1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:21,160 Speaker 1: Disgraceland as a production of Double Elvis. The stories about 2 00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:26,920 Speaker 1: the Wu Tang clans method Man are insane. As a teenager, 3 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:29,840 Speaker 1: he won eight hundred dollars on a five dollars bet 4 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:32,920 Speaker 1: in a dice game. He used those winnings to set 5 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:36,959 Speaker 1: himself up as a crack dealer on Staten Island. He 6 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:39,199 Speaker 1: was dragged down the street by a car when a 7 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:43,199 Speaker 1: buyer stole his product and sped off. His life was 8 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:45,080 Speaker 1: saved by a friend who pulled him out of the 9 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:47,920 Speaker 1: wrong place at the right moment, a moment in which 10 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:52,240 Speaker 1: he literally dodged a bullet. That friend was the Rizza 11 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:55,560 Speaker 1: who offered Method Man a spot in the new hip 12 00:00:55,600 --> 00:01:00,400 Speaker 1: Hop supergroup. He was assembling a group that made great music, 13 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:03,880 Speaker 1: some of the most enduring hip hop music of all time. 14 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:06,959 Speaker 1: Unlike that clip I played for you at the top 15 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:10,800 Speaker 1: of the show. That wasn't great music. That was a 16 00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:16,800 Speaker 1: preset loop from my melotron called Kmart Wardrobe MK two. 17 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:20,280 Speaker 1: I played you that loop because I can't afford the 18 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:23,840 Speaker 1: rights to Bump and Grind by R Kelly. And why 19 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:27,080 Speaker 1: would I play you that specific slice of thirty one 20 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:31,440 Speaker 1: year prison sentenced cheese? Could I afford it because that 21 00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:35,600 Speaker 1: was the number one song in America on April twenty ninth, 22 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:39,480 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety four, and that was the day that Ernest Seyon, 23 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:43,280 Speaker 1: known to Method Man as Case, was choked to death 24 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:47,800 Speaker 1: by cops on Staten Island, a senseless tragedy that had 25 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:51,520 Speaker 1: a major ripple effect on Wu Tang's community and home base. 26 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:58,080 Speaker 1: On this episode, dice games, drug games, stolen products, dodge. 27 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:02,000 Speaker 2: Bullets, a death on Staten Island, and Wu Tang Clans 28 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:03,080 Speaker 2: Method Man. 29 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:38,280 Speaker 1: I'm Jake Brennan, and this is Disgraceland. From up on 30 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:42,720 Speaker 1: the roof, he could see everything, the sidewalk, the street, 31 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:47,680 Speaker 1: the cars coming and people going. Staten Island hummed with activity. 32 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:51,880 Speaker 1: Clifford Smith, the teenage kid that the world would later 33 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:55,000 Speaker 1: know as Method Man, I wanted to make sure that 34 00:02:55,440 --> 00:03:00,960 Speaker 1: all that activity down below wasn't following him, the young 35 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:05,120 Speaker 1: mass aka cliff Here. He surveyed the scene. 36 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:06,040 Speaker 2: From his rooftop perch. 37 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:10,360 Speaker 1: No one was looking for him, no one was after him. 38 00:03:10,639 --> 00:03:10,919 Speaker 2: Good. 39 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:14,080 Speaker 1: He pulled the water cash from the pocket of his 40 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:17,760 Speaker 1: dirty jeans. He counted it, and then he counted it again, 41 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:21,960 Speaker 1: eight hundred dollars. He could hardly believe it was real, 42 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:26,800 Speaker 1: but it was real. It was surreal not only the 43 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:30,280 Speaker 1: fact that he, Clifford Smith, had eight hundred dollars in 44 00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:32,440 Speaker 1: his hand, but that he had won it on a 45 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:37,320 Speaker 1: five dollars bet. An aspet no less, he didn't make 46 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:40,440 Speaker 1: a habit of as betting, but desperate times and all that. 47 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:45,680 Speaker 1: An aspet is definitely desperate, if not stupid and cocky too. 48 00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:47,839 Speaker 1: That's when you make a bet on a dice game 49 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:50,360 Speaker 1: but actually have no money to back it up if 50 00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:54,360 Speaker 1: that bet you made loses. Cliff didn't see any other choice. 51 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:56,880 Speaker 1: He needed the cash and was willing to take a 52 00:03:56,960 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 1: chance in order to get it. For a while, he 53 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,360 Speaker 1: had a job, a good job, assistant manager at the 54 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:05,000 Speaker 1: Statue of Liberty, the kind of job you could brag 55 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 1: about back in the projects. But he lost that job, 56 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:11,680 Speaker 1: sidelined with a foot injury. This was the late eighties. 57 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:15,600 Speaker 1: Cliff was sixteen, paid time off for a teenager. 58 00:04:16,400 --> 00:04:18,599 Speaker 2: You couldn't do the work and you didn't have a job. 59 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:21,280 Speaker 2: It was as simple as that. He was out of options. 60 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:24,159 Speaker 1: The cassette tapes he was making under the name Cha 61 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:27,240 Speaker 1: Quan the poet Sha Kwan being his five percenter name, 62 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:31,279 Speaker 1: were for bragging rights only, not for big bucks. On 63 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:34,840 Speaker 1: tracks like Panny Raider in My House, My House, Cliff 64 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:39,760 Speaker 1: as Chakwan kicked rhymes over rudimentary cassio keyboard beats. He 65 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:42,560 Speaker 1: was something of a sensation in the park Hill projects, 66 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:47,960 Speaker 1: and the notoriety came easy. The money did not look around. 67 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:50,880 Speaker 1: No one had money in park Hill. Cliff didn't know 68 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:54,240 Speaker 1: anything different, but he knew there was something better out there. 