tour.
SUMMERS: It was a blast.
CARMICHAEL: (Laughter) I mean, I feel obliged to say right off the top, like, Wu-Tang is forever, right? Raekwon just released an album today. So the Wu enterprise is not grinding to a halt anytime soon. I mean, unlike a lot of bands, nearly every member is a major star in his own right. They've got solo tours and albums and star in TV roles and films to produce and direct. So getting the stars to align for 27 cities in a row, it's been a big deal, and it seems pretty legit that it might not happen again for the foreseeable future.
SUMMERS: Right, right. And I know that you believe that this tour is proof that hip-hop is learning how to age gracefully. How so?
CARMICHAEL: By celebrating its OGs. I mean, look, over the past few years, they've taken some really deliberate steps to cement that legacy, first with the 2019 documentary "Of Mics And Men" and then with the three-season Hulu docudrama "Wu-Tang: An American Saga." Now, last year, they even became the first hip-hop act to hold down a Las Vegas residency. Now, that used to be where music acts went to die, but, you know, the truth is, these are just middle-age guys in a middle-age genre, and their fans are going to keep coming of age and rocking out with them. So this might not be the last time they bring the ruckus.
SUMMERS: NPR music's Rodney Carmichael. Rodney, thank you.
CARMICHAEL: Thanks so much, Juana. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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