1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:21,080 Speaker 1: Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis. The stories about 2 00:00:21,079 --> 00:00:26,200 Speaker 1: Wu Tang Clan's mast Killa are insane. He grew up 3 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:29,800 Speaker 1: in a city shaped and run by organized crime, a 4 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:33,320 Speaker 1: city where the most powerful underworld boss could be gunned 5 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:35,640 Speaker 1: down on a busy street in the middle of the day. 6 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:41,120 Speaker 1: But despite his menacing stage name, Masta Killa was not 7 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:46,519 Speaker 1: a killer. He was, however, a master, a master of 8 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:51,240 Speaker 1: subtlety and of life. Lived discreetly. He kept his family 9 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 1: history and his relationship to soul legend Marvin Gay a 10 00:00:54,960 --> 00:00:59,280 Speaker 1: secret for decades. When drug dealers and gang members flipped 11 00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:01,800 Speaker 1: for the Feds and spilled dirt on Wu Tang Clan, 12 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:05,240 Speaker 1: mass Ta Killa's name was kept out of their testimony. 13 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:09,240 Speaker 1: When a music journalist accused him of assault, he denied it, 14 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:13,520 Speaker 1: but no one could deny the great music that Mastakilla 15 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:17,440 Speaker 1: made in a group full of big personalities and even 16 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:23,319 Speaker 1: bigger egos, he became unexpectedly one of the greatest. Unlike 17 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:25,120 Speaker 1: that clip I played for you at the top of 18 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:29,479 Speaker 1: the show. That wasn't great music. That was a preset 19 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:36,200 Speaker 1: loop from my melotron called Sache Downstairs MK two. I 20 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:39,319 Speaker 1: played you that clip because I can't afford the rights 21 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:43,319 Speaker 1: to burn by Usher, And why would I play you 22 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:47,560 Speaker 1: that specific slice of pool on fire Cheese? Could I 23 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:51,840 Speaker 1: afford it? Because that was the number one song in 24 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:56,000 Speaker 1: America on June one, two thousand and four, and that 25 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:58,920 Speaker 1: was the day that mas Ta Killa released his long 26 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:02,800 Speaker 1: awaited solo Dates album, more than a decade after Wu 27 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:06,880 Speaker 1: Tang's debut, and just one month before the FBI took 28 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:10,560 Speaker 1: their investigation of the group into an entirely new direction. 29 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:17,799 Speaker 1: On this episode, new directions, a menacing stage name, organized 30 00:02:17,919 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 1: crime gang members assault and Wu Tang clans Master Killa, 31 00:02:24,160 --> 00:03:00,640 Speaker 1: I'm Jake Brennan, and this this disgraceland. Paul Castelano, acting 32 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:03,760 Speaker 1: boss of the Gambido Family, one of the original five 33 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:09,079 Speaker 1: families of the Italian American mafia aka LaCOSA Nostra, lived 34 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:12,480 Speaker 1: on Staten Island in a ten thousand square foot mansion 35 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:17,640 Speaker 1: that the locals called the White House. Specifically, the White 36 00:03:17,639 --> 00:03:20,799 Speaker 1: House was located on Benedict Road in a neighborhood known 37 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:26,200 Speaker 1: as Tote Hill. Tote Hill was exclusive, Tote Hill was expensive. 38 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:31,920 Speaker 1: Tote Hill was elevated, literally at four hundred feet. It 39 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:34,679 Speaker 1: was not only the highest point in all five borrows. 40 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:38,280 Speaker 1: Tote Hill was the highest point on the entire eastern 41 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:42,000 Speaker 1: coast south of the state of Maine. This was the 42 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:45,960 Speaker 1: other Staten Island, Though it was only a ten minute 43 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:49,600 Speaker 1: drive from the projects in park Hill or Stapleton. Tote 44 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:53,440 Speaker 1: Hill may as well have been in another universe, but 45 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:57,160 Speaker 1: for kids from those nearby projects, it was a universe 46 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:00,760 Speaker 1: that was theoretically attainable. You could see see it with 47 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:03,040 Speaker 1: your own eyes, you could walk through it, you could 48 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:05,840 Speaker 1: touch it and smell it. You could even imagine yourself 49 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:10,480 Speaker 1: sitting in the White House. And why not. Paul Castellano 50 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:14,360 Speaker 1: wasn't all that different from you. He was just another hustler, 51 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:18,240 Speaker 1: another disciple of the streets, some wise ass punk from 52 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:20,640 Speaker 1: benson Hurst who dropped out of the eighth grade and 53 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:23,719 Speaker 1: learned the numbers racket, a kid who went to prison 54 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:27,880 Speaker 1: at age nineteen for armed robbery, and now look at him, 55 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:33,520 Speaker 1: elevated up in toot Hill. As far back as any 56 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:36,520 Speaker 1: Staten Island kids struggling with no money and no prospects 57 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:41,120 Speaker 1: can remember, they always wanted to be Paul Castellano. And 58 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:45,080 Speaker 1: I'm not even talking specifically about organized crime here. I'm 59 00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:48,160 Speaker 1: talking about the ability to visualize a future for yourself 60 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:50,280 Speaker 1: that isn't one that has been assigned to you by 61 00:04:50,279 --> 00:04:55,560 Speaker 1: the rigid confines of society. I'm talking about subverting expectations, 62 00:04:56,160 --> 00:05:02,120 Speaker 1: about changing your reality, about becoming somebody new. Paul Castellano 63 00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:06,919 Speaker 1: was not just the boss. He was a boss, and 64 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:10,719 Speaker 1: his story was an inspiration to many growing up in 65 00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:15,000 Speaker 1: the so called Forgotten Borrow. But not everyone