69 00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:57,600 Speaker 1: It was definitely something better than the way things used 70 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:03,120 Speaker 1: to be years ago. Cramped inside a Manhattan shelter for 71 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:06,599 Speaker 1: battered women with his mom and two sisters who knew 72 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:09,600 Speaker 1: where Cliff's father was. He didn't want to be around, 73 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:11,920 Speaker 1: and Cliff didn't want someone around or didn't want to 74 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:15,360 Speaker 1: be around, and the family could do without. There were 75 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:17,880 Speaker 1: a lot of things Cliff could do without, like the 76 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:20,400 Speaker 1: Staten Island beat cops who roamed the halls of his 77 00:05:20,440 --> 00:05:23,760 Speaker 1: apartment building, using the presence of their service revolvers or 78 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:26,080 Speaker 1: the color of their skin as an excuse. 79 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:26,760 Speaker 2: To do whatever they wanted. 80 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:33,320 Speaker 1: Harassment, humiliation, illegal searches on teenagers, illegal searches on kids 81 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:38,080 Speaker 1: like Cliff saw bullshit. Cliff wasn't a suspect. He gave 82 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:40,320 Speaker 1: the cops zero reason to talk to him, let alone 83 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:43,680 Speaker 1: stop him. But the cops didn't need a reason. Empty 84 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:48,320 Speaker 1: your pockets, hands up against the wall, spread them, walking 85 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:50,200 Speaker 1: out the front door of your apartment. Every day was 86 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:53,920 Speaker 1: a gamble. Everything he did was a gamble. Every choice 87 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:56,760 Speaker 1: you made, and either you gambled on your own life 88 00:05:56,839 --> 00:06:01,200 Speaker 1: or someone else would. So Cliff made the bet, put 89 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:03,640 Speaker 1: down five bucks he didn't actually have on the Neighborhood 90 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:06,719 Speaker 1: Crabs game. If the dice rolled anything but a seven 91 00:06:06,839 --> 00:06:10,279 Speaker 1: or eleven, he was fucked. He thought about what he 92 00:06:10,279 --> 00:06:12,719 Speaker 1: would do if that happened, About how fast he could 93 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:15,400 Speaker 1: get out of there and disappear into a cluster of pedestrians, 94 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:20,440 Speaker 1: swim up stream, lay low, but on a busted leg. Seriously, 95 00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:25,400 Speaker 1: this idea was looking dumber by the second. There was 96 00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:28,120 Speaker 1: no going back now he didn't make a bet and 97 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:31,600 Speaker 1: then unmake the bet. The rest of the players anted 98 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:35,200 Speaker 1: up major skin in the game. Cliff, meanwhile, was worried 99 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:38,599 Speaker 1: about his actual skin. He rattled the dice around in 100 00:06:38,640 --> 00:06:40,960 Speaker 1: his clenched fist, and with a flick of his wrist 101 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:43,800 Speaker 1: he tossed them and they rolled under the pavement and 102 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:51,320 Speaker 1: settled one die red three in the other four seven jackpot. 103 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:57,240 Speaker 1: Cliff was up on that rooftop, now taking it all 104 00:06:57,279 --> 00:07:00,000 Speaker 1: in the amount of money in his hands, the relative 105 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:03,599 Speaker 1: safety of his surroundings, and his luck. He felt like 106 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:06,239 Speaker 1: he just pulled off a heist or a magic trick. 107 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:09,160 Speaker 1: And now that he had actually turned an aspect into 108 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:12,800 Speaker 1: a major win, it was time to double down. Turned 109 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:16,640 Speaker 1: that eight hundred bucks into more money, Double it, triple it. 110 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:20,240 Speaker 1: This wasn't savings account money, and it wasn't tied you 111 00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:23,080 Speaker 1: over till the next job kind of money either. Eight 112 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:25,600 Speaker 1: hundred dollars was the perfect amount of money to get 113 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:28,040 Speaker 1: you set up as a player in park Hill's single 114 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:33,360 Speaker 1: most booming industry. Clifford Smith invested that money and crack. 115 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:39,160 Speaker 1: The car came to a stop on a staten Island 116 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:42,280 Speaker 1: street and the driver leaned over towards the open passenger 117 00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:45,880 Speaker 1: side and looked out the open window and waited. Cliff 118 00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:48,400 Speaker 1: was already running from the sidewalk to the car in 119 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:48,880 Speaker 1: the street. 120 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:49,840 Speaker 2: Fast. 121 00:07:50,640 --> 00:07:52,920 Speaker 1: You were either fast or you're out of a sale. 122 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:55,280 Speaker 1: And there were just too many other dudes slinging rock 123 00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:58,560 Speaker 1: in park Hill. The competition was stiff, but it wasn't 124 00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:01,120 Speaker 1: about who was the best This wasn't a hair salon. 125 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:04,200 Speaker 1: A buyer didn't have their person. It was all about 126 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:07,560 Speaker 1: who was the fastest. It was all about car running. 127 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:11,040 Speaker 1: You get to the car first, you get the sale, 128 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:15,280 Speaker 1: and you get the money. Cliff was winded when he 129 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:18,720 Speaker 1: reached the idling sedan. He leaned inside the open passenger 130 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:22,800 Speaker 1: side window extended his hand. Inside his palm were about 131 00:08:22,840 --> 00:08:26,240 Speaker 1: ten small vials, just the fraction of the drugs his 132 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:29,680 Speaker 1: dice game winnings had afforded him. How many you want? 133 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:33,160 Speaker 1: And the driver didn't hesitate all of them? He responded, 134 00:08:33,480 --> 00:08:35,360 Speaker 1: and then he swatted at Cliff's hand with his own. 135 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:38,839 Speaker 1: The vials spilled under the passenger seat. The driver grabbed 136 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:41,400 Speaker 1: the gearshift and hit the gas, and the tires squealed. 