The Wu-Tang Manual

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely essential for any Wu fan!!
Review: All I can say is, why'd it take so long?

Oh yeah, that's right. They were too busy releasing albums, touring, doing shows (and drugs), getting locked up, getting released, appearing on Chapelle's Show, making comic books, scoring movies, and growing the legend of the nine generals, to finish writing a book.

Wow. This is an astonishingly exhaustive work explicating fully the reasoning behind all the insane lyrics behind the Wu, plus the culture with which they were inculcated in their youth. I've been a Wu fan since around Killa Bees/Gravel Pit days, and my collection now includes nearly every group and solo album (less Deck's The Movement, some Cappadonna, U-God's stuff, and Immobilarity). As such a thorough fan, I'm highly impressed. Lyrics in their songs that I'd just skipped over before or barely acknowledged take on added depth and meaning with the Abbot's commentary.

And it's not just Wu-devotees that will find material in here to their liking. The book begins very simply, with biographies of each of the original nine swordsmen. Containing exhaustive lists of aliases (some of which I had -no- idea belonged to the emcee that they do), birthdates, anecdotes, and releases, these serve perfectly to introduce the reader to the individual rappers. From there, however, the book progresses into a deeper analysis of the underpinnings of Wu tradition, including looks at -all- their obvious influences (kung fu movies, mob movies, comic books, drug culture, etc.) and some less obvious ones (did you know that the famous Shaolin Sifu Shi Yanming is personal friends with RZA and Iron Man?). During a time when rap is seen as mere gangsterism and cliched thug-talk, RZA shows a blinding level of intellectualism and scholarship, drawing quotes from Nietzsche, the Hagakure, Lao Tze, and Charles Mingus (among others). He also explains the particular religion of the Five Percent Nation, and the Gods and the Earths.

Personally, as a producer and emcee in training, RZA's section on technical details and equipment was also very valuable - he discusses working with equipment very specifically, and details how he built the characteristic Wu style.

Coming as it does during a renaissance of Wu music (Pretty Tony Album, No Said Date, and the Wu live CD all having been well-received in the last year), The Manual both reassures the Wu-fanboy within me while also relighting the fire for the Shaolin Style.

Suuuuue!

Rating:
Summary: A REAL WU-TANG FAN'S REVIEW
Review: I'M GONNA MAKE MY REVIEW SIMPLE. THIS BOOK HAS EVERY ANSWER TO ANY QUESTION YOU COULD ASK RZA ABOUT WU-TANG. FROM THE 120 LESSONS TO THE FIRST WU-TANG SYMBOL DRAWN BY MATHEMATICS.
C'MON IT'S THE WU-TANG MANUAL- DON'T THAT SAY ENOUGH??!!?