The Ninth Member

Since he died, I stopped believing for a while. There has to be nine in the Clan, and that's it. I always believed, but never openly admitted (maybe not even to myself), that none of the members could be replaced. That the magic of the Clan would dissapear if any of the original nine members died. The Clan had to stay the original nine in order to stay the Wu-Tang Clan. So when ODB passed away, I felt that they ceased to remain that group of guys I came to know and love. It's like The Beatles aren't The Beatles unless it's Paul, John, George & Ringo. But as time passed, I've come to view that kind of thinking somewhat rigid.

I can't even defend why the Clan could lose their potency from loosing a member. I can't describe or define what it means for the Clan to be the Clan. Think about it: they were never really the nine on 36 Chambers. It even says in the liner notes to that album "Wu-Tang Clan is..." and then continues to give an EIGHT member list. Masta Killa came later to fill in the 9th spot. He did rhyme the only guest feature in it though. That thought about them beginning with 8 but really having 9 from Masta's ONE verse does fuel my paranoia that the Clan is over.

Fuck it. ODB has been the member whose contributions have not counted enough to the Clan, in my eyes (Okay. To me). I accepted it over the years of his continuing disregard for them and his own life, keeping my belief in the strength of their unity just the same because he was around... but c'mon - in the end, the nigga was never there where it counted. He never spit on any of the solo albums save two of the Rza's, but everyone showed up for his first joint except for Deck and U-God (but we don't doubt their loyalty, do we?). Wait! He did make a guest appearance on Liquid Swords... to do a CHORUS. He's been their mascot more than a member, and that status doesnt appeal to me.

The more I think about it, the more a 9th member should pull his weight instead of trying to be Flava Flav. You don't see Flav putting out albums, right? Maybe Dirt would rather have starred in some reality TV shows instead of rhyming. If that's the case, then I'm just not with it. If you say you're an emcee, then Emcee!

I've brought myself to believe that the Wu-Tang Clan can keep their allure without ODB, but they need someone right to succeed him. I'm not 100% certain of who it should be, but I am 100% certain it aint WACK ASS CAPPA. I don't have to go into all that history other than if he remained as good as he was in Cuban Linx & Ironman, then no one would really doubt his inclusion as the "10th member."

Anyway, they can fill in the 9th spot by going in-house with the extended fam or go outside. My picks for the best choices in those two catagories? In-house: they gotta pick the best lyricist and that would be Killa Sin from Killarmy. He can pull off double affiliation like Rza with Gravediggaz. Sin's skills could probably begin to fill the hole left by the absence of Dirty's personality. What the Wu-Tang lost with his death probably lies at the bottom of what I really want them to have but more than likely will never encounter again. The truth is there'll never be another ODB coming with his particular brand of insanity.

Then again, the Clan can have a personality as big as Dirty's. It balances out how the Wu works their exposure: in the underground you have Gza, Deck, Masta & U-God; in the more commercial arena, there was Meth, Ghost, Rae & Dirt; Rza kinda works in the middle. The problem they face with filling that equation is that a personality doesn't exist from among the Wu extended family that's ventured anywhere near as far into pop culture as Dirty (because if you can't find someone big, in a pop culture sense, in the extended fam but you must choose from among them, you have to go with the most talented like Killa Sin). Indeed, to fill that equation, the Wu-Tang would need to venture outside the fam.

I've given it some thought. Tried to come up with a few candidates, but only came up with one emcee that kept screaming in my brain: Busta Rhymes.

Remember Got You All in Check Remix? The video for that? Also The Monument from The W album . Those two are the Wu-collaborations that stick out the most prominently in my mind. With Busta, you've got pretty much the best of both worlds - skills & pop exposure. He's closer than most emcees to the Clan. Kinda like Red & Meth.

Raekwon... is confirmed for the Busta Rhymes album and RZA
says the new Busta album is absolutely crazy... he urges all Wu fans to cop that album and support Busta who is also a very close and loved brother to the Clan.

This article from The Wu-Tang Corp site really sets the stage for what's possible from such a union. Thing is... a small downside... the only way to leave the Wu is death. I've heard it early in the group's career by a few of them (Meth, I believe said it first). I would only want Busta to contribute a verse to a few albums belonging to the solo members, and then a few versus to the group album. Like, in a 15 track LP, he would only need to put in 4 or 5 versus. I know he has a big ego (look what happend between him & Leaders). But Wu-Tang would allow him to do pretty much whatever the fuck he wants. Bottom line is, he can't leave the Clan. Ever.

I mentioned Red before, but he would never be a pick for membership in the clan - his ties to Erick Sermon runs way back and too deep. Busta, in contrast, bears no such relationships to any other artists. That could signal against his prospects as a clansman but, again, that would just be his ego getting in the way. Looking back at his long career, and looking specifically at his breaking-up The Leaders of the New School, it seems like he prefers spearheading his own group instead of working with equals. If that's really the case (I don't like to believe the worst in someone like him even though it's easy to) then he really needs to learn that old saying about following before leading.

Being a member of the Wu-Tang Clan would only help his career.

P.S. Fishscale is a fucking classic. Ghost has done it AGAIN!