137 00:08:41,679 --> 00:08:43,480 Speaker 1: Cliff clung out of the passenger door. As the car 138 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:45,960 Speaker 1: began to move. He dug his fingers into the upholstery 139 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:48,679 Speaker 1: and tried to hold on. The car picked up speed. 140 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:51,800 Speaker 1: Cliff's sneakers dragged along the pavement. He tried to run 141 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:53,080 Speaker 1: alongside the car, but it. 142 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:55,400 Speaker 2: Was going too fast. He felt his knees begin to 143 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:57,880 Speaker 2: buckle shit and lost his grip, and he was thrown 144 00:08:57,920 --> 00:08:59,920 Speaker 2: to the ground. As the car disappeared into the disc. 145 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:02,239 Speaker 2: It's quite literally left. 146 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:06,680 Speaker 1: In the dust, no vials and no money. What was 147 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:09,880 Speaker 1: he thinking leaning all the way into the car, his 148 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:13,240 Speaker 1: hand wide open, with all that product free for the taking. 149 00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:17,360 Speaker 1: Rookie mistake is what That was a kind of mistake. 150 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:19,560 Speaker 2: That happens for a reason. That's how you learn. 151 00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:23,679 Speaker 1: That's how you understand, because next time it wouldn't be 152 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:26,839 Speaker 1: some vials of drugs slapped out a close hand. Next 153 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:29,800 Speaker 1: time it would be his own life that was on 154 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:53,480 Speaker 1: the line. Lamont Hawkins, soon to be better known by 155 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:58,240 Speaker 1: his five percenter name Universal God aka You God, and 156 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:00,320 Speaker 1: also soon to be better known as a member of 157 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:03,040 Speaker 1: the formidable Wu Tank Clan with the likes of Corey 158 00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:07,280 Speaker 1: Woods aka Ray Kwan the Chef and Clifford Smith aka 159 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:11,720 Speaker 1: Method Man, was a good friend. Lamont partied with Corey 160 00:10:11,760 --> 00:10:14,360 Speaker 1: at the Union Square Nightclub and worked with Cliff at 161 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:17,960 Speaker 1: the Statue of Liberty. But Lady Liberty was in the past. 162 00:10:18,640 --> 00:10:21,800 Speaker 1: Now Cliff and You God were selling crack together on 163 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:25,200 Speaker 1: Staten Island. Whether it was working an odd job or 164 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:27,880 Speaker 1: working a crack deal, having friends who had your back 165 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:32,440 Speaker 1: was key. Friends were necessary, As You God later set 166 00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:36,000 Speaker 1: himself in his autobiography, Knowing the right people could potentially 167 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:40,360 Speaker 1: save your life. Cliff had his life saved by the 168 00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:43,920 Speaker 1: right people twice. The first time it was the New 169 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:48,800 Speaker 1: York Police on the prowl. The Tactical Narcotics Team or TNT, 170 00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:52,560 Speaker 1: the street level task force created by the NYPD to 171 00:10:52,600 --> 00:10:55,840 Speaker 1: take down low level drug dealers, was in park Hill 172 00:10:56,880 --> 00:10:59,079 Speaker 1: in that day. No one saw the undercover cop who 173 00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:05,160 Speaker 1: made the deal, but everyone saw what happened next. Police cruisers, sirens, 174 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:10,280 Speaker 1: blue shirts, suns out, guns out, Dealers scattered, plain clothes 175 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:13,559 Speaker 1: and uniform. Cops gave chase, and they tuned up whoever 176 00:11:13,559 --> 00:11:16,559 Speaker 1: they could catch. Some guys stopped and put their hands up, 177 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:19,360 Speaker 1: dropped to the ground, did as they were told. Others 178 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:22,440 Speaker 1: ran as if their lives depended on it. You God 179 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:25,560 Speaker 1: spotted T and T before Cliff, did you. God looked 180 00:11:25,559 --> 00:11:28,440 Speaker 1: over a Cliff crossed the way Cliff was holding you. 181 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:30,839 Speaker 1: God didn't have to say a word, just gave Cliff 182 00:11:30,840 --> 00:11:33,520 Speaker 1: a look, a look that didn't say a thousand words, 183 00:11:33,679 --> 00:11:38,920 Speaker 1: Just two go now, the kind of unspoken chemistry that 184 00:11:38,960 --> 00:11:42,600 Speaker 1: would one day paid dividends in a recording studio. Cliff 185 00:11:42,679 --> 00:11:45,240 Speaker 1: was running fast, as he ran from that dice game 186 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:47,559 Speaker 1: to the rooftop fast as he ran to the cars 187 00:11:47,559 --> 00:11:49,920 Speaker 1: in the street to make a sail. In a flash, 188 00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:53,240 Speaker 1: he was off the sidewalk and inside his building, blood pumping, 189 00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:56,480 Speaker 1: part pounding. His feet hit the staircase. He was moving 190 00:11:56,559 --> 00:11:58,599 Speaker 1: faster now he assumed. 191 00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:00,800 Speaker 2: The worst that the cops for a step behind him. 192 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:03,480 Speaker 1: He made it to his apartment, got rid of his vials, 193 00:12:03,640 --> 00:12:06,640 Speaker 1: then back down the stairs without being spotted, and while 194 00:12:06,679 --> 00:12:08,720 Speaker 1: the cops came in through the front and back doors, 195 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:11,840 Speaker 1: Cliff slipped out of a side door. His body surged 196 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:16,680 Speaker 1: with pure adrenaline. The second time Cliff's life was saved 197 00:12:16,760 --> 00:12:20,720 Speaker 1: was in July nineteen ninety two. Cliff was twenty one, 198 00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:23,480 Speaker 1: but once again it helped to know the quote unquote 199 00:12:23,679 --> 00:12:27,920 Speaker 1: right people. Bobby Diggs aka the Rizza, was chilling on 200 00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:31,559 Speaker 1: a park Hill Avenue stoop alongside Raycon and Jason Hunter 201 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:36,760 Speaker 1: aka Inspected Deck. Only a few months earlier. Rizza returned 202 00:12:36,800 --> 00:12:39,320 Speaker 1: to New York after being found not guilty of attempted 203 00:12:39,400 --> 00:12:42,520 Speaker 1: murder in Ohio. He was back with a new purpose 204 00:12:42,559 --> 00:12:45,240 Speaker 1: in life. He was telling Ray and Deck about this 205 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:48,200 Speaker 1: new purpose, this