History and Future of Wu-Tang: An American Saga

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Hip-hop and rap have always had their own culture surrounding them, continually inspiring them. Still, each new era of music introduced a new era of artists. As famous as Wu-Tang Clan may be today, the Staten Island rap collective had only become one of the most inspiring groups when the group started decades ago in 1992. Since forming the group in 1992, the group lost a founding member, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, and released numerous albums and mixtapes. Still, unlike many in their field, the group’s presence stayed relevant and inspirational to new artists today. Below, we’ve detailed the musical group Wu-Tang Clan, the history of the group that popularized east coast and hardcore hip-hop, the fictionalized series about the early days and formation of the group, and the overall history and future of Wu-Tang Clan: An American Saga.

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Wu-Tang Clan

As stated above, the hip-hop group known as Wu-Tang Clan started in 1992. While they have released other documentaries, Wu-Tang Clan: An American Saga has been the most gripping depiction. Their first album was released in 1993, which has since been praised as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time, but with great inspiration comes great tragedy and hard times inspire such work. The original members of Wu-Tang Clan include RZA, GZA, Method Man, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Master Killah, and Ol’ Dirty Bastard, who died from a drug overdose in 2004. Wu-Tang Clan: An American Saga may be a somewhat fictionalized version of the 90s events that inspired and created the group, but each moment depicted in the series was based on or inspired by actual events. While the members of Wu-Tang Clan haven’t changed, outside of the death of Ol’ Dirty Bastard and the late inclusion of Cappadonna, the influence of the group has gone far beyond just listeners of the group’s music, as each artist from Wu-Tang Clan has picked several protegees and subgroups of Wu-Tang Clan, typically formed of artists with a similar style to Wu-Tang but different per each generation. Wu-Tang Clan has released seven studio albums, from 1993’s Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), which has been used in countless series and movies, to 2015’s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, which has aroused controversy towards Wu-Tang Clan. With the release of Wu-Tang Clan’s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, RZA stated that he wished to return music to its proper form of artisticness, so only one copy of the album was made for auction and was subsequently purchased by now-imprisoned pharmaceutical company CEO Martin Shkreli, but Skrillex has shown the album.

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Wu-Tang: An American Saga

Wu-Tang: An American Saga is a gripping drama that showcased the lives of Wu-Tang Clan members and their surrounding area before the group’s formation. While the original rappers being portrayed have been too old, or deceased, to portray themselves, the actors that have filled the roles of their younger selves have been near perfect, similar to the flawless casting of Straight Outta Compton. Actors that portray Wu-Tang Clan in Wu-Tang Clan: An American Saga are composed of Ashton Sanders, Shameik Moore, Erika Alexander, and Dave East fill the cast of known actors, with others filling out the rest of the group’s portrayal. So far, Wu-Tang Clan: An American Saga has only portrayed the formation of the group and the events that have led to such a formation. Each episode of the two-season show has leaned closer and closer to the official formation of the Wu-Tang Clan.

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The Future of Wu-Tang: An American Saga

Although only two seasons of Wu-Tang Clan: An American Saga have premiered, in 2019 and 2021, respectively, the third season of the series, and the final, have been confirmed to be in the works at FX. The series’s second season focused on coming together as a rap group to overcome the lives of the members and their families in the growing drug pandemic of the early 90s in New York. The second season showcased RZA’s rise in interest in music, from buying equipment to touring alone and even getting music executives to check the group out at venues they aren’t scheduled to be performing at. However, with such actions, the series has truly showcased the efforts young aspiring black musicians needed to go through for a chance at recognition in the constantly growing music industry. The future of Wu-Tang Clan: An American Saga, as the series has been confirmed for a final season, will likely reflect the official formation and album releases of the artists in their earliest careers before the death of Ol’ Dirty Bastard, but as season 2 had a recast for Inspectah Deck, originally portrayed by Joey Bada$$, recasts could happen again, but otherwise, the series should wrap up as clean as possible.RZA