A Wu-Tang Experience: Live at Red Rocks Amphitheatre

[Crowd cheering and whistling] [Sword unsheaths, crowd chanting "Wu Tang!"]

RZA: 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2.

Microphone check, 1, 2.

[Crowd cheering] [RZA beat-boxing] My name is The RZA!

[Cheering swells] From the almighty Wu-Tang Clan, first of all-- [Crowd chanting "Wu-Tang!"]

It's a privilege to be here tonight at Red Rock.

[Cheering swells] We wanted to do something really special for y'all tonight, so we want to bring a lot of our childhood energy to you tonight.

We want to show you one of our favorite movies called "36 Chambers of Shaolin."

[Cheering swells] We got the Colorado Symphony Orchestra here.

We're gonna play some music, and we want you to enjoy this Wu-Tang experience.

And on that note, start the movie for me.

[Hip-hop music playing] Come on Come on Ah!

Come on Come on Ah!

Come on... [Indistinct singing] [Wind whistling] Man: You got it.

Mm-hmm.

[British accent] Kiss the baby.

[Chuckles] Kiss the baby.

[Indistinct chatter] [Kiss] Kissing the baby.

That's what they call it.

Kiss the baby.

All in all, at the end of the day, we're still blessed to even have careers at this stage, to even be getting booked at this stage, Blessing.

Blessing.

to even be still together, all the members, with the exception of Ol' Dirty, because you see how fast a lot of our peers are dropping nowadays.

Yeah.

Yeah, some live orchestration.

It's a live orchestration, auto...chemistry, auto biochemistry affair type of thing, like RZA would say.

[Laughs] You know what I'm saying?

But-- I mean...only thing that could go wrong is us not being here.

Since we're here, you know, it's all good.

We put in a lot of work, man.

People don't understand that.

This wasn't easy.

We've been-- it's been work for years.

This ain't--this ain't like we just started, you know.

You know, we was on the road... since we was kids, man.

Now we grown men and still on the road, you know?

Got 30 years on the road.

Fact, the road's got grains with our names on it, you know?

Certain spots, like, it's-- [makes scratching sound].

It's carved out because we actually walked those-- them dogs to get, you know, get to this level.

I'm loving the, um, the togetherness, the format, the formalness of how each, you know, instrument is being played at the same time and, you know, it's like some March of the Wooden Soldier, though, you know?

That's what it feel like.

You know, I--I love the added, you know, the musical choice of just having that.

They're like an extra instrument, you know what I'm saying?

There are many instruments, right?

But just having the orchestra there just-- it just raises the bar of creativity.

In all reality, this was-- the goal was to be at the highest level possible, and are we there yet?

We don't know, you know?

Does it go higher?

Maybe, you know what I mean?

We was--been able to sell albums, sell concerts, work with orchestras, TV shows, movies.

We've been able to do a lot.

Uh, but we're still here, and if you're still here, you know, you just keep evolving as far as you can, you know what I mean?

Like, man, you know, man went from the cave to the moon, you know what I mean?

So we want to keep-- keep pushing it.

This is a big show.

You don't want to ruin it.

You don't want to mess it up; you don't want the band to ruin it for you, the band don't want the group to ruin it for them, you know what I'm saying?

Everybody's kind of on eggshells, but, you know, being the vets that we are, bro, this is what we do, man.

We're gonna find out if this is gonna be a night to remember or a night when RZA needs to step up on that stage [indistinct].

Man: Oh!

[Music beginning] RZA: Yeah.

Here's the story that must be told!

Red Rock, make some noise!

[Crowd cheering, record scratching] [Music begins] RZA: First, to set it off... The Inspectah Deck is smoke on the mic Like Smokin' Joe Frazier, the hell raiser Raising hell with the flavor, terrorize the jam Like troops in Pakistan, swingin' through your town Like your neighborhood.. Crowd: Spider-Man!

RZA: Yeah, the tick-tock keep ticking I get you flippin' off the--I'm kickin' The Lone Ranger, code red Ranger Deep in the dark With the art to rip the charts apart The vandal, too hot to handle, ya battle Sayin' good-bye like Tevin Campbell Rough neck, Inspectah Deck's on the set The Rebel, makes more noise than heavy metal The way I make the crowd go wild Sit back, relax, won't smile Rae got it goin on, pal Call me the rap assassinator Rhymes rugged and built like Schwarzenegger And I'ma get mad, deep like a threat And blow up your project and then take all your assets 'Cause I came to shake the frame in half With the thoughts that bomb, ... like math So if you wanna try to flip, flip on the next man 'Cause I'll grab clips and hit you with 16 shots All I got, goin' to war with the meltin' pot, ah!

It's the Method Man, for short, Mr. Meth [Cheering swells] And set it off, get it off, let it off like a gat I wanna break full, cock me back Small change, they put shame in the game I take aim and blow that ... out the frame, and like Crowd: Fame Method Man: My style'll live forever ... crossin' over, but they don't know no better But I do, true, can I get a Crowd: "Sue" Method Man: 'Nough respect due to the one-six-ooh I mean ohh, yo, check out the flow Like the Hudson or PCP When I'm dustin' ...

off 'cause I'm hot like sauce The smoke from the lyrical blunt makes me huh Ooh, what, grab the nuts, get screwed And now, there go the Shaolin style And true badass, ooh, baby, you To my crew with the... Crowd: "Sue" Wu-Tang Clan: To my crew with the Crowd: "Sue" Wu-Tang Clan: To my crew With the Crowd: "Sue" To my crew with the Yeah!

Ha ha ha!

Wu-Tang, baby.

[Cheering fades] Man: I feel like anyone that has heard or have seen Red Rocks, it is one of the venues to play around-- anywhere around the world.

It is a gorgeous amphitheater, set in nature with these two giant rocks on either side.

It's a place that every artist wants to work.

Woman: First of all, the view that we have from the stage looking up into the-- the audience, into the seats and the rocks.

Heh!

It's breathtaking.

Every time we've been there, I catch all my colleagues just staring up into the audience and into the sky.

For us to hear the excitement from 9,700 people in the audience is-- there's nothing-- there's nothing better than that.

RZA: You know, the crazy thing about music, like, is that it's a universal language.

You know, whether you speak Spanish, Latin, French, whatever, music is the universal language, and it's actually even that way when you come to writing it, you know what I mean?

And I think, you know, at one point, hip-hop was not being considered music.

It was being considered something less than musical, sub, but as time went on, a generation grew and they heard it and they heard the musicality.

You look at the classical world, where, you know, to be classical, it's highbrow, it's elite, right?

Will they ever accept hip-hop collaboration?

Will they ever accept hip-hop as a form of music?

You know, that's a big question, and that's a question that we are asking right now at this Red Rock concert, you know?

Will everybody here join the vibe of Wu-Tang and put on a show?

I'd never heard of that perception of hip-hop not being, like, a legitimate form of music.

It's always been a part of my life growing up, and I think many people in my generation, it's just another form of music, so I think, yeah, I don't believe that that perception is valid anymore today, especially in the generation that I'm from.

One of the things I love about music is that music is music.

It doesn't really matter where you're from, who you are, what background you come from.

We all have what we-- we listen to in our own personal lives, but it all speaks to us in a different way.

What Wu-Tang clan does is, yes, very different from what the orchestra does, but inevitably, we all serve the very same purpose.

You can't forget that, yo, Run-DMC, King of Rock, they mixed it with hip-hop, and that was heavy guitar strings early, right?

And they added that part to the genre, so even when we say whatever decides--yeah, to fit, yo, 60-piece orchestra, that's deep.

RZA: You know, I think that, uh, what happens over time is that that universal language of music starts to resonate in all musicians.

Man on film: Hey, hey!

RZA: So to the point to whereas hip-hop can accept classical, and classical can accept hip-hop.

It was difficult to get us to meld together.

It took time, it took years, but now we're here.

Woman: Can it be all so simple?

Method Man: Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah!

Yeah, yeah.

[Record scratching] Make some noise, Red Rock!

