What are the real names of the Wu-Tang Clan?

Clifford Smith, Corey Woods, Darryl Hill, Dennis Coles, Gary Grice, Jamel Irief, Jason Hunter, Lamont Jody Hawkins, Robert Diggs and Russell Jones

90s

What are the Wu-Tang Clan Members Real Names?

The Wu-Tang Clan is one of the largest and most successful rap / hip hop groups in the history of the music industry. However, a lot of people don’t actually know the real names of the members of the group because they all go by an alias (or several).

Updated Jun 22 2023

Nine members of the Wu-Tang Clan on stage at a concert — Wu-Tang Clan

Below is a list of all members of the Wu-Tang Clan, both past and present, as well as a few bonus associates that people either knew about or learned about from the hit Hulu show, Wu-Tang: An American Saga. Included are their real names, stage names, as well as the many, many aliases and monikers that the vocalists in the rap group developed.

Without further introduction, East Coast hip hop legends, and everyone’s favorite rap group that focuses on the martial arts, the Wu-Tang Clan.

Ghostface Killah, also known as the Ghostface Killah, rapping at a show — Ghostface Killah

Ghostface Killah – Dennis Coles

Staten Island’s Dennis Coles is better known as Ghostface Killah. Ghost took his stage name from the movie, The Mystery of Chess Boxing, a 1979 Kung-Fu movie whose main villain was the Ghost-Faced Killer.

Of the Wu-Tang Clan Members, perhaps only ODB had more nicknames than Ghost. We’re only showing a few below.

Aliases:

Iron Man
Sun God
Tony Starks

GZA – Gary Eldridge Grice

Gary Grice, known to the world as GZA, is ranks highly among rappers with the most extensive vocabularies. A founding member of the Wu-Tang Clan and cousin to group leader, Bobby Diggs, The Genius made his solo debut with 1995’s Liquid Swords.

Aliases:

The Genius

Inspectah Deck – Jason Hunter

Born Jason Richard Hunter, Inspectah Deck takes the lead on some of the group’s most popular songs, including Protect Ya Neck (Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)) and Triumph (Wu-Tang Forever). One can only wonder how powerful and impactful his first solo album could have been, had it not been destroyed in the basement flood. Inspectah Deck is also a member of Czarface.

Aliases:

Rebel Ins
Rollie Fingers

Masta Killa – Jamel Irief (aka Elgin Turner)

Born Elgin Turner, Jamel Irief is the man behind the moniker, Masta Killa, and, was the last of the original nine members to join the group. Irief/Turner was born in Brooklyn, New York City.

Aliases:

High Chief

Clifford Smith, also known as the Method Man, giving an interview — Method Man

Method Man – Clifford Smith Jr.

Clifford Smith, better known as Method Man, is the group’s most famous member. Meth has released 7 studio albums, been on a handful of collaborations, and is credited in dozens of Films and Television Shows.

Aliases:

Johnny Blaze
Shotgun
Tical

Ol’ Dirty Bastard - Russell Tyrone Jones

Ol’ Dirty Bastard was none other than Russell Jones. Sadly, ODB passed away nearly 20 years ago in 2004 from a drug overdose.

Russell Jones was related by blood to Grice (GZA) and Diggs (RZA). Shimmy Shimmy Ya and Got Your Money were two of ODB’s biggest solo hits.

Aliases:

Ason Unique
Big Baby Jesus
Dirt Dog
Dirt McGirt
Old Dirty Chinese Restaurant
Osirus
Several others.

Raekwon – Corey Woods

Corey Woods (Raekwon) had one of the finer solo careers among the group’s original nine members, debuting with 1994’s, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Rae went to High School with Meth and Deck.

Aliases:

Lex Diamonds
Raekwon the Chef
Sha Raider
Shallah Raekwon

Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, also known as the RZA, rapping at a show — RZA

RZA – Robert Fitzgerald Diggs

Robert Diggs is the mastermind behind the New York rap group. Without the RZA, the group may never have been assembled, let alone produced a Grammy-winning rap album. Without RZA, hip-hop music would never be the same.

Aliases:

Bobby Digital
Bobby Steels
Prince Rakeem
Ruler Zig-Zag-Zig Allah
The Abbott

U-God – Lamont Jody Hawkins

If you only listened to Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), you’d be forgiven for not knowing who U-God is. His contributions were limited due to personal matters that prevented him from being in the studio during the recording of that Wu-Tang album. He did manage to get a solo track on the next studio album (Forever) entitled, “A Better Tomorrow”, where Mr. Hawkins discusses his son being shot and the effects of living through that tragedy.

Aliases:

Golden Arms

Cappadonna – Darryl Hill

Cappadonna (Darryl Hill) was not a part of the original nine clan members featured on the debut album. Cap appeared on Ice Cream, a single off of Raekwon’s debut album, as well as on Ghostface’s debut album, prior to his third verse contribution on Triumph (Wu-Tang Forever). Darryl Hill has been considered an official member of the Wu-Tang Clan since 8 Diagrams, released in 2007.

Aliases:

Cappachino

Wu-Tang Affiliates and Associates

The Shaolin and the Wu-Tang could be dangerous. Here are the real names of a few other people you might recognize if you were watching the hit show on Hulu.