Hello All:
By now you've heard the sad news of the transition of an Icon, Popa Wu, sage of the Wu Tang Clan, into the realm of the Ancestor/Angels.
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| POPA WU REST IN POWER AND PEACE |
When my sister/friend, Diva Cathy Lee Jones, producer and promoter of Wu Tang dropped the news on me six hours after she had learned of his transition. She was beside herself with sorrow. She had just spoken with him a few hours before his passing, and since the reality had not totally set in, she was in a minor state of shock. She was trying valiantly to process how a person so full of life and energy, having fun with his friends and associates, could be so vibrant and energetic one minute, and then suddenly gone the next:
Cathy: " Raison Allah called me last night. He
was with Popa Wu when they called me at the Parliament,
which is the 5 Percent Nation's Church, in Harlem. I just spoke with him!! He was with Raison Allah, the producer of "Dirty one word can change the world – ODB Documentary. " It won 4
awards, including the New York International Film Festival. Popa
Wu is narrating that documentary. In it they talked about the Shinnecock and
the entire family history. Raison also is the writer of the feature
film about Dirty, that is set up with SONY right now. It's been in
BillBoard and Rolling Stone. He's
from Brooklyn. Popa Wu is his blood uncle. He's in ODB's rap group
called Brooklyn Zoo, which is comprised of Dirty's cousins, and
Raison is the leader of the group, and he's called the Zu Keeper. So they were all
up there speaking, and Raison called me to talk to Popa Wu. We
talked. Then they called me again, they were looking for Bobbi
Humphrey to see if she was performing anywhere – I had done a
record with Raison and Bobbi. Raison directed the video. So they
were asking me if there was anybody who could find Bobbi. And he
seemed to be doing some sort of last minute tour. He was reminiscing
with me on the phone – it was a very odd situation. You're at this
public gathering and you get me on the phone – he started going
into the past, reminiscing. It was unbelievable. Around 3:00AM, I
woke up. I had had a dream with him in it. At 7:00 AM I get a call
– Popa Wu has died.
"His was a spirit that was larger than life - you knew when he was in the room. And now he's gone!"  |
| Cathy Lee Jones |
I totally understood Cathy's pain, having lost the love of my life tragically and totally unexpectedly six years ago, when she came to my rescue in the middle of my devastation. I was happy I could be there for her. There is a pain and sorrow that one can't get to or through, that requires the kind of soul searching process to try to make sense of something, but truly only the infinite has the final answers to.
But, in addition to being a friend, and a mentor, Popa Wu was also an Icon. A man who has made a major impact on history that has reached far beyond his humble beginnings in Brooklyn, NY.
Now, I'm not going to pretend to be an aficianado on all things Wu Tang, or the 5 Percent Nation - because I'm not. I'm from a different musical era and genre. But what I am is respectful of the awesome influence they've had on the Black world for two and a half decades, and counting. Their power and philosophy that was largely shaped and influenced by Popa Wu, who stepped in to work with them, before they became founders of the Clan - when they were still mere youths in the "hood" - without fathers in the home. Their lives could have taken a sadder, more tragic direction, had it not been for this brother, who was a major part of the Five Percent Nation, and saw it as his mission and responsibility to provide them with guidance and wisdom to guide them into a positive, productive manhood. A big, and probably unexpected, side effect was the formation of Wu Tang after the youth decided the current music didn't relate to who they were. They wanted to create something more expressive, culturally related, and in line with who they were as Black youth in the 90s. And what they created was way beyond anything they could dream, think or imagine.
In addition to speaking with Cathy Jones, I also had the privilege of speaking with Killah Priest in reference to the life, time and relevance of Popa Wu. And the love, respect, awe coming through the call was overwhelming. In fact, so much so, I transcribed as much of the conversation as possible, so that they speak for themselves instead of editorializing it.
This is such a great tribute to Popa Wu, it must be shared.