shared a 66 00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:19,800 Speaker 1: romanticized view of Paul Castellano. Some within the Gambino family 67 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:22,039 Speaker 1: didn't think he deserved to be at the head of 68 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:26,800 Speaker 1: the table. Annili O'neo Dellacroach, for one, was offended when 69 00:05:26,839 --> 00:05:30,760 Speaker 1: Castellano was appointed boss following the death of longtime patriarch 70 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:34,640 Speaker 1: Carlo Gambino some nine years prior in nineteen seventy six. 71 00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:38,360 Speaker 1: It split the family right down the middle, and so 72 00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:41,040 Speaker 1: did the trial that was currently taking place in Federal 73 00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:45,600 Speaker 1: District Court. Castellano and nine others were accused of conspiring 74 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:47,839 Speaker 1: to commit murders in order to cover up a car 75 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:52,000 Speaker 1: theft ring. The riff got wider when Delacroach died in 76 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:55,760 Speaker 1: eighty five. Castellano didn't even show up to pay his 77 00:05:55,839 --> 00:05:59,560 Speaker 1: respects at the guy's wake, and then Castellano had the 78 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:03,840 Speaker 1: balls to appoint his own bodyguard, Thomas Bolotti, as underboss, 79 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:07,320 Speaker 1: and that was enough for those on Dela Coach's side 80 00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:11,800 Speaker 1: to finally take matters into their own hands, including a 81 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:20,760 Speaker 1: young capo named John Gottie. December sixteenth, nineteen eighty five, Midtown, Manhattan, 82 00:06:21,120 --> 00:06:25,279 Speaker 1: five twenty six pm, foot traffic on East forty sixth 83 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:29,440 Speaker 1: was dense. New York City was in the holiday spirit, 84 00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:33,360 Speaker 1: which is to say it was chaos. Nine to fivers 85 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:36,800 Speaker 1: scrambled to catch the train. Their speedy efforts were thwarted 86 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:39,760 Speaker 1: by hordes of tourists walking at a frustratingly slow pace, 87 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:43,840 Speaker 1: shopping bags dangling from their hands, and Christmas lights reflecting 88 00:06:43,839 --> 00:06:47,240 Speaker 1: in their eyes. In the midst of this commotion, a 89 00:06:47,320 --> 00:06:50,440 Speaker 1: black Lincoln limousine pulled up in front of Sparks Steakhouse 90 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:54,719 Speaker 1: in Part. Paul Castellano, seventy years old and free on 91 00:06:54,839 --> 00:06:58,159 Speaker 1: two million dollars bail, stepped out of the passenger side 92 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:03,040 Speaker 1: in a sharp blue suit. His bodyguard turned underboss, Thomas Bolotti's, 93 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:06,440 Speaker 1: stepped from the driver's side. Out of the bustling crowd, 94 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:10,240 Speaker 1: three men emerged. They wore trench coats. They walked with 95 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:15,080 Speaker 1: purpose in Castellano's direction. The street noise muffled their footsteps 96 00:07:15,080 --> 00:07:19,160 Speaker 1: and the cover of darkness cloaked their intent. As they approached, 97 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:23,680 Speaker 1: their stride quickly turned into a sprint. Castellano and Ballotti 98 00:07:23,720 --> 00:07:26,960 Speaker 1: saw them and knew what was coming. They were wise guys, 99 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:31,240 Speaker 1: not wise men. They weren't carrying gold, frankencense and myrrh, 100 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:34,480 Speaker 1: and they pulled out semi automatic pistols from deep inside 101 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:37,600 Speaker 1: their coats, and there was no time for Castellano to 102 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:40,280 Speaker 1: get back in the car or take cover. He braced 103 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:44,800 Speaker 1: for the worse, and the three men opened fire. Shots 104 00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:48,880 Speaker 1: rang out. The pedestrians screamed and ducked for cover. Ballotti 105 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:51,680 Speaker 1: was hit six times and he fell to the pavement 106 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:55,720 Speaker 1: on his back, bleeding from a head wound, dead, and 107 00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:58,600 Speaker 1: the car keys were just inches from his outstretched and 108 00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:02,560 Speaker 1: lifeless hand. Castellano meanwhile took a spray of bullets to 109 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:05,320 Speaker 1: the head and upper body. He fell backwards into the 110 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:08,200 Speaker 1: Lincoln through the open door, and one of the assassins 111 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:11,360 Speaker 1: pointed his pistol point blank at Castellano and fired again, 112 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:15,160 Speaker 1: killing him. Castellano's head falling onto the limos seat as 113 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:18,680 Speaker 1: his legs and feet went limp on the ground. Then 114 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:22,160 Speaker 1: the three men ran down east forty six to Second Avenue, 115 00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:25,680 Speaker 1: passed dozens of strangers, all trying to look and not 116 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:28,520 Speaker 1: look at the same time. Where a car was idling 117 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:32,400 Speaker 1: waiting for them. They jumped inside it and within seconds 118 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:39,320 Speaker 1: they were gone. John Gotti was no one's disciple. He 119 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:42,920 Speaker 1: was a wild card, a loose cannon. He took control 120 00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:46,720 Speaker 1: of the Gambino family the old fashioned way by assassinating 121 00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:50,920 Speaker 1: the boss, and the whole thing was operatic. Then it 122 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:56,200 Speaker 1: had operatic themes like power, loyalty, brotherhood, and betrayal, the 123 00:08:56,240 --> 00:08:58,760 Speaker 1: same themes that could be found in the Kung Fu 124 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:00,840 Speaker 1: movies that were near and deer to the Rizz's heart 125 00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:03,880 Speaker 1: and served as building blocks for his hip hop collective 126 00:09:03,920 --> 00:09:07,680 Speaker 1: Wu Tang Clan. And just like Kung Fu cinema, the 127 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:10,760 Speaker 1: trials and tribulations of the New York mafia were constant 128 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:14,920 Speaker 1: in Wu Tang's world. It was unavoidable, the violence, the corruption. 