The Wu-Tang Clan are an influential American hip hop group. Five of the nine members are from Brooklyn, New York, with the other four from Staten Island. Known for their lyrical dynamism and the pioneering sample-based production of the RZA, the Wu-Tang Clan's music draws upon a variety of far-flung and often obscure cultural sources, including Five Percenter religious lore, Hong Kong action cinema, comic books, samurai-genre film, and local slang. The group started with just three members, R(show more)

The Wu-Tang Clan are an influential American hip hop group. Five of the nine members are from Brooklyn, New York, with the other four from Staten Island. Known for their lyrical dynamism and the pioneering sample-based production of the RZA, the Wu-Tang Clan's music draws upon a variety of far-flung and often obscure cultural sources, including Five Percenter religious lore, Hong Kong action cinema, comic books, samurai-genre film, and local slang.

The group started with just three members, RZA, GZA and Ol' Dirty Bastard, known as All In Together Now. The group later added seven members, and featured ten MCs until the death of Ol' Dirty Bastard in 2004. In 1993 the group released its seminal debut album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), and went on to release numerous solo albums from all ten members, many of which are now considered hip hop classics.

The Wu-Tang Clan derives its name from the 1981 martial arts movie, Shaolin and Wu Tang.