Latest news with #WuTangClan
Washington Post
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
‘Wu-Tang: Rise of the Deceiver' finally brings Wu-Tang back to video games
After 26 years away from video games, hip-hop's most notorious and influential supergroup Wu-Tang Clan returns with 'Wu-Tang: Rise of the Deceiver,' developed in close consultation with the group. It's also the debut game from Brass Lion Entertainment, founded by veterans of big-budget studios in 2019 as a home for developers of diverse backgrounds. ('All culture, no vulture' is the studio motto.) 'Rise of the Deceiver' is an action-adventure game where up to three players can customize fighting styles and fashion, and boasts a dynamic soundtrack that reacts to the on-screen action with music produced by legendary producer Just Blaze.
The Verge
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Verge
Wu-Tang Clan's new video game project is ‘for the culture'
In 1999, the iconic New York rap group Wu-Tang Clan released their very first video game, Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style. Now, 25 years later, the Wu have returned with a new game project called Wu-Tang: Rise of the Deceiver. Announced simultaneously at Summer Game Fest and at the opening performance of the group's farewell tour, Rise of the Deceiver is part of the apotheosis of one of the greatest rap groups of all time. The Verge had the opportunity to speak to the game's developers at Brass Lion Entertainment about working with some of rap's living legends on a project that is both the end of an era in rap history and the beginning of something new. Rise of the Deceiver is an action co-op game in which players, imbued with powers bestowed upon them by the legendary members of the Wu-Tang Clan, fight against invaders that wish to corrupt their home. It's been in development for three years, and started as a companion piece to Angel of Dust, a movie produced by Ghostface Killah and directed by The RZA. 'What we did is we leaned into elements of that script that worked really, really well from an interactive perspective, and made a companion piece to it,' said Bryna Dabby Smith co-founder and CEO of Brass Lion Entertainment. According to Dabby Smith, the driving ethos behind Rise of the Deceiver is essentially, 'do it for the culture.' While there have been numerous hip-hop-centric video games over the years, very few of them tackle the artistry, history, and culture of the genre beyond using it as set dressing. 'We wanted to create something where it was built from the ground up,' Dabby Smith said. 'It was by the culture, for the culture, and actually representing what [Wu-Tang Clan] put out there through the years.' And for the game's soundtrack, which incorporates music from throughout the group's 30-plus year history, it really was built from the ground up. 'For us, the treatment of the music was a really big deal,' said Dabby Smith. It's not just snippets of 'C.R.E.A.M' or 'Protect Ya Neck' playing during cutscenes. She talked about how their sound team created a dynamic music system. 'So while you are playing the game, the music is reacting to what you're doing and it's completely unique to your playing experience.' Additionally, players will experience Wu-Tang's discography in ways they've never heard before. 'It's not just the traditional songs that you've heard. It's remix versions. It's orchestral versions,' Dabby Smith said. There are even totally new tracks in the game that incorporate Wu-Tang samples to make something unique but still familiar to fans' ears. 'Hip-hop is a syncretic art form. It takes pieces of things that have existed elsewhere and mashes them together in unique ways,' said Evan Narcisse, a former video game journalist who worked as a writer on the project. 'We're doing the same thing.' Rise of the Deceiver is meant to appeal to all kinds of video game fans, not just 30-something hip-hop heads. There's something for everyone. And if you are a 30-something hip-hop head, this game will be a love letter to one of the greatest musical acts in a generation. 'The Wu Tang Clan are larger than life,' said Narcisse. 'They're superheroes, and they deserve a world that speaks that legacy.'
