The Wu-Tang Clan's 20-Year Plan
The Wu-Tang Clan. Clockwise from left: Ol’ Dirty Bastard, the GZA, the RZA, Inspectah Deck, Masta Killa, Raekwon and Ghostface Killah. Center, from left, Method Man and U-God.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of a remarkable year in music. Over the 12 months of 1993, Queen Latifah, De La Soul, Salt-N-Pepa, Snoop Dogg, A Tribe Called Quest and more than a dozen other rappers released albums that helped to change the sound of America. One of those albums wasn’t just a collection of songs — it was a business concept, too. The Wu-Tang Clan’s 1993 debut was the opening shot of an audacious plan to open the music industry to hip-hop made way outside the mainstream.

