“This is a great day where we have an opportunity to honor our own hometown heroes, the young men who put Staten Island on the map internationally. They overcame all types of challenges, to not only become rap artist and hip-hop artist but to inspire and challenge the music world,” said Councilwoman Debbie Rose according to the Staten Island Advance.

Assembled in the early 1990s in the streets of Park Hill, downtown Staten Island, the Wu-Tang Clan originally composed of rappers RZA, GZA, Ol’Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killer, now have that very district named after them. Welcome to the Wu-Tang District. The group have been the hometown favorite and put the borough that so often fell behind its sister boroughs (Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and The Bronx) on the map. Wu-Tang made sure people knew that Staten Island shouldn’t be ignored, especially in the hip hop game.

Wu-Tang went on to release four gold and platinum studio albums and have been named by many music critics and publications the best rap group ever. Each member also went on to have a formidable solo career. Their legacy together will live on in the streets of Park Hill. Just like how it started. Future generations will be able to hear the legend of the group from Shaolin. They will learn about those struggles and those challenges. They will see how they overcame them. And with that will come the pride of the streets of Staten Island, New York City, where dreams can come true.

Check out more photos form the event at the Staten Island Advance.