1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:21,080 Speaker 1: Disgraceland as a production of Double Elvis. The stories about 2 00:00:21,079 --> 00:00:25,919 Speaker 1: Wu Tang Clans Cappadonna are insane. He was arrested for 3 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:30,280 Speaker 1: possession of someone else's crack. He did time at Rikers 4 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:33,440 Speaker 1: Island at the very same time Wu Tang Clan was 5 00:00:33,479 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 1: being formed without him. He joined Wu Tang once they 6 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:41,280 Speaker 1: were already famous, but he unknowingly brought a rat into 7 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:44,720 Speaker 1: their inner circle. He hired a manager with a criminal 8 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:49,440 Speaker 1: past who was actually a federal informant testifying in two cases, 9 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:55,120 Speaker 1: one involving the mob. And despite making a questionable hire, 10 00:00:55,800 --> 00:01:00,480 Speaker 1: Cappadonna made great music, some of the greatest hip hop 11 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:03,200 Speaker 1: music on some of the biggest hip hop albums from 12 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:06,959 Speaker 1: the Wu Tang universe. Unlike that clip I played for 13 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:09,880 Speaker 1: you at the top of the show. That wasn't great music. 14 00:01:10,680 --> 00:01:14,240 Speaker 1: That was a preset loop for my melotron called Wolf 15 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:19,480 Speaker 1: Kisses MK one. I played you that clip because I 16 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:23,480 Speaker 1: can't afford the rights to Maria Maria by Santana featuring 17 00:01:23,520 --> 00:01:27,160 Speaker 1: the product GMB And why would I play you that 18 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:31,680 Speaker 1: specific slice of nylon stringed cheese? Could I afford it? 19 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:36,200 Speaker 1: Because that was the number one song in America on 20 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 1: May twenty third, two thousand and that was the day 21 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:44,520 Speaker 1: The Village Voice ran a bombshell expose that revealed Cappadonna's 22 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: manager to be a shady al Capone wannabee who had 23 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:53,000 Speaker 1: turned state's evidence and gotten cozy with the Feds. On 24 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:58,840 Speaker 1: this episode, someone Else's crack doing time, criminal pass a 25 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:03,000 Speaker 1: rap in the Inner Circle in a wound tang clans Cappadonna. 26 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:39,320 Speaker 1: I'm Jake Brennan in This Is Disgraceland. The cipher was strong. 27 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:43,320 Speaker 1: Not a cipher as in the Final Supreme Number, the 28 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:46,760 Speaker 1: Supreme Numbers being the guiding philosophy of the five percent 29 00:02:46,919 --> 00:02:51,320 Speaker 1: Nation aka the Nation of Gods and Earths, but a 30 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:53,960 Speaker 1: cipher as in a group of rappers standing in a 31 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:59,080 Speaker 1: circle making music. A crowd gathered around, and people bob 32 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:02,360 Speaker 1: their heads, and they'd cheered on their favorites, the known 33 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:06,200 Speaker 1: names and the newcomers alike. Their presence raised the steaks. 34 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:11,000 Speaker 1: Higher stakes meant the stronger cipher. The cipher wasn't the 35 00:03:11,040 --> 00:03:15,200 Speaker 1: only strong thing. The music was strong too. Old school 36 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:19,800 Speaker 1: fifteen years old, give or take. The honey Drippers impeached 37 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:23,000 Speaker 1: the president a James Brown groove. If James Brown was 38 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:26,359 Speaker 1: like the third Hardest working Man in Showbiz crackled from 39 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:29,600 Speaker 1: the forty five on the turntable, and the DJ looped 40 00:03:29,639 --> 00:03:32,640 Speaker 1: the instrumental section of the song with a second turntable 41 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:36,000 Speaker 1: and a duplicate forty five, the kick drum, the high hat, 42 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 1: the snare popping like. 43 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 2: A slap in the face. 44 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:43,440 Speaker 1: It was funky, lean, the perfect foundation for a rapper 45 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:46,760 Speaker 1: to lay down a few bars, and the mcs passed 46 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:48,800 Speaker 1: the mic around and did their best to top the 47 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:52,720 Speaker 1: guy before them. It was simultaneously nerve wracking and thrilling. 48 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:55,240 Speaker 1: And maybe you go into a rap battle feeling a 49 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:58,160 Speaker 1: little self conscious. Maybe you size up the other guys 50 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:00,960 Speaker 1: waiting their turn and get that familiar pain of inadequacy. 51 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:04,000 Speaker 1: By the time the groove gets going and the cipher 52 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:06,600 Speaker 1: starts to do its thing, though, you're feeding off of 53 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:11,040 Speaker 1: that energy, you're confident, and then you're invincible. You're strong, 54 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:13,920 Speaker 1: just like the music and just like the cipher. 55 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:18,000 Speaker 2: But if he had to fall at him, that was 56 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:18,839 Speaker 2: the end. 57 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:23,039 Speaker 1: As soon as he took the mic, you were done. 58 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:26,320 Speaker 1: Only took him half a verse to render you irrelevant. 