clan, and how they both fit into it. 206 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:51,040 Speaker 1: He was telling them how others fit into it too, 207 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:54,720 Speaker 1: other guys from around the way, like that cat across 208 00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:57,880 Speaker 1: the street right now, Clifford Smith. The guy was walking 209 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:01,200 Speaker 1: on the opposite sidewalk as they spoke, Riza and the 210 00:13:01,240 --> 00:13:04,920 Speaker 1: guy's all new Cliff as Sheikwuan the poet freestyling on 211 00:13:04,960 --> 00:13:08,400 Speaker 1: the corner handing out his latest tape. He could rhyme, 212 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:11,000 Speaker 1: and he was also a good looking dude, which meant 213 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:13,959 Speaker 1: that he scored points with the ladies. Having Cliff in 214 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:16,520 Speaker 1: your group would seriously up the ratio of women to 215 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:20,560 Speaker 1: men in the crowd at your shows. At the moment, 216 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:23,040 Speaker 1: Cliff was headed to one sixty park Hill Ave. 217 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:24,520 Speaker 2: That's where the weed was. 218 00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:27,280 Speaker 1: Everyone knew the best weed was at one sixty the 219 00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:30,720 Speaker 1: one six oh, and Cliff Well, he liked. 220 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:31,560 Speaker 2: Weed more than most. 221 00:13:32,120 --> 00:13:34,320 Speaker 1: In fact, he smoked so much weed that Rizza didn't 222 00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:36,240 Speaker 1: call him by his birth name, and he didn't call 223 00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:40,319 Speaker 1: him by his five percenter name. Rizza called Cliff method 224 00:13:40,720 --> 00:13:46,280 Speaker 1: or methical, both Staten Island slang from marijuana meth for short. 225 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:49,800 Speaker 1: In Rizza's mind, it was more than just a nickname. 226 00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:52,600 Speaker 1: It was a new identity that separated the past from 227 00:13:52,600 --> 00:13:55,680 Speaker 1: the future, an identity that was crucial to the musical 228 00:13:55,720 --> 00:13:58,240 Speaker 1: world building Rizza was currently mapping out in his head. 229 00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:03,800 Speaker 1: Riza hollered him come over here, and Meth paused. He 230 00:14:03,840 --> 00:14:06,439 Speaker 1: looked in Rizzi's direction, and Rizza threw a hand on. 231 00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:08,880 Speaker 1: Meth stood in front of the building at one six 232 00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:11,720 Speaker 1: to zero park Kilive looked at the door and then 233 00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:13,679 Speaker 1: turned back to Rizam and the guys, trying to make 234 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:19,600 Speaker 1: up his mind. Weed first or Rizza first? Nah Rizza first? 235 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:23,080 Speaker 1: The weed would still be there later on, Risam might not. 236 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:26,320 Speaker 2: Meth walked over to Rizzi's side of the street. 237 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:29,920 Speaker 1: What's good? Riza had the details. Wu Tang was about 238 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:32,640 Speaker 1: to go from concept to reality. Wu Tang was where 239 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:35,880 Speaker 1: Meth belonged, not here out on the street getting robbed 240 00:14:35,880 --> 00:14:38,080 Speaker 1: by fiends and dragged by their cars or chased by 241 00:14:38,080 --> 00:14:41,400 Speaker 1: the NYPDS, T and T squad. Rizza had a life 242 00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:44,480 Speaker 1: changing experience, and now he was about to change the 243 00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:48,160 Speaker 1: lives of everyone else. It was like the Supreme numbers said, 244 00:14:48,640 --> 00:14:52,200 Speaker 1: one you do the knowledge, two you do the wisdom, 245 00:14:52,360 --> 00:14:56,560 Speaker 1: and three you truly understand one in two. Wu Tang 246 00:14:56,600 --> 00:14:59,080 Speaker 1: wasn't just another hip hop group. It was a way out, 247 00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:03,000 Speaker 1: that was and they could all understand. And just then 248 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:05,280 Speaker 1: a car came to a screeching halt on the other 249 00:15:05,320 --> 00:15:07,880 Speaker 1: side of the street, directly in front of number one 250 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:10,800 Speaker 1: six to SOHO. A small cluster of people were standing 251 00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:13,920 Speaker 1: on the sidewalk outside, people going inside to buy weed, 252 00:15:13,960 --> 00:15:15,680 Speaker 1: or people who'd already bought weed and were on their 253 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:18,920 Speaker 1: way out, standing in the exact spot where meth had 254 00:15:18,960 --> 00:15:23,040 Speaker 1: just been moments before. And there were shouting, loud music 255 00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:29,240 Speaker 1: booming from the car's stereo, and then gunshots after rapid fire, 256 00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:32,640 Speaker 1: flashes of light from inside the car, smoke, the car's 257 00:15:32,640 --> 00:15:36,680 Speaker 1: wheels began to spin, rubber burning on asphalt, the muffler rumbled, 258 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:40,160 Speaker 1: and the engine raced. The car shot off down the avenue, 259 00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:42,520 Speaker 1: and quickly the sounds of chaos were replaced with the 260 00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:46,120 Speaker 1: sounds of screams, people writhing on the ground, shrieking in pain. 261 00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:50,280 Speaker 1: Four injured, another, a kid just sixteen years old dead. 262 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:52,960 Speaker 1: A kid wasn't even involved in hustling on the streets, 263 00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:54,600 Speaker 1: A kid who had walked up the street to get 264 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:56,120 Speaker 1: his mom a pack of menhals and was on his 265 00:15:56,160 --> 00:15:56,880 Speaker 1: way back home. 266 00:15:57,800 --> 00:16:01,320 Speaker 2: Beth could have been that kid. Meth almost was that kid. 267 00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:05,040 Speaker 1: If Rizza hadn't been there across the street, if Rizza 268 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:08,440 Speaker 1: hadn't called Meth over talk to him about this greater purpose, 269 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:11,360 Speaker 1: chances are Meth would be bleeding out on that park 270 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:17,520 Speaker 1: Hill Avenue sidewalk right now. And this realization hit Meth hard. 271 00:16:18,560 --> 00:16:23,360 Speaker 1: One decision made all the difference, just one, all the difference, 272 00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:29,040 Speaker 1: the difference between here or there, dead or alive, odd 273 00:16:29,560 --> 00:16:34,440 Speaker 1: or even this door that path. Rizza, the man who 274 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:36,640 Speaker 1: would just save Meth's life by hollering at him from 275 00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:39,800 Speaker 1: across the street, looked at Meth and told him that 276 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:40,840 Speaker 1: he had the route. 