The rap group, the Wu-Tang Clan came out of a turbulent period of time in both the rap music industry and American society in the early 1990s. Lawsuits over sampling in rap music forced producers to rethink the ways they made music while crack cocaine and the War on Drugs wreaked havoc in urban communities across the nation, as it did in the Clan's home borough of Staten Island, New York. Before the formation of the group, Gary "GZA" Grice, had managed to land a recording contract as a solo artist, but his marketing was mismanaged and his career stagnated. He returned in 1992 as one of the nine member collective, who billed themselves as kung fu movie buffs melding low-fi, eerie productions with realistic raps about ghetto life. Drawing from the vibrant underground rap scene of New York City in the 1970s and 1980s, Brooklyn's rich African American chess tradition, the teachings of the Five Percenters, and the cult following for Hong Kong action cinema, the Clan became a huge hit across the country. Each member fashioned a unique masculine identity for himself, bolstering their hardcore underground image while pushing the boundaries of acceptable expressions of manhood in rap music. Their avant-garde approach and business acumen turned the group into `underground superstars' who sold millions of records worldwide. Despite their success as a multinational corporation, the Clan still managed to maintain their authentic image as underground devotees from the tough streets of Staten Island.
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