[Crowd cheering] Method Man: Where's your bone at?

Yeah.

Yo.

Yeah.

Yo, it started off on the island, AKA Shaolin Wilin', gun shots thrown, the phone Dialin' Back in the days of eight now, making a tape now Rae gotta get a Plate now!

Ignorant and mad young, wanted to be the one Till I got Blaow!

Blaow!

Blaow!

Method Man: Yeah, my pops was a fiend since 16 Shooting that That's that!

That's the life of a grimey, Real-life crimey, know the habit's behind me Yo, day one, yo, growing all up in the ghetto I'm a weed fiend, jetting the Palmetto, that's in... Dragon: Well, I think a lot of the samples that Wu-Tang uses, quite a few of them have instrumental backings, too.

So it actually translates quite well to orchestras because they use flutes, they use violins.

There are lines which you can put into it.

In terms of drum machines and electronic sounds, there are usually pitches involved in rhythms, so you can use acoustic instruments to imitate those sounds.

So I think the bridge between an orchestra and hip-hop music isn't so far-fetched.

There are similarities between the two that can make it work.

Come on!

Dedicated to the winners And the losers Dedicated to all Jeeps and Land Cruisers Dedicated to the 5's, 850i's Dedicated to brothers who do drive-bys Dedicated to the Lexus and the Acks Dedicated to MPVs Phat!

Yeah.

[Sirens playing] Yeah!

Yeah!

Yeah, let's go RZA: You know, we're going to have, you know, 60 players here with us tonight that may have been in all forms of schooling, you know, with their violin, with their horn, you know, with their bassoon, with their clarinets, their oboe.

They're all coming from different walks of life, but they're coming to play music in harmony, and that's what music is.

And Wu-Tang, coming from our parts of life, from the streets or the slums of Shaolin, we're bringing that with us.

Come on!

I came to bring da pain Hardcore from the brain Let's go inside of my astral plane Find out my mental, based on instrumental Records, hey, so I can write monumental Method, I'm not the king But we're in the decaf, I stick 'em for the cream Check it, just how deep can ... get Deep as the abyss and brothers is mad, fish accept it In your Cross Colour clothes, you've crossed over Then got Totally Krossed Out and Kris Krossed Who the boss?

Brothers get tossed to the side And I'm the Dark Side of the Force, of course It's the Method, Man from the Wu-Tang Clan I be hectic, comin' for the head piece, protect it ... it, two tears in a bucket ... want the ruckus, bustin' at me, bruh Styles, I gets buck wild Method Man on some ..., pullin' ... files I'm sick, insane, crazy, driving Miss Daisy Out her fucking mind, now I got mine, I'm Swayze But is it really real, son?

Let me know it's real, son, is it really real?

Something I could feel, son, load it up and kill one What a raw deal, son, if it's really real When I was a little stereo Stereo I listened to the Champion Champion I always wondered Wondered When I will be the number Tical!

Now you listen to the Gorgon Gorgon And the Gorgon sound a Rein Any jump and come test me Now go lick out dem brain... Dragon, voice-over: I was first exposed to Wu-Tang's music by my sister, my older sister.

Driving in the car, she would play their CDs, and two of the songs that...

I'm most looking forward to in the concert is "C.R.E.A.M."

and "Ain't Nuthing ta ...

With."

And that's because I remember those songs so clearly, like, my sister playing them in the radio, so it brings back this nostalgia of me being back home in the car with my sister, driving when I was, like, 10 or 11.

Like, I remember hearing those songs and especially "Ain't Nuthing-- Ain't Nuthing ta ...

Wit."

Tiger style!

Tiger style!

Wu-Tang Clan ain't nuthing ta ... wit!

Wu-Tang Clan ain't nuthing ta ... wit!

Wu-Tang Clan ain't... Crowd: Nuthing ta ... wit!

There's no place to hide once I step inside the room Dr. Doom, prepare for the boom Bam!

Aw, man!

I slam, jam, scream like Tarzan I be tossing and flossing, style is awesome Causing more family feuds than Richard Dawson And the survey said You're dead The Fatal Flying Guillotine chops off Your ...head Mister, who was that?

Ayo, the Wu is back, making ... go "Bo!

Bo!"

like I'm Super Cat Me fear no-one, oh, no, here come Wu-Tang shogun, killer to the eardrum Needle to the groove, I get rude, forced to ... it up, my style carry like a pick-up truck Cross the clear blue Yonder Sea to shining sea I slam tracks Like quarterbacks, sacks from L.T.

So why try and test the Rebel INS?

Blessed since the birth, I earth-slam your best 'Cause I bake the cake, then take the cake And eat it, too, with my crew While we head state to state We'll be walking, man Ready to rock, and Wu-Tang Clan... Crowd: Ain't nuthing ta ... wit Straight from the ... slums that's busted Wu-Tang Clan ain't...

Crowd: Nuthing ta ... wit Ooh, ah, ooh Ah, ooh, ah, ooh The Meth will come out Tomorrow!

Now conditions, bizarre, bizarro Flow, with more afro than Rollo Coming to a fork in the road, which way to go?

Just follow Meth is the legend ... is Sleepy Hollow, in fact, I'm a hard act to follow I dealt for dolo, Bogart coming on through ..., it's like "Oh, my God, not you!

" Yes, sir, come and get a slice of the punk and the pie Rather do than die, check my flavor Coming from the RZA, which is short for the razor Who Make me reminisce True Like Deja Vu!

I'm rubber ... is like Glue Whatever you say rubs off me Sticks to you, you, you, you, you Wu-Tang Clan ain't... Crowd: Nuthing ta ... wit - Wu-Tang Clan ain't...

- Nuthing ta ... wit - Wu-Tang Clan ain't... - Nuthing ta ... wit - Wu-Tang Clan ain't...

- Nuthing ta ... wit [Song ends, crowd cheering] RZA, voice-over: My journey to Red Rock kind of started in a small theater in Austin, Texas.

Uh, Alamo Drafthouse, um, where I was brought down for something called a Fantastic Fest and was commissioned to do a live score of "36 Chambers," the 1978 Shaw Brother film.

Uh, and I did it, and maybe about 400 people was in the audience, and it ended with standing ovation, and I did it with me as a DJ.

Uh, after that success of that one, they invited me again the following year, and this time, it was two theaters wanted to do it, so I had two nights in the same city, in Austin.

Um, and once again, it was successful.

But as I was going through this, uh, it started being too challenging for me to handle, so I went back and reached out to my old DJ buddy, DJ Skein, and then I remembered who was the first guy who I ever seen manipulate video and music and in a hip-hop form, meaning using, like, hip-hop breakbeats and things of that nature.

It was this kid named Tom Shannon, another DJ from Staten Island.

I was making videos with stuff that I got off the radio.

I wanted to make videos with breakbeats, you know, original breakbeats.

So the only person that I knew at the time was RZA, so I'm like, "I gotta go there somehow, "maybe impress him, and at least get one pair of breakbeats to go home with and make some videos."

Boom, we go there, we're battling back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

I lost.

Method Man: It started with him at the Hollywood Bowl, and he was mixing a James Brown record to a ... cartoon, and the record was "Down and Out in New York City" by James Brown.

And he had the pumpkin on there and the pumpkin was talking, and the way he was cutting the record, the cartoon was moving with the record every time he cut it, like--[makes rhythmic sounds]-- and it was incredible.

And I think we had a big show in New York at a place called the Town Hall, and actually, it was the first time hip-hop has ever appeared in the Town Hall in New York, which is really a off-Broadway type of location.

And we did it-- 1,500 tickets sold.

After doing these things, about 3 or 4 years of just doing it with myself or with Skein and with Tom Shannon or maybe a guest Wu member here, maybe myself rapping, and I started rewriting the music and actually using orchestration and cues from my movies and things of that nature, reconducting what the experience could be, and I called it "A Wu-Tang Experience," and we went on sale, and we sold out two nights, and Red Rocks asked for the show.

