Wu Tang: An American Saga

I've really enjoyed the series, mainly just because I love the subject matter. The show itself isn't that great, though. As a whole, I think the writing is pretty bad and some of the acting is suspect. I wish the storyline had more of a Wire feel instead of being so fantastical.

I think most of the actors do a great job with the characters. The only real exceptions to this are RZA and GZA. I can't put my finger on it but the RZA character just doesn't fit for me. The GZA character strike me as a lot more angry and outspoken than I imagined, even in his younger years.

As someone mentioned, Ghost and Rae are great in the series. I knew they originally hated each other, but had no idea it was to that extent. Rae shot up Ghost's mom's home? ODB's character is pretty solid too, though I have my doubts he disarmed an assailant yielding a shotgun as portrayed.

I like Meth's character, but I don't think they capture his humor. He's a funny dude. I've actually met him a couple times. He's always cutting up. Maybe he wasn't that way in the early days.

Wish Deck had a bigger role (although it's getting bigger as season 2 progresses). Most underrated member of the group.

Also, I think RZA over-glorifies himself and Divine in the series. Everyone knows Divine is a mark-ass bitch.

Where's Masta Killah?

Is the U-God story correct? I thought he was locked up while they were making 36 Chambers, which is why he is only on a couple of tracks (7th Chamber, which was recorded way prior to all the other tracks) and Protect Ya Neck.

Not that I really care, but I think they should've run more with Wu's early ties to Cappadonna. He was part of the group in its earliest formulation, only to be replaced by Meth when Cap got locked up. If i remember correctly in the series, Cap was already in jail, where he met Divine. It didn't seem like he had any prior connection to Wu in the series and certainly wasn't already a Wu member, which hadn't even been conceived at the time we first see him in the series.

As an aside, did RZA get copyright clearances for all the tracks he sampled in those early albums? Never realized just how much he sampled. Even more off topic, been jamming to Willie Mitchell's "Groovin" at work today. What a jam.

 

dbl

 

Agreed. Best episode by far ... so far. My wife was like "who the fuck are you? Who did I marry?" when she saw how excited I was getting during that episode.

 

Regarding the college scene, are you referring to the most recent episode of season 2? That was U-God with Deck, Meth, and ODB.

Edit:: Just looked up Castille on imdb. Yeah, he plays Capadonna. Not sure what college scene you're referring to, though. The only scenes I remember with Capadonna are the prison scenes from Season 1.

 

You're right about Meth. He did take Wu and his career very seriously. One of my favorite Wu recordings are the outtakes from a London radio studio from 1994. Meth is in there trying to be serious and the other members are just fucking around. Meth gets pissed.

 

No one in hip hop is betting than Deck at setting off a track. Dude comes in every track like a tsunami. Brings so much energy. His flow is unmatched.

He's the only member who has always brought his A game. Every other member has tracks, or entire albums, that are complete duds. Deck is steady and has never changed his style to conform to the prevailing trends in hip hop.

 

Above I said I was a little disappointed in the show. That was after watching the first season and episode 1 of season 2. Season 2 has been fire. Love this show. Looking forward to running it back.