Wu-Tang Clan were celebrated in New York City yesterday after a district was named in their honour.
The city named the streets of the Park Hill area – the Staten Island neighbourhood where members of the group come from – as the ‘Wu-Tang District.’ Back in December, the New York City Council voted unanimously to name the area after the group in honour of their contributions to the borough.
There was a celebratory ceremony held in the area yesterday (May 4) where the district’s new name was unveiled. According to the Staten Island Advance, NYC council member Debi Rose described the occasion as “a great day where we have an opportunity to honour our hometown heroes, the young men who put Staten Island on the map internationally.”
Rose continued: “They overcame all types of challenges, to not only become rap artists and hip-hop artists but [also] to inspire and challenge the music world.”
Later in the day, Wu-Tang Clan’s Raekwon shared a clip of the moment when the area sign was unveiled and wrote: “Thank you Staten Island, New York.”
Thank You Staten Island, New York
Posted by Raekwon on Saturday, May 4, 2019
Last year, the same council also declared November 9 as an official ‘Wu-Tang Clan Day’. The news came as the group celebrated the 25th anniversary of their classic debut album ‘Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)’.
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Meanwhile, the group are due to embark on a tour with Public Enemy and De La Soul later this month to mark the anniversaries of their landmark hip-hop albums.
The mammoth ‘God Of Rap’ tour celebrates the groups’ iconic rap records: Wu-Tang Clan’s ‘Enter The Wu-Tang 36 Chambers’ (1993), Public Enemy’s ‘It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back’ (1988), and De La Soul’s ‘3 Feet High And Rising’ (1989).
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The groups will play three UK arena shows together at The SSE Arena Wembley on May 10, Manchester Arena on May 11, and Glasgow The SSE Hydro on May 12. After that, they travel to Europe – the full dates are listed below:
Friday May 10, 2019 – LONDON SSE Arena, Wembley (United Kingdom)
Saturday May 11, 2019 – MANCHESTER Arena (United Kingdom)
Sunday May 12, 2019 – GLASGOW SSE Hydro (United Kingdom)
Tuesday May 14, 2019 – DUBLIN 3Arena (Ireland)
Friday May 17, 2019 – PARIS AccorHotels Arena (France)
Tuesday May 21, 2019 – COPENHAGEN Royal Arena (Denmark)
Thursday May 23, 2019 – OSLO Spektrum (Norway)
Speaking to Music Week, SJM promoter Chris Wareing said: “I don’t believe anything like this has been done in the UK before on this level.”
“This tour creates a legacy, it’s a moment. The groups are the biggest in their genres, they’re all celebrating notable anniversaries of their biggest albums and I am led to believe this is the first time they have all been on the same bill together.”