Shaolin vs. Wu Tang
Raekwon
2011
Raekwon explained that the song and album title of Shaolin vs. Wu Tang are an inspiration from a 1981 Gordon Liu film, Shaolin and Wu Tang. The group (see above) uses Shaolin Island as a substitute reference for their (mostly) hometown, Staten Island.
“It’s not nothing derogatory towards Wu. It’s just that Shaolin is the place, Wu-Tang is the crew that came from that place. It’s like me just going back to my history of being an emcee first, before I actually became part of Wu-Tang. I always give RZA that support as far as saying he brought Wu-Tang to the table. It was his philosophy.
He picked certain dudes to be part of this group, and he said, ‘This is what it’s going to be called’. Before that, I was on the block. I was living in Shaolin. So this album just shows the street side of me, challenging the great side of Wu-Tang. Which is almost like how T.I. did T.I. vs. T.I.P..”
Stand-Out Tracks
Every Soldier in the Hood
Butter Knives
Snake Pond
Masters of Our Fate
