I'm sorry, but this whole Hot 97 banning Wu-Tang's music after Summer Jam is semi cap!
- Thread starter Newark88
- Start date
Devil Plisken…CMS
Veteran
Actual investigation started in 2005 if I remember right. But ain't Flex get physical with Steph Lova over this in 2002?
Absolutely. Nas went up there when the station was new, pawned her for her time slot, said some flagrant shyt and hightailed it out of there and put her in the crosshairs of a woman beater.
Made you look went months without being played on Hot 97 contrary to what that liar @Ziggiy is claiming
To play devils advocate WU’s second group of solo albums and group album didn’t have the radio hits the first group of albums had
Its weird because clearly something happened because flex and hot 97 apologized but it couldn’t have been a complete ban
I remember triumph getting a lot of spins.
Flex dropping the bomb on dangerous ground on Meths second album and playing it a lot so it wasn’t a complete ban I don’t think
Newark88
Superstar
Lol yep. My memory isn’t great but I’m pretty sure I remember when it first came out flex would play it three or four times in a row like you said lol
That was 2 years later though. There's nothing on Enter the 36 that's more of a single than anything on Forever. They've always released unconventional tracks as singles, all through their group and solo runs. Hellz Wind Staff could've been a single, Severe Punishment...The City, Impossible, A Better Tomorrow, The Second Coming...even Black Shampoo were primed for radio, having melodic hooks or typical song structure. Reunited was the 3rd single and got 0 airplay. So from August 97 to probably June/July 98, there was 0 Wu-Tang on the radio - not even Triumph or It's Yourz. I do know Ghetto Superstar was late Spring/early Summer '98...so that probably ended the drought. Your talking about the number 1 or 2 album having promotion halted on it. And Forever was supposed to lead into Deck's album for a '97 release, so putting on The City as a single would've definitely been the next move.
As for soundtracks and comps, In tha Beginning had Sucker MC's - no radio, that track off Rush Hour that Dame Grease did - no radio, and they pretty much ran the entire Rush Hour soundtrack, The Worst w/ Onyx video got run, but no radio. Off Hoodlum, So Good w/Rae got some video play but no radio, Dirty's Minnie the Moocher got no radio play and that could've easily been a runaway single...especially behind Mobb's Hoodlum.
Rae & Meth were the 2 biggest at that point, and for their 2nd albums - radio was virtually silent on them. Judgement Day was Meth's lead-in single and got no burn. Breakups to Makeups was the track that did, and that was '99 after they eased up on them. Rae was damn near invisible from radio. But as I said, it didn't help that the group also said eff it at that point...and didn't boguard their way through the streets. But by the time the ban softened, too much was different.
Last edited:
Newark88
Superstar
So to your point, no other Wu single outside of Triumph was getting rotation play on Hot 97 from my recollection. I do recall Its Yourz getting heavy mixshow burn tho. And also the underground shows on Hot at the time (Future Flavas with Pete Rock and Marley Marl, and Stretch and Bobbito) were playing all the Wu Forever album cuts on their respective shows. But I get it, those were more so underground theme shows, so in a way they don't count. The Onyx and Wu record that dropped going into 98 got played on Hot. Top of 98, I remember Flex playing Black Trump with Rae and Smif N Wessun and Slang Editorial by Cappadonna on his show but again to your point, I don't recall those specific songs getting rotation love. Ghetto Superstar and Meth's first 2 singles off Judgement Day got regular around the clock rotation tho. When Rae dropped Immobilarity, it didn't get any love except a song or two getting mixshow love. When Ghost dropped Supreme Clientele, Cherchez La Ghost was like the number 1 song on that station at that time or close to it.
Bugzbunny129
All Star
hot 97 was built off wutang. And they literally told them they wouodnt support them if they didnt show up. They lost their tour over it, so ghost said fukk hot 97 and that was that.
And when forever came out, they would play wu shyt, like one new song a night it dropped type. And then not again. Nothing with consistancy unless it popped off nationwide like got ya money odb. They were NOT in rotation. They got late night mixshow play. Not midday play.
. But they never played them with the frequency they used to. It was like a pity play to maintain relationship with labels. Meanwhile wu is featured heavy on mtv, all media spots; Everywhere except the place they literally popped off. So its not like wu “fell off” yet. It helped them spiral.
Meanwhile everyone new got mad time.
This isnt cap. Wu forever was way more successful than 36. Yet forevers era got signifcantly less play than 36 times.
It def had an effect in wus presence. The “wu fell off” narrative spawns more from them getting no looks more than theyre shyt was wack. Most Those albums werent any wacker than anyone elses and id say atleast half of them were still top projects in the game.
This is why flex and wu/rza/rae talk about a “beef”. Rae accused flex of not supporting his career after rae did singles for him. Rza did same. Theyve literally sat down and had full interviews about it. Its real.
Look up rza/flex interviews or flex/rae relationship. Flex is who brings it up first. The hot 97 thing was always like rumor never confirmed until flex is who spoke about it himself. Ive seen him say rae mad at him for not supporting raes career after rae supported his. Kay slay always had rae on. And that relationship stayed good until he died as rae would always goto slays show.
They went up there. They got play. But WUTANG the biggest group in nyc, selling 5 mill… youd think itd be a lot more considering the guys who were always up there didnt sell fractions of that.
And that was all 97/98/99 stuff. Once 2000s hit… nothing. Even less than in 98.
