Since invading the hip-hop scene in the early ‘90s, the Wu-Tang Clan changed the course of the genre, earned five gold and platinum albums and sold 40 million albums worldwide.
They also created a major brand and business machine complete with members starring in movies and TV shows, the group’s own video game, clothing line, Wu-Wear stores, and worldwide tours. They even sold one album for $2 million. The Wu-Tang Clan brand is said to be worth $20 million.
So now comes a new series for streaming service Hulu about the legendary crew called “Wu-Tang: An American Saga.” Wu-Tang Clan members RZA and Method Man will be the executive producers. GZA, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, Masta Killah, and the Estate of Ol’ Dirty Bastard will all serve as consulting producers, according to Mix Mag.
Screenwriter Alex Tse (“Superfly”) and RZA co-created and will write the series of 10 episodes based on the true story of the original nine-man group.
“I’m delighted to be partnering with Hulu and Imagine to explore the vast story of the Wuniverse,” said RZA in an interview with Variety. “Wu-Tang, through our music, has always strove to inspire as we entertain. This opportunity to continue the Wu – Saga in a 10-episode series will exponentially increase our inspirational style of entertainment. In the immortal words of ODB, ‘Wu-Tang is for the Children’.”
The series will follow the group from their formation to their success. Set in early ’90s New York at the height of the crack cocaine epidemic, the show tracks the Clan’s formation, a vision of Bobby Diggs aka The RZA, who strives to unite a dozen young, Black men that are torn between music and crime but eventually rise to become the unlikeliest of American success stories, according to a press statement.
So far, no release date has been announced.
The RZA is currently also producing a biopic about the late Wu-Tang Clan member, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, reported Mix Mag.
There have been other projects made about the group, such as the still-to-be-released documentary “Wu-Tang Revealed,” which the GZA directed. There’s also: “U-God: Rise of a Fallen Soldier,” which focus on member U-God’s struggle between him and RZA in 2004; Gerald K. Barclay directed “Wu: The Story of the Wu-Tang Clan” for BET in 2008; and 2009’s documentary on Ol’ Dirty Bastard, “Dirty: The Official ODB Biography.”
Written by Ann Brown
Source: moguldom.com