Bring da ... ruckus Yo, yo Bring da ... ruckus Bring da ... ruckus Ghostface Ghostface Catch the blast of a hype verse Glock burst, leave in a hearse, I did worse I come rough, tough like an elephant tusk Your head rush, fly like Egyptian musk Aww ...

Aww ... Wu-Tang Clan ... the wicks, an' However, I master the trick just like Nixon Causin' terror, quick, damage your whole Era Hard rocks is locked the ... up or found shot P.L.O.

style, hazardous... RZA was nice with it because RZA didn't have a whole lot of equipment at that time, but he was able to go take a song like "Bring Da Ruckus" and put a mic under a bucket and slap it to get the snare-- you know what I mean?-- so he wasn't just, like, sampling.

He was creating his own sounds from things around the house-- spoon to the glass.

That's--you know, that's something in the beat, you know?

I watch your back like I'm locked down Hardcore-hittin' sound, watch me act bugged and tear it down Illiterate-type ..., songs goin' gold No doubt, yo, watch a corny ... Fold Yeah, they fake and all that, carryin' gats Yo, my Clan roll with, like 40 macs So now you act convinced, I guess it makes sense Yo, Wu-Tang, y'all Ooh Represent!

I wait for one to act up, now I got him backed up Gun to his neck, react What?

And that's one in the chamber, Wu-Tang banger 36 styles, yeah Danger Bring da ... ruckus Bring da ... Hey, we'll make this up Yo, bring da ... ruckus Bring da ...

And then we'll make this up Yo, bring da ... ruckus Bring da ... ... Whoa, bring da ...

ruckus Bring da ... ruckus I rip it hardcore like porno-flick bitches I roll with groups of ghetto bastards With biscuits Check it, my method on the microphone's bangin' Wu-Tang slang'll leave your headpiece hangin' Bust this, kickin' like Seagal: "Out for Justice" The rough ..., yes, the rudeness Ruckus Redrum, I verbally assault with the tongue Murder One, my style shocks your knot like a stun gun I'm hectic, wreck it with the quickness Set it on the microphone, and competition get Blown By this nasty-ass ... with my ... RZA Charged like a bull and got pull like a Trigga So bad, stabbin' up the pad with the vocab, crabs I scream on your ass like your dad, bring it on!

Bring da ... ruckus Bring da ... ruckus Bring it on Bring da ... ruckus Bring da ...

ruckus GZA: Hey, yo I'm more rugged than slave man boots New recruits, ... up MC troop I break loose and trample ... while I stomp A mudhole in that ass 'cause I'm straight out the swamp Creepin' up on site, now it's Fright Night Wu-Tang slang is Mad ... dangerous And more deadly than the strokes of an ax Choppin' through your back Givin' bystanders heart attacks ...

try to play, tell me, who is him?

I blow up his ... prism Make it a vicious act Of terrorism You wanna bring it, so ... it Come on and bring da Ruckus And I provoke ... to kick Buckets I'm wettin' cream, I ain't wettin' fame Who sellin' 'caine?

Yeah, I'm givin' out a deadly game It's not the Russian It's the Wu-Tang crushin' roulette Slip up and get ... like Suzette Bring da ... ruckus Bring da ... ruckus Aw, bring da ...

ruckus Yo Bring da ... ruckus Bring da ... ruckus 36, baby.

Bring da ... ruckus Bring da ... ruckus It's just dope.

You know, what goes through my mind, man, is, I learned from the greats before me, where you don't never appreciate it as much as it will be appreciated because you're in the moment at the time, so for me, I'm never gonna grasp the impact of what we gave out until I'm on the opposite end, I'm watching it as a fan, you know, and I'm seeing the playback because in the moment, you're there, so for me, in the moment is everything.

You know what I'm saying?

It's like, "Yo, I'm out here.

"I'm in Denver.

I'm in the high altitudes.

"I got a band behind me.

The movie's playing.

I know it looks marvelous.

It's lit up."

I just can't--I can't see it.

I can't tell.

I can't turn around and watch the movie as I'm doing it.

You know what I'm saying?

I just have to trust my brother and his vision and what he told me-- "Yo, this is gonna be like this.

It's going to be that"-- and, you know, me traveling through the years, I know my brother, so, you know, all I got to do is do my part.

Raekwon: Yeah, yeah Yeah Cash rules everything around me C.R.E.A.M.

get the money Dollar, dollar bill, y'all Grew up on the crime side, "New York Times" side Stayin' alive was no jive Had second hands, Mom's bounced on old man So then we moved to Shaolin land A young youth, yo, rockin' the gold tooth, 'Lo goose Only way I begin the G off Was drug loot Cook and let's start it like this, son Rollin' with this one, that one Pullin' out gats for fun But it was just a dream for the teen who was a fiend Started smokin' wools at 16 And runnin' up in gates Doin' ... for high stakes Makin' my way on fire escapes With no question, I would speed Cracks and weed The combination made my eyes bleed And no question, I would flow off Try to get the dough all Stickin' up ... on ball courts My life got no better, same damn 'Lo sweater Times is rough, tough like leather Figured out I went the wrong route So I got with a Colorado, ...

Crowd: All out Catchin' keys from 'cross seas Rollin' in MPVs, every week, made 40 Gs Hey, yo, ..., respect mine Hangin' in TEC-9, pow Come on.

Cash rules everything around me C.R.E.A.M., get the money Crowd Dollar, dollar bill, y'all I can't hear you.

Cash rules everything around me C.R.E.A.M., get the money Dollar, dollar bill, y'all Whoo!

Ooh... Hip-hop music really was, you know, the cool-- the cool part of the music world.

It's where people really felt comfortable to express themselves, to listen to, and have so much fun with, and now we get to be part of that.

How did hip-hop start?

I remember--I remember my mother and my mother's best friend, uh, public school teachers, and they were complaining about how the New York public system took music and art out of the programs.

Now, in the eighties, I remember laughing at kids.

"Oh, you're on the bus stop with your cello.

He's playing band.

Ha ha ha!"

I wish I would have played an instrument, you know what I mean?

When they were taking art and music out of the school system, your kids can't express themselves artistically, musically anymore, so they got find something to make... [Thumping rhythm pattern] music.

Records.

Your parents have records.

You have a record player, you know what I mean?

That's--it's hip-hop.

RZA: We go side to side, side to side Side to side, side to side Side to side, side to side Side to side, side to side Check the script Yeah Me and the gods was getting' ripped Blunts in my mouth, 40 dogs in my lip Had a box, boom boom the bass would blast I was laughin' at all the girls that passed RZA: You know, when we was young, we studied mathematics, which led us to study the Holy Quran, and it says there's 99 names of Allah.

Each one of those names are an attribute of what he is to the world, the most omnipotent, you know what I mean, the bounteous, you know what I mean, the glorious, all these different things.

The merciful.

All these beautiful names, and then it says one name that you don't know.

As a artist, I actually named myself various times throughout the years to describe the personality of my creativity, and so at different phases of life, you know, I was into different things, and so I was able to name all of those, but out of all the names that I may have acquired or--we don't even call them names.

We call them all the attributes.

I think, my most purest attribute is Divine Prince Master Rakeem Zig-Zag-Zig Allah.

That's the most purest expression of myself, but if I was to condense even that down and every attribute together, just simply call me The Abbot.

I'll be runnin' down there with the wild killa bees Walk the streets [indistinct] We don't ever land, never will Do or die, kill Blow some coasts and blow some minds close Hopes is low, and that's real You know what I'm saying, just how you feel On and on, that's how you feel Love is just love, get him up in the tub Found himself in a sub popping pills Something like that.

I hear you.

RZA: So then after "Black Widow"... [Indistinct chatter] What?

"Black Widow."

You got it.

All right.

After "Black Widow," we kind of let it live for a while while he's trying to-- he's gonna teach about the water, the bows, the balance.

Then after that, we go into "Wu-Gambinos."

RZA, voice-over: You know, it's hard to say what makes a good leader.

I believe in leadership versus a leader because with leadership means that if the leader falls someone else is still there to carry it on, so leadership is more important, but when I think about myself now, I'm a showrunner, a director, and all that.

