Wu-Tang: An American Saga season 1 premiere recap & explanation

Welcome to Show Snob’s recap and explanation of Hulu’s new biographical drama Wu-Tang: An American Saga. The series begins with the group’s formative rise.

Wu-Tang: An American Saga is essentially a memoir about the collective by leader the RZA, also known as Bobby “Digital” Diggs. I recently wrote that the new show has the potential to rival or be inspired by seminal production The Wire. After viewing for all of 15 seconds, I indeed felt that deja vu.

Here we have a delicately written and deeply personal account, recreated for online streaming in a beautifully meticulous, yet vividly scoped street manner. This is also the obligatory spoiler warning, before we enter season one, episode one.

Wu-Tang: An American Saga recap and explanation

A ripening iconic sound and a vast, well-devised set begin our journey into Shaolin; the first scene shows a young RZA creating the song ‘Wu-Tang: 7th Chamber’. That production was eventually heard on their game-changing album ‘Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)’. Then we move to Park Hill Apartments projects in Shaolin – another name for Staten; also called “Killer Hill”.

More. Wu-Tang: An American Saga could potentially be hip-hop’s The Wire. light

Crack cocaine is being distributed by Oliver “Power” Grant’s young crew. Power is an eventual Wu-Tang executive producer, confidant, and businessman; here he’s the ‘neighborhood plug’. Power asks his dealer where “Sha”, AKA Raekwon, is; they rendezvous and drive away.

As Dennis AKA “Ghostface Killah” prepares dinner for his disabled younger brothers, Power tells “Rae” that they are hunting him. Rae then proceeds to shoot at the family home of Ghost. This act was predicted by Show Snob in a recent article.

Power drops Rae from of the vehicle to stash the Tec 9 as police sirens are blazing. RZA opens his door to see Rae standing there and hides the gun for Rae, then he raps over the beat we heard at the start. Following this, the introduction credits play.

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Next up in Wu-Tang: An American Saga we meet RZA’s smooth and intriguing brother Divine, and Ason, AKA Ol’ Dirty Bastard, in a Chinese restaurant. “ODB” is at the counter begging for cheap food as Ghost enters and sits with Divine to complain of the shooting. Ghost, of Stapleton, wants to war with Park Hill – Divine declines to act fast; until the business is concluded. ODB tries to finish Divine’s food unsuccessfully.

Back with RZA, who is still working on his hip-hop production craft and writing his own rap rhymes, we learn of his expertise and intelligence. Reminding him of his drug-dealing commitments, Divine enters and informs his brother of the flat shooting. RZA attempts to discover if they know who did it because he hid the pistol. RZA sends his younger siblings to school.

Power and Divine discuss what to do next about Divine and his crew. ODB and Ghost interrogate RZA about his connections with Rae while onboard the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. A checkout girl is flirted with by ODB. Our introduction to “Shotgun”, AKA Method Man, is next. He is the assistant manager there. Ghost threatens a dealing employee, but is stopped by “Meth”. RZA asks Meth to rap over his beats.

Subsequently, RZA ditches his pals to play chess for money in a park. He tells his elderly gentleman opponent that music is his calling; though the streets are still calling him. He’s advised to drop the dealing and pursue his art.

Back at home, RZA’s mother instructs him to play her lottery number, although he has to intervene in a fight between a man and woman end route. Thusly he is reminded of his family’s domestic violence. Afterward, he goes into a musical instrument store where Kid Capri is DJ-ing, but RZA just wants the $2,000 DJ equipment.

RZA then meets Divine, Ghost, and ODB and unsuccessfully asks for an advance for his ‘corner hustling’ to buy the mixer, despite not working very hard. Another hustler named ” Grimace” turns up and immediately starts trouble with others, RZA departs looking glum.

At the Diggs household, we learn that Divine pays his mother’s rent; he is a successful hustler. The latter is also the de facto boss of the household. He tells his brother that he’s been saving up for kilos of cocaine and for the first time that amount is coming to Staten Island. Divine tells RZA to cut ties with his friend Rae because of the “move” on Ghost. Yet RZA says he and Rae are only making music – Divine opines to focus on his dream but “re-up” tomorrow, a reference to obtaining more drugs to sell.

light. Related Story. Wu-Tang: Of Mics and Men review

In a flashback, a very youthful RZA is sent away from New York to live with his uncle Hollis, presumably because of the trouble at home. In North Carolina, he is taught good manners, as well as good hygiene and structure is thoroughly encouraged. Returning to contemporary times in the show, the 1980s, RZA fails to steal the production kit from the shop.

Divine, a worker and Grimace deliberate over who should pick up drugs with RZA AWOL. Returning to Park Hill, Rae is told by Power to get the Tec back and kill Ghost that week. Seeing missed pages on his beeper, RZA calls Devine to no avail. That’s because he is in rival ‘hood Stapleton at a stash house.

Rae decides not to attack Ghost again. Divine is arrested then asks RZA to make some illicit cash; he also asks Ghost to watch over his family and business. When the phone call is ended early because of Divine being attacked in jail, it reminds RZA that his auntie beat him as a boy in NC.

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However, while there RZA also learned about positive things like perception and imagination. The next moment is very moving as boyhood RZA collected fireflies to accompany him in the dark at night when scared. Episode one ends with Ghost finding Rae’s Tec and ironically planning to use it against his enemy.

In my opinion that was an excellent initial episode for the show from Hulu. What did you think about it?

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