Raw I’ma give it to ya, with no trivia

Raw like cocaine straight from Bolivia

My hip-hop will rock and shock the nation

Like the Emancipation Proclamation

Weak MC’s approach with slang that’s dead

You might as well run into the wall and bang your head

I’m pushin’ force, my force you’re doubtin’

I’m makin’ devils cower to the Caucasus Mountains

—U-God, “Da Mystery Of Chessboxin'”

The world had never seen anything like the Wu-Tang Clan when the act hit the music scene in the early 1990s. The Wu was more than a rap group. It was a collective of lyricists, each with his own distinct sound, but who shared a love for martial arts, Far East mysticism, spirituality and their home turf, Staten Island.

As members of the Wu-Tang Clan were laying down tracks for their debut album, Enter The Wu (36 Chambers), one group member was notably absent from most of their studio sessions. Lamont “U-God” Hawkins spent the majority of 1992 behind bars for drug possession as his band mates started on their path to stardom. But without U-God there as the collective began to take shape, the Wu-Tang Clan may never have come together or charted their way to becoming legends of hip-hop.

U-God’s new memoir, “Raw,” is a revealing look at the mysteries of the Wu-Tang Clan and the story of their success as he ponders his particular role with the crew.

GUESTS

Lamont “U-God” Hawkins, Hip-hop artist and a founding member of the rap group Wu-Tang Clan; author of a new book, “Raw: My Journey into the Wu-Tang”@Ugodofwutang

For more, visit https://the1a.org.

© 2018 WAMU 88.5 – American University Radio.

Copyright 2018 WAMU 88.5. To see more, visit WAMU 88.5.

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