59 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:28,960 Speaker 1: There was a reason they no longer called Darryl Hill 60 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:32,840 Speaker 1: by his birth name They called him original with a 61 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:36,880 Speaker 1: capital O, because when you're the neighborhood's og, you get 62 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:41,520 Speaker 1: treated with respect. They called him the slang reverend, the 63 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:46,520 Speaker 1: Staten Islands slick rick. They called him Cappuccino, and finally 64 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:51,359 Speaker 1: they called him capa Donna because in the world of 65 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:55,400 Speaker 1: ciphers and rhymes and improvtu rap battles, Cap wasn't just 66 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:59,720 Speaker 1: the down. He was the captain of the Dons. Words 67 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:03,120 Speaker 1: were pure rhythm in his head. Rhyming one word to 68 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:06,080 Speaker 1: the next came as easily to Cap as breathing came 69 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:09,560 Speaker 1: to anyone else. No one could touch him, not Rizza, 70 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:14,080 Speaker 1: not Rizza's cousins either, not old dirty bastard, not Jizza 71 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:17,680 Speaker 1: aka the Genius, a bona fide hip hop godhead who 72 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:21,440 Speaker 1: hailed from bed Sty. Not that the other mcs didn't try. 73 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:24,320 Speaker 1: In fact, many of them were taught how to wrap 74 00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:28,599 Speaker 1: in the first place by capa Donna. Breath control, word choice, 75 00:05:28,880 --> 00:05:31,920 Speaker 1: the mechanics of a line. Cap knew how to do 76 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:33,880 Speaker 1: all of it first, and he knew how to do all. 77 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:34,400 Speaker 2: Of it best. 78 00:05:35,279 --> 00:05:38,120 Speaker 1: If you wanted a fraction of his ability, you sat 79 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:40,960 Speaker 1: at his feet on any given speak corner or back 80 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:44,080 Speaker 1: staircase on Staten Island, and you did your best to 81 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:47,479 Speaker 1: attempt to be CAP's equal. Don't try too hard, though 82 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:50,720 Speaker 1: there was no being equal to Cappa Donna. He was 83 00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:54,400 Speaker 1: always one step ahead in his mind and on the mic. 84 00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:58,560 Speaker 1: Everyone in park Hill knew this, yet not everyone in 85 00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:03,120 Speaker 1: Staten Island saw this. In fact, some saw Cap as 86 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:07,240 Speaker 1: something else, a menace, a part of the problem, and 87 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:09,839 Speaker 1: for no other reasons than the music he liked, the 88 00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:12,080 Speaker 1: clothes he war, and the color of his skin. 89 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:15,360 Speaker 2: Never was that more clear. 90 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:17,719 Speaker 1: Than one day in the early nineteen nineties, when Cap, 91 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:20,560 Speaker 1: around twenty years old, was chilling on the street corner. 92 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:25,359 Speaker 1: There was no cipher today, just words forming rhythms inside 93 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:28,760 Speaker 1: his head. Preparation for the next cipher was a constant. 94 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:33,320 Speaker 1: But as Cap prepared, suddenly there was someone else, a 95 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:38,400 Speaker 1: guy right there in CAP's peripheral vision, running, panting, sweating. 96 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:42,919 Speaker 1: Cap turned his head to look the world, pumped on 97 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:46,600 Speaker 1: the brakes, and the air got thick. The guy hauling 98 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:50,160 Speaker 1: out in CAP's direction moved in slow motion. He was 99 00:06:50,240 --> 00:06:51,560 Speaker 1: gradually getting closer. 100 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:52,880 Speaker 2: Behind him. 101 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:57,000 Speaker 1: Cap saw two NYPD officers in close pursuit, and their 102 00:06:57,040 --> 00:07:00,640 Speaker 1: movements were just as drawn out and pronounced, arms pumping slowly, 103 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:05,200 Speaker 1: legs pounding the pavement with giant, earth shattering steps. The 104 00:07:05,279 --> 00:07:08,279 Speaker 1: guy was close to Cap now, his labored breathing like 105 00:07:08,320 --> 00:07:11,640 Speaker 1: a slow down windstorm, and just as he passed by, 106 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:15,720 Speaker 1: he dropped something and the whirl quickly hit the gas. 107 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:20,640 Speaker 1: The slow most splintered into pieces. CAP's head snapped to 108 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:22,920 Speaker 1: follow the guys. He tore past, and nearly knocking him 109 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:25,600 Speaker 1: over in the process. Cap looked down at the ground 110 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:27,679 Speaker 1: and saw a paper bag crumpled there at his feet. 111 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:29,840 Speaker 1: He turned his head back to where the guy had 112 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:32,720 Speaker 1: come from, and now those two cops were right there, 113 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:35,880 Speaker 1: so close he could smell the chocolate glazed on their breath. 114 00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:38,400 Speaker 1: And the cops paid no mind to the other guy. 115 00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:41,960 Speaker 1: He was long gone. Didn't matter. They had what they wanted. 116 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:44,080 Speaker 1: They told Cap to put his hands where they could 117 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:46,800 Speaker 1: see them. They grabbed Cap like he was Staten Island's 118 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:49,840 Speaker 1: most wanted. They made sure it wasn't gentle, and one 119 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:51,760 Speaker 1: of the cops picked up the bag from the ground. 120 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:55,080 Speaker 1: He reached inside and pulled out vials of crack rocks. 121 00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:57,880 Speaker 1: Cap felt the cuffs go on as he was red 122 00:07:57,880 --> 00:08:02,040 Speaker 1: his rights. This was a cipher now a circle of 123 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:06,760 Speaker 1: steel locked tight and strong around his wrists. But he 124 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:09,800 Speaker 1: didn't belong in police custody, not right now, he didn't. 125 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:12,800 Speaker 1: That wasn't his bag of dope. But this also wasn't 126 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:15,320 Speaker 1: a rap battle, so Cap had less of a chance 127 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:20,840 Speaker 1: of winning. Instead, Cap lost big time. The NYPD didn't 128 00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:23,320 Speaker 1: care if the other guy got away. They were done running, 129 00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:25,680 Speaker 1: and they took whoever they could get. And who was 130 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:29,400 Speaker 1: this guy? Not a rapper dealing out unbeatable rhymes? He 131 00:08:29,480 --> 00:08:33,040 Speaker 1: was a street hood dealing out crack a pestilence. They'd 132 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:37,280 Speaker 1: testify under oath that that was true. Some seven ish 133 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:40,440 Speaker 1: years later, in nineteen ninety seven, this arrest was once 134 00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:43,280 Speaker 1: again of importance, not just to the NYPD, but to 135 00:08:43,320 --> 00:08:46,680 Speaker 1: the FBI and the ATF as well, because in nineteen 136 00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:50,560 Speaker 1: ninety seven, a man named Robert Johnson, an alleged known 137 00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:54,200 Speaker 1: associate of Cappadonna, was gunned down by two mass men 138 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:55,160 Speaker 1: on Staten Island. 