Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group that consists of: RZA, GZA/Genius, Ghostfac… Read Full Bio ↴Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group that consists of: RZA, GZA/Genius, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group. They were formed in (and are associated with) the New York City borough of Staten Island (referred to by members as "Shaolin"), though Masta Killa and GZA are from Brooklyn and Inspectah Deck is from the Bronx. They have gone on to become multi-platinum record producers, Grammy winners, TV and film stars, screenwriters, product spokespersons, business owners and, most recently, major motion picture composers. The Clan featured nine MCs until the death of Ol' Dirty Bastard in 2004. One of the most critically and commercially successful hip hop groups of all time, Wu-Tang Clan shot to fame through their uncompromising brand of hardcore rap music. Since their debut, they have introduced or launched the careers of numerous other artists and groups, and already in 1994 there were credited to be over 300 Wu-Tang Clan affiliates, known as the Wu-Tang Killa Bees, consisting of rappers, producers, and record label CEOs.

The founders of the Wu-Tang Clan were RZA, GZA, and Ol' Dirty Bastard, who had previously formed the group Force of the Imperial Master (later known as All In Together Now after the release of a popular single by that name). The group attracted the attention of some notable figures in the industry, including Biz Markie, but did not manage to secure a record deal. After the crew dissolved, GZA and RZA (then known as Prince Rakeem) embarked on their solo careers with Cold Chillin' Records and Tommy Boy Records respectively, but to little success. Their frustration with the workings of the hip hop music industry would provide the main inspiration to Wu-Tang Clan's revolutionary business plan. According to The Wu-Tang Manual, at the group's inception, RZA promised the members that if he had total control of the Wu-Tang empire, it would conquer the hip hop world within a dynastic cycle, after which he would relinquish his total control.

Wu-Tang Clan was gradually assembled in late 1992 from friends and accomplices from around Staten Island, New York, with RZA as the de-facto leader and the group's main producer. Two of the cousins, GZA (pronounced Jizza) and RZA (pronounced Rizza), created their new Wu-Tang aliases by mimicking the sound that the words "genius" and "razor" would make when scratched on a turntable.

"Wu-Tang" comes from the name of the Taoist holy mountain Wu Dang in northwest Hubei Province in central China; it was also the site of the Ming Dynasty Purple Imperial City built during the reign of the Yongle Emperor in the early 15th century. RZA and Ol' Dirty Bastard adopted the name for the group after seeing the kung fu film Shaolin and Wu Tang, which features a school of warriors trained in Wu-Tang style. The group's debut album loosely adopted a Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang theme, dividing the album into Shaolin and Wu-Tang sections and using dialogue excerpts as skits.

The group have also developed various backronyms for the name (as hip hop pioneers like KRS-One and Big Daddy Kane did with their names), including "We Usually Take All the Niggas' Garments," "Witty Unpredictable Talent and Natural Game" and "Wisdom, Universe, Truth, Allah, Nation, and God".

Method Man has also mentioned that the "Wu" is the sound a sword makes when cutting through the air, and "Tang" is the sound it makes against a shield.

The Clan first became known to hip hop fans, and to major record labels, in 1993 (see 1993 in music) following the release of the independent single "Protect Ya Neck", which immediately gave the group a sizeable underground following. Though there was some difficulty in finding a record label that would sign Wu-Tang Clan while still allowing each member to record solo albums with other labels, Loud/RCA finally agreed, releasing their debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), in late 1993. This album was popular and critically-acclaimed, though it took some time to gain momentum. Though hip hop had long had a gritty texture, the surreal aggression and minimalist production of 36 Chambers nevertheless had a huge impact on the genre, and was to prove massively influential over the next decade. By the beginning of the 21st century, the album had become a regular fixture on "Best Albums of the 90s" lists as well as a frequent choice for "Best Albums of All Time" lists. The success of Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) established the group as a creative and influential force in early 1990s hip hop, allowing GZA, RZA, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa to negotiate solo contracts.

www.wutang-corp.com

Run
Wu-Tang Clan Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Crack backs heavy on the cash all night
At the drug site we hung tight
Three o'clock in the night ounces of coke dirty kicks
Money gets low in the street yo
Tough times nickles that's bigger than dimes
You know the flavor
Roughneck city ain't nothin' sweet kid ain't nothin' pretty
New York be poppin' the cork on crime look at the nine

