Credit: Alamy

The Wu-Tang Clan have reunited for a new album titled Black Samson, The Bastard Swordsman. The project is set to be released on April 12th for Record Store Day, with contributions from every living member of the group: RZA, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, GZA, Method Man, Cappadonna, U-God, Masta Killa, and Inspectah Deck.

The highly-anticipated record is entirely produced by longtime affiliate Mathematics, who was previously behind 2017’s The Saga Continues. Kurupt, Kool G Rap, Benny the Butcher, and KXNG Crooked are also among the features on the project.

“Well, the album has a certain feel to it,” Math told Variety. “It’s an homage to Blaxploitation movies. You have movies like Black Samson, Black Caesar and Super Fly. Those are the type of movies that I was raised on in the 1970s.”

He continued, “‘The Bastard Swordsman’ part of [the title] is an ode to the old karate flicks because that’s what I grew up on as well. With me as well as all of Wu-Tang, that’s something we had in common. We all loved the old karate flicks. Bastard Swordsman is one of my favourites.”

Black Samson, The Bastard Swordsman is the first Wu-Tang album to include all nine surviving group members since 2014’s A Better Tomorrow. That album, largely produced by RZA, debuted at number 29 on the Billboard 200 chart with 24,386 copies in its first week.

Speaking on the new album, Raekwon said, “You can be sure of a great body work. Mathematics is a top tier producer who makes music with his soul attached.” Method Man added, “Mathematics adds another chamber to the Saga Continues collection. I’m proud of him. Following his last solid outing, this one looks to be another banger for the history books!”

The group famously recorded an album titled Once Upon a Time in Shaolin between 2007 and 2013. The only copy was sold to controversial pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli in 2015 for $2 million, making it the most expensive album ever. When he was arrested for securities fraud in 2015, a federal court seized the project.

Check out the full tracklist for Wu-Tang’s Black Samson, The Bastard Swordsman below, with a detailed look at who will appear on each track.

Black Samson, The Bastard Swordsman tracklist:

1. ‘Sucker Free City (Intro)’ (ft. Kurupt & Ralph McDaniels)
2. ‘Mandingo’ (ft. Raekwon, Inspectah Deck, Method Man & Cappadonna)
3. ‘Roar of the Lion (The Lion’s Pit)’ (ft. U-God, Kool G Rap & RZA)
4. ‘Claudine’ (ft. Method Man, Ghostface Killah & Nicole Bus)
5. ‘Shaolin vs. Lama’ (ft. Raekwon & Inspectah Deck)
6. ‘Executioners from Shaolin’ (ft. Inspectah Deck, GZA & Cappadonna)
7. ‘Cleopatra Jones’ (ft. Raekwon & Masta Killa)
8. ‘Warriors Two, Cooley High’ (ft. Benny The Butcher & Method Man)
9. ‘Let’s Do It Again’ (ft. RZA, RJ Payne, 38 Spesh & Willie The Kid)
10. ‘Dolemite’ (ft. Cappadonna, U-God & Masta Killa)
11. ‘Trouble Man (Outro)’ (ft. Kameron Corvet)
12. ‘Charleston Blue, Legend of a Fighter’ (ft. KNXG Crooked, Cappadonna & Nicole Bus)