People are looking to you to be the leader.

They're not looking for somebody else, and so what I've strived to do is I kind of look at Captain Kirk.

Captain Kirk is the leader of that ship, but he got himself a Mr. Spock, all right, who always got a logical explanation.

He has himself a doctor.

He has himself someone who's doing the communication.

He has someone who's watching the engine, and this is his best team of people, and that best team of people are the ones who are controlling the entire crew of what you always say.

We have over 400 passengers on the ship, and, you know, but you only hear about those 8 people, and if Kirk has to leave the bridge, someone else takes the seat.

So leadership, I would say, is even more important than leaders, and a good leader should know that.

So this is gonna be the next single?

Maybe, maybe.

If we don't get the others played.

It's just like our last resort.

Because what he said made a lot of sense, too.

With the guitar on there, you can get all those white kids.

Shannon: RZA was already on his way.

RZA--he was always doing stuff that I wasn't hearing on the radio or seeing onstage when I went to Latin Quarters or The Fun House.

When RZA was putting those songs together, it's like he's a conductor.

You have--say, if he has one song and it has 3 or 4 samples in it.

When do you play those samples, you know?

He's a conductor.

When you got a sample of these violins that are coming in, he's already thinking about a orchestra being in that song, you know, but he's just sampling off of a record.

["Bring da Ruckus" playing] Inspectah Deck: I rip it hardcore Like porno flick bitches I roll with groups of ghetto bastards with biscuits Check it, my method on the microphone's banging Wu-Tang slang'll leave your head spinning Thing is what offhand you would think, "Oh, all I gotta do is get some records that have orchestras on it."

Nah.

You got to be--you have to have an ear to make 4 different samples from 4 different records work on one song.

You're taking 4 different samples, putting them together, and making a brand-new entity, you know?

Then you put these MCs on there.

I mean, like "Five Deadly Venoms."

Every MC has a different style.

That's Wu-Tang Clan.

Dragon: Just think of a piano and someone going up to an instrument, the piano, and if they just hit keys on it randomly, some people might say it's music, but for most of us, it's noise.

It's kind of the way that those notes are put together that make chords, that make harmony, that make rhythm, that make melody.

That is what-- that is how it becomes music.

It's the structure behind all those elements that makes music.

So without that structure, you would say it's kind of just noise, and I think another interesting part of that definition is creating something beautiful, and I think for each of us, what we perceive as it being beautiful is a very different thing, and I think that is the great thing about music is that we all perceive it in a completely different way.

DJ Mathematics: Like.

when I was younger, I was gonna attack the turntables, you know what I mean?

Um, uh, even nowadays, it's like, you know, for anybody, you going through certain #### you put on certain music, it calms you down, it soothes you, or it gets you hyped, you know what I mean?

Like a boxer go into the ring, he got the right music, he gonna go in there and tear #### up, or you see dudes listening before sports.

They listen to their ####, and they go and do their ####.

So for me, music is everything, you know.

Just like even when I make my music and it's like... Heh.

Ha ha ha!

RZA: You know, I look back on myself, and I think about what's the process of how I create music in 2021 versus how I created music back in 1991, and I think in 1991, I was only understanding the language of music through that which was already created.

You know, from hip-hop, maybe I'll find a sample, maybe I'll find a James Brown horn, maybe I'll find a Otis Redding vocal sample, maybe I'll find a kick drum from Billy Squier.

You know, maybe I'll find a Syntar from the Main Ingredient, you know what I mean?

You try to take all this, and you try to tell your own story with these pieces.

Give him his flowers now!

Ha ha ha!

Singers: It's Wu Wu-Tang It's Wu Who?

It's Wu Who?

Wu-Tang Yeah, yeah GZA: Reunited, double LP, world excited Struck a match to the underground Industry ignited From metaphorical parables to fertilize the Earth Wicked #### come, try to burglarize the turf Scatting off soft-ass #### rap Tragically, that style deteriorate rapidly Uncompleted missions Your best known compositions You couldn't add it up if you mastered Where I come from, getting visual is habitual You're more safe walking on hot coals in rituals I splashed the paint on the wall Formed a mural, he took a look Saw the manifestation of it was plural Rhyming while impaired, dart hit your garment Pierced your internal streamlined compartments Just consider the unparalleled advantage Of a natural disaster that's impossible to manage It's Wu Who?

Yeah, it's Wu Who?

Yeah, it's Wu RZA: I think what Red Rocks does it's a culmination of my journey as an artist because here I get a chance to combine my music love and my music talent with my hip-hop, lyrical, rugged talent with my cinematic talent.

Also with the humanity and the brotherhood of Wu-Tang, which we represent, all coming together, so we're unifying.

So it's not just unifying us.

We're unifying genres, unifying sound, and unifying media, and before the night is over, if it goes well, it unifies with that audience, and everybody walks away with the stimulation of entertainment and enjoyment.

I think it's good because it's like the Wu can't be out there trying to do the same thing that we did 20 years ago, you know what I'm saying?

It just don't make sense.

So to me, I think it's a evolution.

I think it's good for the game.

I think it's good for the culture.

There's multiple pieces to this, right?

You have a film, you have a orchestra, you have artist appearances, you have a DJ.

All these things have to sync.

You see what I'm saying?

So the bottom line is if they're not syncing, then we have an issue, you know?

I didn't know if the fans were gonna appreciate it, you know, because they're so used to us going up there, wilding out.

I didn't want the band to get booed because Wu-Tang fans are ruthless, you know what I'm saying, so...

I would say on a scale of 1 to 10, I'm probably a 15 right now.

I think Dustin and Chris are probably at a 20 because once you start the film, you push one button and it goes.

There's no stopping, there's no starting, there's just go.

Dustin: Technically, a laptop could fail, and it can go down.

It's Friday the 13th.

Ha!

So whatever.

So it is.

It is a very tricky situation, but the good thing is we did manage to do quite a lot of it today, and my hope--I'm hoping that a lot of it sticks for tomorrow.

Ha!

Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.

Murphy's law.

I'm in the philosophy of, you know what?

The people who are here watching the concert, they're here to watch us as artists do what we do, so the worst thing we could do is do what we do, and the best thing we could do is do what we do because that's what they're here to see.

[Crowd chanting, "Wu-Tang!"]

You know what I'm saying?

By the back of the jacket, you already know, you know?

Yeah.

This is dope, you know what I'm saying with this.

Yo, let me tell you the funniest thing, though.

People came to the pop-up, they was, like, "It's the biggest show"-- When we was out here in 2019, people would be like, "Yo, this is the biggest show since the Beatles."

Today when we was at the pop-up, people was like, "Yo, this is even bigger than when the Beatles was at Red Rocks," because they said that Wu-Tang had a chance to build a 30-year fan base, and it's Colorado Symphony, so it's like to go from two years ago, know what I'm saying, that our show was the biggest show since the Beatles and then to hearing fans say today that it's the biggest show, that's dope for Young Dirty, and it's dope for the Clan.

I was on an airplane coming from ATL, and it was people on the airplane, like, "I'm going to Colorado to watch the show."

"I'm like, "Oh, shit."

My mom's telling them who I am.

I said, "Don't tell them who I am," know what I'm saying?

She like, "No, no, no.

We live here.

We do this.

We love you."

I'm like, "Chill out," but we're here for y'all, you know what I'm saying?

Shout-out to the fans.

Fans forever.

You know, Wu-Tang is here.

Word.

[Chanting, "Wu-Tang"] Shannon: A lot of it is surreal.

I mean, when I really-- when I go back to think about it, it's like my memories are childhood memories.

Now 53 years old, I'm like, "This is surreal."

You know?

You go anywhere and wear this, people know it.

Young peop--I see young people wearing it don't even know it's Wu-Tang, but they gotta wear it.

They know something's up with that symbol.

Interviewer: Look at these ladies over here.

Y'all look like soccer moms, don't y'all?

Why?

How did you come out here today?

Go for it.

You got it?