277 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:42,240 Speaker 2: He knew the way. 278 00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:46,040 Speaker 1: Get on the bus Rizza was driving. Just don't ask 279 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:49,640 Speaker 1: where they were going. Five years, I saw Riza needed. 280 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:52,840 Speaker 1: Give him five years and they'd have a number one record, 281 00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:54,640 Speaker 1: Plus they'd be. 282 00:16:54,640 --> 00:16:55,840 Speaker 2: Far away from all of this. 283 00:16:57,400 --> 00:17:02,440 Speaker 1: Rizza obviously had the knowledge and the wisdom, and Meth well, 284 00:17:02,880 --> 00:17:08,400 Speaker 1: he had never understood anything so clearly in all his life. 285 00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:15,360 Speaker 2: We'll be right back after this. We're, We're, We're. 286 00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:23,040 Speaker 1: November ninth, nineteen ninety three, was a big day for 287 00:17:23,119 --> 00:17:26,240 Speaker 1: fans of New York hip hop. Two records hit store 288 00:17:26,240 --> 00:17:29,200 Speaker 1: shows that day, a tribe called Quest released their much 289 00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:34,040 Speaker 1: anticipated third studio album, Midnight Marauders, and newcomers Wu Tang 290 00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:37,520 Speaker 1: Clan released their debut Entered the Wu Tang thirty six 291 00:17:37,680 --> 00:17:41,000 Speaker 1: chambers Try was at the height of their powers and 292 00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:44,840 Speaker 1: their popularity. Midnight Marauders took off like a shot, all 293 00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:47,040 Speaker 1: the way at number eight on the Billboard two hundred 294 00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:50,680 Speaker 1: certified gold in just two months. Wu Tang, on the 295 00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:53,880 Speaker 1: other hand, wasn't so fast out of the gate. Where 296 00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:56,720 Speaker 1: Midnight Marauders was hooky and lean and to the Wu 297 00:17:56,840 --> 00:18:01,240 Speaker 1: Tang was dense, It was grimy, murky, cross stitch of 298 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:05,840 Speaker 1: kung fu samples, coded language, altered egos, and pop culture references. 299 00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:09,680 Speaker 1: It wasn't gangster rap, and it wasn't conscious rap, and 300 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:12,960 Speaker 1: it wasn't party rap. It was its own thing. It 301 00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:16,280 Speaker 1: made listeners work, and though many of those listeners put 302 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:19,359 Speaker 1: down their hard earned cash for a copy, thirty thousand 303 00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:22,480 Speaker 1: units sold in the first week alone, the album peaked 304 00:18:22,640 --> 00:18:25,639 Speaker 1: only number forty one on the Billboard two hundred, not 305 00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:28,400 Speaker 1: even close to the number one spot Rizza had promised 306 00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:31,000 Speaker 1: to the rest of the clan. But in his defense, 307 00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:34,159 Speaker 1: it was a five year plan and five years had 308 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:37,960 Speaker 1: yet to pass since he'd made that promise. Anyway, word 309 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:40,719 Speaker 1: began to build. The clan put in the work. They 310 00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:45,040 Speaker 1: performed raucous live shows, They hit the road, and they 311 00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:47,800 Speaker 1: brought the Ruckus to major markets far beyond New York. 312 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:52,359 Speaker 1: They were both dead serious and absolute gestures, a transgressive 313 00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:55,280 Speaker 1: collective of creative thinkers who wormed their way into the 314 00:18:55,359 --> 00:18:59,520 Speaker 1: hip hop world and exploded it from within. By January 315 00:18:59,560 --> 00:19:02,280 Speaker 1: of nineteen ninety five, a little over a year later, 316 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:05,240 Speaker 1: when both The Tribe and Wu Tang albums were certified 317 00:19:05,240 --> 00:19:09,359 Speaker 1: platinum enter the Wu Tang had actually surpassed Midnight Marauders 318 00:19:09,359 --> 00:19:13,440 Speaker 1: in total sales. That's when the Rizza's master plan really 319 00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:17,080 Speaker 1: kicked in. The plan wasn't just to make that big explosion, 320 00:19:17,119 --> 00:19:20,159 Speaker 1: but to capitalize off the shrapnew that came from the 321 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:21,080 Speaker 1: big Bang. 322 00:19:21,480 --> 00:19:24,960 Speaker 2: The solo albums. The free Agent side deals. 323 00:19:25,119 --> 00:19:27,800 Speaker 1: The part of that initial record contract with Loud, granting 324 00:19:27,840 --> 00:19:29,800 Speaker 1: each member of the group the freedom to make his 325 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:33,160 Speaker 1: own records with other record labels, and the more labels 326 00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:36,560 Speaker 1: Wu Tang could infiltrate, the better, because if nine different 327 00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:39,040 Speaker 1: labels are promoting nine artists who happened to be in 328 00:19:39,119 --> 00:19:43,320 Speaker 1: Wu Tang clan. Ultimately, those nine labels are all promoting 329 00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:47,600 Speaker 1: Wu Tang clan. Saturate the market with Wu. Increase your 330 00:19:47,680 --> 00:19:50,639 Speaker 1: chances of making it to number one, make that money. 331 00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:53,760 Speaker 1: Riza and Wu Tang Productions did just that. 332 00:19:54,400 --> 00:19:54,960 Speaker 2: Riza Inc. 333 00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:57,280 Speaker 1: Deals with most of the guys in the group a 334 00:19:57,320 --> 00:19:59,399 Speaker 1: fifty to fifty split on their solo earning so that 335 00:19:59,440 --> 00:20:02,760 Speaker 1: they could use the Wu Tang name and all the 336 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:06,040 Speaker 1: way Back in early nineteen ninety three months before Into 337 00:20:06,080 --> 00:20:09,080 Speaker 1: the Wu Tang was even released, back when Protected Neck 338 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:11,400 Speaker 1: was the only official release they had on the market, 339 00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:15,240 Speaker 1: three members of Wu Tang signed solo deals. Jiz was 340 00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:18,119 Speaker 1: picked up by Geffen Records, Old Dirty Bastard went with 341 00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:22,080 Speaker 1: Electra Records, a Method Man signed with def Jam. Meth's 342 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:25,199 Speaker 1: deal was the one that really stood out. At just 343 00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:27,879 Speaker 1: twenty three years old, the youngest member of the group, 344 00:20:28,320 --> 00:20:31,520 Speaker 1: Meth signed for one hundred and eighty thousand dollars. One 345 00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:35,240 Speaker 1: hundred and eighty thousand dollars was three times what Loud 346 00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:38,919 Speaker 1: Records paid for the entire Wu Tang clan. In nineteen 347 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:43,280 Speaker 1: ninety four, Meth released Tikau, the first solo album by 348 00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:46,199 Speaker 1: a Wu Tang member. Mes record deals. The success of 349 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:49,000 Speaker 1: his album and the success of Wu Tang's album was 350 00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:51,800 Speaker 1: a testament not just to Rizza's plan, but to the 351 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:55,120 Speaker 1: hard work they all were putting into the process. Their 352 00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:59,280 Speaker 1: reality was changing, but the more reality changed, the more 353 00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:02,399 Speaker 1: it stayed the same. Just as Meth was celebrating his 354 00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:06,080 Speaker 1: own triumphs, tragedy struck back home on Staten Island. 