129 00:09:15,600 --> 00:09:18,040 Speaker 1: It ran through New York City streets like blood through 130 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:23,040 Speaker 1: an artery, and it burrowed deep into their imaginations. Years later, 131 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:26,040 Speaker 1: when Wu Tang wanted to get into that mafioso frame 132 00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:28,080 Speaker 1: of mind like they did on a track called Wu 133 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:31,720 Speaker 1: Gambinos from Ray Kwan's Only Built for Cuban Linx album. 134 00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:36,240 Speaker 1: They did it not literally, but with their imagination. They 135 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:39,280 Speaker 1: did it with a new layer of alter egos. Ghils 136 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:43,480 Speaker 1: Face Killa became Tony Stark's Ray Kwang was Lex Diamond 137 00:09:43,640 --> 00:09:47,880 Speaker 1: aka Lou Diamond Inspected, the deck was Roley Fingers, and 138 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:52,160 Speaker 1: the rizza was Bobby Steeles. You God became Golden Arms. 139 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:57,040 Speaker 1: An Elgin Turner aka Jimiel La Reef, the man the 140 00:09:57,040 --> 00:10:02,800 Speaker 1: world knew as Masta Killa was called Noodles, Noodles being 141 00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:06,040 Speaker 1: the name of Robert de Niro's character in Sergio Leoni's 142 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:09,679 Speaker 1: gangster epic Once upon a Time in America, which just 143 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:13,120 Speaker 1: so happened to be a Wu Tang certified cult classic. 144 00:10:14,160 --> 00:10:18,480 Speaker 1: But Young Master Killa aka Young Elgin here was no gangster. 145 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:24,000 Speaker 1: Unlike John Gotti, Master Killa wasn't an actual killer. Also, 146 00:10:24,280 --> 00:10:29,240 Speaker 1: unlike John Gotti, Masta Killa was a disciple. He was 147 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:32,080 Speaker 1: the last to join the clan. He wasn't even an MC, 148 00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:34,600 Speaker 1: but he wanted to be one. He wanted to be 149 00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:38,040 Speaker 1: an assassin on the mic. More than that, he wanted 150 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:40,360 Speaker 1: to live in the elevated world, the one he could 151 00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:45,600 Speaker 1: see here taste an elevated world of body, mind and spirit. 152 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:48,880 Speaker 1: Masta Killa sat at the feet of Wu Tang clan, 153 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:53,880 Speaker 1: a disciple ready to be molded, and asked them make 154 00:10:54,000 --> 00:11:19,160 Speaker 1: me invincible. The name master Killer comes from the nineteen 155 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:22,480 Speaker 1: seventy eight kung fu film The thirty Sixth Chamber of 156 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:26,880 Speaker 1: Shao Lin, also known as The Master Killer or Shaolin 157 00:11:27,040 --> 00:11:31,480 Speaker 1: Master Killer. In that film, legendary martial arts actor Gordon 158 00:11:31,559 --> 00:11:35,120 Speaker 1: Lou plays a student who seeks revenge against an oppressive 159 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:38,960 Speaker 1: government that squashed an uprising at his school and murdered 160 00:11:38,960 --> 00:11:42,880 Speaker 1: his friends and family. But before he gets his revenge, 161 00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:46,400 Speaker 1: he must train. So the student goes to the Shaolin 162 00:11:46,559 --> 00:11:50,000 Speaker 1: Temple to learn kung fu, and in doing so, works 163 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:52,960 Speaker 1: his way through all thirty five of the temple's chambers. 164 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:59,160 Speaker 1: Each chamber focuses on a different strength arms, wrists, broadsword, techniques, 165 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:03,640 Speaker 1: balance I, and so on. Spoiler alert. The student aces 166 00:12:03,640 --> 00:12:06,400 Speaker 1: all thirty five chambers and then proclaims that he wants 167 00:12:06,480 --> 00:12:10,640 Speaker 1: to create a thirty sixth Chamber, a chamber where ordinary 168 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:13,640 Speaker 1: people just like him can learn kung fu in order 169 00:12:13,679 --> 00:12:17,400 Speaker 1: to defend themselves against their evil oppressors, and by giving 170 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:19,320 Speaker 1: the people the skills and the power they need to 171 00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:24,280 Speaker 1: stand up for themselves, the student's vengeance pays dividends. The 172 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:27,360 Speaker 1: thirty six Chamber of Chao Lin is one of many 173 00:12:27,440 --> 00:12:30,920 Speaker 1: Kung fu films to inform Wu Tang clan's identity, style 174 00:12:31,040 --> 00:12:35,240 Speaker 1: and philosophy. It's also one of the most important. The 175 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:37,959 Speaker 1: film's title gave them part of their debut album's title, 176 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:40,960 Speaker 1: Enter the Wu Tang thirty six Chambers, as well as 177 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:44,120 Speaker 1: the concept of Shao Lin as a half physical, half 178 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:48,880 Speaker 1: spiritual world in which Wu Tang exists. The film's plot 179 00:12:49,120 --> 00:12:52,160 Speaker 1: was also a Wu Tang's plot, at least at the outset. 180 00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:56,160 Speaker 1: An underdog rises from nothing to something, masters his craft 181 00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:59,520 Speaker 1: and defies the powers that be. But in order to 182 00:12:59,559 --> 00:13:03,400 Speaker 1: do that, the underdog has to learn a lot. To 183 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:07,160 Speaker 1: become the master killer, the underdog has to start over, 184 00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:11,360 Speaker 1: which is what Wu Tang's master killer, Elgin Turner did 185 00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:16,800 Speaker 1: in nineteen ninety two. Elgin, then in his early twenties, 186 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:20,400 Speaker 1: already had wisdom. He got that from talking about supreme 187 00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:24,040 Speaker 1: mathematics and playing chess with his friend Gary Grice aka 188 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:27,800 Speaker 1: the Jizza. Elgin and Jizza were as serious about the 189 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:32,080 Speaker 1: five percent and even more serious about chess. They played 190 00:13:32,120 --> 00:13:34,840 Speaker 1: time matches. You had to think hard and think fast, 191 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:37,280 Speaker 1: and if your time ran out, the game was over. 192 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:41,439 Speaker 1: Life was like chess, every minute of every day. Make 193 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:44,840 Speaker 1: your move and punch the clock. Listen twice before you speak. 194 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:50,440 Speaker 1: Once bored in Brooklyn in nineteen sixty nine, Elgin spoke 195 00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:53,599 Speaker 1: only when necessary. He didn't tell the other kids in 196 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:56,360 Speaker 1: the neighborhood about the places he went to, the planes 197 00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:59,880 Speaker 1: he boarded, the miles he clocked. He was raised as 198 00:13:59,880 --> 00:14:02,240 Speaker 1: an only child by a single mother who worked hard, 199 00:14:02,679 --> 00:14:05,080 Speaker 1: and that hard work paid off and paid for the 200 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:07,240 Speaker 1: trips that two of them were able to take together. 