Shameik Moore

FOR SHAMEIK MOORE, THE STORY OF THE HIP-HOP GROUP WU-TANG CLAN is the essence of the "American story."

- H. Alan Scott

Now that portrayal is coming to an end with the third and final season of Wu-Tang: An American Saga (Hulu, February 15). Moore plays Raekwon (aka Corey Woods), one of the group's founding members. "I think I took the character on because of RZA (aka Bobby Diggs, group founding member and series co-creator). I think I'd do anything he asked me, we just got that uncle/nephew bond." Moore says that the group's members began rapping because it was a matter of a life of crime or rap. "It wasn't given to them, they went and took it... they started rapping about that, making beats and through careful curation, the Wu-Tang Clan." Moore also enjoys how playing Raekwon shows his range. "Different projects show a drastically different side of me that makes you wonder who I really am and also follow the work to come." And with both acting and music projects in the pipeline, there's plenty more to come this year. "I'm popping out like I've never popped out before."