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sacha Jenkins, Journalist Turned Documentarian, Dies
Sacha Jenkins, the journalist and filmmaker, has died, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. According to reports, Jenkins was 54. Born in Philadelphia, Jenkins had an extensive journalistic career across several publications. He began his career by founding one of the first magazines about graffiti art called, Graphic Scenes & Xplicit Language. He co-founded the hip-hop newspaper, Beat Down with his childhood friend and journalist and TV producer, Elliott Wilson. More from The Hollywood Reporter Jeff Margolis, Legendary Oscars and Emmys Director, Dies at 78 Drummer and Music Talent Agency Owner Killed in San Diego Plane Crash Billy Williams, 'Gandhi' and 'On Golden Pond' Cinematographer, Dies at 96 After that, the pair founded the hip-hop and skateboarding magazine, Ego Trip. Jenkins has also written for Spin, Rolling Stone and previously served as a music editor and writer-at-large for Vibe. In the filmmaking world, Jenkins directed such films as Bitchin': The Sound and Fury of Rick James, Fresh Dressed and All Up in the Biz, about the late Biz Markie, writing the latter two. He's also worked on the docuseries, Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men, which earned him an Emmy nomination for best writing for a nonfiction program. His additional credits include Everything's Gonna Be All White, Around The Way, Supreme Team, Generation Dead: The Walking Dead Fan Documentary, You're Watching Video Music Box, Rolling Like Thunder, Cypress Hill: Insane in the Brain, City Girls Point Blank Period and Harley Flanagan: Wired for Chaos. For the documentary Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues, which he directed and produced, Jenkins told the Film Academy of Armstrong, 'He's a very special person — not a normal individual — who had a real foresight and real insight and was just the essence of creativity. I play music. I do different things. And I'm inspired by seeing someone who can do it on such a high level. He was inspired by creativity. That was his fuel.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2025: Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Sabrina Carpenter and More Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025 Hollywood's Highest-Profile Harris Endorsements: Taylor Swift, George Clooney, Bruce Springsteen and More
Times
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Stereolab: Instant Holograms on Metal Film review — delightful and original
Back in 1996 Stereolab were on the bill at the now defunct Phoenix festival, an unpleasant rock/dance/rap affair that took place on an airstrip near Stratford-upon-Avon. The sound and perhaps sight of three women and two men in Sixties modernist clothing playing polite electronic pop influenced by European arthouse cinema, brutalist architecture and Marxist politics appeared to offend the beery, thuggish crowd. They were there chiefly to wait for members of the hip-hop collective the Wu-Tang Clan to take to the stage. Stereolab managed to get through three songs, including their peerless classic French Disko, before giving in to the shower of bottles, cans and sexually loaded insults coming their way. It must be a sign of progress that since then, Stereolab have become one
Forbes
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
DJ Mathematics On Ownership and Bringing The Wu-Tang Clan Together On Wax
SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - APRIL 02: DJ Mathematics of Wu Tang Clan performs live on stage at Espaco Unimed ... More on April 2, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.(Photo by) Defying expectations, DJ Mathematics gathers all nine living members of the Wu-Tang Clan for the release of Black Samson, The Bastard Swordsman, a boom-bap-infused collectible album crafted to stand the test of time rather than chase algorithmic trends. Last month, I got the chance to build with DJ Mathematics about everything surrounding this unique release. What can be concluded is how legacy, creativity, and ownership can still move like strategy in hip-hop. 'I put a lot of blood, sweat and tears, my passion and money into doing this myself. You know? So I had to figure out a way—how will I make money off of my art?' Although Black Samson features all nine living members of the Wu-Tang Clan and his produced by legendary group's official DJ, it is not a Wu-Tang album, according to Mathematics. Instead, it is an independent project by DJ Mathematics, with its own distinct vision and authorship. However, given the sound, lineup, and legacy associated with the Wu-Tang Clan, fans will understandably interpret Black Samson as part of the broader Wu-Tang universe. Unlike many who merely talk 'ownership,' DJ Mathematics is an active practitioner. Rather than chasing algorithms or seeking placements on streaming platforms, he is taking an on hands approach by pressing his own vinyl with top-notch packaging and ultimately developing a self-sustaining ecosystem. By taking control of his artistic vision and distribution, DJ Mathematics is pursuing a unique path that challenges the conventional forms of the music industry. Each 'Black Samson' vinyl is wrapped in its own one-of-one cover. During this year's Record Store Day, in collaboration with 36 Chambers, Ruffnation, Virgin Music Group, and Marcoverse, Mathematics dropped Black Samson as a vinyl-only audiophile-grade double LP. It wasn't your typical crate filling delight either. There were only 5,000 copies up for grabs with each one wrapped in its own exclusive jacket, no two covers alike. The artwork made by artist Steven Perkins, was reimagined and remixed by Marcoverse's Mixprint technology. 