I love Wu-Tang Clan for their great rap music, and for the way they built their success. Besides Eminem, they were my inspiration back in high school to start writing rap rhymes.
I recently watched a documentary about the group’s story. I immediately realized that I could write an article with life lessons from their success.
The 20 life lessons I identified are accompanied by some of my rhymes. I hope you like them and they help you to grow.
1. Power of ideas
Powerful ideas give mental diarrhea
Putting out my words is like dancing in Sangria
We shouldn’t estimate the power of a good idea. Granted, ideas are a commodity in today’s world but a great idea never goes out of style. The name Wu-Tang Clan, the symbolism behind killer bees, and nine members in the crew…these were all great ideas!
2. Spark in your eyes, fire in your belly
You want a spark in your eyes and fire in your belly
But when you go on stage your knees turn to jelly
All the members in the crew were hungry for success. They had that spark in their eyes, especially The RZA, as told by the others. He was the glue that got everyone together. Whether they wanted to escape poverty or quit selling drugs, you could see their passion and hunger for success in their rhymes.
3. Don’t let the past define you
The past is behind you, the stars are aligned
Now is your time to break a line and shine
The “projects” were their home but they didn’t let that get them down. In fact, they conjured rhymes about their life in the “projects”. And everyone loved that!
Don’t let the past define you! Let it mold you to get better.
4. Learn to move a product
In the hustle and bustle you’re craving reaction
But gaining no traction, learn to move a product, aim satisfaction
As in any other business, they needed to move their product, their music, to people.
They were helped by another guy they brought in. He was a true hustler. He knew how to move a product. He would go directly to music stores with records after him to persuade them to put them up for sale.
5. He who is deserving of God
He who is deserving of God is a master
Of personal belief and is spiritually faster
There is symbolism behind the name Wu-Tang. It speaks of a monk in the distant past that is said to have climbed a “Moral Mountain”. Also, Wu represents, in a sense, the Universe and speaks of a person who is deserving of God.
This symbolism is behind many of their rhymes, and their personal beliefs as well.
6. Find the lengths of your capabilities
You may want to keep an eye on your limits
Or you might think you deserve all the visits
No one in the crew was a Jack-of-all-trades in my opinion. They each knew their capabilities and resorted to help each other out when they needed.
The best example is when they needed some catchy rap in the chorus part of “Cream”. Method Man provided the whole chorus part for that particular song. It’s still dope to this day.
7. Give it a year of your life
Patience is not my virtue I’m reckless
Life’s a reflection and now I am faceless
Success and greatness requires some sacrifices. We can’t have it all.
As in any other worthy endeavor, in the beginning you can’t see the whole path, only the next step. For the Wu-Tang Clan the first step was to give the idea of such a group one year of their lives. If it didn’t pan out, they would each go their own way. The rest is history.
8. Live what you preach
You give me advice like you’re some kind of preacher
I do recollect you’re not my kind of teacher
Their beliefs permeated everything they did. What I loved most about their rhymes was the authenticity behind them. They told their stories unapologetically.
If you want to be in the hearts and minds of your audience, it’s important to be genuine or the people will smell you phoniness a mile away.
9. Be original
Wave after wave of mediocrity
You’re gone essentially in search of symmetry
Dishing out unoriginal content is not a good strategy in today’s world, when the background noise is so loud that you can’t even hear yourself well.
Wu-Tang Clan succeeded by being original in their approach to rap music. Who had heard until then about a crew with nine members that used sounds of martial arts monks in the intro of their songs?
10. On-hands learning and trial & error
I’d rather make a mistake on the fly
Than jump on a snail and waiting to die
Inaction is the death of all dreams. Even if you don’t know all the details, sitting on the bench is not a way to honor your dreams.
On-hands learning and trial & error are simply a different perspective when it comes to learning and progress. Wu-Tang Clan is a good example of this. They took action and learned as they went. They didn’t know what the hell they were doing, well maybe except The RZA, who was the man with the vision.