201 00:14:08,480 --> 00:14:11,520 Speaker 1: No one knew anything about this part of Elgin's life, 202 00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:14,000 Speaker 1: just like no one knew that he was related to 203 00:14:14,040 --> 00:14:18,360 Speaker 1: both Nat Turner and Marvin Gay, a fact that it 204 00:14:18,480 --> 00:14:21,320 Speaker 1: seemed nobody knew about until it was revealed in the 205 00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:25,680 Speaker 1: twenty nineteen Wu Tang documentary. But I digress, And this 206 00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:28,960 Speaker 1: was the way he liked it. Incognito, he blended in. 207 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:32,240 Speaker 1: He wasn't better than anyone else. He did what others 208 00:14:32,240 --> 00:14:35,080 Speaker 1: were doing, like drop out of school and He soon 209 00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:38,160 Speaker 1: realized that that was the wrong move. That was like 210 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:41,960 Speaker 1: moving the pond that guards a castle became so. In 211 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:43,800 Speaker 1: an effort to get his life back on track as 212 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:46,760 Speaker 1: a young adult, Elgin enrolled in a program to get 213 00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:50,440 Speaker 1: both his high school diploma and his bachelor's degree all 214 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:55,200 Speaker 1: in one shot. Night's school was a grind. Sometimes he 215 00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:58,480 Speaker 1: couldn't muster the energy to go. He quickly racked up 216 00:14:58,520 --> 00:15:01,040 Speaker 1: two absences and was worn that a third would mean 217 00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:04,600 Speaker 1: his expulsion. He thought about this on the night that 218 00:15:04,640 --> 00:15:08,040 Speaker 1: the Jizza invited him to the studio. Jizza and Riza 219 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:10,200 Speaker 1: had this new thing called Wu Tang and they were 220 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:13,440 Speaker 1: about to cook up a new track. Elgin should come hang, 221 00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:17,520 Speaker 1: and the temptation was strong, but Elgin thought about his 222 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:20,400 Speaker 1: need to get back on track, about the consequence of 223 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:23,880 Speaker 1: a third absence, and he thought about chess, the right 224 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:27,320 Speaker 1: moves and the wrong moves. He told Jizz he couldn't 225 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:31,000 Speaker 1: make it, and he got himself to class. The next day, 226 00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:34,440 Speaker 1: during the regular chess game, Jizza played Elgin the track 227 00:15:34,520 --> 00:15:37,800 Speaker 1: they had recorded the night before. Check this out, Jessus said, 228 00:15:38,120 --> 00:15:42,080 Speaker 1: It's called protect your Neck. Elgin's jaw hit the floor. 229 00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:46,680 Speaker 1: The energy the Beat, the onslaught of wide ranging rhyming 230 00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:50,600 Speaker 1: styles from Inspected Deck, Rayquon, Method Man, You Got Obed, 231 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:55,640 Speaker 1: ghost Face, the Riza, the Jizza. It was new, fresh, raw. 232 00:15:56,360 --> 00:15:58,720 Speaker 1: It was something that hadn't existed in hip hop until 233 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:01,560 Speaker 1: that moment. Elgin knew it was going to be huge 234 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:04,600 Speaker 1: from the moment the track ended. He also knew that 235 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:06,640 Speaker 1: he wanted to be a part of it. But he'd 236 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:09,920 Speaker 1: never written a rhyme in his life, and nevertheless, he 237 00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:13,760 Speaker 1: was inspired. He put pen to paper and the words 238 00:16:13,760 --> 00:16:16,480 Speaker 1: in his head tumbled into his fingers, were absorbed by 239 00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:19,760 Speaker 1: the ink, and then spilled out onto the page. He 240 00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:22,480 Speaker 1: read what he had and then he rewrote it again, 241 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:26,920 Speaker 1: and again, he refined it again, and then he shared 242 00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:30,760 Speaker 1: what he had written with Jizza. Jizza was impressed. Elgin 243 00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:35,160 Speaker 1: had something here, A perfect verse. A verse so perfect 244 00:16:35,360 --> 00:16:38,360 Speaker 1: that it became Elgin's first contribution to Wu Tang as 245 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:41,760 Speaker 1: Master Killa. It became his verse on the track The 246 00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:45,320 Speaker 1: Mystery of Chess Box and from Wu Tang's debut album 247 00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:48,160 Speaker 1: Hold On, Just Imagine. The team You're about to go 248 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:51,600 Speaker 1: play for is already stacked with all stars. Jackie Robinson, 249 00:16:51,680 --> 00:16:54,920 Speaker 1: Joe DiMaggio, Reggie Williams, and you come along and you 250 00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:57,040 Speaker 1: got no rep you got no history in the game. 251 00:16:57,160 --> 00:16:59,680 Speaker 1: You've never even taken a swing before. All you got 252 00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:03,800 Speaker 1: is this one verse. Imagine how nerve wracking that would be. 253 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:07,640 Speaker 1: That was the situation mass Takilla found himself in his 254 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:11,600 Speaker 1: first verse. Was his first chamber in Shaolin Land, and 255 00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:15,680 Speaker 1: true to his name, he killed it. He learned fast 256 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:18,520 Speaker 1: and wanted to learn more. He was ready to be 257 00:17:18,560 --> 00:17:22,679 Speaker 1: a full time student, but not at night school. Algin Turner, 258 00:17:22,840 --> 00:17:25,680 Speaker 1: soon to be better known as Mass Ta Kila, decided 259 00:17:25,760 --> 00:17:27,560 Speaker 1: then and there to become a student of hip hop 260 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:30,680 Speaker 1: and a disciple of Wu Tang, and he was never 261 00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:39,480 Speaker 1: going back to school again. Yo man you Chao Chao 262 00:17:39,600 --> 00:17:42,399 Speaker 1: Coker was barely able to respond before the fist hit 263 00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:47,240 Speaker 1: his face right cross to his left eye. Chao wobbled backwards, 264 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:50,159 Speaker 1: his eyes stunned like hell, and the guy who hit 265 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:52,320 Speaker 1: him followed up the punch with a few choice words. 