My husband.

OK. And listening to it since 1997 when I was in high school.

That's interesting.

So what is your favorite Wu-Tang song?

"Protect Ya Neck."

Oh.

Got to go from the origin, is that it?

Who's your favorite artist?

Uh...GZA.

How could you miss the show?

Wu-Tang, Colorado Symphony Orchestra.

Big boy.

Woman: Yes.

Colorado.

Red Rocks.

Best venue in the world.

Once in a lifetime show.

I had to be here.

Interviewer: Why are you here today?

I'm here I've yet to see a concert.

Super excited.

Been a fan forever from "36."

"8 Diagrams" is my favorite album.

What is your favorite song?

Uh, either "Triumph" or, uh, "The Mystery of the Chessboxin'," your video.

Interesting.

"Ruckus in D Minor."

Uh, "Fourth Chamber."

Get that "Gravel Pit."

Interviewer: First of all, y'all were not even born... [Laughter] when Wu-Tang came out.

What brought you here today?

Oh, my dad--my dad and all of his friends.

When I was younger, he would usually just listen to them, and at first, I wasn't into them, but once my dad started listening to them, that's when I started liking them and stuff... What is your favorite song?

"Triumph," easily.

Ooh, from their peak.

Like, what's your favorite verse or a few good lines... Oh, Method Man's whole-- Method Man's whole verse, actually.

How does it go?

As the world turns, I spread like germs Bless the globe with the pestilence The hard-headed never learn This is my testament to those burned Play my position in the game of life, standing firm On foreign land, jump the gun out the frying pan Uh... [Cheering and applause] RZA: You know, you think about the Wu-Tang audience and how it has evolved over time, how it has started at one place and become inclusive in another.

It's something beautiful, I think, for me and the Wu-Tang Clan to watch.

You know, their dedication to us and their respect or reverence of us is something that, you know, we just appreciate.

It's hard to put your finger on what it is.

I always say it's that "W", in Wu-Tang stands for wisdom.

And wisdom just has a magnetic attraction, you know what I mean?

Who's not gonna be attracted to wisdom whether it's a physical wisdom or a spiritual wisdom or mental?

But I've watched it grow from being just homies in the hood, you know what I mean, the streets of Brooklyn, Manhattan, Bronx, Queens, you know, Philadelphia, Connecticut.

You know, I mean, I've just seen it, you know.

D.C., Virginia.

It's all hood.

All the hood coming to check and roll with us.

Chicago.

And then it just started expanding.

I'll never forget, by the time we got to the album "Wu-Tang Forever," we did a show.

It might have been in New Mexico or Arizona, somewhere.

And it was thousands of kids, And it was all walks of life there-- black, brown, red, yellow, white, Native Americans, you know what I mean, our Asian brothers, of course.

Gay brothers was there.

It just was like, "Yo."

It was a very inclusive audience.

And they all came for something.

Dance with the mantis, note the slim chances Chant this anthem, swing like Pete Sampras Taking it straight to Big Man On Campus Brandish your weapon or get dropped to the canvas Scandalous, made the metro panic Cause static with or without the automatic And while I'm at it, yo, you got cash, pass it It's drastic, gotta send half to YDB Ayo, ayo, waves is spinning, blades is spinning Slay 'em in the eighth inning Stay truck, Blake's playing linen Kill rap, observe the uptowns Feel that Mink jeans on Seen where the real at 2,000 Zitos, moving with a ill ego For real, for real, ill lines, ill people Bring it back, 9 more civilians Pollying deals, monopoly and bills Y'all lying Caught 300, lab look royal with a mean stomach Go broke, all seen, done it Words from the heavy-set If I don't eat, we already met Fly-ass bro, liver than coke, yo Now, what Clan you know with lines this ill?

Make shots at Big Ben like we got time to kill Can't gel Or I'm just too high to tell Put on my gasoline boots and walk through Hell With 9 [indistinct], 9 ninjas in your video 9 milli blow, semi-auto with no serial Man metaphysical, I speak for criminals Who don't pay they bills on time and play with digital Never seen, smoke a bag of evergreen My sword got a Jones Man heads for the ... Johnny in the dungeon Taking all bets, throw ya ones in Masta Killa: That's word to Damo San Juan, Puerto Rico Blowin' hydro on a beach with Tamiko Gun bullet hollow for you to swallow Blowin' the nozzle, hear it whistle One in the head, code red, man for dead X amount of lead spray from the barrel Heat clear the street like Connor O'Carroll Fully equipped, rifles, banana clip Just to make my ... from East New York flip Flip Flip Wanna pop ...

I pop clips I'll put my ... on ya lips Alabama split, hammer slay quick That David Banner gamma ray ... Shells in the mouth, jailhouse snitch My powder voice, Snow White sniff Verbal killas, gorilla grip God bodies lift puff Marley spliffs [Indistinct] Better chill with the feedback black, I don't need that It's ten o'clock, ho, where the ... your seed at?

Feelin' mad hostile, ran the apostle Flowin' like Christ when I speaks the Gospel I stroll with the holy roll Then attack the globe with the buckus style Ruckus, ten times ten men committin' mad sin You turn the other cheek And I'll break your ... chin We [indistinct] down like a African drum We'll be Comin' around the mountain when I come Crazy flamboyant for the rap enjoyment My clan increase like black unemployment Yeah, another one dare Cappadonna, take us the ... out of here Deep meditation, sound orientated War the blizzard Rap para-medical the wizard Cappadonna, never caterin' to none My microphone and three verses Weigh a ton of slaughter You oughta, 5,000 back across the water My laboratory story keep me flowin' with the glory Acapella or deep dirty instrumental I could blow the sky like the stormy wind blew One gallon of whylin', Park Hill profilin' Cut your face up, rough fifty sure While you're smilin' For violatin' my position I leave you smoked like a crackhead on a mission Two tokes of mic dope, one stroke of elegance Rated like the movie graphic told intelligence Person to person, it'd be hard for you to take a trophy You better off to get somebody out to try to smoke me 'Cause I'm P-L-O-T-K-O every day Dance hall General, party fanatic colonel Cappadonna, son of old school's go infernal Veteran for rappin' with the new set of rule For hard rappin' 96 jive, I keep the live c-clappin' When I bow, all praises due to Staten Isle I spark the mic, Shaolin spark the methical Every evening, I have a by myself meeting Thinkin' who's gonna be the next to catch it From my mental slangin', bitchin', rap twist The point of warfare, brutalize All competition catch ill hair Chance him, that's what they said, threw up a ransom I jacked it, stripped the beat naked, packed it Gimme my rewards Give him his awards!

[Cheering] Yeah... Masta Killa, voice-over: We created something that's universal now, that's in the White House now.

Oh, yeah!

It's everywhere now, right?

And, you know, you know, from that to playing with an orchestra just shows you that, you know, there's no boundaries.

Music is universal.

[Crowd chanting "Wu-Tang!

Wu-Tang..."] Just in case you all ain't pay attention to what's going on, we are scoring an entire movie right before your eyes live at Red Rocks.

[Cheering] [Crowd chanting "Wu-Tang!

Wu-Tang..."] Taking you back to Shaolin.

Man in movie: Come on.

Put a bit more strength into it.

Come on.

[Cheering] You know, when it came time for me to, you know, do this live score at Red Rocks, there was no other movie in my mind besides "36 Chambers."

It represents so many different facets of Wu-Tang.

It represents a young man who's watching his community being oppressed, and he figures out a way to help his community.

It represents being in college, and young men are figuring out, Do they have to go with the status quo, or can they make a change and make an improvement?

Our first album is called "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)."

It's named after this film and another film called "Enter the Dragon," when Bruce Lee brings the first big blockbuster to Hollywood that has a diverse cast.

So these both of these films are very important to me, I think very important to culture.

They had a lot to say about what Wu-Tang wanted to bring to the world, so I couldn't find a better film than "36 Chambers" to show to the audience and tell that story on screen, through the music, and through our lyrics.

Oh... Man in film: ...is immensely strong, and immune to nearly any weapon.