11. Do something that you feel good about
A tiresome scenario plays in your mind
No dopamine is generated on the crime
Art is therefore sublime
When you decide to put your spirit on the line
It’s easy to get caught up in what people tell you to do or what your audience demands. Does that always coincide with what you feel good about doing?
It’s vital to do the things you feel good about. Worrying only about statistics and money is a way to get easily distracted or disappointed. At the end of the day, what matters the most? Follow the passion, and the money will follow you.
12. Work your butt off
All the hard work will pay off in the end
Sleepless nights will pay dividends
Owning and working in a music studio takes a lot of hours and sometimes sleepless nights.
As the saying goes, nothing beats a good hard day’s work. It’s true. The reason we’re feeling down at the end of the day is because we haven’t done anything to propel us forward.
13. Get your truth out
You march like a soldier in standard formation
And plug in your mind in someone else’s creation
The truth inside you can’t come out if you’re focused on someone else’s truth. Yes, it may be mesmerizing and could help you, but, in the end, you can’t escape the gravity of your own truth. You’ll only be frustrated if you don’t get your truth out in the form of your passions wrapped around it.
14. You are your worst enemy
The enemy inside should be the enemy you fear
Not the enemy outside throwing a wrench in your gear
We sometimes live in a personal Matrix, as we are our worst enemy. An ancient saying says that once the enemy within is silenced, the enemy outside can do us no harm. I second that.
There will always be enemies outside. What we can actually do is to silence the enemy within so we can be our best selves. Once your subconscious mind becomes your ally success will be up for grabs.
15. Play the hand you’ve been dealt
You cling on to hope but you feel at a loss
In spite of the cross you point at the boss
If the members of the Wu-Tang Clan wouldn’t have played the hand they had been dealt, I don’t think we would have had the same music from them. They played with their authentic stories and it shined through their rhymes.
We tend to mull over what qualities and flaws we have. But what we can do is to do the best with what we have, and borrow skills from other people in our team.
16. Go back to move forward
There is a fault in your Hail Mary play
You forgot to go back to move forward in delay
This may seem counterintuitive but it’s not. Check this out. This advice has two sides to it.
On one hand, going back means to go within yourself for guidance. On the other hand, it means to look in your past for keys to your future. As Steve Jobs once said, “You cannot connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect the dots looking backwards”.
17. Find the talent within yourself
Find me a talent I’ll put it on display
I’mma help other people search for a similar way
What would have happened had the members of Wu-Tang Clan not found the talent within? Surely, most of them might have ended in jail or shot.
The talent you have within is your ticket out of problems. Greatness lies within you. You merely have to find it, and then share it with the world. That’s what they did.
18. Art as a refuge
Lyrical skepticism is the way to go
Like painting a canvas with no creative flow
I’ve always found art to be therapeutic. It can be used as a refuge from mundane problems.
Think about it. As I’ve said before, the members of the group would’ve probably ended up in jail or shot had they not found refuge in music.
Writing and music has always helped me to deal with stress and failures.
19. Go against the odds if need be
I’m racking up kills and you’re telling me I’m slow?
The odds are in your favor but I’m about to blow
The world doesn’t owe us anything. Rather it stacks all odds against us apparently. But that is the path one must travel if greatness is to come into his life.
The Wu-Tang Clan had their hard times as well. The police were somehow trigger-happy and saw them as potential criminals. They also went against the odds in the music industry with their unique style, which, in the end, is what helped them to be successful.
20. Break the cycle of evil
Devious ploy on top of your membrane
I got a knack for a whimsical late game
Who are you to question me? I wanna stay sane and pray for the same!
Invasion of wisdom in my brain.
Life may seem like a hamster wheel sometimes. We should find that one thing to get us out.
For the Wu-Tang Clan it was music. They broke the cycle of evil by doing something they felt good about.
Think of all the people that were inspired by their music, myself included. Had they remained trapped in the hamster wheel, how would have our world looked today?
Be sure to like and share this article if you liked it. And drop a comment below with your thoughts on it. It’s much appreciated.
P.S. If you want to read about how I got into rap, and then into slam poetry, go and check out this article.