139 00:08:55,559 --> 00:08:57,280 Speaker 2: It looked like a hit, and at. 140 00:08:57,240 --> 00:08:59,000 Speaker 1: Least one of the guns used in the murder could 141 00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:01,280 Speaker 1: be traced back to a bat of gunspot in Steubenville, 142 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:03,880 Speaker 1: Ohio by other known associates of CAP's hip hop group. 143 00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:04,640 Speaker 2: Wu Tang Clan. 144 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:09,400 Speaker 1: But back in the early nineties, when Cap was arrested 145 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:11,880 Speaker 1: for the bag of crack dropped at his feet, Wu 146 00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:14,839 Speaker 1: Tang Clan weren't yet a thing. They were just about 147 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:17,400 Speaker 1: to be. The Riza began to assemble as soon to 148 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:22,040 Speaker 1: be legendary collective right around the time the Cap was apprehended. Cap, 149 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:25,559 Speaker 1: of course, was a no brainer for the collective's original lineup. 150 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:30,240 Speaker 1: He had style, he had rhymes, he had an unfuckiable flow, 151 00:09:30,679 --> 00:09:34,480 Speaker 1: and he was one of Staten Island's best. If pushed, 152 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:37,360 Speaker 1: several of the other members of Wu Tang would probably 153 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:39,240 Speaker 1: admit that they were not equals when it came to 154 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:42,959 Speaker 1: Cappadonna's skills. But equality had nothing to do with it, 155 00:09:43,559 --> 00:09:46,240 Speaker 1: because this Wu Tang Clan took shape and then took 156 00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:49,240 Speaker 1: off like a shot. They did so without the original 157 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:53,120 Speaker 1: with a capital low, without the slang reverend the Staten 158 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:57,160 Speaker 1: Island slick rick. Because Cappa Donna was doing time at 159 00:09:57,200 --> 00:10:24,160 Speaker 1: Riker's Island for someone else's drugs nineteen ninety two, New 160 00:10:24,240 --> 00:10:28,920 Speaker 1: York City, Goldilocks was clean out of ecstasy. He needed 161 00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:32,280 Speaker 1: a re up, so he called this guy, Lord Michael 162 00:10:32,360 --> 00:10:36,640 Speaker 1: wasn't just Goldilocks's e connection. Lord Michael introduced all of 163 00:10:36,679 --> 00:10:39,920 Speaker 1: Staten Island to the drug a few years prior. Around 164 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:43,080 Speaker 1: the same time, he also introduced Manhattan clubs to techno 165 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:46,600 Speaker 1: music from the UK in New York City in nineteen 166 00:10:46,679 --> 00:10:49,360 Speaker 1: ninety two. If you wanted the best new acid house 167 00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:52,320 Speaker 1: tracks from across the Pond were the best e that 168 00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:56,319 Speaker 1: money could buy, you call it Lord Michael. Goldilocks said 169 00:10:56,360 --> 00:10:59,320 Speaker 1: he needed twenty thousand hits of this stuff. Lord Michael 170 00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:01,520 Speaker 1: said that would set them back one hundred and eighty 171 00:11:01,559 --> 00:11:06,200 Speaker 1: thousand dollars. No problem, Goldilocks had a cash His assistant 172 00:11:06,240 --> 00:11:09,600 Speaker 1: would be right over to make the trade. Everyone called 173 00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:13,120 Speaker 1: Goldilocks's assistant mister Purple on account of the fact that 174 00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:16,200 Speaker 1: he wore purple clothes and dyed his hair purple. Or 175 00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:19,400 Speaker 1: maybe it was because Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs had just 176 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:23,959 Speaker 1: hit theaters. Either way, dude was impossible to miss when 177 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:26,600 Speaker 1: he showed up at Lord Michael's swank Gramercy Park apartment 178 00:11:26,679 --> 00:11:29,920 Speaker 1: later that day. Lord Michael was waiting for him. So 179 00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:33,439 Speaker 1: we're to undercover cops who had planted themselves outside of 180 00:11:33,440 --> 00:11:37,040 Speaker 1: the apartment door and before mister Purple could even step inside, 181 00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:40,920 Speaker 1: the cops emerged from their hiding place, guns drawn, one 182 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:45,840 Speaker 1: hundred percent serious. Purple was one hundred percent fought. They 183 00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:48,680 Speaker 1: pushed him inside the apartment and the door swung shut 184 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:52,319 Speaker 1: behind them. The cops told Purple and Lord Michael to 185 00:11:52,400 --> 00:11:55,760 Speaker 1: hit the floor. They both did. Purple was shaking with fear. 186 00:11:57,000 --> 00:11:59,880 Speaker 1: One of the cops stared at the bulge in Purple's pants, 187 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:02,080 Speaker 1: nearly two hundred grand in your pocket? Or are you 188 00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:05,720 Speaker 1: just happy to see me? Purple wasn't laughing. The cops 189 00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:08,640 Speaker 1: cuffed them, and then they cut Lord Michael, lying next 190 00:12:08,640 --> 00:12:12,000 Speaker 1: to Purple on the swank apartment's swanky floor. The cops 191 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:14,120 Speaker 1: took the one hundred and eighty grand from Purple's pocket 192 00:12:14,559 --> 00:12:19,520 Speaker 1: and left. When mister Purple returned to his boss, Goldilocks, 193 00:12:19,559 --> 00:12:22,640 Speaker 1: empty handed and recounted to the story about getting ripped 194 00:12:22,679 --> 00:12:26,079 Speaker 1: off by two cops, Goldilocks didn't think it made sense. 195 00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:30,240 Speaker 1: In fact, the story stunk. He couldn't help, but wonder 196 00:12:30,679 --> 00:12:34,600 Speaker 1: was he being played? Was Lord Michael actually behind the ripoff? 