Bookstores continue to receive books about music at an astonishing rate. But nowadays on the shelves of the music section there is no more unusual title than this The TAO of Wu, autobiography of RZA, the ideologue, founder and producer of the New York rap group Wu-Tang Clan. Until now no one had written a book on hip-hop culture alternating chess strategies, horror and martial arts films, philosophical reflections and references to the Old Testament, Islam and Taoism. Published in 2009 and now translated by Blackie Books, some passages would beg to be included in the self-help section. Not in vain did the New York Times define him as “a Siddhartha for the 21st century”.
The TAO of Wu It’s a strange and fascinating job. Includes quotes from St. Francis of Assisi and Pulp Fiction, of Aristotle and Spiderman. What other book can summarize a hip-hop band’s expansion strategy with a Chinese proverb? The Wu-Tang Clan’s statement is summed up like this: “If you plan for a year, plant corn. If you plan ahead a decade, plant trees. If you plan a life, you train and educate people.” The Wu-Tang Clan’s journey was to be more than just a musical career. In RZA’s mind, it was about “bringing eight unique individuals together to act as one man.” And it wasn’t easy. From a certain point onwards it would be impossible.
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