355 00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:12,679 Speaker 2: We're living, ever one to wait and not to draw. 356 00:21:12,560 --> 00:21:15,560 Speaker 1: Any conclusions here, and to remain calm. This is being 357 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:19,000 Speaker 1: fully investigated by the police department, by the District Attorney's office. 358 00:21:19,359 --> 00:21:21,600 Speaker 1: We've been through situations like this in our city before, 359 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:23,880 Speaker 1: or what appears one way it first turns. 360 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:25,359 Speaker 2: Out to be another way a little bit later. 361 00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:27,760 Speaker 1: So it would be a shame if anybody jumped the 362 00:21:27,800 --> 00:21:30,119 Speaker 1: conclusions here before at least there was an opportunity to 363 00:21:30,119 --> 00:21:34,840 Speaker 1: have a full and complete investigation. April twenty nine, nineteen 364 00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:38,280 Speaker 1: ninety four, No one on Staten Island wanted to hear 365 00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:41,160 Speaker 1: what Rudy Giuliani had to say that night, But Giuliani 366 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:44,439 Speaker 1: was talking all the same live on the radio, doubting 367 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:47,600 Speaker 1: the truth, doubting what had happened just hours earlier on 368 00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:51,440 Speaker 1: park Hill Avenue, as if the neighborhood suffered a mass hallucination. 369 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:57,239 Speaker 1: But they did see it. They watched cops kill one 370 00:21:57,280 --> 00:22:01,040 Speaker 1: of the neighborhood's own NYPD o the life right out 371 00:22:01,040 --> 00:22:05,000 Speaker 1: of them in the open. It was early evening, daylight 372 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:07,720 Speaker 1: escaping like the final breaths of the dead man on 373 00:22:07,760 --> 00:22:12,480 Speaker 1: the pavement. And now here was Giuliani on air talking 374 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:17,680 Speaker 1: down to them, patronizing them the same old shit. Ever 375 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:20,120 Speaker 1: since Guliani had been sworn in as New York's mayor 376 00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:23,080 Speaker 1: back in January, things had gotten worse for park Hill. 377 00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:26,760 Speaker 1: The cops got real cozy and one hundred and twentieth 378 00:22:26,760 --> 00:22:31,600 Speaker 1: Precinct in their special Narcotics Emergency Unit, harassing kids for loitering, 379 00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:35,240 Speaker 1: humiliating kids by pulling down their pants to check for drugs. 380 00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:38,920 Speaker 1: And the only thing the increased NYPD drug sweeps did 381 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:41,639 Speaker 1: was make a tenuous relationship between the community and law 382 00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:47,399 Speaker 1: enforcement even worse. And now case was dead Ernest Saion 383 00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:52,440 Speaker 1: aka case twenty two years old, walking up park Hill 384 00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:56,280 Speaker 1: Avenue when the cherry bombs started going off. Someone was 385 00:22:56,440 --> 00:23:00,399 Speaker 1: tossing them, no doubt, trying to fuck with the police case. 386 00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:04,399 Speaker 1: But there he was, just walking in plain sight. The 387 00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:06,560 Speaker 1: cops took a look at him, the CoP's new case. 388 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:09,080 Speaker 1: He had his fair share of brushes with a lot. 389 00:23:09,880 --> 00:23:12,320 Speaker 1: The cops were probably thinking about that as they watched 390 00:23:12,359 --> 00:23:16,320 Speaker 1: him walk. Eyewitness accounts vary as to what happened next. 391 00:23:16,960 --> 00:23:19,880 Speaker 1: Some say that Case did nothing to provoke the attack. 392 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:23,200 Speaker 1: Then he didn't resist. That a cough walked up right 393 00:23:23,200 --> 00:23:25,359 Speaker 1: behind him hit Case in the back of the head 394 00:23:25,359 --> 00:23:28,600 Speaker 1: with the butt of his pistol. The Case staggered, grabbed 395 00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:30,840 Speaker 1: hold of a nearby sycamore tree until the cop hit 396 00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:33,560 Speaker 1: him again and knocked him unconscious, And that the cop 397 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:35,840 Speaker 1: dragged him by his hoodie until his pants came off. 398 00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:39,240 Speaker 1: But what did happen was a Case wound up face 399 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:42,800 Speaker 1: down on the ground, pants around his ankles, hands cuffed 400 00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:46,040 Speaker 1: behind his back, three quarter inch gash bleeding. 401 00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:46,800 Speaker 2: From the back of his head. 402 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:50,439 Speaker 1: One cop with his knee on Case's back, another with 403 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:52,120 Speaker 1: his elbow behind Case's neck. 404 00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:56,000 Speaker 2: Case struggled to breathe, He choked and gasped for air. 405 00:23:56,480 --> 00:23:58,199 Speaker 1: Then the knee on his back and the elbow on 406 00:23:58,240 --> 00:24:00,919 Speaker 1: his neck felt like a thousand pounds, very down and 407 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:04,879 Speaker 1: squeezing the life right out of his body. An hour later, 408 00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:08,200 Speaker 1: Ernest case Sayon was taken to a nearby hospital, where 409 00:24:08,240 --> 00:24:12,560 Speaker 1: he was pronounced dead. Official cause of death quote asphyxia 410 00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:15,679 Speaker 1: by compression of the chest and neck while rear handcuffed 411 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:20,240 Speaker 1: and prone on the ground unquote. Some news reports labeled 412 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:23,520 Speaker 1: Case a drug suspect. Police at the scene claim that 413 00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:27,160 Speaker 