197 00:12:35,400 --> 00:12:39,600 Speaker 1: But Goldilocks's suspicions were short lived. Lord Michael's number two 198 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:42,880 Speaker 1: came around and told Goldilocks to chill. The only thing 199 00:12:42,880 --> 00:12:46,120 Speaker 1: to be concerned about was crooked cops. New York was 200 00:12:46,240 --> 00:12:49,959 Speaker 1: crawling with badge wearing degenerates, and Lord Michael had nothing 201 00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:53,600 Speaker 1: to do with the shakedown. This guy, lord Michael's number two. 202 00:12:54,040 --> 00:12:57,640 Speaker 1: He was very convincing, so convincing that Goldilocks bought it 203 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:02,319 Speaker 1: and then continued to buy drugs from Lord Michael. In reality, though, 204 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:06,720 Speaker 1: Goldilocks had every right to be concerned, because the whole 205 00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:11,720 Speaker 1: story was bullshit, the story, the police, the feigned innocence, 206 00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:13,720 Speaker 1: all of it. The cops who busted Purple at Lord 207 00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:16,839 Speaker 1: Michael's apartment, they weren't real cops. There were a couple 208 00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:20,880 Speaker 1: of Lord Michael's thugs pretending to be cops. Lord Michael 209 00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:23,839 Speaker 1: robbed his own client, and then he paid his number 210 00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:26,440 Speaker 1: two guy five grand to go bullshit that client into 211 00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:29,960 Speaker 1: believing he had been robbed. It hadn't always been like 212 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:35,600 Speaker 1: this at first. Lord Michael aka Michael Caruso was interested 213 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:39,040 Speaker 1: in drugs and music. Caruso was a major catalyst for 214 00:13:39,160 --> 00:13:41,800 Speaker 1: rave music in America. When he brought a creative techno 215 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:45,280 Speaker 1: twelve inches back to Staten Island from the UK. He 216 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:47,840 Speaker 1: was there for the dawn of disco two thousand at 217 00:13:47,880 --> 00:13:51,600 Speaker 1: the infamous Limelight Club, where party animals like Michael Alec 218 00:13:51,679 --> 00:13:55,880 Speaker 1: held court and long before Alec murdered and dismembered his friend, 219 00:13:55,960 --> 00:13:58,720 Speaker 1: which you can hear all about in Season one of Disgraceland. 220 00:13:58,720 --> 00:13:59,520 Speaker 2: But I digressed. 221 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:03,280 Speaker 1: The app hemisphere at Limelight was all inclusive, positive and 222 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:06,280 Speaker 1: homicide free, no matter if you were a punk. 223 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:08,520 Speaker 2: Or a yuppie, straight or gay, cool or lame. 224 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:13,680 Speaker 1: Caruso's future shock parties where MDMA and PCP get gobbled 225 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:16,440 Speaker 1: up like tic TACs and pixie sticks with the stuff 226 00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:19,800 Speaker 1: of legend. Michael Caruso was at the forefront of American 227 00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:23,640 Speaker 1: club culture as it was quickly changing. But Caruso's sudden 228 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:26,360 Speaker 1: clout and fame in the New York club scene changed 229 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:27,320 Speaker 1: him too. 230 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:28,800 Speaker 2: Soon. 231 00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:31,320 Speaker 1: It was less about music and drugs and more about 232 00:14:31,360 --> 00:14:36,760 Speaker 1: power grabs, home invasions, robberies, and scams, like the time 233 00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:39,600 Speaker 1: he orchestrated the armed theft of twelve thousand dollars in 234 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:42,160 Speaker 1: a box a ketamine from the apartment of a party promoter. 235 00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:45,640 Speaker 1: They bound with duct tape during the promoter's birthday party. 236 00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:50,120 Speaker 1: No less as DJ Frankie Bones put it, Caruso wanted 237 00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:53,640 Speaker 1: to be quote the al Capone of raves unquote, and 238 00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:57,400 Speaker 1: if Caruso was al Capone, then New York Mayor Rudy 239 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:01,640 Speaker 1: Giuliani was elliot ness. Just like the city was cracking 240 00:15:01,680 --> 00:15:04,560 Speaker 1: down on drugs sold on the streets, they began to 241 00:15:04,600 --> 00:15:09,680 Speaker 1: crack down on nightclubs, Limelight in particular, which Giuliani equated 242 00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:14,360 Speaker 1: to a drug supermarket. In nineteen ninety six, Giuliani brought 243 00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:17,320 Speaker 1: the hammer down after a family blamed Limelight's owner Peter 244 00:15:17,480 --> 00:15:21,320 Speaker 1: Geishen for the drug overdose death of their son. Geishen 245 00:15:21,400 --> 00:15:24,440 Speaker 1: and New York club culture were put on trial, which 246 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:27,800 Speaker 1: meant suddenly Michael Caruso needed a new place to crash. 247 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:31,800 Speaker 1: At the same time, Cappadonna, a few years out of 248 00:15:31,840 --> 00:15:34,400 Speaker 1: prison and since welcomed back into the Wu Tang clan 249 00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:38,560 Speaker 1: family as their unofficial tenth member, needed a personal manager. 250 00:15:39,240 --> 00:15:43,800 Speaker 1: Caruso's reputation preceded him. Wu Tang were likely well aware 251 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:47,320 Speaker 1: of his role in those batshit robberies and violent power moves. 252 00:15:48,040 --> 00:15:50,760 Speaker 1: Caruso's do or die lifestyle was endearing to some of 253 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:53,160 Speaker 1: them because it reminded them of the times when they 254 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:56,600 Speaker 1: had to make their bones in that world, plus, managing 255 00:15:56,600 --> 00:15:58,800 Speaker 1: a member of Wu Tang wasn't exactly a job for 256 00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:02,200 Speaker 1: just anyone. You had to have some serious life experience 257 00:16:02,240 --> 00:16:04,520 Speaker 1: and a set of brass balls to survive in this 258 00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:11,160 Speaker 1: particular world. So Cap brought Caruso on board. Caruso tried 259 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:14,040 Speaker 1: to blend in, but like mister Purple before him, he 260 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:18,200 Speaker 1: was incapable of blending. An Italian guy with gold teeth 261 00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:19,600 Speaker 1: and corn rows is. 262 00:16:19,520 --> 00:16:21,040 Speaker 2: Gonna stick out. 263 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:23,280 Speaker 1: It may have been a foolish look, but it was 264 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:26,680 Speaker 1: only foolish until Lord Michael menacingly peeked out from behind 265 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:28,720 Speaker 1: the elaborate get up to put the screws to that 266 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:31,960 Speaker 1: night's victim. In nineteen ninety nine at a show at 267 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:35,640 Speaker 1: the Palladium in Worcestern, Massachusetts. The victim was a fledgling 268 00:16:35,680 --> 00:16:39,840 Speaker 1: concert promotion company. It caused AP Daddy Productions an arm 269 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:41,840 Speaker 1: and a leg to put on a show featuring Cap 270 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:46,160 Speaker 1: and inspected deck. In fact, the Harvard undergrads behind ap 271 00:16:46,360 --> 00:16:49,960 Speaker 1: Daddy were already hemorrhaging cash before the show even started. 