Behind the Lens: Enter the 36 Chambers

The Backstage Chaos that Saved Hip-Hop History

By Danny Hastings

The Guardian Angel and the White Tape

It started with a phone call from a woman very dear to me—my angel, Jackie Murphy. She was the Art Director for RCA Records, and she believed in me when I was just a 22-year-old kid trying to find my way. At the time, Wu-Tang Clan was barely signed; they were just a white tape circulating in the streets. Jackie called me and said, “You’re going to shoot their album cover.”

Pandemonium at Jack the Rapper (’93)

I happened to be in Atlanta for the Jack the Rapper conference—a massive, legendary gathering for hip-hop. Everybody was there, from Busta Rhymes to Run-DMC. I was young, delusional enough to knock on doors, and determined to make a connection.

I made my way backstage because I knew I needed to find Prince Rakim (RZA). People were looking at me like, “Who the f are you?”* The Wu-Tang Clan was at the very beginning of their career, and they were literally stomping on people. There were twenty of them.

I finally found RZA and said, “Hey, RCA hired me. I’m shooting your album cover.” He looked at me, looking back and forth, and all of a sudden, he puts a stocking mask on. Then everybody around him puts a mask on. I’m standing in the middle thinking, “Yo, they’re about to rob the place.”

Instead, they storm the stage. They grab the two guys performing, throw them off. They grab the DJ, throw him off. Total pandemonium. And suddenly the beat drops:

“Wu-Tang Clan ain’t nuthin’ ta f** wit…”*

The place went bananas. I was right there in the madness—the only Latin kid in the back of the stage, caught on tape witnessing history.

The Light Bulb Moment

Fast forward to the day of the shoot. We built a monastery set. We were ready to turn the Wu-Tang Clan into a physical, visual form for the first time.

Then came the roadblock: RZA didn’t want to take the picture.

Not all the members had shown up, and he told me, “I’m not feeling good about this because not all my brothers are here. We’re not doing the cover.”

I had a whole set standing there. The pressure was mounting. Then, a light bulb went on in my head. I looked at him and said, “Do you remember when you were at Jack the Rapper? And you guys came out in the stocking masks?”

He said, “Yep.”

I said, “Why don’t we put the stocking masks on? And not show your faces on the cover. You’re the Wu-Tang Clan—you don’t need faces. You are one unit.”

RZA thought about it for about 15 seconds. He looked at me and said, “Alright. Let’s do it.”

The Visual Legacy