266 00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:55,120 Speaker 1: That's just to let you know, Wu Tang clan ain't 267 00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:58,280 Speaker 1: nothing to fuck with. Become real with our shit. We're 268 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:02,280 Speaker 1: not cartoon characters. Then he took the tape recorder out 269 00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:07,720 Speaker 1: of Chao's hand and walked off. In May nineteen ninety four, 270 00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:11,120 Speaker 1: music journalist Chao Cocher alleged that he was assaulted out 271 00:18:11,119 --> 00:18:13,520 Speaker 1: of the blue by Wu Tang clan's mass to Killa. 272 00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:16,280 Speaker 1: Chao had just written a profile on the group for 273 00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:19,439 Speaker 1: Rap Pages magazine, and Wu Tang never showed up for 274 00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:22,119 Speaker 1: the accompanying photo shoot, and the magazine couldn't run the 275 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:25,719 Speaker 1: story without art, so Rap Pages was forced to make 276 00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:29,040 Speaker 1: a decision either kill the article or hire an artist 277 00:18:29,119 --> 00:18:31,920 Speaker 1: to draw members of Wu Tang, and they chose the latter. 278 00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:37,280 Speaker 1: The artist's caricatures were whack. Gizza was rendered as a 279 00:18:37,359 --> 00:18:40,719 Speaker 1: valedictorian nerd and Ray Kwon the Chef was pictured as 280 00:18:40,760 --> 00:18:44,399 Speaker 1: a literal chef at a barbecue. Grill od B was 281 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:46,879 Speaker 1: holding a blow up doll and maybe someone with a 282 00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:49,160 Speaker 1: better sense of humor about themselves would have let it fly. 283 00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:51,840 Speaker 1: But Wu Tang, at this point ruling the hip hop world, 284 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:55,320 Speaker 1: were dead serious about what they did. They wanted everyone 285 00:18:55,320 --> 00:18:57,919 Speaker 1: else to take them seriously too, and this shit just 286 00:18:57,960 --> 00:19:01,720 Speaker 1: made him look corny. Chao thought the cartoons were corny, 287 00:19:02,119 --> 00:19:05,399 Speaker 1: but Chao didn't draw the cartoons. They weren't even his idea. 288 00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:08,520 Speaker 1: He was just a freelance writer who provided the copy. 289 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:11,480 Speaker 1: Wu Tang didn't know that, or if they did know, 290 00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:16,560 Speaker 1: they didn't care. Chao was guilty by association. But here's 291 00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:21,560 Speaker 1: the thing. Masta Killa denies ever punching Chao. Cooker says 292 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:25,119 Speaker 1: it wasn't him and given his reserved listen twice and 293 00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:28,400 Speaker 1: speak once kind of demeanor, it does seem a little 294 00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:31,480 Speaker 1: lot of character. Chao, on the other hand, said he 295 00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:34,879 Speaker 1: had receipts. In an editorial he later wrote for The 296 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:38,679 Speaker 1: Source magazine, Chao showed a sixty dollars check he received 297 00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:41,720 Speaker 1: from Wu Tang Production shortly after the incident, which he 298 00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:45,199 Speaker 1: never cashed. Written on the memo line was quote for 299 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:49,960 Speaker 1: repayment of radio and tape unquote. In that same editorial, 300 00:19:50,359 --> 00:19:53,480 Speaker 1: he revealed the two weeks after the assault, Masda Killa 301 00:19:53,640 --> 00:19:57,720 Speaker 1: personally called him to apologize. Mass Ta Killa has maintained 302 00:19:57,760 --> 00:19:59,679 Speaker 1: that this is all bullshit and that he's never had 303 00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:03,120 Speaker 1: any conversations of the sort with Cheo, and perhaps he's 304 00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:06,760 Speaker 1: telling the truth. Perhaps he didn't punch a journalist or 305 00:20:06,800 --> 00:20:10,679 Speaker 1: maybe Mastakilla ever the student, ever, Wu Tang's disciple was 306 00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:13,040 Speaker 1: putting to good use an important lesson. He learned in 307 00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:15,560 Speaker 1: one of the many proverbial chambers at which he trained. 308 00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:19,400 Speaker 1: Remember this was back in ninety four and there were 309 00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:22,560 Speaker 1: no cell phones, no nest cameras watching from the corner 310 00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:25,879 Speaker 1: of the room. It was just one man's word against another's. 311 00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:31,639 Speaker 1: One lowly freelance writer versus an almighty clan. They say, 312 00:20:32,040 --> 00:20:35,760 Speaker 1: you're born twice in this life, first physically through the 313 00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:41,160 Speaker 1: womb and then again mentally through Allah's supreme mathematics. Mass 314 00:20:41,200 --> 00:20:44,000 Speaker 1: Takilla and his Wu Tang brothers, however, were born a 315 00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:46,960 Speaker 1: third time when they took on their hip hop personas. 316 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:51,600 Speaker 1: They were born anew but they weren't born yesterday. Wu 317 00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:54,400 Speaker 1: Tang was in charge of their own narrative, and that 318 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:58,760 Speaker 1: narrative was Wu Tang is not a corny joke. Wu 319 00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:02,920 Speaker 1: Tang is not two writers. They were the ones who 320 00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:05,919 Speaker 1: said what they were and what they weren't, but not 321 00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:16,720 Speaker 1: everyone believed them. We'll be right back after this. We're 322 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:25,240 Speaker 1: were were. The FBI agent knew they were close. It 323 00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:28,160 Speaker 1: wasn't a matter of if. But when the FEDS would 324 00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:31,520 Speaker 1: finally take down Wu Tang clan, he could see it 325 00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:35,439 Speaker 1: so clearly in his mind's eye. Rizza Jizz a ghost 326 00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:38,919 Speaker 1: face method man Master Killa. All nine of those dudes, 327 00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:43,680 Speaker 1: plus their close associate Cappadonna and Handcuffs Purp walking right 328 00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:47,800 Speaker 1: into a jet black suburban, cameras flashing and reporters craning 329 00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:50,760 Speaker 1: their necks to get one sound bite, one quote, but 330 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:55,640 Speaker 1: only receiving a standoffish no comment through gritted teeth. Feds 331 00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:59,760 Speaker 1: one Wu Tang zero. The