The Tao of Wu

About this book

A unique book of wisdom and experience that reaches from the most violent slums of New York City to the highest planes of spiritual thought by the RZA founder of the Wu-Tang Clan and hip-hops most exalted wise man. The RZA the Abbot of the Wu-Tang Clan and hip-hop cultures most dynamic genius imparts the lessons hes learned on the journey thats taken him from the Staten Island projects to international superstar all along the way a devout student of knowledge in every form hes found it-on the streets in religion in martial arts in chess in popular culture. Part chronicle of an extraordinary life and part spiritual and philosophical discourse The Tao of Wu is a nonfiction Siddhartha for the hip-hop generation-an engaging seeking book that will enlighten entertain and inspire. The legions of Wu-Tang fans are accustomed to this heady mix-their obsession with the bands puzzlelike lyrics and elaborate mythology has propelled the group through fifteen years of dazzling multiplatform success. In his 2005 bestseller The Wu-Tang Manual the RZA provided the barest glimpse of how that mythology worked. In The Tao of Wu he takes us deep inside the complex sense of wisdom and spirituality that has been at the core of his commercial and creative success. The book is built around major moments in the RZAs life when he was faced with a dramatic turning point either bad (a potential prison sentence) or good (a record deal that could pull his family out of poverty) and the lessons he took from each experience. His points of view are always surprising and provocative and reveal a profound genuine and abiding wisdom-consistently tempered with humor and peppered with unique colloquial phraseology. It is a spiritual memoir as the world has never seen before and will never see again.