NOTE: Many may not know that Cathy Jones, SUNZ of Man and Threat Records owner, producer, and promoter, is also a direct descendant of the great orator, activist, and hero, Fredrick Douglass. But, if you're ever in a conversation with her, you'll quickly see that she has definitely inherited his oratorical DNA, because she pretty much speaks in pictures.
Cathy: "Brooklyn Born and Raised, Popa Wu is also a descendant of the famed Shinnecock Nation, with family ties to the Indian brother who sold the Island of Manhattan to the Dutch for a handful of beads. He is also related to Wu Tang founders RZA, GZA and ODB - dating their heritage back to pre-slavery. So he was a walking continuation of Black history."
As a speaker for the 5 Percent Nation, Popa Wu took his responsibilities seriously. He took charge of the upbringing of RZA, GZA and ODB, as well as the other youth in the community, under his wings, and taught them the basic principles of the 5 Percent Nation - i.e., they were Gods, they were Black men and had much to be proud of, they had a responsibility on this earth to live up to.
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| WU TANG CLAN CELEBRATING 25 YEARS |
Clearly this lesson was not lost on RZA, GZA, ODB and others, and when they started Wu Tang in 1993, they inculcated the tenets of this discipline into their music, lyrics, actions and attitudes and business plans. The influence of this philosophy has so permeated Hip Hop that it's gone beyond that into mainstream Black Culture. Taking it beyond the level of just Black and white, they were taught the supremacy of Black Asian male and female over the caucasian corrupt version of society.
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| Killah Priest |
Killah Priest, still processing the loss of his friend, was quietly reflecting on Cathy's statement, and added: "Popa Wu was like one
of the teachers to the Clan. He taught RZA and helped him when he was
young. He was like one of the older uncles to everybody; and not
only that, when we were all young, he was just that older guy –
when we made the song “Older Guys,” it was really about Popa Wu
because he was the one who would come around and teach us all the 5
Percent lessons. And 5 Percent lessons was just like Gods and Earth
– and Gods and Earths was derived from Islam. And he was like –
I call him the speaker - he was like the front speaker for the Nation
of Gods and Earths. We didn't even know we had an original speaker
until Popa Wu came through and just became our teacher. And he would
always just drop truths on me. He would say when you're walking
through the crowd, don't let people touch you! And I would ask him
why; and he would say you're royalty; don't let anybody touch you
like that. And that kind of like stuck to me when he said that. And
one of his jewels that he always would say is that “you can lead
the horse to the water, but you can't make him drink.” He always
said that. I mean he said that every time. And we used to joke and
laugh about it; and he would say, “Ok, here come the horses; here
come the horses!!And that's what he meant to us. He was everything
to everybody; so it you were Sunz of Man, he would become focused on
Sunz of Man; and if it was Raekwon, he would be all about Raekwon.
He was the leader. He was everything to everybody. And he was
always WuWu and shakaboo – and he would always drop a jewel. My closest moments with him are
every time. He ran with Dirty (Ol Dirty Bastard), and now he's going to get back with
Dirty and the rest of the Ancestors that are up there. It is just so
deep."
Popa Wu's influence in the Black urban community, as well as among brothers who had been incarcerated, is legendary! His principles of Black manhood resonated with so many of our brothers and sisters - Nation of Gods and Earths (NGE or NOGE) - that it has become a part of our nomenclature without our actually realizing it. Such phrases as "keeping it 100," or "keeping it real," among others are now part of our everyday sayings.  | |
| "Don't look towards the sky - because there's no heaven above; Don't look down beneath your feet, there's no hell below; Heaven and hell exist within! Heaven is what you make it, and hell is what you go through" -POPA WU |
Cathy Jones, of Threat Records, has been a friend of Popa Wu from the inception of Wu Tang, as well as a business associate. Her high praise and many accolades for him continued:
Cathy: "He's highly respected, like a Farrahkan, in
the Five Percent Nation – Nation of the Gods and the Earths. The
biggest thing nationally and internationally! Popa Wu was my conception of Malcolm X,
Farakhan, Marcus Garvey all rolled into one. He was not afraid to bring violence.
