It was a busy day at Warner Bros. headquarters in Burbank, Calif. yesterday as all nine members of hip-hop’s legendary collective, the Wu-Tang Clan, came through to announce they’ve signed a deal with entertainment’s other most famous W to release their forthcoming album A Better Tomorrow. While the full album is set to drop Dec. 2, Wu will release eight songs via a limited Wu Tang edition Bluetooth speaker called the Boombot REX on Nov. 14. A Better Tomrrow commemorates 20-plus years in hip-hop for the Shaolin MCs and also marks the first time all of the group’s members (minus Ol Dirty Bastard, who passed away in 2004) have come together for a project since 2007’s 8 Diagrams.

"The album is called A Better Tomorrow. You look at all of us, whether it was a good day or not, we wanna have a better tomorrow,” noted RZA, who led the press conference. “Throughout this record you’ll find music that relates to the everyman’s struggle, you’ll find music that relates to the progression of hip-hop. You’ll find music that relates to the idea that we want to aspire to improve the world,” he added.

As far as Wu-Tang’s legacy, Raekwon was not shy in expressing his feelings on where the super crew fit into the current hip-hop landscape.

“We’re running hip-hop. We’re the Rolling Stones of this shit!” Raekwon said of the group’s place in the game. “We feel like the way we do it, how we come in and how we minister to our fans, and how we give guidance and constructive criticism and rules, tools and jewels for living purposes,” he added.

Ghostface Killah spoke on overcoming the challenge of making this album despite everyone’s busy schedule.

“You had to have timing. I’ve been on the road. I’ve been busy so [RZA] had to email me tracks, I’d write to them and send them right back to him," he said. “We all got individual things that we be doing: He over here, he’s in Japan, he in Taiwan, but we all still do our duties to cover this project.”

Earlier this year Wu announced a secret album that they planned to sell for $1 million, and while RZA was mum on that project he did note that it was separate from A Better Tomorrow.

Stay tuned to XXL for more exclusive interviews and never before told stories from Wu-Tang Clan next week. —Jake Rohn

Related: Wu-Tang Clan Updates Fans On New Album, A Better Tomorrow
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Raekwon Ensures Things Are Coming Together With New Wu-Tang Album
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