When it's properly used, it's almost invincible.

Raw I'ma give it to ya, with no trivia Raw like cocaine Crowd: Straight from Bolivia My hip-hop will rock and shock the nation Like the Emancipation Proclamation Weak MCs approach with slang that's dead You might as well run into the wall And bang your head I'm pushing force, my force you're doubting I'm making devils cower to the Caucus Mountains I'm a sire, I set the microphone on Fire Rap styles vary Carry like Mariah I come from the Shaolin slum And the isle I'm from is coming through With 'nuff ... so if you wanna... Inspectah Deck: Imagine if we had this technology dropping "36 Chambers," you know.

Having the internet where, you know, each and every one of us got, like, a quarter of a million followers and up, you know, like that.

So, nah, like, we-- right now, you can be in tune with the people from your couch, where we had to jump on the ferry and ride the train and really sit down with Russell Simmons and have lunch and talk him into, "This is ... bro.

God, I mean, I'm telling you."

You know?

They didn't see our video have a million views already on YouTube and there wasn't the buzz going on like that.

You know, we had to convince everybody.

So that's the difference in the times in my eyes, man.

It's good and it's bad, but it depends on who got the gun, the villain or the hero, bro.

I got beef with commercial-ass... With gold teeth lamping in a Lexus Eating beef straight up and down Don't even bother Got 40 ... up in here Now, who killin' ... fathers...

Are you with me, where you at?

In the front, in the back, killa-bees on attack ... are you with me, where you at?

Smoking meth, hitting cats on the block with the gats Here I go, deep type flow Jacques Cousteau could never get this low I'm cherry bombing ... Boom Just warming up a little bit Vroom vroom vroom Rappining is what's happening Keep the pockets stacked and then hands Audience: Clapping At the party when I move my body Gotta get up Audience: And be somebody Grab the microphone, put strength to the bone Just enter the Wu-Tang zone Sure enough when I rock that stuff, guff puff I'm gonna catch your Bluff tuff Kicking rhymes like Jim Kelly Aah!

Coming raw style, hardcore Be coming to the hip-hop store Coming to buy grocery from me Trying to be a hip-hop MC In order to enter the Wu-Tang You must bring the [indistinct] Represent the GZA, RZA... Shaquan, Inspectah Deck Dirty Ol' Getting low with his flow Introducing the Ghostface... Killah-ah-ah-ah No one could get iller My peoples, are you with me, where you at?

In the front, in the back, killa-bees on attack And the jam's in the butter That's with the back of the toast, man Ooh.

Ain't there another, no, baby I wear a rubber, let the mussels wash up I just keep it there in the gutter All day, squad up You can find me here with my brothers Me and [indistinct] and somebody dies Summer Top gunner Cruising, doing my numbers Back 20 years younger Was probably doing your mother Whoops!

Your mama.

It's Paul, Kiel with the 41st side Just that hard feeling I ain't felt since Dirty first died My third eye's sharp I got a bird's-eye view Might flip a bird before I tell the bird I do it M-E-T-H-O-D Man M-E-T-H-O-D Man M-E-T-H-O-D Man M-E-T-H-O-D Hey You Get off my You don't know me and you don't know my Style Who be gettin' flam when they come to a jam?

Here I am The Method Man Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, hey Don't eat Skippy, Jif, or Peter Pan Peanut butter 'cause I'm not butter In fact, I snap back Like a rubber Band, I be Sam, Sam I Am And I don't eat Green eggs and ham Style'll hit ya Wham You'll be like, "Oh ... that's the jam" Turn it up, now hear me get buck w-w-wild I'm about to blow, light me up Upside, downside, inside and outside Hittin' you from every angle There's no doubt I am the one and only... Oliver "Power" Grant: In order to stay in the game, you have to always adjust yourself, right?

It's always an adjustment because the best thing that we could do is always a work in progress, right?

RZA's a work in progress.

I'm a work in progress.

Wu-Tang is always a work in progress, right, Because even the thing that we see that we might think, is perfect and we know there's no perfection, the beauty is actually in the flaws of it, right?

And the beauty is what we learn from those things.

And those things is the things that actually help us push not only ourself forward and support each other, but it's the same thing that helps push the culture and everything forward.

Method Man: And I'm about to go get lifted Yes, I'm about to go get lifted I got Myself a 40 I got Myself a shorty And I'm about to go and stick it Yes, I'm about to go and stick it Give it to me [Cheering] All: Jonny!

Jonny!

Jonny!

Jonny!

[Indistinct chatter] To say I'm a part of Wu-Tang is true--is a true statement but a small part.

You know, what I am is a great friend of RZA.

You know, I love the brother.

DJ Skane: So one party and we-- there was a DJ battle.

This guy, DJ Dr Rock from the Force MDs, actually, then he put the fuel in me to want to be a DJ, but I was like, "I could probably "never be as good as him, you know, but I'm gonna try."

We were invited to be a part of it because now we're the drum machine kids.

So, "Yo, the two skinny kids.

"You know, the white kid and the black guy-- "Rakeem and that white guy.

I think his name is Skane.

"Yeah.

They're gonna come down."

So.

So Bobby and I had this-- I think we had the 909, and we had this...imagination... that we romanticized the fact that we're going to plug this thing in and everything's going to be magic, you know?

We were just going to hit it, and the crowd's going to love us, and we're going to do this rhyme.

And, you know, and I'm going to scratch a little bit.

You know, I'm gonna accent his rhymes.

We're going to do a little rendition-- our own Run-DMC rendition-type of thing.

And Dr Rock comes out, and he has a crew of, like, five guys, and they just start piling up speakers on top of speakers.

And Dr Rock got the coffin, takes out two break records, and they're set up within 15 minutes.

And we'd been there, right?

And this guy, the sound still sounds terrible.

And Dr Rock's like, he's like, he puts his finger up like this, And the whole crowd turns around because we're on opposite sides of the room.

And he goes--he just starts going...

I think he played "UFO."

Bang bang bang!

Bum bum bum, bow Dun dun dun da Bobby and I just disconnected our ... and we was like, "Yo, we'll see you later."

[Vocal samples] See, it's funny when you grow up with somebody and, you know all the things they had and all the things they didn't have.

And when they get older and they get into a position where they can have the things they didn't have, that's RZA, living out all his fantasies.

He made his own kung fu movie, turned himself into a kung fu fighter.

He has every piece of equipment that he ever wanted.

He gets to hobnob with people who he admired and studied their philosophies.

What's better than that?

Now, musically, some of my greatest heroes is Isaac Hayes, you know, Leonard Bernstein, Mancini I think was a great TV composer.

And then you can't forget, I think the guy who probably had the most sonic inspiration on me would be Morricone.

He did all the spaghetti Westerns, point being made is taking those elements along with, of course, my hip-hop culture, you know, inspired from the great legends of hip-hop as well.

It just led to a collage of thinking.

I was blessed to have-- Isaac Hayes actually spent three years mentoring me.

I was blessed to have Quincy Jones give me some years of mentorship.

I was blessed to, you know, travel the world and into places where great composers recorded.

I've been to Morricone's studio in Italy, seen his instrumentation, you know.

So those type of blessings help.

Singers: No matter how hard you try You can't stop me now Push harder.

Yeah... Don't ever stop.

Push harder.

No matter how hard you try You can't stop me now Dustin Knock: So I like RZA's "Can't Stop Me Now," but as, like, his solo album.

And I know that's not a part of Wu-Tang, but that's, like, the main track for me.

That kind of came out of his production and then probably-- Interviewer: Why?

Oh, it's so good.

When that song came out, it was like such a development of what he grew into because he talks about, like, how he used to record in the studio and stuff at like the very beginning of that.

And then he kind of, it's like a development of his life in that song.