272 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:54,080 Speaker 1: Why because Wu Tang took what they wanted and stuck 273 00:16:54,120 --> 00:16:57,440 Speaker 1: AP Daddy with the bill room service at the hotel, 274 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:00,480 Speaker 1: Pants and shirts straight off the rack during a meet 275 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:03,520 Speaker 1: and greet at a hip hop clothing store. Caruso didn't 276 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:05,480 Speaker 1: need to flash a piece or tie anyone up with 277 00:17:05,560 --> 00:17:08,560 Speaker 1: duct tape for this particular scam to work out. These 278 00:17:08,600 --> 00:17:11,920 Speaker 1: Ivy League herbs were green as hell. All it took 279 00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:14,679 Speaker 1: was a few members of Wu Tang's entourage selling tickets 280 00:17:14,680 --> 00:17:17,119 Speaker 1: and VIP passes on the download of people waiting in 281 00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:20,919 Speaker 1: line outside the venue. Cap Deck and Caruso left wister 282 00:17:21,080 --> 00:17:24,720 Speaker 1: with cash lining their pockets, while Ap Daddy were left 283 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:29,000 Speaker 1: begging their daddies for a bailout. That same year, at 284 00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:31,760 Speaker 1: a show with Cap and Ghost Face Killer in Washington, DC, 285 00:17:32,359 --> 00:17:36,160 Speaker 1: things took a more violent turn. The concert promoter, an 286 00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:40,040 Speaker 1: adult this time, offered Cap and Ghost a Ford explorer 287 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:41,840 Speaker 1: to get them back and forth from the venue to 288 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:46,399 Speaker 1: the hotel. Caruso was pissed. He wanted something bigger. Where's 289 00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:48,520 Speaker 1: the van, he asked the promoter. I don't get a 290 00:17:48,560 --> 00:17:51,480 Speaker 1: fucking van, I want a thousand dollars right now. The 291 00:17:51,520 --> 00:17:53,919 Speaker 1: promoter looked at Caruso like he was from outer space. 292 00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:58,119 Speaker 2: What a van? This was it? Man? A Ford explorer? 293 00:17:58,359 --> 00:17:59,199 Speaker 2: Take it or leave it. 294 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:02,720 Speaker 1: Caruso made sure everyone could see the handgun he's stuffed 295 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:05,080 Speaker 1: in the waistband of his jeans. It's about to get 296 00:18:05,119 --> 00:18:07,320 Speaker 1: real in here, he said, I'm about to come up 297 00:18:07,359 --> 00:18:10,639 Speaker 1: with some heat. Caruso never followed through with this threat, 298 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:13,080 Speaker 1: and he never got what he wanted either, but he 299 00:18:13,119 --> 00:18:17,399 Speaker 1: made a lasting impression. The concert was incredible, except for 300 00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:19,879 Speaker 1: having to deal with Caruso, which was a nightmare. And 301 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:22,520 Speaker 1: that's what the promoter later said, anyway, adding that in 302 00:18:22,560 --> 00:18:24,679 Speaker 1: this business you run into a lot of assholes, but 303 00:18:25,040 --> 00:18:27,600 Speaker 1: Caruso was the biggest dickhead I've ever had to deal with. 304 00:18:29,200 --> 00:18:32,440 Speaker 1: The concert promoter's candid opinion was not news to Capadonna, 305 00:18:32,520 --> 00:18:35,720 Speaker 1: Ghost Face or anyone in Wu Tang. They all knew 306 00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:39,920 Speaker 1: that Caruso was a dickhead, but he was their dickhead, you. 307 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:40,360 Speaker 2: Know what I mean. 308 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:44,040 Speaker 1: Here's the thing, though, Okay, here's multiple things. One Michael 309 00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:46,840 Speaker 1: Caruso aka Lord Michael, wasn't supposed to be messing with 310 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:50,400 Speaker 1: dudes in DC. Two he wasn't supposed to be outside 311 00:18:50,440 --> 00:18:53,080 Speaker 1: the state of New York. Three he wasn't supposed to 312 00:18:53,119 --> 00:18:56,320 Speaker 1: be associating with known criminals, which technically cap and ghost 313 00:18:56,440 --> 00:19:00,280 Speaker 1: most certainly were. And four he definitely wasn't to be 314 00:19:00,359 --> 00:19:04,560 Speaker 1: carrying a gun. Why Because Michael Caruso was a cooperating 315 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:08,520 Speaker 1: witness for the federal government. Some in law enforcement thought 316 00:19:08,560 --> 00:19:10,719 Speaker 1: he had something to do with the death of his housekeeper, 317 00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:13,960 Speaker 1: which supposedly was a suicide, and in order to save 318 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:16,960 Speaker 1: his own ass, he turned state's evidence during the trial 319 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:21,200 Speaker 1: of Peter Geishen and Limelight. He was an informant, a rat, 320 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:24,280 Speaker 1: maybe even worse if what they said about his housekeeper 321 00:19:24,359 --> 00:19:24,760 Speaker 1: was true. 322 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:27,359 Speaker 2: But just like Goldilocks. 323 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:30,000 Speaker 1: Before them, Cap and Ghost and Wu Tang only knew 324 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:33,280 Speaker 1: part of the Michael Caruso's story, and it was only 325 00:19:33,320 --> 00:19:36,280 Speaker 1: a matter of time before they knew the whole thing. 326 00:19:41,320 --> 00:19:44,480 Speaker 2: We'll be right back after this. We're we're, we're. 327 00:19:48,119 --> 00:19:50,200 Speaker 1: Don't believe anything you read about me in the papers. 328 00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:54,800 Speaker 1: It's all bullshit. Michael Caruso was running that smoke screen again. 329 00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:57,320 Speaker 1: He told capa Donna and the guys in Wu Tang 330 00:19:57,359 --> 00:19:59,639 Speaker 1: clan whatever he had to in order to convince him 331 00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:01,560 Speaker 1: that he was the guy they were beginning to think 332 00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:05,040 Speaker 1: that he was, just like he convinced Goldilocks that he 333 00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:08,320 Speaker 1: didn't rob him even though he actually had. But unlike 334 00:20:08,359 --> 00:20:11,760 Speaker 1: that business with Goldilocks. Caruso no longer had a number 335 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:14,560 Speaker 1: two to deliver the message for him. He did his 336 00:20:14,600 --> 00:20:17,840 Speaker 1: own dirty work. Now, haven't you read stuff about yourself 337 00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:21,000 Speaker 1: that isn't true? Cap knew better than to believe everything 338 00:20:21,040 --> 00:20:23,639 Speaker 1: he read in the papers, the times, the posts that 339 00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:25,560 Speaker 1: whatever the fuck if you believe the papers and you 340 00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:29,000 Speaker 1: believe the Wu Tang were gun runners or gangbangers, that 341 00:20:29,040 --> 00:20:31,960 Speaker 1: the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms had reason to 342 00:20:32,040 --> 00:20:35,040 Speaker 1: launch a probe into those dubious claims, or that the 343 00:20:35,119 --> 00:20:37,600 Speaker 1: FBI had reason to investigate the group not as a 344 00:20:37,640 --> 00:20:42,320 Speaker 1: musical collective, but as a criminal organization. Cap knew what 345 00:20:42,359 --> 00:20:44,280 Speaker 1: it was like to be seen as something you weren't. 346 00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:47,359 Speaker 1: Case in point, the time he was arrested for someone 347 00:20:47,359 --> 00:20:49,919 Speaker 1: else's drugs when they were thrown at his feet. It 348 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:53,679 Speaker 1: was his word against the NYPDS. He had no other choice. 