HOW TO BE A POLITICAL PLAYA: NOTES ON POLITICS, ORGANIZING, & LOBBYING

DECEMBER 2023 EDITION: The 2023 Year End (W)Rap Up and Celebrating 50 Years of Hip Hop

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There is no question that 2023 was a very BUSY year, with so much to cover on the political, organizing, & lobbying fronts, not to mention culturally. ?However, I want to take the final 2023 edition of the How To Be A Political Playa newsletter to briefly highlight the historical and economic importance of the Wu Tang Clan, who I believe to be the greatest Hip-Hop group of all time.? Moreover, as we close out 2023, and the 50th anniversary of the birth of Hip-Hop, I felt that it was only proper to recognize the significance of this legendary Hip Hop group.

On November 9, 1993, the Wu Tang Clan released their groundbreaking debut studio album, Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers. This is also the date A Tribe Called Quest released their classic third studio album, Midnight Marauders. [Queen Latifah’s third studio album, Black Rein, was released on November 16, 1993, and Snoop Dogg’s debut studio album Doggystyle was released on November 23, 1993. Historically, some of the best Hip-Hop albums ever created were released in November 1993.]

Even though I believe the Wu Tang Clan is the greatest Hip-Hop group of all time, the case could be made for other groups like Run-DMC, N.W.A., A Tribe Called Quest, OutKast, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, De La Soul, and other Hip-Hop groups, to be crowned the genre’s greatest group of all time. Nevertheless, for me the Wu Tang Clan is the greatest of them all.

Aside from being comprised of the some of the most talented MCs, each with their own unique rhyming style, and selling millions and millions of records throughout the years, the Wu Tang Clan is the greatest Hip-Hop group of all time in my opinion for the following three reasons: 1.) they changed the economic relationships between Hip-Hop groups’ and record labels in an era when labels still mattered; 2.) the group combined 5 Percent theological teachings with samples of audio from Kung Fu/martial arts movies to create a unique sound and persona for the group; & 3.) the group has one of the most recognizable symbols in the history of Hip-Hop, a logo that is reminiscent of the Bat signal that was used to let Batman know whenever he was needed. For true Hip-Hop heads, that Wu Tang Clan symbol meant the music attached to the symbol was next level.

The Wu Tang Clan’s producer extraordinaire RZA signed a deal on behalf of the group with Loud Records in 1992.? This agreement allowed individual members of the group to pursue their own solo deals with other record labels. This was unprecedented at the time. The standard operating procedure had been for the record label that signed a successful group to have rights of first refusal when it came to signing individual members of the group to solo deals. ?Nevertheless, the structure advocated by the RZA called for individual Clan members to sign deals with other labels beside Loud.? This arrangement gave the Wu Tang Clan major clout within the industry because the solo albums of multiple clan members would not be sitting on the shelf of one or two labels. The approach that RZA took allowed for multiple members to get solo deals simultaneously, with the potential to dominate the charts at the same time as the Hit Squad once did before them. This allowed the group’s power and influence within the industry to grow, at least for a period. Taking control financially was just one of RZA’s tactics. He understood that only a new and groundbreaking sound would allow the Wu Tang Clan to really make its mark as one of the greatest Hip-Hop groups.

The combination of 5 Percent teachings with sampled audio from Kung Fu/martial arts movies is what the Wu Tang Clan became known for.? This became their sound. ?However, the Wu Tang Clan is not the first Hip-Hop group influenced by the 5 Percent teachings – The Poor Righteous Teachers and Brand Nubian predates them in this regard. Nor is the Wu Tang Clan the first Hip-Hop group influenced by the kung fu genre of films – the Fu-Schnickens and the Poison Clan predates the Wu Tang Clan as Hip-Hop groups that had some inspiration from kung fu films. However, the Wu Tang Clan was able to mesh both the influence of martial arts films with 5 Percent teachings into one framework, with the connecting thread being belief in the collective/the family/the group. This is important when one remembers that the group was comprised of 10 MCs, which is a throwback to the 1970s and early 1980s era when having 4 and 5 MCs in a group was the norm. Being able to work as a team is what got the Wu Tang Clan to where they would be considered Hip-Hop royalty.

The third factor that makes the Wu Tang Clan the greatest Hip Hop group is that their logo is one of the most recognizable symbols in all music. From a marketing standpoint, the logo was genius. Fans would purchase any album that had the logo/symbol on it.? However, from a cultural perspective, the Wu Tang Clan logo is also significant. Anyone with a Wu Tang Clan logo/sticker on their car, or wearing a Wu Tang Clan t-shirt, is somebody that loves and appreciates authentic 1990s Hip-Hop music. Moreover, anyone who identifies with the Clan on a level beyond just the music is probably someone who is fully inspired by, and emersed in, Hip-Hop culture.

As we wind down the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop, I wanted to briefly share my thoughts on one of the most important Hip-Hop groups of all time. Further, I hope that we celebrate each passing year of Hip-Hop moving forward. Hip-Hop is a living and breathing entity. We must treat it as such and celebrate each passing year, otherwise it will die.

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Happy Holidays –

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This coming holiday season will be a difficult one for me and my family. In 2023 my dad passed, my aunt passed, my uncle passed, my cousin passed, and two mentors also passed. That is a tremendous amount of personal loss in one calendar year. But all is not lost.

I am grateful for the remaining family that I have.? I realize the importance of living in the moment. I am unbowed and looking forward to the new year! Please take the opportunity during the coming holiday season to cherish the time with your family and loved ones.?

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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Hashim Shomari, Government/Political Affairs Consultant

(Hashim Shomari is the Author/Publisher of From the Underground: Hip-Hop Culture as an Agent of Social Change.? He provides government affairs/political strategy consulting services in New Jersey and New York on behalf of his clients in the cannabis, affordable housing, healthcare, financial service, and economic development sectors.)

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