The Wu-Tang Clan to release '8 Diagrams' This Summer

By: Yves Erwin Salomon

The Wu-Tang Clan is back. The influential east coast group is working on their first album in six years, 8 Diagrams, which they plan to release this summer on SRC/Universal Records. Group co-founder RZA said in a released statement, "This is the perfect time for us to come back, the stars are aligned....It's like when we first started with Steve (Rifkind). We put out real hip-hop at a time when it was turning into pop or R&B. We brought the focus back to the music in its rawest form, without studio polish or radio hooks."

RZA added, "People want something that gives them an adrenaline rush. We're here to supply that fix. How could hip-hop be dead if Wu-Tang is forever? We're here to revive the spirit and the economics and bring in a wave of energy that has lately dissipated."

SRC Records is owned by Steve Rifkind, who signed the Wu-Tang Clan to his Loud Record label in the early '90s.

Rifkind added, "The energy is just like it was, and it's needed in our industry same as back then. Over the last few years, the group has developed a whole new fan base of 20-year-olds and even younger who've never even seen them play."

The Wu-Tang Clan consists of RZA, GZA, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Inspectah Deck, Raekwon, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol'Dirty Bastard.

The new album will feature previously recorded material from the Ol' Dirty Bastard plus a tribute song, "Life Changes," dedicated to the late rapper.