Wu-Tang Clan Co-Founder Dead at 52: Everything We Know

One of the co-founders of Wu-Tang Clan, Oliver "Power" Grant, has died at age 52.

Legendary Wu-Tang member Method Man announced his longtime associate's death in an Instagram post on Feb. 24. "Paradise my Brother," he wrote next to a COVID-era photo of the two. "Safe Travels!!" In addition to two broken heart emojis, he added, "Bruh I am not ok."

Page Sixreports that Grant died on Feb. 23. There are currently no reports on Grant's cause of death.

While he was never an official member of the group — which includes Method Man, RZA, GZA, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Mata Killa, Cappadonna, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard until his death in 2004 — he played a pivotal behind-the-scenes role in the group's ascent. As the business brain behind the performers, he worked to get funding for the groups debut album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), per Hot 97.

Grant also was the founder and CEO of the iconic '90s brand Wu Wear, one of the first artist-run clothing lines. The line generated tens of millions of dollars and had its own retail stores in Staten Island, Philadelphia, Virginia, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. "Well, you know, at the end of the day, we are all interested in fashion," Grant said in a 2011 interview with Complex. "Initially, when we started doing the music, my interests just came from trying to figure out a way to diversify what we was doing, based on the fact that you know, I wasn't a rapper or a producer or anything like that."

Marcus Callender played Grant in the 2019 Hulu series Wu-Tang: An American Saga. At the time, Callender wrote on Instagram (via Bustle), "It is a complete honor to be [portraying] one of the vital pieces of The Wu-Tang Clan."