Perhaps it was exquisite vision by this group to see the long term effects of their work. Perhaps it was the timing of their pop explosion with my own coming of age. While many other cliques in the rap scene have tried to brand their styles visually (throw your diamonds up), none will be able to compete with the Wu. To this day I picture the “W†every time I hear one of their voices. From this point on, in my mind, the branding of the Wu members was complete. And while some will argue that Ghost broke away from it, I would argue that he, Raekwon, and Cappadonna make three points that signify the W on the cover of his Ironman album. Gza went even deeper into the comic book style, utilizing the theater of the mind, by using a hand drawn cover while still incorporating the “Wâ€. Raekwon made it look like he literally had the Wu behind him on his first solo venture. Method Man inverted it, and in doing so philosophically corrupted me into looking at things differently.
However, they always paid homage to the “Wâ€. Over time the individual members broke out of these faceless, almost comic book roles that they had created. Who were these guys? There were no faces on the album cover, and I remember rewinding Rza’s shout outs to the clan, studying it so I could learn their names correctly. While the music was obviously amazing to us, the coolest thing about the Wu was the mystique. I remember vividly playing their CD (one of my first) during my 15th birthday. Soon enough 36 Chambers dropped, and everyone I knew had a copy. When we showed up at our middle school blasting this tape from the boom-box that we snuck in to the lunch room, it was panicle. You must understand that during these times R&B groups were the most prominent urban style of music being pushed into the suburban market(think BBD and Kris Kros). The only track I remember from it was, of course, M.E.T.H.O.D Man. The first Wu product I bought was a single cassette, clear plastic, with a white outer sleeve branded with a black sword. The New York super-group were trendsetters during the early 90’s in every way possible, however, in this essay I will focus mainly on their visual strategy as I perceived it. The Wu has always, in my opinion, been the epitome of intelligent marketing in the hip-hop industry. I was asked to expand on my thoughts, and so I did. By staying consistent with the infamous “W,†the Clan have made themselves instantly recognizable and popular within hip-hop culture.
Wu clan members adorn the “W†logo on everything from clothing to chains, but it is most prominent on dozens of album covers. The Wu-Tang “W†is one of the most distinguishable logos in hip-hop culture. Together Wu-Tang and their affiliates have dropped over 100 albums and mixtapes, each with their own distinct and creative cover art that continue to catch the eyes of fans across the globe. Since their creation in 1992, the Wu have fused many different artistic influences into their music, videos and especially cover art. Wu-Tang constituents are well renowned for their use of imagery and graphic metaphors throughout their lyrics and videos, most notably in “Triumph.†The name Wu-Tang stems from the martial arts film, Shaolin and Wu Tang, where warriors were trained to fight in the Wu-Tang kung fu style. Consisting of nine NY natives, the Wu-Tang Clan is arguably one of the most influential rap groups and possibly one of the best in hip-hop history.