Summertime in the court house ? shit whats mine
Two to four three to nine benatoned it what
We all ran coke grams, you outta luck
Young bucks carrying gats, stay fat for what
We all slipped through the po-nig nobody bust
Freeze, we in the breeze with the blunts
Nobody drop the trees or they fronts
Meet on the roof look off the front play low
Watch out for po-po that's how it go
Three in the whip, we not legit though, run for the gusto
Peep Marcel and Brown comin' around dippin' the logo
Run! if you ever got somethin' on you son
You best a run, be off the set, bounce on the projects
Cease another Vick, weed in your piss and parole gots to have it
Slide like a rabbit move quick this is it
Hang jump from the fire escape, I made it
Drop the clip fingerprints all on it, ah fuck the bullets
I'm losin' my pants, I advance in my speed, succeed in my travel
Dance on em, in a fucked up whip, make my heart skip
Caught up in the drug traffic I astounded by the outfit
One twentieth tried to knock my whole click
Run! these black boys that take none
Don't cop out shit, take the three six and add that shit
Run! if you ever pack a nice size gun
Run! if you sell drugs to your dun
Run! be the fuck out word god run hard

Between two cars we park, pepper got sparked
In the dark heads scramble at the six ooh
Spy's lookin' at you one two lookin' too
How you roll what you stole let me see you
Nah fuck you, if you wasn't a cop I might bust you, I don't trust you
Coppers lust over my crew, forget a curfew
We gather in the plaza to jerk through
Three sixty with the crime waves modern day slave
First one to peel, it's not real
Plant that as a matter of fact we crack em down
Us against brown,run fast like you ran track
Never look back push the A-C-C on the sidewalk
Crash, toss the heat and tear ass
Zig zag till you reach your stash
Run! if you sell drugs to your dun
Run! be the fuck out word to god run hard
Me and the god back to back one eighty five
And the four five survive that shit
Niggas came even though I seen you rollin' there bowlin' in green kid
This cream'll get you rocked, knocked if you don't run
Don't grab my jacket dun get the fuck off, break north
Or go to jail, word life is trife, on the block it's too hot
You got my man shot, nigga run
We wylin' on Staten Island it's one thing bein' in the bing
And not smilin' on the gate it's too late
Fate held you over, jakes runnin' for snakes
The white rover, with the plates burn down Gee street
Comin' from outta state, see me in the drivers seat
Coolin' without the I.D., it's not me
Babylon to the god, D-I-V-I-N-E

Run! if you sell drugs to the dun
Run! be the fuck out, word to god run hard

Overall Meaning

The song "Run" by Wu-Tang Clan is centered on the theme of drug trafficking and dealing in the streets of New York City. It starts with a narrative of a group of drug dealers hanging out on the street dealing with the difficulties of the drug world. The lyrics describe the struggles they face, the risks they take, and the challenges that come with their illegal lifestyle. Three o'clock in the night ounces of coke dirty kicks, Money gets low in the street, yo, Tough times, nickels that's bigger than dimes, You know the flavor, Roughneck city ain't nothin' sweet kid ain't nothin' pretty. The song also highlights their technique and tactics to evade the police and avoid getting caught. The title of the song "Run" is a command that represents the sense of urgency and the need to be smart, quick and agile to succeed in the streets. The ending of the song is a combination of different stories, the narrative of drug dealers and a message of self-preservation and protection against harm.

Line by Line Meaning

Crack backs heavy on the cash all night
Dealing crack all night, making money

At the drug site we hung tight
Staying together at the drug site

Three o'clock in the night ounces of coke dirty kicks
Dealing coke late at night with dirty shoes

Money gets low in the street yo
Not making as much money selling drugs

Tough times nickles that's bigger than dimes
Times are tough, selling cheaper drugs

You know the flavor
You know how things are

Roughneck city ain't nothin' sweet kid ain't nothin' pretty
Living in a rough city, nothing nice about it

New York be poppin' the cork on crime look at the nine
New York has a lot of crime, guns are prevalent

Summertime in the court house ? shit whats mine
In court over something that might be mine

Two to four three to nine benatoned it what
Two to four years or three to nine years in prison, what's better?

We all ran coke grams, you outta luck
Everyone sold coke but you can't now

Young bucks carrying gats, stay fat for what
Young people carrying guns, for what reason?

