Oliver “Power” Grant, a pivotal player in the Wu-Tang Clan saga who executive-produced their albums, and oversaw their vast business empire, including the Wu Wear clothing line, has died of unknown causes. He was 52.
His death was first confirmed by the hip-hop music site Okayplayer. “Power helped build a global legacy rooted in independence, ownership, and culture,” the outlet noted. “His belief in creative control and community empowerment helped shape not only a group, but a dynasty that changed music forever.”
“Rest in Power, Power,” Wu-Tang Clan posted on its official Instagram account. Fellow Wu-Tang member Method Man wrote, “Paradise my Brother safe Travels!!” on Instagram alongside a photo of himself with Grant. “Bruh I am not ok.”
Grant grew up in the Park Hill projects of Staten Island alongside the future members of the Wu-Tang Clan. In 1992, he helped gather the necessary financing to create their debut single “Protect Ya Neck.”
“I think I came with most of the money,” he told Passion of Weiss in 2011. “I was more the financial guy and Ghost and RZA were the guys that had the musical talent…Everything that we learned was hard knock life, you figure it out as you go along, and take cues from those that are actively doing things. A lot of it was trial and error.”
In 1993, Grant served as the executive producer on their debut LP Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Not long afterwards, he founded their wildly successful clothing label Wu Wear. “We were so hot and on fire throughout those first years that phones rung off the hook for anything Wu-related,” he said in 2011. “Wu was so fresh and so new, the money that I was earning from the record business, I was spending actively just trying to get a start in business.”
Under the stewardship of Grant, Wu Wear cut a deal with Macy’s, and opened up four retail stores across the country. At the peak of its popularity, Wu Wear grossed $25 million annually. “The Wu brand and logo was subliminal,” Grant said. “It’s just like when you see a Pepsi and say let’s have a Pepsi together. The logo and the Wu was like an international communicator. It’s like if you familiar with Gucci or Louis Vuitton, you just identify and go towards it because it’s familiar. You identify to people with that aesthetic.”
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In the 2019-2023 Hulu series Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Grant was portrayed by Marcus Callender. “The first conversation we ever had, we spoke for like three hours,” Callendar said in 2023. “It was a very surreal moment. He never gave me a pointer and said, ‘Do it like this, do it like that.’ It was never like that. All he told me was stories.”
From Rolling Stone US
