The legendary Wu-Tang Clan will give a ‘keynote’ at Cali Roots on Friday night.

So much – and so surprisingly little – has changed since 1993, when Wu-Tang Clan, a group of nine rappers from the boroughs of New York City, dropped their debut album. Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) shifted the attention of the hip-hop world from the West Coast (N.W.A. and Dr. Dre) to the East Coast, and sparked a New York rap renaissance (Nas, Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z).

The “much” part includes the death of one of the crew, Ol’ Dirty Bastard (Russell Tyrone Jones), in 2004. But you can expect to see the remaining eight members (leader and Wu-Tang producer RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah, Masta Killa and U-God) in Monterey this weekend, along with ninth member Cappadonna, who joined officially in 2007. After playing the 2023 California Roots Music & Art Festival, the crew will tour Europe where their iconic albums are equally beloved – a reminder of the few good years when American hip-hop was everywhere, but not yet over-commercialized.

For Wu-Tang Clan, fame brought both financial stability and the instabilities caused by sudden, major success (interpersonal conflicts, drugs, etc.). By the time Ol’ Dirty was out of prison in 2003 the world had changed, and the world of hip-hop had moved away from hardcore beats and elaborate lyrics with Eastern references. Still, Wu-Tang remains an icon that can sell music, clothes, video games and books.

Officially, there are only seven Wu-Tang Clan studio albums – the last being Once Upon a Time in Shaolin (2015), of which only one copy was created, with no ability to download or stream it. Purchased directly from the band, it became the most expensive work of music ever sold (Martin Shkreli of Turing Pharmaceuticals allegedly paid $2 million).

This will be Wu-Tang Clan’s first time at Cali Roots, and one might ask how the crew’s NYC sound will fit in at this quintessentially West Coast celebration. At the same time, Cali Roots is known for bringing together a wide variety of interpretations of the form.

“There’s no separation in hip-hop,” RZA said in a 2003 interview. “We’re not going to say there’s West Coast or East Coast hip-hop, American hip-hop or European hip-hop – it’s got to be the movement of our generation.”

WU-TANG CLAN 9:30pm Friday, May 26. The Bowl, Monterey County Fair and Event Center, 2004 Fairgrounds Road. $151-$820. californiarootsfestival.com