History often repeats itself and Wu-Tang’s co-founder RZA famously stated on their song “Bells of War” from their double album, Wu-Tang Forever: “We can tell the kids you don’t even have to go to summer school, shorty. Just pick up the album and you’ll get all the education you need.”
The late, great ODB doubled down on this claim after Wu-Tang lost the Rap Album of the Year award at the 1998 Grammys when he interrupted the ceremony to preach that Wu-Tang is “for the children.”
Upon the release of their new clique compilation The Saga Continues, millennials who were raised during the Clan’s heyday of the 90s are now well into their 20s and 30s. HipHopDX compiled a list of nine rappers from the current generation who parallel each Wu member’s nuances and traits, including business acumen, charisma, and lyrical content and rhyme styles.
Tyler, The Creator Is RZA
When Los Angeles collective Odd Future emerged in the late 2000s, their dark and eccentric personas and endless member count were heavily compared to the Wu-Tang Clan. The now disbanded group’s leader Tyler, The Creator is a jack-of-all-trades like Wu-Tang mastermind RZA. Tyler was the business magnate of Odd Future who led their charge with its D-I-Y ethos and developed a loyal cult following in the process. Like RZA did for his own career and building the Wu brand, Tyler and RZA directed several of their respective group’s music videos, along with Tyler spearheading his crew’s short-lived Adult Swim TV show Loiter Squad.
Similar to RZA and his Wu brass marketing Wu Wear during the 90s, Tyler launched Odd Future’s pop-up shops and helped design exclusive OFWGTKA and Gold Wang merchandise. Plus, with the release of his critically acclaimed album Flower Boy this past summer, it reflects Tyler’s range and growth as a musician like RZA has in several of his music projects outside of Wu-Tang.
A$AP Rocky Is Method Man
The “Fashion Killa” described himself in his 2012 breakout hit “Peso” as “that pretty motherfucker” persona; a supermodel-canoodling all-star to put it in layman’s terms. Meth has always been the Wu’s rugged, pretty boy with an endless street credibility which had much of the female population fawning over their most the favorite member of the Clan.
Raekwon affirmed this as to why the group decided to release “Method Man” as one of the crew’s initial singles in 1993, in which he memorably pointed out his original alias as ‘The Panty Raider.” Rocky is a magnet for haute couture designers and acted in feature films, similar to Meth going from the hood to Hollywood acting for over 20 years and counting.
Joey Bada$$ Is GZA
Method Man memorably explained on Wu-Tang Clan’s debut album Enter The Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers how GZA is “the head” of the crew’s Voltronic gestalt. When Pro Era forms as one, Badmon is the undeniable “head” on their shoulders. The Brooklyn-bred GZA is revered by Wu fans for his battle rap prowess and streetwise-meets-political lyricism. And then there’s his village griot storytelling qualities, samurai pastiche, and unremitting homage to the esoteric mathematical codification of the Five Percent Nation.
Joey Bada$$ is an highly respected lyricist and fellow Brooklynite whose darkhorse persona, gruff delivery, calmness of a skilled mercenary with muscular, syllable-bending bars were exhibited on his first mixtape 1999 his debut studio album B4.DA.$$ and recent sophomore follow-up, All Amerikkkan Bada$$. Joey’s songs have much substance with verses not too verbose with mere braggadocio bars — “half-short and twice as strong” verses as GZA advised his competition on “As High As Wu-Tang Get.”
Danny Brown Is Ol’ Dirty Bastard
Much like ODB, Danny Brown has become a beloved Hip Hop oddball. The Hybrid’s rise to fame was largely based on his aesthetic: his punk rocker leather jacket; dental-damaged grill; Gene Simmons-like tongue wag, random references to 70s and 80s pop culture, and raw aggression with his ear-splitting nasal delivery. ODB was a combination of WWE legend George “The Animal” Steel’s in-your-face spasms, Looney Tunes Tasmanian Devil-like roar, Rick James, and the absurdly humorous stage acts of Iggy Pop. Also like ODB, Danny’s nihilistic song content contains several illicit drug-and-alcohol usage, gun-toting lyrics fused with bathroom humor on his albums such as XXX, Old, and Atrocity Exhibition. Dirt McGirt and Danny are ubiquitously known for their maniacal hairdos, and their penchant performing cunnilingus and other deviant sex acts on women as a labor of love.
When the Detroit MC first emerged onto the underground rap scene in the mid-2000s, he looked strikingly similar to Ol’ Dirty Bastard with cornrows, threatening physical harm or battle ready raps for his competition like his parallel. History repeats itself here. Ain’t it funny how that happened?
Takeoff Is U-God
Many people consider U-God as their least favorite member of the Wu-Tang Clan, perhaps for the fact that he was the most infrequent on their tracks. Golden Arms was the filler whose throaty voice and lyrics felt like a short stopover the next anticipated member’s verse. Migos member Takeoff’s baritone voice and lowkey demeanor have inevitably pushed his Migos bredren as the faces of the trio. In 2017, there isn’t a rap record that Quavo isn’t at least considered for and as of press time, Offset is currently shacking up with the hottest rap chick in the game. As for Takeoff, his most headline-grabbing moment appears to being leftoffbadandboujee. Not to say that Migos fans don’t want to hear Takeoff spit when he’s on the mic (he sets off their smash hit “T-Shirt”), but he fits as the glue that hold the group together rather than a potential sought-after soloist like his bandmates.