He scared everybody into playing our records. We were not loved.
They hated to love us because of Popa Wu. Popa Wu would come in and
– I took Popa Wu on the road with me when I went on the road by
myself promoting the record. Popa Wu announced at the door “I've
got Cathy Jones here from Sunz of Man – let us in!!" Take your album
with us. His direction was straight to the Djs – his records in
his hand. Even Funkmas. They would say that Cathy Jones and Popa Wu
were breaking down doors and getting those records played on those
turntables. Straight out! Popa Wu was no joke. If you had a problem
at the record label and you needed money, Popa Wu was no joke! He
would just take it upon himself; if they wouldn't play the album he
pull out the gun and insist they play it. He was the enforcer!"
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| Cathy Jones |
"Popa Wu was a
very, very out spoken, eccentric, primitive thinking Black American
Indian. He was definitely for his family – family first! That
was instilled in them as children. That's why they honored the Wu
Tang Clan. He is the backbone of this super successful,
multi-platinum, HipHop group that changed the world. He's the one
who uplifted the Black men and said “you are gods. Stand up.
You're not some nigga or bum or trash! You are a god!” And you
know it sounds outrageous and sacreligious to most people, but Black
men have been downtrodden so much; their image has been desecrated so
much that they need something extreme, such as calling yourself a god
to stand up and become a god. So it's a positive thing that most
people don't understand. And I want to say that he instilled Black
male security in themselves – period; end of discussion. And all
of these boys have excelled. They've taken care of their families.
You don't see them in children's court for not paying. You don't hear
about them being deadbeat dads. The preservation of the culture -
he was the messenger of that. The preservation of the responsibility
of the Black man standing up – not only for himself and his self
image, but for his family and his children – this man drilled that
in those young men's heads, and that's why Wu Tang Clan ain't nothing
to mess with!”
Killah Priest:
“Yes, she said it all, and that's the truth. Popa Wu was all that, and
he was like the dominant gene. He showed us all how to just be men.
Black men!! He meant a lot. And we wouldn't take any shit from any white people,
either.”
"I would
say Popa Wu was more like Malcolm – although Malcolm maintained his
cool, while Popa Wu would be ready to fight at a moment's notice. He
would throw down. He was a warrior. It was the family. They would
always be ready to fight. He was a fire cracker at some point. He
thought that every DJ was supposed to play Wu Tang at every point;
and if they didn't he would go into the booth. He would force the DJ
to play the record."
Some of his philosophy resonated with me, and was reminiscent of the Late Rev. Ike, who likewise taught Black people to love themselves and see themselves as having God in them, as opposed to being the wretched of the earth. The charisma of Popa Wu was pretty much the impetus behind the phenomenal success of the Wu Tang Clan. His teachings of the 5 Percent buoyed them up and solidified their vision and their discipline to take their group from the streets to legendary national and international success.
An artist in his own right, Popa Wu made appearances in movies, television, videos and as a speaker on several occasions. His clarity and intensity drove home the point that Black men and women had so much more to them than the meanstream media tried to depict. It was often the shot in the arm many needed to move from mediocrity and self doubt, to excelling and exceeding their own expectations.
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| Popa Wu |
The wonderful thing about Popa Wu is that his teaching does not stop with his passing, but is resonated and replicated via his exponents, who continue to teach and be exemplars via their music, their interactions and their examples.
Cathy Jones: He was
the main one upon the soap box drilling in our heads that the white
man is the devil. Do not believe, or listen
to anything he says. Do not deal with him. You have knowledge of
self and you are valuable. The white man is not valuable, he needs
you to succeed, and in the record business, he needs you to get rich,
so he's out to rob us, manipulate us and divide us. He was the one
who kept saying do not let this white man divide you for his white
“effing” money; and for the dead presidents, who are white. Do
not let the almighty dollar divide you; let the almighty dollar
continue to unite you so that you can become financially strong and
destroy the white man! And now Black people are really destroying the
white man financially. We're now financially 'white' – and I can say
that after watching him for 25 years, this man has not only instilled
it into Wu Tang, but into the entire HipHop Nation.
