Wu-Tang Clan doesn’t want you to forget about its place in the history books.
So, in an effort to refresh both people’s memories and the Wu-Tang Clan members’ bank accounts, the Staten Island-born troupe formed a five-year master plan to firmly reinsert itself into contemporary pop culture.
The well-executed plan has included the insightful four-part documentary “Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men” that premiered on Showtime; the multi-season biopic series “Wu-Tang: An American Saga” on Hulu; the first-ever hip-hop residency in Las Vegas; and a massive road show with fellow New York hip-hop giant Nas.
And now they’ve save the best for (presumably) last:
A major farewell tour, dubbed Wu-Tang Forever: The Final Chamber, drawing from the talents of the group’s surviving members — RZA, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, GZA, Cappadonna, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa and Raekwon.
On Tuesday, fans got the chance to celebrate one of the legacy of one of the most important hip-hop acts of time as Wu-Tang Clan touched down at Chase Center in San Francisco — for what may well have been the group’s last-ever Bay Area show.
And celebrate they did, from the moment fans walked into the building – marveling at the huge golden Wu-Tang Clan balloon necklace that Chase Center had specially made to hang in the entrance – until they returned to their cars after enjoying a fun 90-plus-minute headlining set by the influential rap troupe.
A Wu-Tang Clan member sprays champagne during their farewell tour concert at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
The atmosphere felt more like a party than a concert at times – especially at the start of the show – as the 9,000-plus exuberant fans fondly greeted the rappers as they steadily took the stage.
Fittingly, it all began with RZA – the group’s de facto leader and co-founder – who took the stage at right around 9:15 p.m. (after an opening set by Run the Jewels) to let fans know how this whole Wu-Tang Clan show would work.
“The energy you give to us,” he explained to fans, “we’re going to give it back to you.”
Wu-Tang Clan members perform during their farewell tour concert at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Then Ghostface and other rappers began joining RZA – as well as the live band and DJ Mathematics already stationed on the stage — with the crowd cheering in approval at the sight of every new arrival.
The voices and rhymes united in familiar style, soon joined by thousands of others – many of whom have been listening to Wu-Tang Clan for decades – as the group powered through “Bring da Ruckus.”
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From that terrific opener – which also happens to kick off the legendary 1993 debut album “Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)” – RZA and company continued to roll through such fan favorites as “Da Mystery of Chessboxin’” and “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing ta (Expletive) Wit.”
The appearance of Method Man, in particular, sent the crowd into overdrive as he rapped his way through a grand version of his eponymous signature track. Also, Young Dirty Bastard drew plenty of applause as he filled in for his father, the late Old Dirty Bastard,” an original Wu-Tang Clan member who died in 2004 at the age of 35.
A Wu-Tang Clan member performs during their farewell tour concert at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Actually, all of the vocalists acquitted themselves admirably on the microphones, slinging sentences with their own particular styles and tactics.
The rappers worked on a stage setup that benefited from three large overhead screens, as well as an occasionally active light show, but it was really the vocal talents that sold the show as the players combined forces in different configurations over the course of 30-plus songs.
Wu-Tang drew from its seven-studio-album strong catalog, which runs from the epic “Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)” to 2015’s “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin,” as well as from material from its members’ individual solo efforts.
The latter factored in strongly toward the end of the show, as Young Dirty Bastard was prominently featured for a pair of his dad’s signature solo cuts — “Got Your Money” and “Shimmy Shimmy Ya.” Then it was the moment that thousands of these fans had been waiting for as the group unleashed its best-known number – “C.R.E.A.M.”
It was an exclamation point on a night where these rappers illustrated once again that – even after all these decades — Wu-Tang Clan remains one of the greatest acts in hip-hop history.
A Wu-Tang Clan member performs during their farewell tour concert at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
A Wu-Tang Clan member performs during their farewell tour concert at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Wu-Tang Clan members perform during their farewell tour concert at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Wu-Tang Clan members perform during their farewell tour concert at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)