headline in the Times would 332 00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:02,760 Speaker 1: be some like Wu Tang clan convicted of running guns, 333 00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:07,679 Speaker 1: ordering murders. Wu Tang Clan ain't nothing to fuck with, Huh, 334 00:22:07,760 --> 00:22:11,960 Speaker 1: the agent chuckled, We'll see about that. The FBI had 335 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:15,040 Speaker 1: laid bare this confidence in a nineteen ninety nine internal 336 00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:18,520 Speaker 1: memo which read, in part, it is believed that it'd 337 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:21,800 Speaker 1: sometimes carry out enforcement actions for the Wu Tang Clan, 338 00:22:21,880 --> 00:22:26,679 Speaker 1: which include beatings, shootings, and murder. This belief and this 339 00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:29,600 Speaker 1: confidence were due largely to a couple of aces the 340 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:32,919 Speaker 1: FEDS now had in their back pocket, the first of 341 00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:37,439 Speaker 1: which was Paul Ford aka Uncles, one time drug dealer 342 00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:41,720 Speaker 1: now singing like a canary. Uncles told the FBI everything 343 00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:44,440 Speaker 1: like how in a member of the Bloods named Jerome 344 00:22:44,560 --> 00:22:48,000 Speaker 1: Estrella aka Booboo first got out of the joint. He 345 00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:51,520 Speaker 1: fucked up by robbing Rizz's little brother. Estrella knew they 346 00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:53,960 Speaker 1: were coming after him for what he'd done, and by 347 00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:58,960 Speaker 1: they Uncles insisted Estrella meant Wu Tang whoever was after 348 00:22:59,119 --> 00:23:02,000 Speaker 1: Estrella sent a Loaw gang member named Brian Humphries to 349 00:23:02,040 --> 00:23:05,960 Speaker 1: do the dirty work. On June twentieth, nineteen ninety nine, 350 00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:09,800 Speaker 1: Humphreys pulled the trigger and filled Estrella with lead. But 351 00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:13,240 Speaker 1: now Brian Humphries was in police custody and just like 352 00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:16,399 Speaker 1: his pal Uncles, was desperate to soften the blow that 353 00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:18,480 Speaker 1: he was about to receive from the strong arm of 354 00:23:18,520 --> 00:23:22,040 Speaker 1: the law, so he also turned informant for the government 355 00:23:22,359 --> 00:23:27,040 Speaker 1: and thus represented the fed's second ace. Uncles and Humphreys 356 00:23:27,119 --> 00:23:31,040 Speaker 1: had the details of a second urder. Corey Brooker aka 357 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:35,239 Speaker 1: Shank Bank, killed just days after Estralla word had at 358 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:37,439 Speaker 1: Brooker was the only one who had ordered the robbery 359 00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:39,840 Speaker 1: of Rizz's kid brother in the first place, and that 360 00:23:39,960 --> 00:23:42,480 Speaker 1: he had also robbed a cousin of Ray Kwan, another 361 00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:46,680 Speaker 1: Wu Tang member, and that furthermore, in retaliation, Rizza put 362 00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:50,280 Speaker 1: out a thirty thousand dollars contract on Brooker's head. Someone 363 00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:54,520 Speaker 1: took the money and then carried out the hit after 364 00:23:54,680 --> 00:23:58,159 Speaker 1: Estrella and Brooker were killed. Uncles, according to his testimony, 365 00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:01,160 Speaker 1: relayed the information to a close confidant within the Wu 366 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:05,960 Speaker 1: Tang camp. In that close confidant's response, what happened was 367 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:11,920 Speaker 1: supposed to happen, hardly an admission of guilt. Besides, it's 368 00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:15,280 Speaker 1: not unlikely that a gang member turned stool pigeon would 369 00:24:15,280 --> 00:24:17,720 Speaker 1: say whatever they had to say in order to take 370 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:21,280 Speaker 1: some of the weight off of themselves. For all the 371 00:24:21,359 --> 00:24:24,880 Speaker 1: FBI knew, Uncles and Humphreys had nothing but hot gossip, 372 00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:28,679 Speaker 1: But for a long time, the FBI really believed what 373 00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:31,879 Speaker 1: they were being told. The agent couldn't deny that the 374 00:24:31,920 --> 00:24:35,359 Speaker 1: intel fit the bureau's narrative, or perhaps it fit what 375 00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:38,520 Speaker 1: the Bureau wanted the narrative to be, a narrative that 376 00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:43,639 Speaker 1: included sixteen legitimate businesses, laundering dirty money, mafia worship, and 377 00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:49,240 Speaker 1: Wu Gambino waking fantasies. The Riza capable of attempted murder, 378 00:24:49,640 --> 00:24:53,240 Speaker 1: ghost Face Killa with an unlicensed weapon and a bulletproof vest, 379 00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:58,280 Speaker 1: Cappadonna getting cozy with a wannabe gangster, inspected deck, and 380 00:24:58,400 --> 00:25:01,360 Speaker 1: you Gods slinging dope and whatever happened to be old 381 00:25:01,359 --> 00:25:05,080 Speaker 1: Dirty Bastard's transgression of the week. Dirty made it a 382 00:25:05,080 --> 00:25:08,399 Speaker 1: little too clean for the FBI. He had no filter, 383 00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:12,560 Speaker 1: he didn't hide anything. Dirty was so compelling to law 384 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:16,840 Speaker 1: enforcement that eventually he became their primary focus. A guy 385 00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:20,480 Speaker 1: like mass Takilla, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. 386 00:25:20,600 --> 00:25:23,560 Speaker 1: He kept his life real close to the vest. His 387 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:26,520 Speaker 1: narrative was clean, his name was out of the papers. 388 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:31,240 Speaker 1: He wasn't flashy. He listened twice and spoke once, and 389 00:25:31,280 --> 00:25:33,280 Speaker 1: although he had one of the most murderous names of 390 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:36,760 Speaker 1: the entire clan, he never blurred the line between art 391 00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:40,760 Speaker 1: and life like odb. Over time, the FEDS didn't even 392 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:44,960 Speaker 1: look at Mastakilla twice. Many Wu Tang fans didn't either. 393 00:25:46,359 --> 00:25:49,760 Speaker 1: Masdakila wasn't using the Wu Tang platform to catapult into 394 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:54,119 Speaker 1: the entertainment industry. He wasn't scoring Jim Jerremustion movies like Rizza, 395 00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:57,040 Speaker 1: and he wasn't acting in major motion pictures like method Man. 396 00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:01,919 Speaker 1: He was, however, quietly making his mark like a trained 397 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:05,960 Speaker 1: assassin working under the cover of darkness. His presence loomed 398 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:09,439 Speaker 1: increasingly large over the studio album's Wu Tang Forever the 399 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:14,119 Speaker 1: w and Iron Flag. He guested on Wu Tang solo joints, 400 00:26:14,880 --> 00:26:17,600 Speaker 1: but he took his time putting out his own solo record. 