Ab-Soul Is Inspectah Deck
Like Deck, Soulo hits you with his “philosophies and hypotheses” when he sets off the tracks on his guest featured verses. On posse cuts, he’s reliant on similes and metaphors to craft his introspective and braggadocio themed verses with his TDE comrades Jay Rock, ScHoolboy Q, and Kung Fu Kenny. And he does so without much variation in his vocal tone as he spits his bars filled. As Method Man once described the pensive approach and personality of the Rebel INS, he can sit back discreetly and watch you or any other rap peer play themselves. Ab-Soul follows a similiar path.
The Black Hippy lyricist rocks sunglasses due to him contracting Stevens-Johnson Syndrome as an adolescent, and loves to call out his rap peers on their bullshit to avoid stepping their rap game up.
Starlito Is Masta Killa
Masta Killa has long been the most underrated member of the Wu-Tang Clan. His single contribution to the group’s debut album, laidback demeanor and inability to release a solo LP in the 90s led to him often being overlooked. But anyone who has heard his verses and projects knows how talented the man is. In today’s landscape, Nashville rapper Starlito finds himself in a similar position. Lito never got a chance to shine during his time at Cash Money Records and ended up going the independent route. While the move never brought him much mainstream recognition, it helped him cultivate a loyal following and earn a spot as one of your favorite rapper’s favorite rappers. Lito’s pairing with Don Trip as the Step Brothers elicited some attention, but it still hasn’t elevated him to the conversations of today’s elite like he truly deserves.
At this point, Lito is currently embroiled in some legal drama, while his music continues to being slept-on. Much like Masta Killa’s.
Conway Is Raekwon
Raekwon is the Quentin Tarantino of Hip Hop. The legendary filmmaker famously stated he uses his lens as a scope for the shock value of violence, and Rae’s debut solo classic, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, and other verses over his legendary career are cinematic scopes illuminate the dark world of unadulterated savagery in the streets and drug game. Conway The Machine is the pioneer of Mafioso Rap’s equivalent. His erudite tales cover his life in the rough streets of Buffalo, borderline horrorcore-laden descriptions of the deceased, and his business acumen to be a tycoon in the black market.
Also, with his brother and rhyme partner Westside Gunn, they feed off each other’s energy like Ghostface Killah and Raekwon on their countless classics together.
If we’re splitting hairs here, Raekwon just may be the new Raekwon though … if you think about it.
Westside Gunn Is Ghostface Killah
Westside Gunn once stated in an interview with Hot 97’s Peter Rosenberg that his biggest influence as an MC is Wu-Tang Clan. As he and his brother Conway currently have the East Coast gangsta rap scene on lock — evidence from flipping their independent Griselda Records movement into a Shady Records partnership — it’s a similar groundswell in growing their cult following that Wu began doing 25 years ago. Ghostface and Westside Gunn are each other’s spirit animals on the mic. Check the Buffalo Soldier equating himself to notorious drug lords, his own experience serving time in jail, and frequent pro wrestling metaphors. Also, his glib sense of humor and signature onomatopoeias mimicking magazine rifles and racing expensive cars, and occasional romance of beautiful women are testaments to his flamboyance as the self-proclaimed “Flygod.”
Gunn’s syncopated wordplay shines over Griselda’s in-house producer Daringer airy beats with punchy drum kicks that echo Wu-Tang’s raw, dusty soul and hard rock record samples during their 90s heyday. His style seems imbued by Ghostface’s irascible snarl and passionate energy with a lyrical spectrum ranging from food, serving time in Rikers Island, street tales of gunplay, obscure 70s and 80s TV shows and pro wrestlers from those same decades. With the vivid pictures they paint as villains to root for on record, The Flygod and the Wally Champ are cut from the same cloth.
I stopped after they said ASAP Rocky was Method Man.
Ab-Soul as Deck? Foh
How the fuck ya compare that migo trash to anyone on wutang
This article gave me aids
Lol!
fuck you and your stupid article. Tyler the creator as RZA???? I thought crack was a 80s thing
This is a fucking disgrace of an article.
Dana Scott should be fired for this atrocity.
What terrible comparisons.. This may fall into 1 of the top 10 worst articles on this website, ever.. Embarrassing….
1017 brick squad modern day wu tang. gucci = rza. burrrrrrr
This is the worst article of all time, you should be fired for this remedial nonsense. How dare you use the wu name in vein.
Oh my god stop! Just stop! Stop it!
Dana ups is hiring. Or u should have been a cop…
Please stop writing anything but apology letters to WU
Katta, please stop biting Biggie’s lyrics from 23 years ago if you’re going to discuss Wu. Two totally separate entities, G.
I wasn’t biting… everyone that’s hip hop know where that comes from… that was joke… like how the article was… all nine wu members could rhyme… none of those comparisons can…
Katta, please stop biting Biggie’s lyrics from 23 years ago. Two totally separate entities, G.
The person responsible for this straight trash article needs to be taken out back into the woods and whipped until their life is barely hanging on by a thread…such an utter insult to the great MC’s of the Wu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Breath. Just breath. It’s an article.
Thanks for reading! 🙂
You are a true bozo.
I love how everyone is passionate for Wu Tang as much as I am. That’s why I wrote this piece.
You are passionate for garbage rap, if u were passionate about the Wu you would have never slandered them in this manner. This article is click bait, much like most of the garbage on this site.
Yet you still admit that you hop on and read the site’s content? Hmmm. You must be more passionate for DX than you’d like to believe, my guy. Thanks for your time.
#fakenews
Loving the Joey BadA$$ comparison, and DBrown is weird as fuck (but doesn’t approach the Osiris in my view). That being said, keep up the good work, even if it’s not appreciated by most. Wu will never be repeated, but that doesn’t mean people have to be so goddamn butthurt over your opinion/comparison.