Tag: Wu-Tang Clan

My Best Writing of 2022

As both my personal and professional lives became not just busier, but also more complex, my writing output — and my readership and reach — has declined.

However, I do feel like almost everything I do publish these days is worthy of being clicked on and read. I couldn’t always honestly say that. Still, some things are better than others so I’ve collected the best things I wrote this year — a tradition that dates all the way back to 2015. It’s like my own personal literary version of Spotify Wrapped.

So please take a look below and, if something strikes you as interesting, please give it a click.

Hip-Hop Rap Wu-Tang Clan

“Wu-Tang Forever” at 25

While not as gritty as its predecessor, it is much more cinematic and its title has become a mantra to a new generation

I wrote a 3,300 word piece back in 2017 celebrating the 20th anniversary of Wu-Tang Forever, so this will be much shorter, but I couldn’t let the silver anniversary of my favorite album pass in silence.

It’s easy to forget now, considering how long ago it was and how much things have changed (both for the group and the industry), but the release of Wu-Tang Forever was an event.

Tags 25th Anniversary, Hip-Hop, Rap, Wu-Tang Clan

Hip-Hop Music Rap Wu-Tang Clan

The Disappointment of RZA’s Solo Career

Post author By Christopher Pierznik
Post date April 14, 2022
2 Comments on The Disappointment of RZA’s Solo Career

The sad truth is that he doesn’t have an undisputed classic in his own— or Bobby Digital’s — name

Definition of alter ego:

1: a second self or different version of oneself: such as

a: a trusted friend
b: the opposite side of a personality [Clark Kent and his alter ego Superman]
c: a fictional character that is the author’s alter ego

— via Merriam-Webster.com

What is RZA’s best solo album?

Actually, back up a moment. Can you even name every RZA solo album?

Tags Bobby Digital, Disappointment, Hip-Hop, Music, Rap, RZA, Wu-Tang, Wu-Tang Clan

Art Artist Films Greatness Music Pop Culture Wu-Tang Clan

Favorite vs. Best

What is the best film of all time?

Most film scholars (and wanna-be film scholars) proclaim that it’s Citizen Kane, Orson Welles’s 1941 masterpiece that inarguably changed filmmaking forever. Casablanca, Lawrence of Arabia, The Godfather, and Gone with the Wind are often in the conversation as well.

Excluding The Godfather, how many times have you heard someone mention one of those films as their absolute favorite? How many are populating a casual filmgoer’s top five? How many Lawrence of Arabia conversations have you experienced in your life?

Tags Best, Favorites, Films, Hip-Hop, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Movies, Music, Pop Culture, Rap, Wu-Tang Clan

Books Reviews Wu-Tang Clan

The Reality Behind the Myth – “From Staircase to Stage” Reviewed

Post author By Christopher Pierznik
Post date December 13, 2021
No Comments on The Reality Behind the Myth – “From Staircase to Stage” Reviewed

As the Wu-Tang Clan has transitioned into elder statemen of rap where a majority fans want to hear thirty year old classics instead of anything recorded lately, there has been a renewed interest into their superhero origin story. In recent years, the incredible and unprecedented story of the nine-(sometimes ten-)man crew’s ascension from the front of the project building to the top of the hip-hop world has been told multiple times in multiple formats, including a Showtime documentary, a Hulu scripted series, and a pile of books courtesy of both journalists (Chamber Music; From the Streets of Shaolin), and some the group’s members themselves (RZA’s The Wu-Tang Manual and The Tao of Wu; U-God’s Raw: My Journey into the Wu-Tang).

Tags Book Review, Book Reviews, Books, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), Raekwon, Wu-Tang, Wu-Tang Clan, Wu-Tang Forever

Books Wu-Tang Clan

An Amazing Though Asymmetrical History of the Wu-Tang Clan — “From the Streets of Shaolin” Reviewed

Post author By Christopher Pierznik
Post date August 23, 2021
No Comments on An Amazing Though Asymmetrical History of the Wu-Tang Clan — “From the Streets of Shaolin” Reviewed

The Wu-Tang Clan is more than a hip-hop group. It’s more than a mere musical collective. The Clan and its members are a movement unto themselves.

“At this point, it’s fair to say they have even transcended the rap game, claiming their place in the cultural zeitgeist.”

Tags Book Reviews, Books, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), Ghostface Killah, GZA, Inspectah Deck, Masta Killa, Method Man, ODB, Raekwon, RZA, U-God, Wu-Tang Clan, Wu-Tang Forever

Writing

My Best Writing of 2020

Everyone knows 2020 was not a typical year. In fact, it was probably the weirdest and most stressful twelve months most of us have ever experienced.

Some of the items I wrote this year were in direct response to what was happening in the world – both in macro and the micro sense – while others could’ve been published any other time.

The biggest change to my writing routine was my output – or lack thereof.

Tags Batman, Best of, Best of 2020, Business, Business School, Career, Children, Fatherhood, Film, Grad School, Hip-Hop, LeBron James, Life, Rap, Sports, Wu-Tang Clan

Hip-Hop Rap Wu-Tang Clan

From the Vault: The Wu-Tang Paradox

Post author By Christopher Pierznik
Post date February 24, 2020
No Comments on From the Vault: The Wu-Tang Paradox

This originally appeared on I Hate JJ Redick on February 3, 2012

“What RZA put together let no man tear asunder.”

I would argue the Wu-Tang Clan the most influential hip-hop collective outside of possibly Run-DMC. It’s more than just music, chess, and karate flicks. It’s a way of life and almost a religion. For proof, look no further than the fact that the makeup, philosophy and history of the Wu-Tang Clan has its own manual and even its own bible.