So imagine mysurprise when I stumbled upon the book TheTao of Wu. The author? Founder, producer and rap artist of one of thegreatest and grimiest rap groups to push through in the mid-’90s and leave itsmark on the world, the platinum-selling Wu-Tang Clan.
Born in Brooklyn,N.Y., and raised in Staten Island, Robert Diggs, better known as the RZA, co-founded thegroup, and refers to himself as the Abbot of Wu-Tang Clan. He writes about thehardships of growing up in the slums of New York and gaining the 12 Jewels of Life (for obtainingspiritual wealth) based on Islam, in addition to his other faiths: Taoism,Christianity and the Universal Law.
The RZA draws theroadmap to Wu-Tang’s success, and reflects on the recipe of Wu, crediting Staten Island as the magic ingredient that brought hisesoteric lyrics and their eclectic style together.
“A nine-man hip-hopcrew based on mathematics, chess, comics, and kung-fu flicks wasn’t springingup in the middle of a Manhattanart scene. Only on a remote island can something like King Kong grow to hisfull capacity,” he writes.
In this half-memoir,half-spiritual guide, the RZA tells his story in seven lessons based on pivotalmoments in his life. He begins his story at the roughest point, rememberingwhen he was beaten as a kid for his penny candy money, and goes on to describeliving in a two-bedroom apartment, as an adult, with 19 people.
Though his words ofenlightenment are undoubtedly provocative and resonate with spiritual truths,in life he maintained the actions of a fool, a mere product of theghettoselling drugs, having babies by five or six different women, and abusingdrugs and alcohol.
The writing in thebook has an easygoing, colloquial style. His candid, authentic voice isunforgettable. The RZA switches from teaching a Zen approach to life to usingthe N-word and F-bombs in his examples: “Jesus said, ‘Turn the other cheek.’That’s good advice on many levels. In a street way, it means, if a nigga gonnapunch you in the face, you pull back, then come in and fuck him up for real.”
A rags-to-richesstory of the mind, the spirit and financial wealth, this book reaches newaudiences, teaching the Tao, 12 Jewels and the Christian faith from astreet-smarts perspective with a humbled-in-Hollywood reflection. It’sclustered with contradictions and coupled with nuggets of wisdom to chew on orspit out at your discretion. It is described as “a spiritual memoir as theworld has never seen before.” You can say that again.