349 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:56,840 Speaker 1: But he didn't bitch and moan about taking the heat. 350 00:20:57,200 --> 00:20:59,199 Speaker 1: He did his time at Rikers for a crime he 351 00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:03,320 Speaker 1: didn't commit. And let's say, for argument's sake, there were 352 00:21:03,359 --> 00:21:07,360 Speaker 1: other crimes he committed in his lifetime that was beside 353 00:21:07,359 --> 00:21:10,640 Speaker 1: the point. The point was that he was innocent of 354 00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:15,000 Speaker 1: this particular crime, and this crime was the only one 355 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:17,720 Speaker 1: that got him sent away. It didn't give him much 356 00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:20,840 Speaker 1: faith in the justice system. It reinforced something that he 357 00:21:20,880 --> 00:21:23,440 Speaker 1: already knew that he was not equal in the eyes 358 00:21:23,480 --> 00:21:26,560 Speaker 1: of the law. But as a five percenter, he had 359 00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:28,440 Speaker 1: to strive to be equal in the way he did 360 00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:32,720 Speaker 1: his life. Deal equally with all people. That's what Supreme 361 00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:33,960 Speaker 1: number six was all about. 362 00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:35,000 Speaker 2: Equality. 363 00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:39,480 Speaker 1: Six was also the number of the devil, because the 364 00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:42,600 Speaker 1: devil has the power to be equal to man, but 365 00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:45,320 Speaker 1: Wu Tang had strength in numbers to keep the devil 366 00:21:45,359 --> 00:21:48,359 Speaker 1: at bay. That when Kap emerged from his prison stay 367 00:21:48,359 --> 00:21:50,840 Speaker 1: a free man, he was welcomed into the Wu Tang 368 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:55,680 Speaker 1: family with open arms. His first appearance as part of 369 00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:58,600 Speaker 1: the Klan was the nineteen ninety five single ice Cream, 370 00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:01,399 Speaker 1: a track from Ray Kwan only built for a Cuban 371 00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:05,000 Speaker 1: Links album. The next year, he traded verses on Ghostface's 372 00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:08,040 Speaker 1: solo debut Iron Man, and even made the cover two 373 00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:11,360 Speaker 1: and then the year after that, Cap made his official 374 00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:14,080 Speaker 1: Wu Tang debut on the Wu Tang Forever album, most 375 00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:17,800 Speaker 1: notably on the hit single Triumph. At first, Cap was 376 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:21,080 Speaker 1: a featured performer rather than an official full time member, 377 00:22:21,119 --> 00:22:24,520 Speaker 1: but that was just on paper. In spirit, he was 378 00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:27,359 Speaker 1: a member. These other nine guys were the only guys 379 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:29,959 Speaker 1: he could trust, the guys he came up with, the 380 00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:32,360 Speaker 1: guys he mopped the floor with at rap battles back 381 00:22:32,359 --> 00:22:35,000 Speaker 1: in the day, lovingly mopped the floor with, of course, 382 00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:37,640 Speaker 1: because that was a big part of the rapport then 383 00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:39,400 Speaker 1: and now, giving each other shit. 384 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:41,440 Speaker 2: Your verse was tight, no doubt, But. 385 00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:43,600 Speaker 1: I'm going to fucking destroy you on this next go round. 386 00:22:44,119 --> 00:22:44,280 Speaker 2: One. 387 00:22:44,359 --> 00:22:49,840 Speaker 1: Upsmanship raised the stakes. It made a strong bond even stronger, strong, 388 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:53,840 Speaker 1: like a cipher strong in the way only ten equally 389 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:58,840 Speaker 1: worthy MC's can be. Michael Caruso, though, CAP was beginning 390 00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:00,560 Speaker 1: to wonder if that dude was he to the rest 391 00:23:00,560 --> 00:23:03,760 Speaker 1: of them from the jump, Caruso trafficked not just in 392 00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:07,200 Speaker 1: party drugs, but in deception. He used a friend who 393 00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:09,600 Speaker 1: taped thousands of pills to her body under her large 394 00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:12,359 Speaker 1: flowing sun dresses to move ecstasy from London to New 395 00:23:12,440 --> 00:23:16,200 Speaker 1: York without drawing suspicion. The paunch that he served at 396 00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:19,960 Speaker 1: Future Shock Knights the club Knight was spiked with MDMA. 397 00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:21,920 Speaker 2: And what about the death of. 398 00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:25,199 Speaker 1: Caruso's housekeeper in his apartment. The guy had his brains 399 00:23:25,240 --> 00:23:28,480 Speaker 1: blown out, but Caruso swore it was a suicide. But 400 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:30,840 Speaker 1: when the cops first showed up to the crime scene, 401 00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:33,719 Speaker 1: Caruso was holding the thirty two in his hand, and 402 00:23:33,760 --> 00:23:36,159 Speaker 1: the housekeeper had something like one hundred pills worth of 403 00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:39,920 Speaker 1: Valume in his bloodstream. If you're that fucked up on valume, 404 00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:41,920 Speaker 1: how could you hold a gun to your own head, 405 00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:47,159 Speaker 1: let alone squeeze the trigger. Then there was the Facts, 406 00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:51,159 Speaker 1: thirty pages sent to Wu Tang's offices from a Village 407 00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:56,639 Speaker 1: Voice reporter. The Facts was full of legal documents. Village 408 00:23:56,720 --> 00:24:01,440 Speaker 1: Voice articles ironclad proved that the group had a rat 409 00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:05,280 Speaker 1: in their midst. Still, it's unclear if anyone in the 410 00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:08,360 Speaker 1: Wu Tang camp even put eyes on this fact. When 411 00:24:08,359 --> 00:24:10,639 Speaker 1: Ghost Face Killo was approached by someone from the Voice 412 00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:13,959 Speaker 1: to comment on Caruso and the allegations surrounding him, Ghosts 413 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:14,640 Speaker 1: got defensive. 