If you listen to enough of the Wu-Tang Clan, the borough of Staten Island is as much of a part of the group as any of the original nine members. One of the iconic images of Staten Island—which the Clan affectionately dubbed Shaolin—was created during the filming of “Can It Be All So Simple.”
“We just wanted it to be a straight, colorful project that felt like the hood would feel,” Raekwon explained to LRG Films. “We was telling Hype Williams at the time, ‘Yo, we want to se a lot of dissolving. We want to see a lot of project shit that meant a lot.’”
That request was fulfilled with everything from slow-motion footage of kids popping wheelies on bikes to local graffiti murals. Rae said he looked to capture that same feel on “Butta Knives,” the upcoming visual from Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang. According to Raekwon, the casual viewer doesn’t need to look much further than the buildings in Park Hill.
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“This video ‘Butta Knives’ takes me back to that direction,” “I remember police jumping out of cars chasing us, and all we’re trying to do is make it back to that apartment. You know how niggas be standin’ in front of the building and then the police jump out. When they jump out, you dip! I just want to go back to the history of the shit that I’ve been through. This video meant a lot to me.”
