Wu Tang Clan Collaborator Oliver ‘Power’ Grant Dead at 52, Group and Members Pay Tribute
Oliver “Power” Grant, a close affiliate and early backer of the wu tang clan who helped finance and shape the group’s early records and businesses, has died aged 52. The death was confirmed by the collective, which wrote “Rest in power, Power” on social media; a cause of death was not revealed.
Wu Tang Clan confirms Grant’s death and social-media tributes
Members of the collective quickly paid public tribute. Method Man shared a personal message on Instagram, writing “Paradise my brother safe travels!” and adding that he is “not okay. ” GZA emphasized Grant’s role in the group’s formation, saying Wu wouldn’t have come to fruition without him and calling the loss profound, while Raekwon posted a photo of the group with Power and wrote that they had “been everywhere … now you everywhere, ” adding a blessing on his passing. The collective’s social-media message read simply, “Rest in power, Power. ”
From Park Hill to backer and executive producer
Grant was born in 1973 in Jamaica and raised in Staten Island’s Park Hill projects, where he met members of the group and earned the nickname “Power” during a game of chess. He became an early backer, providing funds that helped produce the group’s debut single Protect Ya Neck and serving as executive producer on their first album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), released in 1993.
Wu Wear, retail expansion and business milestones
Two years after the group’s debut album, Grant oversaw the launch of the Wu Wear clothing line. As CEO he steered the brand into department stores and opened four retail locations across the US. At its peak the clothing business grossed US$25m annually. In 2008 he renamed the line Wu-Tang Brand and discontinued the original label because it was being widely counterfeited; later, in 2017, Grant and RZA relaunched Wu Wear with a merchandise partner.
Producing a video game and describing a "hard-knock life" in business
Grant also produced the PlayStation fighting game Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style, released in 1999, which featured members of the collective as playable characters. In a 2011 interview with a music blog he described his business forays as a “hard-knock life, ” saying much of the work involved trial and error and that Wu Wear served as the group’s entry into fashion.
Acting credits and later projects
Alongside his executive and business work, Grant took occasional acting roles. He made his on-screen debut in a 1998 crime drama directed by Hype Williams, and appeared in the 1999 drama Black and White alongside Ben Stiller and Robert Downey Jr. He later had roles in the 2004 mob drama Coalition and in the unreleased Wendy Williams biopic Queen of Media.
Details about the circumstances of Grant’s death remain unclear in the provided context. His passing has prompted an outpouring from the group he helped build, underscoring his intertwined role as financier, executive producer, entrepreneur and occasional performer in the collective’s history.
