25 years later…Wu-Tang Clan still ain’t nuthin ta f**k wit!
If you missed the exciting memo, Hulu’s highly anticipated series, “Wu-Tang: An American Saga,” is slated to premiere on September 4.
“Wu-Tang: An American Saga” is inspired by “The Wu-Tang Manual” and “Tao of Wu”, and based on the true story of the Wu-Tang Clan.
Set in early ’90s New York at the height of the crack cocaine epidemic, the show tracks the Clan’s formation, a vision of Bobby Diggs aka The RZA, who strives to unite a dozen young, black men that are torn between music and crime but eventually rise to become the unlikeliest of American success stories.
I recently had the opportunity to chat with Shameik Moore, who will star in the series as “Sha” aka Raekwon the Chef.
I was very excited to chat with Shameik because I am the unofficial 10th member of the Wu and I am huge a fan of his work (Dope, “The Get Down,” Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse). It’s always great to see a young man fully living in his excellence.
I began by asking Shameik to give me the scoop on his role as Sha:
I’m playing Raekwon the Chef and we’re in the early stages of Wu-Tang.
Essentially, this is all before they really knew each other and the ones who did know each other were enemies.
And it shows how the RZA brought all of his people together to create a crew and propel each other to the next level.
Shameik Moore went on to share his excitement about “Wu-Tang: An American Saga” saying:
It’s a really special project and I’m excited for September 4. We’re premiering the first three episodes on September 4.
I found it interesting that many of the cast members of “An American Saga,” including Shameik, weren’t even born or they were very young when the Wu dropped their classic debut album, Enter The Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers.
I asked the 24-year-old actor how he prepared to play the role of Raekwon.
I was filming in Canada for another project that’s coming out at the end of the year called, Let It Snow, and Raekwon flew out to Canada and met me at this Asian restaurant and it was cool.
It was pretty straight forward. I was just taking in his energy and getting to know him.
And while filming the role, I would call him or I would send videos or I would record voice memos and he’d send voice memos back – he’d call me – I was focused on making him proud of the performance I put on as him.
So, I would ask him, ‘This is the scene…how did it really go down?’ Then, he would tell me and if it’s not really in there the same way – I can play his emotions well and accurate so that he feels like his story is being represented.
It was cool – we’re a good duo…a good team.
Wu-Tang is an iconic group and there’s a lot that we don’t know about them.
Their stories are relevant to the stories of black youth today.
Of course, I had to ask Shameik Moore what his favorite Wu-Tang Clan joint is, which isn’t easy picking just one.
He narrowed it down to “Ice Cream,” naturally one of my faves.
Listen to my chat with Shameik Moore in full below.
Be sure to tune in to “Wu-Tang: An American Saga” on Hulu on September 4.