'It was actually drawn by an artist," said DJ Mathematics. "His name is Steven Perkins. He actually drew all the pieces, all the variants. They got some technology where they took all his artwork and then start mixing it all up and shuffling it. And that's how you get all the unique and different covers.' Black Samson is a straight-up boom-bap piece of glory exuding a grimy, cinematic, unapologetic vibe encapsulating a specific hip-hop vibe. You have West Coast staple Kurupt, alongside Ralph McDaniels. Yes, the Ralph McDaniels, setting it off like its Video Music Box in 1994 performing that nostalgic Wu-Tang skit element on the intro track 'Sucker Free City.' NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 25: (Rear L-R) Elgin Turer " Masta Killa", Dennis Coles "Ghostaface ... More Killa" Robert Diggs "RZA" Inspectah Deck, Corey Woods " Raekwon", (front L-R) Lamont Hawkins" U-God", Young Dirty Bastard, and DJ Mathematics attend Tribeca TV: "Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics And Men" at Beacon Theatre on April 25, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/WireImage) The track 'Mandingo' features Raekwon, Inspectah Deck, Method Man and Cappadonna building with bars like it is 1997 all over again. And then there's 'Roar of the Lion,' a multi generational cut weaving RZA, U-God and Kool G Rap, the golden era legend and pioneer of mafioso rap, a style that Raekwon would later master. Smoothness is introduced with 'Claudine,' a movement featuring Method Man, Ghostface Killah and singer Nicole Bus. Black Samson goes on to complete the cipher with the presence of some new blood including Benny the Butcher, 38 Spesh and RJ Payne. Though each is a seasoned MC in their own right, these brothers have become standout voices in the real rap resurgence over the past decade. The album also features deep cuts like 'Cleopatra Jones' with Raekwon and Masta Killa, and 'Executioners from Shaolin' with Inspectah Deck, GZA, and Cappadonna. There's even a vinyl-only bonus track, 'Charleston Blue, Legend Of A Fighter' featuring Crooked I, Cappadonna, and Nicole Bus, while Kameron Corvet conducts the gliding outro on 'Troubled Man." SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - APRIL 2: Wu-Tang Clan logo on stage at Espaco Unimed on April 2, 2023 in Sao ... More Paulo, Brazil.(Photo by) Mathematics is the only person outside of the Clan themselves that can gather all nine members for an album, despite the method. He is not just Wu-Tang's official DJ, he 's family, an architect and the bridge. Long before the album credits, Mathematics etched his legacy in ink. He is the mastermind behind the iconic Wu-Tang 'W,' a logo that he designed for RZA that started as a symbol for the clan and evolved into a global emblem of hip-hop culture. His fingerprints are all over the Wu-Tang Clan catalogue. From producing tracks like Cappadonna's solo debut 'Oh Donna' on The Pillage, to the 'Wu Banga 101' banger on Supreme Clientele, to gritty joints like 'Do You Really' and 'Cobra Clutch,' DJ Mathematics is without a doubt a lab-first builder of the Wu-Tang sound. 'For a lot of them, I was their brother first and foremost, even before DJ," said Mathematics. "People put DJ in front of my name, but it was never DJ Mathematics. It was always Mathematics or Allah Mathematics.' The Black Samson release is a business model in itself that considers art as asset, scarcity as a driver, and storytelling as the differentiator. But make no mistake, Mathematics is not unfamiliar with the act of adapting. He's watched the industry move from cassettes to CDs to mp3 files to straight up streaming. "You get left behind if you don't evolve," he said. Early on, he resisted Serato and held tight to his crates. Now, he embraces technology but solely on a strategic basis. The video for 'Mandingo' is fully AI-generated. Not out of laziness, but out of necessity. Coordinating a video shoot with Wu members scattered across the globe was a challenge for Mathematics. So he certainly turned to AI, but never allowed that artificial mind to dictate his creative seed. 'For somebody else to come and grab ownership, I'm not cool with that,' he told me. 'Especially when you put in your heart, your time, money, your heart into everything. For somebody to come along and put value on what you do and say, I value it at this and I'll take it for that. It's like, nah.' With 2025 tour dates lined up and a live show now elevated with a band, dancers, actors, and full set curation, along with the Wu, Mathematics is building a multimedia experience rooted in a key foundational hip-hop ethic: the ability to show and prove. This goes beyond nostalgia. It's about a hip-hop class act packaging authenticity in a way that translates into merch, licensing, collectibles and lasting reverberation. 'I grew in my music because I felt sampling—and I got nothing against sampling, sampling is dope, and I would still sample to this day if I wanted to,' said Mathematics. 'But creatively, we chopped it up and we made things out of it. We did what we did. But then some beats, I felt like, okay, I just looped it and put drums on it. Is that really creativity? Did I really do that?' 'If I did that with AI, then I would feel the same way. It's like, nah, I still gotta make my music. I gotta be creatively hands-on musically. I gotta make the sounds in my head, I have to bring [them] out. I can't allow a machine to dictate that for me.'