401 00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:22,280 Speaker 1: After all these years, he was still a student, still learning, 402 00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:27,480 Speaker 1: still making his way through those chambers, acquiring skills one 403 00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:30,919 Speaker 1: by one, and there was no rush. He wanted to 404 00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:34,320 Speaker 1: wait until he was ready, and when he finally was ready, 405 00:26:35,040 --> 00:26:37,239 Speaker 1: every other member of Wu Tang had already released a 406 00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:42,239 Speaker 1: solo album. Master Killa's debut, No Said Date dropped on 407 00:26:42,359 --> 00:26:45,879 Speaker 1: June first, two thousand and four. In many ways, it 408 00:26:45,920 --> 00:26:48,200 Speaker 1: was a return to the old school feel of Wu 409 00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:51,520 Speaker 1: Tang's first record. It featured most of the Klan and 410 00:26:51,560 --> 00:26:55,720 Speaker 1: guest spots. It had Rizz's dusty production. It caught many 411 00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:59,439 Speaker 1: people by surprise, including critics who loved it. And despite 412 00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:02,560 Speaker 1: underest mating Mastakilla as one of the quote unquote lesser 413 00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:07,399 Speaker 1: mcs in the clan for years, No Said Date was 414 00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:11,800 Speaker 1: mastera Killa's thirty sixth chamber. He took everything that he 415 00:27:11,840 --> 00:27:14,560 Speaker 1: had learned and he put it into one package and 416 00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:18,480 Speaker 1: then delivered that to the masses, and his vengeance paid dividends. 417 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:22,720 Speaker 1: If you slept on Masta Killa on guard motherfucker. His 418 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:26,600 Speaker 1: Wu Tang sword was sharp and swift. His style came 419 00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:29,080 Speaker 1: at you like three guys in trench coats making a 420 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:31,439 Speaker 1: bee line towards you outside sparks as you got out 421 00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:37,080 Speaker 1: of your Lincoln. People noticed, well not everyone. For some 422 00:27:38,000 --> 00:28:01,920 Speaker 1: Masta Killa and Wu Tang simply weren't worth the effort anymore. 423 00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:13,560 Speaker 1: Federal Bureau of Investigation Precedence Routine Date seven twelve, two 424 00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:18,080 Speaker 1: thousand and four, two New York from New York kse 425 00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:22,200 Speaker 1: id number two eight one F dash n y dash 426 00:28:22,280 --> 00:28:26,919 Speaker 1: two seven one four seven title Wu Tang Clan Synopsis 427 00:28:27,119 --> 00:28:30,719 Speaker 1: to close case number two eight one F dash n 428 00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:35,240 Speaker 1: y dash two seven one four seven details. It is 429 00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:38,040 Speaker 1: requested that the above caption case be closed as the 430 00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:42,680 Speaker 1: matter is being investigated by Squad C thirty SA case 431 00:28:42,720 --> 00:28:45,760 Speaker 1: file number two six seven C dash N y dash 432 00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:49,200 Speaker 1: two six nine five three seven, and all further references 433 00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:51,840 Speaker 1: should be directed to the two six seven C case. 434 00:28:54,080 --> 00:28:56,400 Speaker 1: In the summer of two thousand and four, just one 435 00:28:56,480 --> 00:28:59,960 Speaker 1: month after Masterkilla released his solo debut album No Said Date, 436 00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:03,800 Speaker 1: the FBI officially closed its two eight one F case 437 00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:06,880 Speaker 1: file on Wu Tang clan, and No. Two eight one 438 00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:09,480 Speaker 1: F is not a reference to the license plate of 439 00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:11,760 Speaker 1: the VW. Beetle on the cover of Abbey Road that 440 00:29:11,760 --> 00:29:14,320 Speaker 1: allegedly offered up a clue and a Paul McCartney supposed 441 00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:17,280 Speaker 1: a death, but I digress in this case. Two eight 442 00:29:17,360 --> 00:29:20,400 Speaker 1: one F is a classification code used by the federal 443 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:24,720 Speaker 1: government to denote a quote unquote major criminal organization. Two 444 00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:28,120 Speaker 1: eight one F was typically reserved for organized crime families 445 00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:31,960 Speaker 1: like the aforementioned Gambinos, but since nineteen ninety nine had 446 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:35,360 Speaker 1: been applied to Wu Tang, who the FEDS were convinced 447 00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:38,400 Speaker 1: were using their business as a front for running guns, 448 00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:43,640 Speaker 1: dealing drugs, and ordering murders. But despite any guns purchased 449 00:29:43,720 --> 00:29:47,000 Speaker 1: or people killed, or evidence supplied by informants of guns 450 00:29:47,040 --> 00:29:50,000 Speaker 1: purchased and people killed, there was never enough to nail 451 00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:53,720 Speaker 1: anyone in Wu Tang, As the bureau's internal memos stated, 452 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:57,360 Speaker 1: any further investigation of Wu Tang was now the purview 453 00:29:57,400 --> 00:30:01,400 Speaker 1: of the New York FBI's squad, which was tasked with 454 00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:06,080 Speaker 1: violent street gangs. In retrospect, the timing of the closing 455 00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:10,080 Speaker 1: of Wu Tang's FBI file seems if not suspicious more 456 00:30:10,120 --> 00:30:13,320 Speaker 1: than a little coincidental, not because it happened around the 457 00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:16,160 Speaker 1: same time that the group's most discreet member made his 458 00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:20,320 Speaker 1: solo debut, but because it happened just months before the 459 00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:27,280 Speaker 1: group's most infamous member made his exit. Old Dirty Bastard 460 00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:30,960 Speaker 1: was paranoid. The government was nothing but a bunch of thugs. 