We all slipped through the po-nig nobody bust
We all got away from the police

Freeze, we in the breeze with the blunts
Stop! Hanging out and smoking marijuana

Nobody drop the trees or they fronts
Don't drop the marijuana or money

Meet on the roof look off the front play low
Meet on the roof, look out front, keep a low profile

Watch out for po-po that's how it go
Be careful of the police, that's how it is

Three in the whip, we not legit though, run for the gusto
Three people in the car, not legal, running to make as much money as possible

Peep Marcel and Brown comin' around dippin' the logo
Marcel and Brown coming around, hiding the logo

Run! if you ever got somethin' on you son
Run if you have anything illegal on you

You best a run, be off the set, bounce on the projects
You should run, leave the area, leave the projects

Cease another Vick, weed in your piss and parole gots to have it
Stop another Vick, marijuana in your urine and probation requires you to stop

Slide like a rabbit move quick this is it
Move quickly and cautiously like a rabbit, this is the moment

Hang jump from the fire escape, I made it
Jump from the fire escape, I made it safely

Drop the clip fingerprints all on it, ah fuck the bullets
Drop the gun clip, fingerprints on it, forget the bullets

I'm losin' my pants I advance in my speed succeed in my travel
I'm losing my pants while running fast and succeeding in escaping

Dance on em, in a fucked up whip, make my heart skip
Drive recklessly making heart race

Caught up in the drug traffic I astounded by the outfit
Caught up in the drug traffic, impressed by the outfit

One twentieth tried to knock my whole click
Police tried to arrest all of us

Run! these black boys that take none
Run from these tough black guys

Don't cop out shit, take the three six and add that shit
Don't give up, stand strong and fight back

Run! if you ever pack a nice size gun
Run if you have a big gun

Run! if you sell drugs to your dun
Run if you sell drugs to your friend

Run! be the fuck out word god run hard
Run fast and get away

Between two cars we park, pepper got sparked
Park between two cars, start using pepper spray

In the dark heads scramble at the six ooh
In the dark, people are scattering

Spy's lookin' at you one two lookin' too
Police are keeping an eye on you, so are others

How you roll what you stole let me see you
How do you act and what did you steal, show me

Nah fuck you, if you wasn't a cop I might bust you, I don't trust you
No way, I don't like you, I'd hurt you if you weren't a cop, I don't trust you

Coppers lust over my crew, forget a curfew
Police are after us, we don't care about curfews

We gather in the plaza to jerk through
We gather to hang out and dance

Three sixty with the crime waves modern day slave
Living in a city full of crime, like a modern day slave

First one to peel, it's not real
First one to leave is not really a part of the group

Plant that as a matter of fact we crack em down, us against brown
Make it a fact, we fight against law enforcement, against brown people

Run fast like you ran track, never look back push the A-C-C on the sidewalk
Run fast like an athlete, don't look back, use the abbreviation of the drug to write it on the sidewalk

Crash, toss the heat and tear ass, zig zag till you reach your stash
Crash the car, throw the gun and run fast in a zig-zag pattern to reach your hiding place

Me and the god back to back one eighty five and the four five survive that shit
Me and my friend, back to back, we survived despite being outnumbered

Niggas came even though I seen you rollin' there bowlin' in green kid
People came even though I saw you driving down the street

This cream'll get you rocked, knocked if you don't run
Selling drugs will get you in trouble, you need to run

Don't grab my jacket dun get the fuck off, break north
Don't hold on to me, go away, run north

Or go to jail, word life is trife, on the block it's too hot
Go to jail or run, life is hard, too much heat on the block

You got my man shot, nigga run
You got my friend shot, you should run

We wylin' on Staten Island it's one thing bein' in the bing
We're doing crazy things on Staten Island, it's better than being in jail

And not smilin' on the gate it's too late, fate held you over
It's too late to be smiling on the jail gate, fate is holding you over

Jakes runnin' for snakes, the white rover, with the plates burn down Gee street
Police are pursuing criminals, destroying cars with fake plates on a certain street

Comin' from outta state, see me in the driver's seat
Coming from another state, see me driving the car

Coolin' without the I.D., it's not me
Cooling down without identification, pretending it's not me

Babylon to the god, D-I-V-I-N-E
Search for God, divine intervention

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Dennis Coles, Jason Phillips, Jason T Phillips, R Diggs

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS