Rome, 2010, and Wu Tang are on their Reunited in Full Force tour, and with all notable Clan members onboard – bar the obvious omission of their most wild son (gone, but never forgotten by the remaining members) – this is big news for fans who’ve often criticised the New York outfit for leaving many of their famed crew at home. Bringing a punk rock attitude to East Coast hip hop, little in the last 20 years has come close to the intensity the WU in full flow, and that’s just what Italian photographer Alessandro Zuek Simonetti has caught here, with deft flair.
Il Clan Del Wu is the result of his behind-the-scenes documenting of that night in Rome, and comes in the form of a self-published, 96-page bookzine. 1,000 copies have been printed, and are available at The Standard Hotel NYC (and online at www.shopthestandard.com). Simonetti’s images offer a raw account of perhaps the greatest hip hop band of all time, but there’s a warmness and beauty to them too. Having shown at the likes of Tate Modern and OHWOW Gallery Miami, the New York-based Italian proves here that he’s an artist with a camera, as opposed to a photographer playing at art…
