Update (4/18, 5:55 pm): A spokesperson for RZA spoke to XXL and clarified that VladTV's interview was conducted at the beginning of the month, and RZA and Raekwon had spoken in the time period between the interview and the publication date, rendering this statement—"I haven’t had a chance to really talk to him about why not. All I see is the press going back and forth"—out of date.

Original Story: Many have marveled at the marketing savvy of WU-TANG for their seamless execution on their album, The Wu – Once Upon A Time In Shaolin. While they are being bathed with high praise, questions have surfaced in regards to Raekwon’s disappearance on the group’s next project A Better Tomorrow. In an interview with VladTV, RZA clarified why Raekwon is missing in action for the next album.

“There’s two things that’s going on,” he said in his interview with Vlad TV. “Let me be clear with you so you can put this out. There’s an album called 'Once Upon A Time In Shaolin' that will be a single piece of art in a beautiful encasing. That belongs in a museum or art gallery. That’s where it belongs. And then there’s another album that belongs to the consumers called 'A Better Tomorrow.' And that belongs to the consumers because it’s a celebration of Wu-Tang and their fans. And Raekwon has not been participating with that particular record. I haven’t had a chance to really talk to him about why not. All I see is the press going back and forth. But I would say that maybe creatively we on different paths. I’m creatively different than I was in the ‘90s.”

While the group is reportedly sitting on offers ranging as high as $5 million for The Wu – Once Upon A Time In Shaolin, no release date has been issued for A Better Tomorrow.-Carl Lamarre

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