RZA: The greatest B-Boy of all time Started from small crimes ... had big tops, I had small dimes Tryin' to make the come up The blow used to numb up a few Gs a week My clique used to sum up till my brother got locked up My girl got knocked up, my homies each He got popped up, shot up, cops flood the block Was no way to eat, so I dropped a half a G On a rented SP 1200 Sampler, a Yamaha Four-Track The bass from the lab blow the ... door back Ghost was doin' stick-ups, tryin' to make a vic' up Fan: That's, like, the simple reason I like hip-hop in general is, like, you listen the album one, and then by album five from that same artist, it's such a progression.

I mean, I think it relates to classical music a lot because, I mean, all these older composers-- Mozart and Beethoven-- during the time, it was like, I'd say they were progressive in their own ways.

You know, their music was kind of frowned upon and that kind of turned music into a new age.

So, like, we went from classical into romantic and stuff, but there had to be people to get us there.

All these elements is the reason why 200 years later, you got--you go to school and you learn about Mozart, you learn about Bach.

So if we do it right, 200 years later, you'll learn about us, too.

What we want you to do right now, Denver, Colorado, is make some noise for Wu-Tang 2nd Generation.

The son of Ol' Dirty Bastard, the YDB.

Hands up... Say ho Say ho Say ho ho Say ho ho Say ho ho ho Yeah, yeah Shame on a ... who try to run game on a... Who buck wild with the trigger Shame on a ...

who try to run game on a... I'll ... your ass up Hut one, hut two, hut three Ol' Dirty Bastard, live and uncut Styles unbreakable, shatterproof to the young... Method Man: I love every minute of it, man.

I can't even lie.

I can't even lie.

Sometimes I'll be wanting to laugh.

Sometimes I'll be wanting to cry because it's like me watching Dirty up there and he can't be there with us.

And what would he say if he could see this right now?

Like.

And then there's other moments where I'm just, that feeling of elation, where you just feel that... [Exhales] "Everything is right with the world right now.

Look at this.

This is my man's son up here doing his Father's.

Man, ain't nothing better than that.

I'm about to start crying.

[Different song starts] Ooh, baby, I like it raw Yeah, baby, I like it Raw Oh, baby, I like it raw Yeah, baby, I like it Audience: Raw Shimmy, shimmy, ya, shimmy, yam, shimmy, yay Give me the mic', so I can take it away Off on a natural charge, bon-voyage Yeah, from the home of the Dodger Brooklyn squad Wu-Tang killer bees on a swarm Rain on your college-ass disco dorm For you to even touch my skill You gotta go through one killer bee And he aim for the... Chop that down, pass it all a... Lyrics get hard quick, cement to the... Ground For any emcee in any 52 states, I get "Psycho" killer Norman Bates My producer slam, flow is like "Bam" Say "ODB" ODB Say "ODB" ODB Ooh, baby, I like it raw Yeah, baby, I like it Raw Ooh, baby, I like it raw Yeah, baby, I like it raw [Cheering] My favorite Wu-Tang?

So it depends on the day of the week.

It's like, that's hard.

You know what I mean?

It's like so many songs.

Thousands of songs.

Yeah.

You can't pick one.

Yeah.

I can't.

It's like...

It's hard, man.

I mean, you might as well ask me what's my favorite album, Wu-Tang album.

OK. Let's start with that.

That's hard, too.

Make some noise.

[Loud cheering] Raekwon: Machine-gun rap for all my ... in the back Stadium packed, linebacker Flash stacks, see through yellow lines Rock a fly jersey in the summertime God Magic marker rap Bleed Benetton Relaxed, wrote this, comin' at you crab-ass culprits Snatch your ice off, chillin' in the back Throw the lights off Waves, water blend, flow in slow motion Thick snare, feelin' like a snail in the ocean What's the wish?

Do Kringle like Kris?

Melodic single, darts snap a... Just like fish Some rich ... you done test Select the wrong apartment ... pulled up your 'dress Style, molest that, Canal chain ...

Where your vest at?

Flex'll make me wanna [indistinct] that, yo Saddam Hussein ... Torch, we flamin' ... Autograph that, flatten all the main ... It's yours The world in the palm of your hand It's yours 23 million of useful land It's yours The seed and the black woman It's yours Double LP from Wu-Tang Clan It's, it's, it's, it's yours Super freak physique like Raphael Saadiq Baby love the ganja leaf every day of the week Super friends wake up, deluxe gourmet beats The night is right, I might find me a suite It's a quarter full moon, I arrive, women swoon Well groomed, dance hall packed, full room Lady move, peep the glide, peep the zoom Keep in stride, smoke the la Smoke the boom Feel the fumes, consume toxic tunes Hellbound, species 40-ounce typhoon The ultraviolet scream machine Move your body Touch The totem pole wobble, Ark builders, God's thrust Beams of light, stop your breathin' It's huntin' season Honey eye-ballin' down for no reason Grab her close, play post Wind and wax Floors Never mind the laws 'cause tonight It's yours!

Stop the fader of the RAM Get more watts through your pre-amp Them camps better revamp their ... or... DJ: Hey, Bobby, can I tell 'em that story about how you try to explain before you got fired from Tommy Boy?

Ha ha!

That's the greatest story in the world.

You guys want to hear the greatest story in the world?

Go for it.

All right.

Here it is.

You gotta put the camera on me if I say it.

Man: Yo...listen up.

This is the greatest story... this is the greatest story in the world.

The greatest story in the... Man: Listen, guys.

Listen.

World.

OK. And action!

We were on Tommy Boy labels, and, uh, we were about to get fired.

Get dropped from the label... And Bobby had an idea.

He said, "Hold on.

Before you pull the trigger... "before you do that, "let me explain something to you.

"I have an idea.

"We've been watching these karate flicks, "and I got, like, nine emcees "and their tongues are like swords, "and their styles are like karate.

"And we're going to come together, and we're going to call ourselves the Wu-Tang Clan."

And the guy was like, "Good luck with that."

[Laughter] End of story.

[Sound of swords being pulled from scabbards] Wu-Tang is for the children.

[Cheering] Wu-Tang is for the people.

Yeah.

Uh We started from knowledge to born And born back to knowledge Uh Using martial arts As a mental energy Using the American culture Hip-hop culture Native American culture Asian culture African culture Eastern culture Whether it's Dirty South East Coast, Midwest From the mountains of Colorado [Loud cheering] To the valleys of California To the skyscrapers of New York City Wu-Tang is for the people If you feel me and you understand me Put your Wu-Tang Ws All the way up in the sky And let's hold the world up Wu-Tang Wu-Tang Wu-Tang Wu-Tang Wu-Tang Wu-Tang Wu-Tang Wu Wu-Tang Wu-Tang Wu-Tang... Wu-Tang Wu-Tang is... Those Ws represent your wings.

And with those wings, you can fly above anything.

Or you can fly above oppression, you can fly above racism, you provide both poverty.

It's with those wings right there you shall make it to the place you want to be and you shall have your triumph.

When I say "Wu-Tang, you say "forever."

Wu-Tang!

Audience: Forever!

Wu-Tang!

Audience: Forever!

Wu-Tang YDB: Thought y'all wasn't gon' see me?

I'm the Osiris of this... Wu-Tang is here forever... All right, this '97... All right, my...

Let's do it like this I'ma rub your ass in the moonshine Let's take it back to '79 Inspectah Deck: I bomb atomically Socrates' philosophies and hypotheses can't Define how I be dropping these mockeries Lyrically perform armed robbery Flee with the lottery, possibly they Spotted me Battle-scarred Shogun, explosion when my pen hits Tremendous Ultraviolet shine blind forensics I inspect view through the future see millennium Killa Beez sold 50 gold, 60 platinum Shackling the masses with drastic rap tactics Graphic displays melt the steel like blacksmiths Black Wu jackets, Queen Beez ease the guns in Rumble with patrolmen, tear gas laced the function Heads by the score take flight, incite a war Chicks hit the floor Diehard fans demand more Behold the bold soldier, control the globe slowly Proceeds to blow, swinging swords like Shinobi Stomp grounds and pound footprints in solid rock Wu got it locked, performing live on your hottest block Method Man: As the world turns, I spread like germ Bless the globe with the pestilence The hard-headed never learn This my testament to those burned Play my position in the game of life Standing firm, on foreign land Jump the gun Out the frying pan Into the fire, transform into the Ghost Rider A six-pack and "A Streetcar" "Named Desire" Who got my back, in the line of fire, holding back What?