414 00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:17,600 Speaker 2: How could you say that about Mike? Ghost replag he's 415 00:24:17,640 --> 00:24:18,160 Speaker 2: a good guy. 416 00:24:19,359 --> 00:24:23,520 Speaker 1: Michael Caruso meanwhile doubled down on defending himself. He swore 417 00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:25,720 Speaker 1: to Wu Tang that he never told the Feds anything 418 00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:26,480 Speaker 1: about them. 419 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:28,320 Speaker 2: In fact, he said he never. 420 00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:31,720 Speaker 1: Informed on anyone period whether ghosts or cap or any 421 00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:33,960 Speaker 1: of them knew it. At the time, they weren't being 422 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:37,160 Speaker 1: told the whole truth, and when the truth did come out, 423 00:24:37,880 --> 00:25:06,560 Speaker 1: it shook Wu Tang Clan to their core. On May 424 00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:10,200 Speaker 1: twenty third, two thousand, The Village Voice published an article 425 00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:14,960 Speaker 1: that went deep into Michael Caruso's crimes and transgressions. The 426 00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:18,399 Speaker 1: article made it very clear that Caruso had managed to 427 00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:23,000 Speaker 1: con just about everyone he associated with, including Wu Tang Clan. 428 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:27,040 Speaker 1: It outed Caruso as a rat in the Peter Geisen case. 429 00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:31,080 Speaker 2: It labeled him a federal informant. But there was more. 430 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:34,399 Speaker 1: The article shed light on Caruso's latest role as a 431 00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:37,639 Speaker 1: cooperating witness and a case against a former business partner 432 00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:40,560 Speaker 1: who had ties to the New York Mafia's Five Families. 433 00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:44,119 Speaker 1: Caruso was set to testify against this wise guy in 434 00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:47,639 Speaker 1: just a few months time. Just three days after the 435 00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:51,800 Speaker 1: Voice article hit stance, a headline and Rolling Stone magazine 436 00:25:51,840 --> 00:25:56,240 Speaker 1: read Wu Tang Clan Fire's manager. After Village Voice expose, 437 00:25:57,400 --> 00:26:00,159 Speaker 1: a spokesperson for Wu Tang issued a statement that the 438 00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:05,000 Speaker 1: group was distancing themselves from Cruso. The timing could not 439 00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:08,400 Speaker 1: have been worse. This was the moment that the ATF 440 00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:11,000 Speaker 1: and the FBI were beginning to watch every little move 441 00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:14,639 Speaker 1: the Wu Tang made in preparation for a Rico prosecution 442 00:26:14,800 --> 00:26:17,840 Speaker 1: case that labeled the hip hop group a major criminal organization. 443 00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:21,919 Speaker 1: Associating with a guy who associated with guys connected to 444 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:23,280 Speaker 1: the mafia not. 445 00:26:23,280 --> 00:26:23,920 Speaker 2: A good look. 446 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:27,399 Speaker 1: What's more, learning that someone in your camp was a snitch, 447 00:26:27,480 --> 00:26:29,919 Speaker 1: and not just a snitch, but a snitch working to 448 00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:32,879 Speaker 1: aid the federal government was enough to turn even the 449 00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:38,560 Speaker 1: most minor paranoia into full blown delusion. And so, just 450 00:26:38,600 --> 00:26:42,280 Speaker 1: as Wu Tang were distancing themselves from Michael Caruso, Wu 451 00:26:42,359 --> 00:26:46,520 Speaker 1: Tang distanced themselves from Cappadonna, or at least some in 452 00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:47,320 Speaker 1: Wu Tang did. 453 00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:49,240 Speaker 2: Raykwon, for one. 454 00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:51,639 Speaker 1: Called in the New York hip Hop station Hot ninety 455 00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:54,159 Speaker 1: seven to say that Cap was never an original member. 456 00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:56,240 Speaker 1: Just look at the back of the Wu Tang Forever 457 00:26:56,320 --> 00:27:00,879 Speaker 1: CD those tracks say featuring capa Donna. But the splintering 458 00:27:00,920 --> 00:27:03,879 Speaker 1: of Wu Tang didn't stop there. It was the year 459 00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:07,120 Speaker 1: two thousand, the millennium Big Change. 460 00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:07,720 Speaker 2: Was on the horizon. 461 00:27:08,320 --> 00:27:12,919 Speaker 1: Hip hop was continuing to evolve. Jay Z outcasts, Diddy, 462 00:27:13,160 --> 00:27:17,200 Speaker 1: Lil Wayne, and Eminem dominated the airwaves. It was also 463 00:27:17,240 --> 00:27:20,240 Speaker 1: the year of Wu Tang's third studio album, The w 464 00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:22,919 Speaker 1: another number one hip hop and R and B album, 465 00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:27,280 Speaker 1: another platinum cellar, and their clothing line Wuwar was just 466 00:27:27,320 --> 00:27:31,480 Speaker 1: as successful from a business perspective. Looking from the outside in, 467 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:35,200 Speaker 1: Wu Tang had never been stronger, but from the inside 468 00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:39,680 Speaker 1: looking out, things weren't so stable. Doubt had been introduced 469 00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:42,639 Speaker 1: into the group's own private shout in. But with that 470 00:27:42,760 --> 00:27:46,040 Speaker 1: doubt came the question of equality. Were they all being. 471 00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:47,640 Speaker 2: Treated equally and fairly? 472 00:27:48,040 --> 00:27:51,240 Speaker 1: It was one guy making more than the rest. Egos 473 00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:54,440 Speaker 1: started to call the shots. One by one, guys began 474 00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:58,280 Speaker 1: to ask Rizza to release them from their contracts. These 475 00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:00,800 Speaker 1: were the contracts that Riza set up with each member 476 00:28:00,840 --> 00:28:03,600 Speaker 1: eight years earlier in ninety two, when the group first 477 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:07,520 Speaker 1: signed with Loud Records, contracts that split their earnings fifty 478 00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:11,040 Speaker 1: to fifty with Rizza and Wu Tang Clan Productions. All 479 00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:13,359 Speaker 1: the guys in Wu Tang had one of these contracts, 480 00:28:13,720 --> 00:28:17,040 Speaker 1: all except Jizza, who didn't do written contracts with his brothers. 