Wu-Tang Changed My Life: Allday, Ivan Ooze, Nico Ghost and More
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Wu-Tang Changed My Life: Allday, Ivan Ooze, Nico Ghost and More

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Nico Ghost

“I can’t remember the very first time I heard Wu, but I will never forget hearing RZA for the first time – A Day To God Is 1000 Years,” says Ghost. “After I heard that, I went and bought The Tao of Wu and started reading. I felt an instant connection with RZA, a rapper who was interested and spoke about the spiritual aspects of life, who enjoyed eastern arts and was into film. The Tao of Wu helped me see the world in a different way, and showed me I wasn’t the only person who shared similar thoughts. I felt a kinship and belonging; through the words, through the music. RZA remains one of my idols and has shown me that I can change the world with words.”

Ivan Ooze

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“The first time I heard Wu Tang was at a party when I was about 15,” says Ooze. “I hung around with an older crowd, and the dude who threw the party loved their track Gravel Pit. Legit, probably played near eight times that night. The next day, I went and bought Enter The Wu-Tang and Iron Flag. I reckon I skated with those albums on repeat for around a year after I discovered them.”

Ultimately, it was the music of Wu-Tang that proved a catalyst for Ooze’s own further creativity.

“After I had basically memorised those albums, I felt like they influenced me to start writing about the problems I’ve dealt with, and the ways I went about forgetting [and] conquering them while growing a style I could call my own.

“Wu Tang basically gave me that push I needed to start rapping. So I guess that’s how they changed my life, or I wouldn’t be here doing this interview today. I’m honoured to be touring with them this month around Australia. Wu-Tang is for the children.”

Juñor

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“I was born in ’93, the year Enter the Wu-Tang came out, so I didn’t hear Wu until well after they were killing shit,” he says. “The first time I heard Wu was seeing the Gravel Pit music video. To me, nothing was cooler than a whole clan of motherfuckers feeding off each other seamlessly and rapping their asses off, while chilling around dinosaurs and talking trash on kung-fu ninjas while beating the shit out of them. Seriously. Discovering Wu-Tang had a massive impact on my path as a musician. Since that day, I’ve always wanted to make music with my own crew. Now I’m making my music, surrounded by a family of dinosaur hanging, kung-fu fighting motherfuckers and it’s dope.”

Peezo

“The first time I heard Wu Tang, I was eight years old. I was at my mate’s house and his big brother was a big East Coast hip hop guy and was always playing shit like Redman, Wu Tang, DMX, and Biggie,” recalls Peezo. “It changed my life because I was just so inspired that so many dudes could have their own styles and still be in a group that worked together, while all being so different aesthetically and making great music.”

Allday

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“The first time I heard Wu-Tang I was at my friend Damien’s house when I was about 11,” says the rapper. “He lived on my block, and his parents seemed to never be home. He was already in high school; he taught me about shoplifting, girls, skating, graffiti, hip hop – basically everything a teenage boy can get into. I was hooked on Wu-Tang right away. The macho sadness of jams like C.R.E.A.M and Can It Be All So Simple from 36 Chambers were my favourite; they made sense to me in the hot summers of the Adelaide Hills. We were so deep in the dead Adelaide suburbs that sometimes you could walk for ten minutes and not see a moving car or a living soul. Most of the people I knew seemed drug-fucked or crazy. It was depressing. And RZA’s production was the soundtrack to that for me.

“I can’t even begin to talk about the level of influence Wu-Tang Clan has had on my life. They taught me to simultaneously celebrate my low-class-ness, while striving for knowledge and self-betterment. All while they stayed cool and tough, eternally. That blueprint is unsurpassed. What they’ve done as a crew is unsurpassed. There will never be a crew assembled with as much skill, knowledge, style, cultural importance or artistic vision as the Wu-Tang Clan. Wu-Tang Forever.”

BY DAVID ALLEGRETTI