Member of rap’s first family a RIOT on campus
Sat Dec 08, 2007
By: By Christy Chase
OSHAWA — A rather interesting mix, the musicians listed by rapper U-God as his influences.
The rapper, part of the popular and long-lived Wu Tang Clan, made a brief appearance at Durham College and on RIOT, the campus radio, Nov. 30 before he and several other clan members performed at Le Skratch that night.
One of the last questions he was asked, before the shortened question-and-answer event got cut off, was about his influences.
He listed Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Bob Marley and, wait for it, Barry Manilow. Yes, Barry Manilow. Who knew
U-God was the only one of his fellow Wu Tang Clan members who made it to the radio interview, held live in the Marketplace Cafeteria on campus. And even he was delayed by more than an hour, due to problems at customs. The others didn’t arrive until after the interview was over.
But the crowd didn’t seem to mind and spent the time watching Wu Tang Clan videos and talking. When U-God finally arrived, he was greeted with loud applause and a bigger audience than he expected. He talked about a soon-to-be released album and in particular the changes in the group’s music. Don’t expect the same sound, he told his fans.
“We grew,” he said. “We can’t talk about some of the stuff we used to because we’re not living that anymore. We got babies. Some of us are married. There’ll be a little touch of the old flair with a little touch of the new.”
As for the current state of rap, U-God lamented the attempts to “revamp” rap, something he says can’t be done.
“You can’t really regurgitate it, you can’t reduplicate it,” he said. “They took our formula. We’re the first hip-hop family.”
He called the group’s and its individual members’ successes “truly the Lord’s blessings.”
He praised the fans, saying the fans have backed them for 15 years, since the start. And he also signed autographs at the end of the interview.
Source: News Durham Region (via Art Vandelay)