Ben Nadeff-Haffrey

speaker

1,009 appearances 5 recordings 1 series first heard Jun 2026 last heard 6 Aug

Ben Nadeff-Haffrey’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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recordings per month · last 12 months

Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 5 in all, peaking in Jul 2026 with 3.

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Revisionist History: The Staten Island Problem · The Staten Island Problem - Part 4: Wu-Tang vs. Shaolin · 30 Jul 2026 podcast

RZA was ready to make music again, but the first time out with his Prince Rakeem project had gone badly.

But the idea he was coming up with now was going to be different.

And I want to argue here that it has everything to do with Staten Island.

Let me share with you some writing from RZA's book, The Tao of Wu.

I spent my formative years on an island, Staten Island, which is a blessing I've taken with me through life.

In Staten Island, Wu-Tang were set apart from all the influences and fads that were happening in the other four boroughs.

A nine-man hip-hop crew based on mathematics, chess, comics, and kung fu flicks wasn't springing up in the middle of a Manhattan art scene.

Only on a remote island can something like King Kong grow to his full capacity.

But the projects in Staten Island were a difficult place to live.

A few of the Wu-Tang members have written books, and reading them, it's clear that it wasn't just the remoteness of Staten Island that led them to the Wu-Tang clan.

It was also what they experienced there, especially in the projects.

One Wu-Tang member, Yu God, wrote about the first time he saw somebody die.

He was five years old, sitting with his mom, listening to Loving You by Minnie Riperton play on the radio outside.

When he heard a crowd forming in the courtyard, he ran out to look.

A woman was standing on the roof, screaming.

He watched so long, his neck went stiff.

Then she jumped or fell.

Ugod wrote in his book called Raw, I was a toddler.

The sound of her hitting the concrete steps would resonate with me forever.

So when RZA walked Staten Island, it wasn't just this utopian vision of the isolated island where you can dream big.

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