[4] Its members include RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and, until his death in 2004, Ol' Dirty Bastard.

[13] In the late 1980s, cousins Robert Diggs, Gary Grice, and Russell Jones formed a group named Force of the Imperial Master, also known as the All in Together Now Crew.

[citation needed] The group never signed to a major label, but caught the attention of the New York City rap scene and was recognized by rapper Biz Markie.

[20][21][22] The success of their debut album established the group as a creative and influential force in the 1990s, allowing individual members to negotiate solo contracts.

The album's lead single, "Triumph", is over five minutes long, features nine verses (one from each member plus Cappadonna and excluding Ol' Dirty Bastard who appeared on the intro and bridge), and no hook or a repeated phrase.

The group's lyrics differed significantly from those of 36 Chambers, with many verses written in a dense stream of consciousness form heavily influenced by the teachings of the Five-Percent Nation.

Wu-Tang Forever was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 1998 Grammy Awards, losing to Puff Daddy; Ol' Dirty Bastard infamously protested the loss by interrupting Shawn Colvin's acceptance speech for Song of the Year.

[32] The group reconvened again for their third album, The W. Despite his incarceration in California for violating the terms of his probation,[33] Ol' Dirty Bastard was on the song "Conditioner", featuring Snoop Dogg.

[citation needed] A DVD titled Rise of a Fallen Soldier was released detailing his problems, which were mostly with his treatment by RZA, who he claimed had hindered his success as a solo artist.

His run-ins with the law were well publicized—he was arrested several times for offenses including assault, shoplifting, wearing body armor after being convicted of a felony, and possession of cocaine,[40] and he missed multiple court dates.

[citation needed] On November 13, 2004, Ol' Dirty Bastard collapsed at Wu-Tang's recording studio in New York City, and was pronounced dead later that night.

[53] In 2009, U-God released his third solo album, Dopium, which features guest appearances from several Wu-Tang Clan members, and affiliates, among others, and was met with mostly lukewarm reviews.

Wu-Tang Chamber Music was released in the same year, a side project executively produced by RZA, featuring live instrumentation from a Brooklyn soul band The Revelations.

II was released in September 2009, which features guest appearances from several big-name artists, and Clan members, with Ghostface being the most prominent, and also production from RZA, Dr. Dre, Pete Rock, and J Dilla, among others.

[57] Speaking to MTV.com, Method Man revealed his, Ghostface Killah's and Raekwon's plans to record a separate album as a trio: "I don't want to say it's written in stone, but it's in discussion.

[58] Soon after, Ghostface Killah cemented the details: the record, featuring other Wu-Tang Clan members, was to consist primarily of him, Method Man, and Raekwon.

[62] On February 25, 2011, Wu Tang Live At The Palladium NYC was released through the group's official Facebook page as a collectors digital download.

[68] In early March 2013 Method Man announced that the Clan was working on a sixth studio album and it would be released during 2013 in celebration of their 20-year anniversary since 36 Chambers.

He gave credit to Method Man, Cappadonna, U-God and Masta Killa for working hard on the album, while saying he needed more effort from Ghostface, Raekwon and GZA.

[91] In July 2021, it was announced that the album had been again sold by the US government for an undisclosed amount (later revealed as $4 million USD), following Shkreli handing it over to the FBI in 2018 after being convicted of defrauding investors.

[99] On February 6, 2025, Wu-Tang Clan announced that they would release a new joint project with producer Mathematics, titled Black Samson, The Bastard Swordsman, on April 12 of the same year, in coincidence with Record Store Day.

[100][101] The distribution of the album, which was inspired by Blaxploitation movies[100] and marked the first release to feature the entire formation of the collective since 2014,[102] would be initially limited to 5,000 2xLP copies sold at participating Record Store Day retailers.

[100][101] RZA's production was described by AllMusic as "consisting of stark, booming beats and chilling samples (heavily drawing from vintage soul records as well as kung fu movies)," summarizing it as "lean, menacing.

[104] RZA's production technique, specifically the manner of chopping up and/or speeding or slowing soul samples, has been picked up by producers including Kanye West and Just Blaze.

West's own take on RZA's style[105] briefly flooded the rap market with what was dubbed "chipmunk soul", the pitch bending of a vocal sample to where it sounded as though the singer had inhaled helium.

All nine original members of the group were featured in the game Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style, released for the PlayStation on October 31, 1999, as well as a special collector's edition controller.

Several tracks by Clan members and affiliates such as Method Man, Ghostface, Cappadonna, Trife, DJ Mathematics and others were featured in the 2006 game Saints Row.

[108] Method Man was unhappy with the decision to bring Wu-Tang into the fashion world with Wu Wear, despite the brand being a major money-maker for the group.

[111] A partnership between Wu-Tang and the Alife NYC clothing group took place in 2007 through 2008 for an exclusive series of custom sneakers, T-shirts, hoodies and other accessories for men and women.

Wu Tang Saga, starring Cappadonna and featuring footage of the Clan dating back to the early nineties through their most recent tours was released on February 25, 2010.