1: contrary to those eyewitness reports, Case ran when they tried 414 00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:29,399 Speaker 1: to question a group of men, and then he lifted 415 00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:32,120 Speaker 1: one officer in the air and threw another against defence, 416 00:24:32,480 --> 00:24:35,240 Speaker 1: and then he was quote a very dangerous man in 417 00:24:35,280 --> 00:24:39,800 Speaker 1: a very dangerous situation unquote. Three of those officers caught 418 00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:44,320 Speaker 1: death duty pending an investigation, and the community rallied, and 419 00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:46,840 Speaker 1: they weren't going to be quiet. They weren't going to 420 00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:49,800 Speaker 1: let Rudy Giuliani tell them how to feel. Hundreds of 421 00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:53,200 Speaker 1: park Hill residents march to Borrow Hall, candles in hand, 422 00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:55,280 Speaker 1: and where they looked the NYPD in. 423 00:24:55,240 --> 00:24:58,639 Speaker 2: The eye, called them as they saw them, murderers. 424 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:03,959 Speaker 1: On the very same day as Ernest case Seon's murder, 425 00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:06,240 Speaker 1: all the way on the other side of the country 426 00:25:06,560 --> 00:25:10,680 Speaker 1: in San Francisco, method Man Ray Kuon and ghost Face 427 00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:14,560 Speaker 1: Killa found themselves in the same prone physician on the ground, 428 00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:17,919 Speaker 1: faced down, handcuffed, police. 429 00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:18,760 Speaker 2: Boots on their backs. 430 00:25:20,359 --> 00:25:24,719 Speaker 1: Unlike Case, they were lucky released after forty five minutes 431 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:28,920 Speaker 1: their detainment chalked up to mistaken identity. But to Meth 432 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:31,199 Speaker 1: and the guys, just because they were members of the 433 00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:34,000 Speaker 1: Wu Tang clan didn't make them different from guys like Case, 434 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:36,879 Speaker 1: Case could have been any of them, because when it 435 00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:39,480 Speaker 1: came down to it, where they're back on Staten Island 436 00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:41,640 Speaker 1: or out on the West Coast, then they were all 437 00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:46,440 Speaker 1: the same. Not artists, not musicians, not hip hop stars, 438 00:25:46,880 --> 00:25:50,879 Speaker 1: not trailblazers, breaking the mold and making history. All of 439 00:25:50,920 --> 00:26:19,760 Speaker 1: that came second, first, and foremost. They were all one thing, targets. 440 00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:31,520 Speaker 1: March nineteen ninety seven, Los Angeles, California. The dude wearing 441 00:26:31,560 --> 00:26:35,120 Speaker 1: the blue bandana was paying tribute like the capos who 442 00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:37,480 Speaker 1: walk into Michael Corleone's office at the end of The 443 00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:41,840 Speaker 1: First Godfather, only they weren't in an office. They were 444 00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:45,880 Speaker 1: inside a packed house of blues. Yo Man, you Wu 445 00:26:45,920 --> 00:26:49,920 Speaker 1: Tan motherfuckers are the realist. Method Man had no allegiance 446 00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:52,720 Speaker 1: to the Crips, or to any West Coast gang for 447 00:26:52,800 --> 00:26:56,159 Speaker 1: that matter, but he accepted the compliment I mean the 448 00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:58,840 Speaker 1: dude at a point, Wu Tang clan ain't nothing to 449 00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:02,080 Speaker 1: fuck with, and those other New York dudes ran like bitches, 450 00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:07,160 Speaker 1: the cript continued, Not you guys. Also true, Meth wasn't 451 00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:10,159 Speaker 1: about to call nas and mob deep little bitches, but 452 00:27:10,280 --> 00:27:12,160 Speaker 1: they did be feet back to New York. 453 00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:13,400 Speaker 2: After the shit went down. 454 00:27:13,600 --> 00:27:16,119 Speaker 1: After Biggie Small's took five bullets to the chest and 455 00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:20,000 Speaker 1: abdomen at the corner of Wiltshire and South Fairfax, guys scattered. 456 00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:22,520 Speaker 1: After that, the East Coast crews who have been hanging 457 00:27:22,520 --> 00:27:25,600 Speaker 1: out west for the Soul Train Awards suddenly caught that 458 00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:28,720 Speaker 1: New York state of mind, but not Maths and not 459 00:27:28,880 --> 00:27:32,520 Speaker 1: Wu Tang. As far as Wu Tang saw it, there 460 00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:35,600 Speaker 1: was no East Coast West Coast beef, just like Rizzi 461 00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:38,600 Speaker 1: did and see beef between park Hill and Stapleton projects 462 00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:42,200 Speaker 1: back on Staten Island, it was all love. They knew 463 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:44,119 Speaker 1: that Biggie's motive to be on the cover of Vibe 464 00:27:44,119 --> 00:27:47,119 Speaker 1: magazine the year prior wasn't to promote some bullshit beef. 465 00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:49,360 Speaker 2: Biggie just wanted to be. 466 00:27:49,160 --> 00:27:52,119 Speaker 1: On the cover of Vive, period, and he made it 467 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:55,320 Speaker 1: on the front of the biggest hip hop publication in 468 00:27:55,359 --> 00:27:58,800 Speaker 1: the world. His man Puffy standing behind him. But there 469 00:27:58,840 --> 00:28:02,359 Speaker 1: was a catch. The words East versus West were printed 470 00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:04,480 Speaker 1: in a bold font to the left of his mug. 471 00:28:05,840 --> 00:28:10,560 Speaker 1: It was all propaganda, media, hype, narrative to sell magazines. 472 00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:14,240 Speaker 1: Too many people took the East West thing seriously, believed 473 00:28:14,280 --> 00:28:18,080 Speaker 1: it was actually a thing. This was the actual thing. 474 00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:21,600 Speaker 1: Either you were cool or you weren't cool. It didn't 475 00:28:21,600 --> 00:28:23,919 Speaker 1: matter what part of the country you lived in. So 476 00:28:24,040 --> 00:28:26,760 Speaker 1: in early nineteen ninety seven, when it came time for 477 00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:29,960 Speaker 1: The Klan to reconvene and record their second album, the 478 00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:32,360 Speaker 1: follow up to the now platinum selling enter The Wu 479 00:28:32,480 --> 00:28:35,960 Speaker 1: Tang thirty six Chambers, they didn't think twice about making 480 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:38,440 Speaker 1: the record in Los Angeles, and there were too many 481 00:28:38,480 --> 00:28:41,160 Speaker 1: distractions at home in New York. There is a book 482 00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:44,040 Speaker 1: time at a studio in North Hollywood, LA was going 483 00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:49,040 Speaker 1: to be about focus work and the occasional party like 484 00:28:49,160 --> 00:28:51,320 Speaker 1: Vibe magazine Soul Train after party. 