Not to say wus business wasnt shaky. Theyd make songs to be singles and then the single wouodnt get pushed or have a video or anything and would stand out on albums like sore thumb. They def stopped making “commercial” music for most part (minus odb, meth singles) ,and the music got serious post forever didnt help. Forever isnt the most radio friendly record ever…
And when forever came out, they would play wu shyt, like one new song a night it dropped type. And then not again. Nothing with consistancy unless it popped off nationwide like got ya money odb. They were NOT in rotation. They got late night mixshow play. Not midday play.
. But they never played them with the frequency they used to. It was like a pity play to maintain relationship with labels. Meanwhile wu is featured heavy on mtv, all media spots; Everywhere except the place they literally popped off. So its not like wu “fell off” yet. It helped them spiral.
Meanwhile everyone new got mad time.
This isnt cap. Wu forever was way more successful than 36. Yet forevers era got signifcantly less play than 36 times.
It def had an effect in wus presence. The “wu fell off” narrative spawns more from them getting no looks more than theyre shyt was wack. Most Those albums werent any wacker than anyone elses and id say atleast half of them were still top projects in the game.
This is why flex and wu/rza/rae talk about a “beef”. Rae accused flex of not supporting his career after rae did singles for him. Rza did same. Theyve literally sat down and had full interviews about it. Its real.
Look up rza/flex interviews or flex/rae relationship. Flex is who brings it up first. The hot 97 thing was always like rumor never confirmed until flex is who spoke about it himself. Ive seen him say rae mad at him for not supporting raes career after rae supported his. Kay slay always had rae on. And that relationship stayed good until he died as rae would always goto slays show.
They went up there. They got play. But WUTANG the biggest group in nyc, selling 5 mill… youd think itd be a lot more considering the guys who were always up there didnt sell fractions of that.
And that was all 97/98/99 stuff. Once 2000s hit… nothing. Even less than in 98.
Not to say wus business wasnt shaky. Theyd make songs to be singles and then the single wouodnt get pushed or have a video or anything and would stand out on albums like sore thumb. They def stopped making “commercial” music for most part (minus odb, meth singles) ,and the music got serious post forever didnt help. Forever isnt the most radio friendly record ever…
Last edited:
When I say radio hit I don’t mean it in the conventional sense of what you think a radio record is because like you said WU didn’t make conventional singles but whatever word you want to use “banger” etc wu didn’t have songs as big on WU forever as they did on 36 chambers nor did they have as many big songs on their second solo albums as compared to their first
The few big songs like Triumph and Cherchez LeGhost got a lot of AirPlay
Also if we’re being fair the second group of albums aside from Supreme Clientielle weren’t as good
If Wu was making records like they did on their first group of albums i don’t know how hot 97 could have afforded to not play so many classic songs
Wu forever sold more records but the songs were much bigger on 36 chambers
Aside from Triumph which had no hook there was no Cream no Method Man no can’t it all be so simple no protect ya neck no mystery of da chess boxing etc
Wu forever was dope but there wasn’t necassarily iconic songs all over it like there was on 36 chambers. It was more a bunch of dope songs you’d hear on college radio as opposed to hot 97
I’m not saying hot 97 wasn’t at fault and didn’t do scumbag sh1t but if were being fair even if there was no ban WU’s second round of solo albums didn’t have nearly the amount of big songs WU’s first round of albums had and aside from Supreme Clientielle weren’t nearly as good as the first group of albums
Bugzbunny129
All Star
Ven
100%. But its not like they didnt have radio joints either. Wu forever was shaky for that as were all the ug wu stuff (sunz diggaz) but all the main wu members had big singles on album 2. Breakups, red n meth , chez chez, bpw n odb as a whole. Those songs were bigger than some of the other nyc mcs who got pushed heavy att on there. So wu should have still har bigger presence than they did.
Album 3s being SUPER WEAK imo is what really did it for them commercially. After that they just became heads of ug and got nothing at all.
Also. Whats forgotten about is most of their labels att (elektra dropping dirty for the arrests, loud, sony deal, geffen/mca merger) started imploding , putting leas money into them and everyone but meth basically was dropped as mergers tore them all up did not help at all.
Well yea theres thqt as well. You caught me before i edited (this site and its random refreshes during typing are fukking killing me).
100%. But its not like they didnt have radio joints either. Wu forever was shaky for that as were all the ug wu stuff (sunz diggaz) but all the main wu members had big singles on album 2. Breakups, red n meth , chez chez, bpw n odb as a whole. Those songs were bigger than some of the other nyc mcs who got pushed heavy att on there. So wu should have still har bigger presence than they did.
Album 3s being SUPER WEAK imo is what really did it for them commercially. After that they just became heads of ug and got nothing at all.
Also. Whats forgotten about is most of their labels att (elektra dropping dirty for the arrests, loud, sony deal, geffen/mca merger) started imploding , putting leas money into them and everyone but meth basically was dropped as mergers tore them all up did not help at all.
Last edited:
I remember songs like chez chez and breakup getting play on hot 97. Maybe it was mixshows moreso then regular rotation but I feel like those songs were definitely in regular rotation at least somewhat
Agreed on album 3’s. I think sampling laws really hurt RZA’s production specifically and while he became a better musician he became too polished
I feel like Cuban Link 2 was the perfect blend of having dope producers who weren’t RZA on a WU project but by that time steaming took hold already and people weren’t buying as many albums and radio in general started to lose some power already by then. Plus nyc radio was playing mostly southern sh1t by then that was long past them playing WU or any golden age NYC rappers regularly on rotation
I feel like if Cuban Linx 2 came out late 90’s early 2000’s it would have gotten heavy radio rotation
DAT NICCA KELSO
Superstar
Just remembered ODBs Got Your Money was on hot 97s rotation in 99