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Wu-Tang Clan
The 8 Diagrams
Out November 13th

"At one point I gave up on hip-hop. I was disappointed in the system," says RZA. "But so then I got an epiphany, like "Yo, man, we're important to hip-hop.'" After that revelation, Wu-Tang Clan's chief producer decided the time had come for another Wu-Tang album and assembled the group's eight members in New York in April. Over the next few months, the Clan recorded The 8 Diagrams, which RZA describes as a mix of classic Wu sounds with some new twists. "Some songs got that 36 Chambers sound, some remind me of Wu Forever," RZA says, "But then there's some more experimental stuff. I'm a composer now. I know how to write music and chord progressions." RZA, who produced about half the album, used live musicians on several tracks; one of them, currently called "Gently Weeps," features a version of the Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" played by a band featuring Red Hot Chili Pepper John Frusciante on lead guitar and Dhani Harrison, George's twenty-nine-year-old son, on acoustic. Though Ol' Dirty Bastard, who died in 2004, was missed, RZA used ODB vocals from 1993 on the album, and he says Wu can still sound as badass as ever: "Wu-Tang will still fuck you up."