The “Wu-Tang Clan” was an unknown bunch of rappers with many criminal records when Eva Ries from Mannheim became their manager. A conversation about five-digit phone bills, conspiracy theories and big business.
Interviewed by
Jakob Biazza and Kathrin Werner
Eva Ries from Mannheim became manager of the Wu Tang Clan, one of the most successful hip-hop bands in history. In the beginning, the German and the New York men, many of whom had already served prison sentences, were a little strangers, at some point they became part of the family. Masta Killa, one of the rappers, even gave Ries’ mother a jacket – including a ceremonial handover and a note on how personal this gift was. Unfortunately, he forgot to take his dope out of his pocket. For days, the Ries family puzzled over why the apartment smelled of hashish. “Things like that happened all the time,” says the manager, who has just published the book “Wu-Tang is forever” about her time with the band.