461 00:30:31,560 --> 00:30:35,080 Speaker 1: Doctors were too Doctors wanted to stick his baby's thighs 462 00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:38,000 Speaker 1: with needles and shoot god knows what inside them before 463 00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:41,600 Speaker 1: they could even walk. Fuck that Dirty wasn't letting any 464 00:30:41,640 --> 00:30:45,360 Speaker 1: doctors control his baby's brains, no tracking devices injected into 465 00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:48,040 Speaker 1: his children. He had to stay safe. He had to 466 00:30:48,080 --> 00:30:52,040 Speaker 1: stay vigilant, just because he hadn't been murdered at Clinton 467 00:30:52,040 --> 00:30:56,000 Speaker 1: Correctional Facility. And Dana Mora didn't mean the NYPD and 468 00:30:56,040 --> 00:30:59,680 Speaker 1: the ATF and the FBI didn't want him dead. And 469 00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:01,920 Speaker 1: it's like he had no way of knowing what was 470 00:31:02,040 --> 00:31:05,760 Speaker 1: really inside those immunization shots. He had no way of 471 00:31:05,840 --> 00:31:08,800 Speaker 1: knowing what the FBI's status was in regards to their 472 00:31:08,800 --> 00:31:12,680 Speaker 1: pursuit of him and Wu Tang. No one knew at 473 00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:15,720 Speaker 1: this time. In two thousand and four, the FBI's internal 474 00:31:15,760 --> 00:31:19,880 Speaker 1: memos were still very internal and still very classified, and 475 00:31:19,920 --> 00:31:22,200 Speaker 1: they wouldn't be seen by the public for another eight 476 00:31:22,280 --> 00:31:25,640 Speaker 1: years in twenty twelve, when the government released a ninety 477 00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:28,640 Speaker 1: five page file on ODB and Wu Tang clan in 478 00:31:28,720 --> 00:31:33,280 Speaker 1: response to Foyer requests. For now, Dirty had to protect 479 00:31:33,440 --> 00:31:38,520 Speaker 1: number one, which meant stoking up tens of thousands of 480 00:31:38,560 --> 00:31:41,880 Speaker 1: dollars worth of spy gear courtesy of the Rizzis checkbook 481 00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:45,680 Speaker 1: glasses with a camera installed in them, a phone scrambler, 482 00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:49,760 Speaker 1: monitoring equipment that would make James Komy cream his pants. 483 00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:55,080 Speaker 1: In Dirty's mind, the Feds had fucked them. They were complicit. 484 00:31:55,600 --> 00:31:58,520 Speaker 1: They put him in Dani Mora, and that god forsaken 485 00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:02,160 Speaker 1: place they called the Little Side Little Siberia was where 486 00:32:02,200 --> 00:32:04,560 Speaker 1: he was beaten and burned. It was where his leg 487 00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:08,000 Speaker 1: was broken, and that leg was still a mess. During 488 00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:11,160 Speaker 1: a show in Fort Collins, Colorado, Dirty fell from the 489 00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:14,480 Speaker 1: stage and landed on that same leg. It hurt, It 490 00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:16,560 Speaker 1: hurt so bad that he thought he'd broken it all 491 00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:19,520 Speaker 1: over again, but he didn't cancel the show The next 492 00:32:19,640 --> 00:32:22,240 Speaker 1: night a veil thank you to the wheelchair it was 493 00:32:22,280 --> 00:32:24,840 Speaker 1: now carting his ass around and thanking to the cocaine 494 00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:27,520 Speaker 1: that kept him dumb in all the right places. The 495 00:32:27,600 --> 00:32:30,080 Speaker 1: coke did the trick. The coke kept him in veil 496 00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:32,840 Speaker 1: in his hotel room instead of getting him on a 497 00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:34,840 Speaker 1: plane to Jersey for a show the next day at 498 00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:37,520 Speaker 1: the Metal Lands with the rest of the Wu Tang Clam. 499 00:32:37,840 --> 00:32:40,959 Speaker 1: The day after that show, however, on November thirteenth, two 500 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:45,400 Speaker 1: thousand and four, Dirty was back in NYC. He still 501 00:32:45,440 --> 00:32:48,840 Speaker 1: felt like shit, and his legs still ate. God, it 502 00:32:48,920 --> 00:32:54,200 Speaker 1: was awful, excruciating, so much pain. The pain reminded him 503 00:32:54,200 --> 00:32:57,120 Speaker 1: of Little Siberia, and that reminded him of the FEDS 504 00:32:57,120 --> 00:33:00,120 Speaker 1: asking him questions and the NYPD shooting at his car 505 00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:02,920 Speaker 1: and then blaming him for it. He wrapped his leg 506 00:33:02,920 --> 00:33:06,000 Speaker 1: in an ace bandage, did whatever was necessary to dull 507 00:33:06,040 --> 00:33:09,440 Speaker 1: the pain, and so he put an entire diying bag 508 00:33:09,480 --> 00:33:13,840 Speaker 1: of cocaine in his mouth and swallowed it. He went 509 00:33:13,880 --> 00:33:16,160 Speaker 1: to his studio in Manhattan to work on tracks for 510 00:33:16,240 --> 00:33:18,560 Speaker 1: his new solo album, the one he was making for 511 00:33:18,680 --> 00:33:21,440 Speaker 1: Rockefeller Records, and the bag of coke, and his stomach 512 00:33:21,480 --> 00:33:24,600 Speaker 1: worked harder than he did. His heart pounded, He was 513 00:33:24,680 --> 00:33:27,200 Speaker 1: hot and sweaty, but the pain in his leg was 514 00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:31,000 Speaker 1: getting worse. So he took a tramadol, a prescription painkiller. 515 00:33:31,600 --> 00:33:33,920 Speaker 1: He peeled off his shirt and drank some water, and 516 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:36,640 Speaker 1: he lay down and fell asleep. He woke up and 517 00:33:36,800 --> 00:33:40,160 Speaker 1: ate some cereal. He was still sweating, his heart was 518 00:33:40,200 --> 00:33:43,200 Speaker 1: still racing, as someone at the studio suggested he go 519 00:33:43,320 --> 00:33:46,400 Speaker 1: to a doctor. Never, that was how they got you. 520 00:33:46,920 --> 00:33:49,440 Speaker 1: Dirty wasn't about to let them get him, so he 521 00:33:49,520 --> 00:33:52,400 Speaker 1: lay back down on the floor and fell asleep again. 522 00:33:53,480 --> 00:33:58,040 Speaker 1: He never woke up. The tramadol and the cocaine improved 523 00:33:58,080 --> 00:34:03,280 Speaker 1: a lethal combination, thought his heart. Old Dirty Bastard aka 524 00:34:03,520 --> 00:34:08,200 Speaker 1: Dirt McGirt aka Big Baby Jesus aka Rusty to his 525 00:34:08,280 --> 00:34:12,880 Speaker 1: mother was dead just two days before his thirty six birthday. 526 00:34:13,719 --> 00:34:18,320 Speaker 1: That number thirty six. The significance was not lost on anyone. 527 00:34:19,080 --> 00:34:22,839 Speaker 1: There were the thirty six chambers, and there was supreme mathematics, 528 00:34:23,360 --> 00:34:26,480 Speaker 1: which said that three plus six is nine, and nine, 529 00:34:26,560 --> 00:34:29,800 Speaker 1: of course is the only number which, when multiplied by itself, 530 00:34:29,840 --> 00:34:33,120 Speaker 1: still ends up the same number. Nine times nine is 531 00:34:33,160 --> 00:34:37,520 Speaker 1: eighty one, and eight plus one is nine. Nine means 532 00:34:37,560 --> 00:34:43,720 Speaker 1: to be born. Nine brings something into existence. But Dirty 533 00:34:43,800 --> 00:34:47,040 Speaker 1: missed the cutoff for nine, so Dirty didn't see what 534 00:34:47,120 --> 00:34:50,720 Speaker 1: happened next, but he could have predicted it. In fact, 535 00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:54,360 Speaker 1: he probably did predict it while he was alive, because 536 00:34:54,440 --> 00:34:56,759 Speaker 1: just when Wu Tang Clan thought that the FBI had 537 00:34:56,800 --> 00:34:59,680 Speaker 1: left them alone for good, new evidence turned up that 538 00:34:59,760 --> 00:35:03,879 Speaker 1: put the Red back and the government spotlight. I'm Jake 539 00:35:03,960 --> 00:35:09,000 Speaker 1: Brennan in this episode of Disgraceland. This to be continued. 540 00:35:22,280 --> 00:35:25,080 Speaker 1: Disgraceland was created by Yours Truly and is produced in 541 00:35:25,120 --> 00:35:28,520 Speaker 1: partnership with Double Elvis. 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