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After spending years as one of club music’s most sought-after IDs, Michael Bibi and KETTAMA have officially released “MYSTERY OF RAW” with Wu-Tang Clan.
Released on August 14 via CircoLoco Records, the long-awaited collaboration transforms material from Wu-Tang Clan’s classic “Da Mystery of Chessboxin’”. It turns the sample into a powerful contemporary club record.
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The release concludes a story that began in 2018, when KETTAMA sent an early version of the track to Michael Bibi. What followed was not a conventional release campaign, but years of club plays, festival appearances and fan-recorded videos that gradually turned the unidentified track into a cult favourite.
For many listeners, “MYSTERY OF RAW” became familiar long before its official title, credits or release date were revealed.
The Story Behind Michael Bibi and KETTAMA’s ‘Mystery of Raw’
The foundations of “MYSTERY OF RAW” can be traced back to an early idea KETTAMA shared with Michael Bibi in 2018.
As the track began appearing in DJ sets, fans started searching for the unreleased ID online. Its reputation grew organically through dancefloors and live recordings. This happened rather than through streaming playlists or a traditional promotional rollout.
Michael Bibi later revisited the concept with KETTAMA in 2024. He reshaped the original idea and developed the version that would eventually receive an official release.
At the centre of the track is a sample from “Da Mystery of Chessboxin’,”, taken from Wu-Tang Clan’s landmark 1993 debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). The original track was produced by RZA. Meanwhile, “MYSTERY OF RAW” incorporates vocal material associated with U-God and Inspectah Deck.
Rather than relying on the sample purely for nostalgia, Michael Bibi and KETTAMA rebuild it around a heavy club groove designed for contemporary dancefloors.
Wu-Tang Clan Officially Join the Release
The track’s extended wait was closely connected to the process of securing official clearance for the Wu-Tang Clan sample.
Once that process was completed, Wu-Tang Clan became officially credited alongside Michael Bibi and KETTAMA. The final release is therefore presented as a collaboration between all three acts. It is not just an unofficial edit.
That approval transformed a long-circulating underground ID into a fully authorised release, while preserving the hip-hop reference that made the record immediately recognisable.
The final credits across platforms including Spotify and Beatport list Michael Bibi, KETTAMA and Wu-Tang Clan as the track’s artists.
First-Ever B2B at Tomorrowland
The release also followed an important live moment for Michael Bibi and KETTAMA.
Shortly before “MYSTERY OF RAW” arrived, the pair performed their first-ever B2B set at Tomorrowland 2026. The performance offered another major platform for a track that had already spent years travelling between clubs, festivals and fan-recorded videos.
Its Tomorrowland appearance reinforced the connection between the collaboration and the dancefloor culture that helped create its reputation.
From Unreleased ID to Official Club Record
In today’s fast-moving release cycle, records can travel from a studio session to streaming platforms within a matter of weeks. However, “MYSTERY OF RAW” followed a very different route.
The track was tested and developed in front of crowds for years before becoming officially available. During that period, its scarcity became part of its identity. As a result, the record built genuine demand. This happened without a conventional marketing campaign.
Released through CircoLoco Records—the label partnership between CircoLoco and Rockstar Games—“MYSTERY OF RAW” now moves from club folklore into its official chapter.
Eight years after KETTAMA first sent the idea to Michael Bibi, the mystery surrounding the ID is finally over. The remaining question is whether its official release can match the impact it created during its years as one of electronic music’s most elusive unreleased records.
