Why the Return of the Nike Dunk High ‘Wu-Tang Clan’ Is Such a Massive Deal

It is 1999 and Wu-Tang is forever. The most recognizable rap collective of all time (this is inarguable; I did not say “greatest,” I said most recognizable) is firmly embedded into the cultural consciousness of the nation. Six years prior they shook the scene to its core with Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) and straight from the slums of Shaolin (that’s Staten Island to the uninitiated) they’ve risen to the top of hip-hop, a singular entity of many pieces. On their own, names like the RZA, the GZA, Ghostface Killa, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, and Method Man are strong. Together? They’re unstoppable, each a finger curling in unison to form a fist that happens to be composed of way more than five fingers at any point in time. After a slew of genre-defining solo albums including GZA’s Liquid Swords and ODB’s Return to the 26 Chambers: The Dirty Version, the Clan releases Wu-Tang Forever in 1997, a titanic double-album opus that eventually goes quadruple platinum. The ‘W’ logo is recognizable to anyone with a pulse and a Discman or FM dial.

It is 2023 and the RZA, as reported by Complex, is in Tokyo. A little bit older, a little bit wiser, he’s assumed a position as one of the elder statesmen of not only hip-hop but culture at large. In the years since Wu-Tang’s peak he’s been an actor, a director, an author (The Tao of Wu, must-read material, seriously), and continued his work in the music world. He is the definition of a multihyphenate, a guy who has seen it all and done it all. RZA beat the game long ago. Now he gets to wander like Cain from Kung Fu or any of his favorite Shaw Brothers heroes–see the world, take in all the knowledge he can, maybe complete a side quest or two. He’s also a dad, and he’s in Tokyo with his son. On this trip he wanders into a drop-off location for a company called StockX.

It is 1999 and Nike has taken notice. It is hard not to take notice of the Wu. They decide that it is time to make a shoe for the Wu–and only for the Wu. With a relaunch of their iconic Nike Dunk basketball shoe imminent, they use the resurgence as an opportunity to create this Wu shoe. They plaster a Dunk High in golden yellow and black, the Clan’s colors. They throw that iconic ‘W’ on the tongue and on the side of the shoe, down near the heel. There is no public launch. There are 36 pairs made. These 36 pairs are distributed amongst the Wu-Tang Clan, their friends and family, and a handful of Nike employees. There are not, to public knowledge, grade school sizing options. Wu-Tang is not, in this instance, for the children.