So this is
representative of the teachings of the Nations of the Gods and the
Earths. The rhymes is one. But this thing has taken over, since
WuTang has come into fruition, and Popa Wu is the head, preaching the
message, this particular science of upliftment of the Black man's
mind, this 5 Percent Nation, 'You Are God,' has now prevailed.
GDW: I'm going
to ask you a very clear question, and this is something that I'm
always concerned with, when it comes to us in leadership and
inspiration: Who is now going to move forward in his place? Or are
you all going to do like the Japanese do, and be able to share that
role across the board?
CATHY: It's
gonna be probably the RZA, but because he's so busy as an artist, he
will have a designated stand in – which will be all of them.
GDW:
Is that what you say also, Priest?
Killah: Yes.
GDW: That's what
I want to see. Because we have so many inspirational Icons, they
galvanize us because we've been so beaten down and victimized by
others via meanstream media. But, by the same token, if we put
everything on that one person, sometime people feel that once they're
gone, that's it. So while they stand for all of us, and try to teach
us, when something happens, there's a gap.
Cathy Jones:
That's the beauty of the Gods and the Earths – everyone shares the
knowledge; everyone shares the experience; and everyone within their
own adaptation of the vision and the message, they have their choice
to take the position and lead. There isn't some like hierarchy of
definition where you will always be relegated to being a follower.
Both of them have free message, free opportunity to speak and lead,
if they choose to. Like to make a reference to Min. Farrakhan, he
wrote a book called, “First We Must Become Brothers,” before we
take these positions of leaders. Because when you take a position as
a leader, you get arrogant. And you get separated. And that's how
the white man can come back in your mind and divide you again. But
the Nation has a problem, and he identified it with the book, “First
We Must Become Brothers.” But that was not the issue in the nation
of the Gods and the Earths. Wu Tang is such a beautiful example of
the synergy of unity, without jealousy – allowing each one to be
independent, yet together. This is why we have the Wu Tang together,
then the Wu Tang solo. Then I came and they gave me a label deal.
Anybody who wanted to step up and be responsible, and be in
acknowledgement of the teachings of the 5 Percent, understanding
their position as an Earth, your position as a God, we can lead
together. We are the example of that unification. And Popa Wu
instilled that in us. He changed the world, he changed young Black
people, and he turned it into leaders who are unified, and also
independent. All of us went solo, but came back together – solo,
came back together – for 25 years. We have a well oiled machine
for Black power, Black understanding, and Black unity.
GDW: So you
avoided the rivalry, which has destroyed many HipHop artists, which
is good.
Cathy Jones: We
avoided the rivalry – just to touch that. Yeah, we're family.
Everybody has grievances and “I don't really kind of like you, this
that and the other – but it does not stop us from our over all
superordinate goal of unity.
He was leading
the youth into unity and success. Leave these streets alone. You're
better than the trash they told you to be. You are a God."
The voice and wisdom of Popa Wu can be heard in practically everything Wu Tang has ever done. It is resonated through his teachings of the 5 Percent Nation. His presence and spirit imbues everything he has touched, and everyone he has influenced, and is not silenced now that he's made his transition to the realm of Ancestor/Angels. While it is a time for sorrow, it is also a time for high praise and honor and gratitude for all he did while he was on this plane of action. The lesson and the blessing and the gift is that he did not take it with him, but left it to be shared, multiplied and replicated.
While I offer my condolences to his family, friends, fans, and associates, I also offer my congratulations to them for having had the privilege of this wonderful brother in their lives, hearts and souls. May you continue to follow his path and blaze the trails.
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
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