”Wu-Tang is for the children,” Ol’ Dirty Bastard famously declared at the 1998 Grammys. Over a quarter century later, the mighty Staten Island rap collective proved that they remain a potent cultural force — among both old heads and the kids — during their farewell tour stop at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena on Monday.
Midway through the show, Wu-Tang Clan’s de facto leader RZA was taking stock of the audience when he spotted Cairo Young-Abdullah, a 12-year-old rapper from Brampton who goes by the name Cairo Snow FTPO. Seeing his enthusiasm, RZA invited Cairo up to the stage, where he bounced along enthusiastically with Masta Killa, U-God and other members of the clan for three songs.
“I was feeling the music and I was pumped,” Young-Abullah told the Star. “Like, a level of pumped I haven’t experienced in so, so long.”
At one point, RZA and Young-Abdullah encouraged the sold-out audience of 19,000 to jump up and down in unison.
“I wasn’t really nervous,” he said. “I’m a performer, so when I’m on stage, it triggers my adrenaline and releases that dopamine … it was crazy.”
After the show, Young-Abdullah got to meet the entire Clan backstage, where he snapped pics with RZA, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon and others.
“To share the stage with legends in front of thousands in my hometown — this is something I’ll never forget,” he said.
But the young artist’s moment in the spotlight didn’t come out of nowhere.
Born and raised in Brampton, Young-Abdullah has been rapping since he was five — “from the crib” he says. Growing up, he didn’t have access to YouTube, and he learned about hip hop by listening to his dad’s old CDs. “Since birth, that’s all I was listening to: Wu-Tang, Nas, Mobb Deep, Jay-Z — I was all listening to all of those guys.”
By the age of seven, he started writing his own songs. A few years later, his lyrical flow caught the attention of MTStreets, a Los Angeles-based producer and beat-maker who has worked with industry heavy-weights like Dua Lipa and Lil Baby.
In January, under mentorship of MTStreets and with an assist from producer B3, Young-Abdullah released his debut single, “Cairo Snow FPTO,” a blistering track that showcased the young artist’s remarkable charisma and confidence, and racked up thousands of streams on Spotify and other music platforms.
When Wu-Tang Clan arrived in town this week, Young-Abdullah knew he wanted to try to meet his heroes, even though he didn’t have tickets to the show.
Just last summer, when he was just 11, Young-Abdullah had the chance to rap for Wu-Tang rapper Raekwon at a meet-and-greet prior to his solo show. “Raekwon was so impressed by him, as many people who were there,” Young-Abdullah’s father, Omar, recalled. Raekwon gave Young-Abdullah his contact information, and the new two stayed in (limited) contact for the next 11 months.
On Monday afternoon, Raekwon invited the young rapper to meet up before the show, where he also introduced the young artist to Inspectah Deck. “The love and support that he was shown inside the meet-and-greet was surreal,” Young-Abdullah’s father recalled.
Afterwards, someone from Wu-Tang’s crew gave Young-Abdullah an extra ticket to the show. His mother bought a second ticket, and they headed into the arena
Over the course of the show, Young-Abdullah managed to find his way to the front of the stage, where his enthusiasm caught the attention of RZA.
“I just remember RZA started asking (the audience) to shout out who is from different generations, and we he got to the 2000s, and I started waving and was like ‘yo wassup!’” Young-Abdullah recalled. “And he was like ‘young man, please come up to the stage.’ It was just crazy.”
Less than 24 hours later, Young-Abdullah said he feels super inspired to make more music. When asked if he had a message to share with his new fans, he said “be unrelentingly yourself.”
“My message is to stay true to yourself no matter what anybody tells you. No matter what anyone wants you to do. Stay true to yourself. Stay true to your grind. Because if you stay true to your grind, you’re going to get to the places that you want to be, that you strive to be.”
