'Wu-Tang: An American Saga': Why Hulu needs to renew the iconic hip-hop group's story for a second season
The season finale of 'Wu-Tang: An American Saga' aired this week and we haven't gotten the whole story of how the RZA brought nine rappers together from opposing hoods of Staten Island to form the Wu-Tang Clan. Initially touted as a miniseries, the Hulu show has released ten episodes which begin with the RZA's (then Bobby) elder brother, Divine, being arrested and Sha (Raekwon) shooting up Dennis's (Ghostface Killah) house while he was there with his two younger brothers.
Created by the RZA and Alex Tse, the show covered plenty in the ten episodes that have aired so far: Bobby and Dennis selling marijuana to make money for their families, Divine getting out of prison and how he started selling drugs to support his family, Dennis's relationship with Bobby's sister and Shurrie -- a composite character made up of the RZA's real-life sisters -- who eventually becomes pregnant with his baby. The show also individually covered other members of the group, like Shotgun (Method Man) who used to play lacrosse, Sha's return to making music, and even Bobby's turn as Prince Rakeem, recording his single, 'Oh, We Love You Rakeem' with Tommy Boy Records.
We even see the many things that influenced the Wu-Tang Clan's music, like the Hong Kong Martial Arts films that inspired the group's name, many of their songs and even some of the members' names. Gradually, throughout the season, we also see the growing influence of the Five Percent Nation on Bobby, which led to the Supreme Alphabet and Mathematics featuring primarily in the group's music. We also see the death of a man named Haze -- in real life, Ernest Sayon -- that made these young men first realize they had a common fight.
Of course, when the finale ended, things had only just started up. Bobby recorded a song with some of the people who would eventually become members, but not all of them. Masta Killah was only just introduced in the last episode and we still haven't seen Dennis overcome his beef with Sha or Shotgun. Moreover, the shooting in the last episode is speculated to be the one that changed Bobby's life -- when he faced eight years in prison, but was found not guilty and would a little over a year later, release the Wu-Tang Clan's first album. Divine also just started taking economics classes and that's the starting point for him to become a genre-defining manager of the group.
With so much more left to cover, it goes without saying that the show needs to be renewed. Not only have we not got the defining moment where all of the members come together to record the music, but fans also want to see the stories behind the making of the first studio album, 'Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)'.
Of course, it cannot just end there. The Wu-Tang Clan revolutionized East Coast hip-hop music at a time it was losing steam and went on to influence future generations of rappers such as Jay-Z and Kanye West. Divine and Power changed the game with respect to how the nine rappers were managed as a group and individually.
Hulu's 'Wu-Tang: An American Saga' is arguably one of the best pieces to come out of television this year with its unique styles and heartfelt storytelling and the show, as well as its fans, deserve the continuation of the saga.
All episodes of 'Wu-Tang: An American Saga' are now available to stream on Hulu.