APRIL LYCEUM EVENT: “CLAN IN THE FRONT: HOW WU-TANG TRANSCENDED THE RAP GAME TO BECOME CULTURAL ICONS”

Friday, April 15, 1 p.m., Annandale Campus – CE Forum

The Lyceum Committee welcomes S. H. Fernando to discuss “Clan In The Front: How Wu-Tang Transcended the Rap Game to Become Cultural Icons”

Image of author S. H. Fernando with rap artist Method Man.

S. H. Fernando is a man of many titles and much distinction. Music Journalist, Club and Radio Deejay, Music Producer, Film Director, Hip Hop Contributor and Aficionado. A graduate of Harvard University and the Columbia School of Journalism, Skiz Fernando began his career as a journalist on Hip Hop music and culture for The Source magazine. In addition to writing for The Source, Fernando has written for the New York Times, Rolling Stone, and Vibe. His in-depth research on Hip Hop led him to write and publish the groundbreaking and highly acclaimed book The New Beats: Exploring the Music, Culture and Attitudes of Hip-Hop (1994), which chronicled and preserved Hip Hop culture in an innovative way for readers.

Using his research generated from this book, Fernando started his own music label WordSound recordings in that same year. In the last 20 years, WordSound released 65 full-length albums and numerous EPs, singles, and remixes, from experimental dub and hip-hop to electronic and Middle Eastern music. Fernando, as a producer, has created 10 albums under his alter-ego, Spectre.

Fernando has also written, produced, and directed a narrative feature film Crooked (2001). Two additional feature films he directed include The Greatest Thing You Never Heard (2003), a dubumentary about the WordSound label and Industria Brasileira (Made In Brasil) (2010), a documentary about the new music scene in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.

In 2007, Fernando wrote a cookbook about the local cuisine of his homeland Sri Lanka titled Rice & Curry: Sri Lankan Home Cooking (Hippocrene Books, 2011). This was a New York Times notable cookbook and got Fernando a spot on the popular Travel Channel show, No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain, where Fernando was the host’s on camera guide in Sri Lanka. Fernando further writes a blog called “Rice & Curry,” devoted to Sri Lankan food. He produces and hosts his own cooking show on YouTube called Pan Asian, as well as another food/travel show called Off The Eaten Path.

Recently in 2021, Fernando wrote and published From The Streets of Shaolin: The Wu-Tang Saga (Hachette Books), the definitive biography of legendary hip-hop group, Wu-Tang Clan. This amazing work features “decades of unpublished interviews and unparalleled access to members of the group and their associates” (from book jacket). His engaging talk will chronicle his research and writing of this groundbreaking text, and his interactions with the Wu members. Hope to see you there!