Anatomy of an imprint

Who thought up the name for Loud records back in the day? I'd bet on Ghost. Pretty Tony has a marketing savvy combined with a certain edge that's conducive to palatable names for imprints.

The question remains

What kind of health insurance does Wu Tang carry? The question's moot, since insurance pays for drugs, and the Wu goes holistic, except for maybe Method Man. He probably has Blue Cross.

In a perfect world

ODB and Curtis Mayfield would still be alive, and we'd get a team-up album.

Did you know

Cappadonna once told Baltimore City Paper that he's seen a UFO, but the details were a little murky. I believe him, though. Dude's touched by a particular sort of fire I can't really explain. Wouldn't surprise me if space aliens dig it.

Sharp

Masta Killa's got that line on "Made in Brooklyn" where he says "sharp as a n---a, on prom night." Somehow I can't see him at the prom.

Pissy

Method Man had that one line that went something like, "pissin' down your elevator shaft/no class." I could, in fact, picture John John pissing down an elevator shaft. It's the sort of harmless ballyhoo that's made him a hit on campus (and perhaps the wealthiest Wu member).

Case in point

Someone tell me if any of the Wu Tang lawsuits over royalties -- which were filed a few years ago -- have been resolved. Shit like that usually ends with a settlement, so I wonder if U-God got anything even close to his original asking price of $170,000. Just when you think that guy's asleep, he pops up to show you he knows what the fuck's happening.

Geez

So GZA tells Pitchfork a few weeks ago that Wu hasn't been "on the same page in years." I'll file that one under "shit that would come as a total shock if I was a moron." Everyone knows they have poor chemistry, but the group's on the mend 'cause they've gone back to letting RZA call the shots.

Still pretty in his 40s

Wikipedia says Pretty Tony's turnin' 42 next month. Think he'll rent out a hall? He's always been the Wu MC who digs controlled chaos -- you can tell by the production value on his solo tracks. So renting out a hall for a birthday bash would make sense.

Beastly

Daily Beast ran a pretty wretched story back in January on ODB's FBI file -- a highly suggestive piece that implicated other Wu members, and the writer apparently didn't even go at them for comment. Guess Marlow Stern treats informants' allegations, transcribed by the feds, as the gospel truth. Hope they never call him for jury duty.

True

Just read about True Master's bizarre rant in a Manhattan courtroom last year. Pretty hilarious that he threatened to fire the judge and still got bail.

Judge must be a fan.

Question

If RZA played chess in the park for 24-hours straight, would he have to break his prohibition on caffeine?

Maybe, but then again maybe not. Guy's superhuman.

Furious Anger

Shyheim's never been my favorite satellite member, but that cut he did with Big L has a lot of energy. I can live without the Samuel L. Jackson loop, though -- adds very little.

Deck (still) not dead

Just reading now about the donnybrook in '10 when everyone thought for about an hour that Inspectah Deck was dead.

More proof that the Internet lies at the root of every problem -- yeah, I said it -- afflicting our lives.

Royal Highness

Seen that article from Aug. '11 on Pitchfork where Ghost says he's suing Universal for unpaid royalties.

Love Pretty Tony, but how much can the guy possibly make on royalties at this point? All the money's in touring, so dude should just show up to concerts -- traditonally a tall order for all the Wu members, but they're getting better at it.

Street Corner

The Masta Killa track "Street Corner" has an expertly placed vocal loop, a hallmark of pretty much everything Mathematics does.

RZA's finest apprentice by far.

Hanging in

So which living Wu member woke up with the worst hangover on the Forever tour? And please note, I said living Wu member. Dirty doesn't count.