This insightful biography looks at the turbulent lives, groundbreaking music and lyrics, and powerful brand of hip hop’s infamous Wu-Tang Clan.

The Wu-Tang Clan and RZA: A Trip through Hip Hop’s 36 Chambers chronicles the rise of the Wu-Tang Clan from an underground supergroup to a globally recognized musical conglomerate. Enhanced by the author’s one-on-one interviews with group members, the book covers the entire Wu-Tang Clan catalog of studio albums, as well as albums that were produced or heavily influenced by producer/rapper RZA.

Wu-Tang Clan’s albums are analyzed and discussed in terms of their artistry as well as in terms of their critical, cultural, and commercial impact. By delving into the motivation behind the creation of pivotal songs and albums and mining their dense metaphor and wordplay, the book provides an understanding of what made a team of nine friends and relatives from Staten Island with a love of Kung Fu movies into not just a music group, but a powerful cultural movement.

A chronology of important events and milestones pertaining to the Wu-Tang Clan

Photographs of the group and its individual members

A glossary of slang words and colloquial jargon used in Wu-Tang Clan’s lyrics