485 00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:53,080 Speaker 2: The evening of March. 486 00:28:52,880 --> 00:28:57,520 Speaker 1: Eighth, everyone was there, Wesley Snipes, who in Houston Shack 487 00:28:58,200 --> 00:29:00,239 Speaker 1: Biggie's new album was about to drop. In his new 488 00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:03,360 Speaker 1: single Hypnotized Got Bodies Moving. It was a night to 489 00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:06,880 Speaker 1: remember hours later. It was a night to remember for 490 00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:11,600 Speaker 1: all the wrong reasons, because hours later Biggie Smalls was dead. 491 00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:15,120 Speaker 1: It was a tragedy, not just the murder of the 492 00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:20,280 Speaker 1: notorious Big the media circus that helped to inspire the 493 00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:23,480 Speaker 1: media wasn't happy until they tasted blood, and now there 494 00:29:23,640 --> 00:29:27,520 Speaker 1: was blood was all over their hands. Vibe Magazines should 495 00:29:27,520 --> 00:29:33,080 Speaker 1: have taken a bullet, not Biggie Smalls. Inside the House 496 00:29:33,120 --> 00:29:35,680 Speaker 1: of Blues, Meth watched the cryp pull a pistol from 497 00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:38,600 Speaker 1: his pocket. He took Meth's hand and pressed the heater 498 00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:41,960 Speaker 1: in his palm. Go ahead, take it, he said, you're 499 00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:45,240 Speaker 1: gonna need it now, man, Meth said, trying to hand 500 00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:45,800 Speaker 1: the gun back. 501 00:29:46,320 --> 00:29:46,840 Speaker 2: I'm good. 502 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:51,600 Speaker 1: The crip was insistent, and Meth looked around. The House 503 00:29:51,600 --> 00:29:54,479 Speaker 1: of Blues was packed. He quickly lost count of how 504 00:29:54,480 --> 00:29:57,040 Speaker 1: many pairs of eyes were on And maybe they weren't 505 00:29:57,080 --> 00:29:59,000 Speaker 1: all looking at him, but it felt like it. The 506 00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:01,840 Speaker 1: dudes rocking blue colors and the girls hoping to get 507 00:30:01,880 --> 00:30:04,960 Speaker 1: up close and personal to a hip hop star. Silverspoon 508 00:30:05,160 --> 00:30:07,959 Speaker 1: La Brats want to be MC's. And then there were 509 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:10,959 Speaker 1: the others, the ones who looked like they didn't quite belong. 510 00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:15,320 Speaker 1: They were there, and then they were gone. A morphous faces, 511 00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:19,240 Speaker 1: lack of affect, oblivious to the party raging all around them, 512 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:22,520 Speaker 1: focus solely on you, and they kept their distance, but 513 00:30:22,920 --> 00:30:25,600 Speaker 1: they kept their eyes on you too, eyes that were 514 00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:28,640 Speaker 1: hidden behind ray bands. As soon as you made one 515 00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:33,000 Speaker 1: of those guys, they disappeared like they'd never been there 516 00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:35,800 Speaker 1: in the first place, like your brain made them up. 517 00:30:36,440 --> 00:30:38,120 Speaker 1: It was hard not to think about what had just 518 00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:40,720 Speaker 1: happened to Biggie and wonder if these people were here 519 00:30:40,760 --> 00:30:44,160 Speaker 1: watching you with more intent and more scrutiny. Because of 520 00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:47,920 Speaker 1: what had happened, It was also easy to assume that 521 00:30:47,960 --> 00:30:51,400 Speaker 1: it would only get worse. The Crypt pushed the gun 522 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:52,480 Speaker 1: back into Meth's hand. 523 00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:53,440 Speaker 2: Take it. 524 00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:57,320 Speaker 1: He wasn't asking. Meth shook his head. He needed the 525 00:30:57,360 --> 00:31:01,040 Speaker 1: Crypt to understand. He appreciated the off for the gesture, 526 00:31:01,600 --> 00:31:05,160 Speaker 1: but he didn't want a gun, not now, not ever, 527 00:31:06,560 --> 00:31:08,680 Speaker 1: and not Everyone in Wu Tang felt the same way. 528 00:31:09,200 --> 00:31:12,840 Speaker 1: Like method Man, Ghosts, Face Killa knew that they were targets, 529 00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:16,440 Speaker 1: that their lives were always in danger and always would 530 00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:19,160 Speaker 1: be in danger, no matter how rich or how famous 531 00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:21,800 Speaker 1: they became, or how far their past lives in the 532 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:25,080 Speaker 1: streets were behind them. Protect your neck wasn't just a 533 00:31:25,080 --> 00:31:29,480 Speaker 1: buzzworthy line, it was a mantra. If ghosts carried a piece, 534 00:31:29,880 --> 00:31:33,120 Speaker 1: That's what it was. For protection. There were guys who 535 00:31:33,120 --> 00:31:35,719 Speaker 1: wanted what you had it would do anything to take it. 536 00:31:36,320 --> 00:31:39,160 Speaker 1: Dudes who loved Wu Tang but who would still jump 537 00:31:39,280 --> 00:31:41,640 Speaker 1: any member of the group and rob their ask given 538 00:31:41,680 --> 00:31:44,440 Speaker 1: the chance. And then there were the guys with grudges, 539 00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:48,400 Speaker 1: grudges held over from wayback. The past is never dead, 540 00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:52,760 Speaker 1: It's only sleeping. And later that same year, in nineteen 541 00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:58,080 Speaker 1: ninety seven, the past woke up and hit back Stupenville, Ohio, 542 00:31:58,200 --> 00:32:00,680 Speaker 1: the town where Rizza took the stand for tempted murder, 543 00:32:01,080 --> 00:32:04,160 Speaker 1: where ghost took a bullet, and now the town where 544 00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:07,480 Speaker 1: another man's body was bleeding out on the sidewalk, shot 545 00:32:07,560 --> 00:32:10,880 Speaker 1: dead with a gun, a gun that, according to the 546 00:32:10,920 --> 00:32:14,800 Speaker 1: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, was provided by a 547 00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:17,560 Speaker 1: group of gun runners that went by the name Wu 548 00:32:17,640 --> 00:32:23,400 Speaker 1: Tang Clan. I'm Jake Brennan in this episode of Disgraceland 549 00:32:24,040 --> 00:32:40,600 Speaker 1: is to be continued. Disgraceland was created by Yours Truly 550 00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:43,800 Speaker 1: and is produced in partnership with Double Elvis credits for 551 00:32:43,840 --> 00:32:46,200 Speaker 1: this episode can be found on the show notes page 552 00:32:46,200 --> 00:32:48,440 Speaker 1: at disgracelampod dot com. 553 00:32:48,520 --> 00:32:49,480 Speaker 2: If you're listening as a. 554 00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:52,680 Speaker 1: Disgraceland All Access member, thank you for supporting the show. 555 00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:55,440 Speaker 1: We really appreciate it, and if not, you can become 556 00:32:55,480 --> 00:32:58,880 Speaker 1: a member right now by going to disgracelamppod dot com 557 00:32:58,880 --> 00:33:03,240 Speaker 1: Slash Membership. 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