Any artist would strive to have an unparalleled career like RZA and the Wu-Tang Clan. They made some of the most vital music in New York and hip-hop history. They had a mythical quality, even beyond their penchant for old kung-fu movies and samurai culture. It had a grizzled, cold toughness you could only claim if you came from Shaolin.
However, as legendary as their run was as a group and in solo efforts, the Wu could’ve been even bigger. A horrific flood in the 90s ravaged his Staten Island studio. An estimated 500 beats were lost, including Inspectah Deck’s massive debut Uncontrolled Substance. He was arguably impacted the most; Deck was supposed to release in 1993 after the success of Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).
However, Inspectah Deck’s album was delayed until 1999 after his momentum cooled significantly. Meanwhile, Method Man, Raekwon, GZA, and Ghostface Killah were able to recreate their work much more quickly.
The aftermath radically impacted RZA. In an interview at A3C Festival in 2018 (captured by Ambrosia for Heads), he recalled how floods were a big part of his childhood, impacting his apartment life as a child. That trauma resurfaced when it ruined over a hundred floppy disks’ worth of Wu-Tang Clan music.
RZA Talks About The Infamous Flood That Robbed Us of So Much Wu-Tang Clan Material
“For me, that same f**king flood keeps popping up in my life… As soon as we had finished [Enter The Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers], I already had Inspectah Deck’s [Uncontrolled Substance] album, Method Man’s [Tical] album prepared. Because back in those days we had floppy disks and I would make all the beats… I was ready to go. Here comes the flood that wiped away about 160 floppy disks,” RZA recalled.
“Because I didn’t think there’d be a flood. I had [the disks] on the floor, under the keyboard. You don’t think. Wu-Tang [Clan was] out doing some shows in Cleveland, whatever. [We came] back–water’s up this high, washed that all away. [We went] back to the drawing board,” RZA continued.
Then, a year later, another flood came, destroying a tape machine and various other production equipment. Ever since, the Wu legend has vowed that not even a tsunami could ruin the work that RZA created. At the time, he shared that he had a skylight in one of his production rooms. The water would have to flood him from above, should another horrible natural disaster strike him again.
Photo by Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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