Exploring the heights of the Wu-Tang Clan

There is, will, and can only ever be one Wu-Tang Clan. The Wu Tang Clan has a career-long association with cannabis, including their appearances at the 2017 Cannabis Cup. There is much to discover when it comes to the Wu Tang Clan and cannabis.

Some questioned Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s claim at the 1998 Grammy Awards that “Wu-Tang is for the kids,” but as a kid who discovered the clan at age 9, I’m the first to say that ODB was right: Wu-Tang is for the kids! There is, will, and can only ever be one Wu-Tang Clan. In honor of their artistic legacy and career-long association with cannabis, let’s explore the highlights of the Wu Tang Clan.

Method Man

You may be wondering, “What is a Method Man? What does that mean and what does it do?” At the end of the third song on Enter The Wu-Tang, which introduces the listener to the entire Wu-Tang clan – “Can It Be All So Simple?/Intermission,” Method Man concedes an insight into the character and role of each member of the group and how they form like Voltron. According to the man himself, “Method Man is basically roll that shit, light that shit, smoke it.”

Method Man’s TICAL line

In particular, Method Man and his connection to cannabis requires a special spotlight. We took note of Method Man’s launch of Tical in 2021, “which offers premium flowers and spreads love throughout the community.” Tical’s cannabis business shares its name with the slang for cannabis and Method Man’s 1994 debut solo album.

After the success of Blackout! With cannabis enthusiast Redman, Method Man’s public cannabis connection stretched to Hollywood. In 2001, Method Man and Redman starred in How High, a stoner comedy about two underperforming stoners who were visited by a ghost of their boyfriend after smoking weed grown with fertilizer from his cremated remains. Method Man and Redman go from underachievers to top-notch college entrance exams — the “THCs” instead of the SATs — and eventually make it to Harvard University, overcoming obstacles to earn their place.

Diversify your bonds!

In this still from Chappelle’s Show Season 2 “Wu-Tang Financial,” Gza (left) and Rza (right) remind you that cash makes everything around you (CREAM) and to diversify your bonds.

Method Man isn’t the only Wu-Tang Clan member to launch a solo career or, so to speak, diversify their ties. The members of the Wu Tang Clan are entrepreneurs at heart. From the beginning, the Wu-Tang clan had their sights set on world domination. As members explored solo careers and partnerships, Wu-Tang began expanding their reach from music into fashion, films, video games, television documentaries, soundtracks, and (of course) cannabis-related businesses. Wu-Wear is the group’s long-standing fashion label.

Raekwon’s cannabis cooking against the war on drugs

Raekwon the Chef has something delicious to cook with an interesting business model. And what he cooks is homemade. Raekwon’s cannabis business aims to empower communities hardest hit by the drug war and systemic inequality by creating an urban indoor cannabis cultivation network. CitizenGrown views its “cannabis for the people, by the people” as a form of Universal Basic Income (UBI), or passive income for urban communities-turned-farmers. Simple – CitizenGrown provides a home with glass-enclosed grow equipment, controls the cultivation and harvesting of cannabis, and shares the proceeds from the harvest with the individual for unit housing and minimal maintenance required.

A cannabis homage to Ol’ Dirty Bastard

Ever accidentally swallowed a cockroach? You can have Wu-Tang without even knowing it. The term “Wu-Tang” itself is a slang term for accidentally swallowing a cockroach.

A complicated artist with many problems and many nicknames (Dirt McGirt, Big Baby Jesus, Joe Bananas and most notably Ol’ Dirty Bastard), Russel Jones died of an accidental overdose in 2004 with his son Young Dirty Bastard, an enduring tribute to Old Dirty Bastard, comes in a strain named after the rapper. Dirty Old Bastard is an indica strain that combines Blackberry, OG Kush, and California Classic, producing an uplifting effect with a sweet taste and aroma. Much like the rapper it honors, Dirty Old Bastard goes by many different nicknames.

The Saga Continues: The Artistic Heights of the Wu Tang Clan

TV and streaming are bringing the legend of the Wu-Tang Clan to new and future generations of children. Showtime’s documentary Of Mics and Men presents the history of the Wu Tang Clan in a four-part series. If you prefer a dramatized presentation, Wu-Tang: An American Saga tells the story of the formation and rise to world domination of the Wu-Tang clan. Wu-Tang: An American Saga is currently streaming on Disney+, with a third and final season being approved for production in 2021. The legend endures, the saga continues, and Wu-Tang is undoubtedly forever. We smoke for that.