My peoples, if you with me ... is strapped and they tryin' to twist my beer cap It's court adjourned for the bad seed from bad sperm Herb got my wig fried like a bad perm What the blood Clot?

We smoke pot and blow spots You wanna think twice?

I think not The iron lung, ain't got to tell you where it's coming from Guns of Navarone tearing up your battle zone Rip through your slums I twist darts from the heart Tried and true Loop my voice on the LP Martini on the slang rocks, certified chatterbox Vocabulary Donna talking, tell your story walking Take cover, kid What?

Run for your brother, kid, run from your team And your six camp rhyme groupies So I can squeeze with the advantage And get wasted My deadly notes reign supreme Your thought is basic compared to mine Domino effect, arts and crafts Paragraphs contain cyanide Take a free ride on my thought I got the fashion catalog for all y'all to all praise Due to God The saga continues Uh uh uh... Wu-Tang, Wu-Tang U-God: Olympic torch flaming, we burn so sweet The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat We crush slow, flaming deluxe slow Pour Judgment Day cometh, conquer It's war Allow us to escape Hell, globe-spinning bomb Pocket full of shells out the sky, Golden Arms Tunes spit the Mortal Kombat sound The fake false step make the blood stain The ground A jungle junkie, vigilante tantrum A death kiss, catwalk, squeeze another anthem Hold it for ransom, tranquilized with anesthesias My orchestra, graceful Music ballerinas My music, Sicily, rich California smell An axe kill adventure, paint a picture well I sing a song from Sing Sing Sipping on Ginseng Righteous wax chaperon rotating ring kings March of the Wooden Soldiers C-Cypher-Punks couldn't A thousand men rushing in, not one ... sober Perpendicular to the Square I stand gold like Flair Escape from your dragon's... In particular My beats travel like a vortex From your spine to the top of your cerebral cortex Make you think you bust a nut from raw sex Enter through the right ventricle Clog up your bloodstream Heart terminal like Grand Central Station Fat bass lines on Novation Getting drunk like I'm ...

five-year probation Hey, yo, war of the masses The outcome disastrous Many of the victim families save their ashes A million names on walls engraved in plaques For those who went back received penalties For the acts Another heart is torn, close ones mourn Those who stray ... get slayed on the song Masta Killa: The track renders helpless Suffers multiple stab wounds Leakin' sounds heard 93 million miles away from Came one to represent the Nation This is a gathering of the masses That come to pay respects To the Wu-Tang Clan As we engage in battle The crowd now screams in rage The High Chief Jamel Irief Takes the stage Light is provided through sparks of energy From the mind that travels in rhyme form Giving sight to the Blind The dumb are mostly intrigued By the drum Death only one can save self This relentless attack of the track Spares none... Yo, yo, yo ... that!

Look at all these crab ... laid back Lamping like them gray and black Pumas on my man's rack Codeine forced in your drink Had a navy green salamander fiend Bitches overheard 'em scream You two-faces, scum of the slum Got your whole body numb Blowing like Shalamar In '81 Sound convincing, thousand-dollar cork-pop convention Hands like Sonny Liston, get fly permission Hold up, I'll unfasten his wig, bad luck Humiliate, separate the English from the Dutch It's me Black Noble Drew Ali, came in threes We like the Genovese, sazon Season these degrees It's Earth, 93 million miles from the first Turbulence, the wave burst, split the megahertz Raekwon: Ayo, that's amazing, gun in your mouth talk Verbal foul hawk Connect thoughts to make my man child walk Swift notarizer, Blue-Tang All up in the high-riser New York Yank visor, word tranquilizer Adjust the dosage, delegate my Clan with explosives While my pen blow lines ferocious Mediterranean, see y'all Number one draft pick Tear down the beat, god Then delegate the god, swift chancellor Flex the white gold tarantula Track truck diesel, play the weed God Substantiala Max mostly, undivided, then slide in Sickening Guaranteed made 'em jump like Rod Strickland Hold up.

Yeah.

[Indistinct singing] Red Rocks Uh Colorado Hold up, hold up One more time for the Colorado Symphony and the Wu-Tang Clan.

Make some noise!

[Cheering] Good luck.

It reminds me of the last shot in the basketball game, when this team was losing or down by one, and then the bell rung and this dude's on the other side of the court and he throws it behind his back.

Boom.

Go in the hole, you know what I'm saying?

So, sometimes our mishaps become, you know, triumphant victories.

Floyd is not undefeated still because, you know, he stays in the gym.

He stays doing what he do, you know.

When you stay ready, you don't have to get ready, you know?

DJ Tom Shannon: Most every place that we go to, I'm constantly in contact with, you know, the sound engineers and, like, I'm on the phone, like, and they was, like, "How is this going to work?

How are we going to make this work?"

And they always ask me, "So what do you guys do?"

And I have to explain.

And I explain it in words and they're like, "Yeah, all right, all right, all right."

Once we do the show, they're like, "Whoa!

We didn't know it was like this."

I'm like, "Words can't describe it.

You have to experience it."

I'm just glad to be part of it because I know now how historic it was, you know, from the feedback I'm hearing and getting from everybody that was there.

And, you know, that's monumental.

And it's a blessing, you know.

Thank God that I'm still able to provide for my children and still be here 30 years later.

When it comes to ... like that, you can't even put a dollar price on it.

It's like you forget you get paid to do this... [Exhales] So for him to have these visions as a child and to have all that ... come to fruition as an adult, wouldn't you feel pretty much invincible or feel like a prophet or something like that?

That's why I love RZA, because RZA remained humble, knowing that all this ... happened.

I'ma keep it a buck because of him and his vision, and he doesn't seek any acknowledgment for it, just to make sure that we're all in a position where we won't need to utilize him anymore.

We can do it ourselves.

And a lot of us are there.

RZA: You know, I don't know what the future is, right?

There was a point when you were asking me about the future, and I'd tell you exactly what's going to happen.

I had a five-year plan that worked.

What I would say is that the future is uncertain, but what is certain is that you can continue to do what you do and let that be what it be.

When you plant a seed, you're not sure if the tree is going to blossom, but you still must plant the seed.

Because if that tree blossoms, it could lead to an orchid.

You know what I mean?

So Wu-Tang is forever.

Are you gonna tell me?

You wanna ask me?

Man: Yeah!

It was incredible.

It happened, and it was ... amazing.

There was, like, this hugest release.

I was standing out in the audience, and I literally, like, had one of these moments where I was like... [Imitates deep breathing] It's like the heavy.

You let the sigh out, and it all happened, and it was magical, and it was absolutely incredible.

I've never been to a show like this ever in my life.

Never.

Ha ha ha!

I'll shake your hand, man.

OK, man.

Congratulations.

You pulled it off.

I'm ready to ... party.

That's what I'm ready to do, man.

Ha ha!

[Indistinct chatter] Yeah, man.

Man: In 1, 2, 3.

Wu-Tang!

Wu-Tang!

Congratulations to the RZA.

Hey!

[Laughter] Thank you.

Thank you.

[Indistinct chatter] One of the most incredible shows I've ever seen.

It's going to be legendary.

It's hip-hop history.

Interviewer: What set it apart?

It was just the orchestra with hip-hop.

It's thousands of years of classical music, plus hundreds of years of R&B, soul, funk, jazz put together with hip-hop, and people liked it.

This moment is going to be etched in stone, and I was there.

[Indistinct chatter] It's not common to mix hip-hop and orchestra-- and orchestration.

Not an easy task.

We did it.

If you ask me, Would I do it again.... Interviewer: The answer's no.

No, if you ask me, Would I do it again, the answer is yes, because there's nothing more stimulating and exciting than doing what people think you can't do.

And did we do the impossible?

No.

we didn't do the impossible.

We made the impossible possible, so therefore it was never impossible.