Wu-Tang Really *Is* for the Children

After hopping the New Jersey transit to Secaucus Junction on Wednesday night, I sat behind a father and school-age son who were talking vigorously about hip-hop. And not just in a let me put you onto this old ’90s or 2000s-era record type of conversation, either. It started with an impassioned debate about whether Drake had anything to do with the murder of controversial Florida rapper XXXTentacion, which led to connecting dots between J Prince (“the Rap-A-Lot nigga,” as referred to by pops before being corrected by his son, who couldn’t have been older than 10) and the murder trial of Young Thug. Eventually, they did swerve to music, where the son explained his love for Lil Tecca and the appeal of a livestreamed concert. Pops took it all in, genuinely curious about the music and process, before offering up comments and song recommendations of his own. I’m big on those kinds of intergenerational rap moments, so I had a pure and wholesome time eavesdropping, made doubly so by the kid’s constant swearing. 

I was unsurprised to learn they, like me, were heading into New York City to catch Wu-Tang Clan at Madison Square Garden. If you’re not hip, Wu-Tang is currently on the final leg of their farewell tour, titled the Final Chamber Tour, a celebration of the collective’s 33-year history featuring every living member (RZA, GZA, Inspectah Deck, Raekwon, U-God, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Masta Killa, Cappadonna) and a few affiliates (Streetlife, Mathematics). The Wu has been a legacy act for some years now, but it’s always special when rappers hit this milestone because so many are denied that prestige—either because the industry fucked them out of it or they die before they can smell those flowers. So there was a very potent energy buzzing through the building—not only was Wu-Tang about to perform for 20,000 people at the most prestigious arena in their hometown, they were about to do it as quinquagenarians (The youngest member, Method Man, is 54.)

I had the honor of profiling RZA for Flaunt magazine a few weeks before the tour began, and during our conversations, he mentioned the makeup of the European crowds during Wu-Tang’s last big outing, the N.Y. State of Mind Tour with Nas and De La Soul. RZA was struck by how many children and pre-teens there were, some with their parents and some dolo, and walking into MSG, it was also the first thing I noticed. Parents decked in their Wu-Tang best walked through the lobby with children of all ages—one family even had a baby in a stroller. Pre-teens and young adults were in the aisles and at the concession stands, some in their W shirts and/or black-and-yellow Wu-Tang Nike SBs. Parents pass down music to their children all the time, but families going to the legacy act tour as a family is something other big genres like rock or pop have experienced for decades. That’s finally beginning to creep into the world of rap as more of its ’80s and ’90s icons begin pushing 60. 

Just over a quarter of the way through the show, RZA did the prerequisite check for who exactly was in the crowd. Boroughs came first—Queens and Brooklyn made the most noise—but then he started going through decades to see when the crowd was born. Naturally, the ’70s and ’80s, the generations who were teenaged or grown during Wu-Tang’s peak, got the loudest response. But millennials and Zoomers held their own when RZA shouted out the ’90s and 2000s, too. There were no overt gestures to the youth, and none were necessary, because the Final Chamber Tour was all about nostalgia. Every member got at least one spotlight moment: My personal favorites were Inspectah Deck doing his verse from the Only Built 4 Cuban Linx deep cut “Guillotine (Swordz)” and Method Man rocking his self-titled song from Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). This being the hometown stop, there was also a litany of special guests which marked the night as an East Coast hip-hop history lesson. Yonkers trio The Lox came out to the triumphant tune of Jadakiss’s “We Gon’ Make It,” Havoc of Mobb Deep got the crowd moving with “Eye for a Eye (Your Beef Is Mines)” and “Shook Ones Pt. II,” New Jersey’s Redman joined Method Man for their hit “Da Rockwilder,” and Big Daddy Kane and Slick Rick popped out to play their respective legacy-defining tracks “Ain’t No Half Steppin’” and “Children’s Story.”

But one of the biggest reactions of the night came from the medley of Ol’ Dirty Bastard tracks, led by his firstborn son Barsun “Young Dirty Bastard” Jones, who’s taken his late father’s place in the group in recent years. Young and old crowdgoers lost their collective shit when “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” and “Brooklyn Zoo” came on, ODB’s manic energy and fuck-all attitude reaching across generations. Taking this whole night in, I couldn’t help but think about ODB’s timeless quote from the 1998 Grammys: “Wu-Tang is for the children.” Wu-Tang is arguably the most influential and well-known rap group of all time, renowned all around the world as a cultural institution. But being in the crowd that night was to watch fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters tap into their inner children while getting lost in these songs. The last time I saw this many 40- and 50-year-olds cut loose like this was when Pharoahe Monch played SOB’s a decade ago, and seeing it alongside kids and young adults was a treat. As I headed to my train back to Jersey, I kept an eye out for that father and son duo from earlier, but never saw them again. I spent the ride home running “Guillotine (Swordz)” back and wondering if that kid felt inspired enough to go check it out.