Music
Six of the best Wu Tang Clan collaborations
To celebrate Ghostface Killah’s album with BADBADNOTGOOD we remember some classic Wu collaborations
Ghostface Killah flies the flag
© Lex Records
Whether they're releasing albums in a limited edition of one in the hope of turning them into investment-friendly art statements, or stealing the show in an iconic TV series, the Wu Tang Clan and its various members have never been afraid to spread their wings. To celebrate yet another diversion – this time Sour Soul, Ghostface Killah's full-length hook-up with BADBADNOTGOOD – we look at six of the best Wu Tang Clan extra-curricular excursions.
Method Man and The Prodigy – Release Yo 'Self One of Liam Howlett's deadliest grooves underpins this re-versioned monster from Method Man's already devastating Tical album. The best collaborations bring out the best in both parties. This severe, martial steamroller of a tune showcases everyone involved at the peak of their powers, and turned 1995's more discerning dancefloors to rubble.
ODB and Macy Gray – Don't Go Breaking My Heart It's hard to seriously claim that everyone involved was at the peak of their powers here. But this scatty, hilarious cover of Elton John and Kiki Dee's pop smash has oodles of charm. Macy squeaks along gamely but it's ODB who steals the show as he makes like a drunken wedding guest who refuses to step away from the karaoke machine.
Wu Tang forever as ODB returns in hologram form
© Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images
Wu Tang Clan and a hologram of Ol' Dirty Bastard Anyone who's seen the Wu Tang Clan since the sad demise of ODB will know that sending the erstwhile Big Baby Jesus some cosmic love remains an important part of the show. This set at the Rock The Bells festival took the ritual one step further; watch carefully and you'll see a hologram of Dirt McGirt materialising ominously at the back of the stage. All due respect but maybe performing with a virtual Dirty was easier than accommodating the real thing?
RZA and GZA in Coffee And Cigarettes
© United Artists
RZA, GZA, Bill Murray and Jim Jarmusch Jim Jarmusch's brilliant episodic film Coffee & Cigarettes positioned RZA and GZA as true renaissance men. The pair are discussing alternative medicine and the dangers of caffeine abuse when they're joined by Bill Murray, working undercover as a waiter. It's a brief but charming vignette which confirmed the Wu Tang's main players as breakout stars in their own right, and US national treasures in the making.
The Wu Tang Clan and the internet The shadowy musical mischief makers of the internet have shoe-horned Staten Island's finest into a number of unconscious collaborations. The Wu Tang jammed with The Beatles on Enter The Magical Mystery Chamber. They've been mashed-up with Nobuo Uematsu's score for Final Fantasy VI. But the high water mark of these cut-and-shut enforced collaborations was probably the Wugazi album in which the Wu rubbed musical shoulders with Washington DC hardcore legends Fugazi.
Check out the official video for Ray Gun by BADBADNOTGOOD & Ghostface Killah ft. DOOM in the player below.
Ghostface Killah and MF Doom Many Wu Tang Clan collaborations have been quirky, comical or even slightly silly. This one's just fierce. The Wu's greatest storyteller working with hip hop's loosest cannon always looked a tantalising prospect. One-off tracks have been hugely promising. And this year, we're promised we'll finally get to hear DOOMSTARKS, the full-length fruit of this meeting of prime hip hop minds. Mind you, they've been saying that for a few years now... Wu Tang Clan are on Facebook.
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