481 00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:21,560 Speaker 1: Jizza did handshakes. But this wasn't nineteen ninety two anymore, 482 00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:24,440 Speaker 1: and Wu Tang wasn't just a group of neighborhood guys 483 00:28:24,440 --> 00:28:26,600 Speaker 1: looking to lift themselves off the streets and into a 484 00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:30,320 Speaker 1: better life. It was the year two thousand. They had 485 00:28:30,359 --> 00:28:34,040 Speaker 1: the better life, and the better life felt different. It 486 00:28:34,080 --> 00:28:39,280 Speaker 1: didn't feel personal anymore. It felt like business. Just what 487 00:28:39,320 --> 00:28:42,520 Speaker 1: Wu Tang's business was at this particular moment in time 488 00:28:42,600 --> 00:28:47,800 Speaker 1: depended on who you asked. Federal Bureau of Investigation Memo 489 00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:53,080 Speaker 1: date four or five, two thousand precedents, routine kid number 490 00:28:53,200 --> 00:28:56,760 Speaker 1: two eight one f dash ny dash two seven one 491 00:28:56,840 --> 00:29:01,640 Speaker 1: seven four seven title Wu Tang Clan synopsis requests the 492 00:29:01,680 --> 00:29:04,080 Speaker 1: assistance of the fast unit to be involved in the 493 00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:08,080 Speaker 1: above captioned case details. The Wu Tang Clan is a 494 00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:10,600 Speaker 1: well known musical group from the Staten Island, New York 495 00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:14,280 Speaker 1: area that specializes in rap type music. The Wu Tang 496 00:29:14,360 --> 00:29:17,040 Speaker 1: Clan was started in the early nineteen nineties and was 497 00:29:17,080 --> 00:29:21,080 Speaker 1: founded by It is primarily made up of the above 498 00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:24,000 Speaker 1: case captioned individuals who are more widely known by their 499 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:27,640 Speaker 1: street names in the music industry. Now, the guns purchased 500 00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:30,000 Speaker 1: by the Wu Tang Clan have been traced to the Steubenville, 501 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:33,600 Speaker 1: Ohio area. Once individuals have proven themselves as good and 502 00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:37,280 Speaker 1: loyal members of associates. They are offered contracts to record 503 00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:40,000 Speaker 1: rap music under one of the Wu Tang clan's record labels. 504 00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:44,680 Speaker 1: Numerous recording companies were incorporated in bank accounts established. 505 00:29:44,880 --> 00:29:47,440 Speaker 2: Some of the legitimate businesses operated. 506 00:29:46,960 --> 00:29:50,960 Speaker 1: By the Wu Tang Clan include record companies, record labels, albums, 507 00:29:51,240 --> 00:29:54,360 Speaker 1: real estate, a car leasing company, a clothing line, and 508 00:29:54,400 --> 00:29:57,800 Speaker 1: a production company. This case is being worked in conjunction 509 00:29:57,880 --> 00:30:01,760 Speaker 1: with Squad C thirty Violent Crime Slash Gang Squad, the 510 00:30:01,880 --> 00:30:04,640 Speaker 1: US Attorney's Office Eastern District of New York, the one 511 00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:08,760 Speaker 1: and twenty Precinct Detectives Unit NYPD Staten Island in the 512 00:30:08,840 --> 00:30:13,000 Speaker 1: Richmond County District Attorney's Office, Staten Island. It has anticipated 513 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:15,440 Speaker 1: that the RCDAO Forfeiture Unit. 514 00:30:15,320 --> 00:30:17,040 Speaker 2: Will also be involved in this case. 515 00:30:17,480 --> 00:30:21,520 Speaker 1: It is requested that the nyfbi's Fast Unit become involved 516 00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:24,720 Speaker 1: with this matter also. It has been assigned to the 517 00:30:24,760 --> 00:30:27,480 Speaker 1: task of identifying the flow of money through the assets 518 00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:29,880 Speaker 1: and entities controlled by the Wu Tang Clan and will 519 00:30:29,920 --> 00:30:31,800 Speaker 1: work in conjunction with the Fast Unit. 520 00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:34,880 Speaker 2: The Fast Unit, or. 521 00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:39,160 Speaker 1: Financial Analysis Strategic Targeting, was a top secret unit developed 522 00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:42,480 Speaker 1: as part of the FBI's anti money laundering investigations, and 523 00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:46,560 Speaker 1: intelligence strategy. The team was made up of customs agents, 524 00:30:46,840 --> 00:30:50,840 Speaker 1: FBI agents, the DEA, the Brooklyn DA's office, the Manhattan 525 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:54,200 Speaker 1: DA's office, and New York State Police in order to 526 00:30:54,240 --> 00:30:58,000 Speaker 1: identify targets, gather intelligence, and then pass that information along 527 00:30:58,040 --> 00:31:02,720 Speaker 1: the cooperating agencies. The FBI was undeterred in its pursuit 528 00:31:02,840 --> 00:31:07,480 Speaker 1: of equality, specifically in that important value in American society 529 00:31:07,720 --> 00:31:11,240 Speaker 1: where everyone has equal justice under the law. The law 530 00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:14,960 Speaker 1: was there to be obeyed. No one was above it, 531 00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:20,040 Speaker 1: not the Gambino family, but not Wu Tang Clan. Agents 532 00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:22,480 Speaker 1: at the FBI's New York Field office dug through old 533 00:31:22,560 --> 00:31:25,960 Speaker 1: arrest records courtesy of their NYPD colleagues to find some 534 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:28,760 Speaker 1: more dirt on the hip hop group. They planned to 535 00:31:28,800 --> 00:31:33,120 Speaker 1: turn this ant hill into a mountain, drug deals, robbery, shooting, 536 00:31:33,280 --> 00:31:36,480 Speaker 1: stints at rikers, whatever they could get to build their case, 537 00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:39,440 Speaker 1: and through blood, sweat and tears, earned the justice that 538 00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:40,120 Speaker 1: they craved. 539 00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:41,640 Speaker 2: And they were close. 540 00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:44,840 Speaker 1: They just needed a little more time and a few 541 00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:48,880 Speaker 1: more pieces of hard evidence. They'd get there, and when 542 00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:52,560 Speaker 1: they did, Wu Tang Clan, as the world knew them, 543 00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:56,000 Speaker 1: would come crashing to the ground. All the way back 544 00:31:56,000 --> 00:32:01,440 Speaker 1: to the streets from where they came. Jake Brennan in 545 00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:19,280 Speaker 1: this episode of Disgraceland is to be continued. Disgraceland was 546 00:32:19,280 --> 00:32:21,880 Speaker 1: created by Yours Truly and is produced in partnership with 547 00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:25,000 Speaker 1: Double Elvis. Credits for this episode can be found on 548 00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:28,640 Speaker 1: the show notes page at disgracelampod dot com. 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