Wu-Tang Clan’s final show was a star-studded and emotional affair at a sold-out Wells Fargo

The “Wu-Tang Forever: The Final Chamber” show at the Wells Fargo Center was a momentous occasion in more ways than one.

Besides being one of the last events before the South Philly arena changes its name to the Xfinity Mobile Center next month, it also might have been the final fully-staffed Wu-Tang Clan show ever.

All nine surviving members of the trailblazing Staten Island hip-hop crew — plus the rapper known as Young Dirty Bastard, filling in for his late father — gathered together as one on the closing night of a victory lap tour that’s been billed as Wu-Tang’s last.

So it wasn’t a big surprise that the final show — staged in the city that Wu spiritual leader and musical mastermind the RZA reiterated on Friday has always been the second-most-important destination in the Shaolin universe outside of New York — was full of surprise guests.

The luminaries aiding in the musical martial arts warriors’ action-packed, sold-out send-off included Ms. Lauryn Hill, LL Cool J and, for a touch of 215 flavor, Philly rapper Freeway and Philadelphia City Council president Kenyatta Johnson.

Say who? Yes, WuTang is not only for the children. It’s also for political leaders like Johnson, who could not hide his enthusiasm when he came out on stage at the end of the show in a shirt emblazoned with the group’s bat signal-like logo.

Johnson thanked the Wu for finishing the tour in the city where Ol’ Dirty Bastard was famously arrested at a Grays Ferry McDonald’s in 2000. He was also armed with proclamations of appreciation, which he handed out to group members including RZA and Method Man, who were both sporting Flyers jerseys at that point. Raekwon, also known as The Chef, wore an apron, as he received his proclamation. U-God, in accepting his, said he felt like he had just “got my high school diploma.”

That was the culmination of a smartly organized, briskly paced show that drew an interracial crowd mostly old enough to remember 1993’s Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).

It showcased the personalities of individual Wu members such as Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, and Cappadonna, as well as the strength of the collective whole over two hours and 30-plus songs. The show celebrated all things Wu-Tang as well as hip-hop itself.

It began with RZA taking the stage in front of a nine-piece band that included featured vocalist Candi Lindsey, a.k.a. Blue Raspberry, who hails from Pleasantville in South Jersey.

The producer, rapper, and Zen master introduced themes of the night with his verse from “Impossible,” a song from the 1997 Wu-Tang Forever album. He rhymed about “the fusion of the five elements, in search for a higher intelligence.” Was he rhyming about the five elements of hip-hop, or a Taoist quest for Inner Alchemy? Knowing the RZA, probably both.

RZA brought out the rest of the Wu one by one, on “Bring da Ruckus,” “Clan in da Front,” and “Da Mystery of “Chessboxin’,” with Method Man, the group’s most magnetic and dynamic performer, saved for last.

Meth took the stage on the emphatic and delightful “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing Ta F’wit” and the 10-man crew was on stage together through the first’s act, which culminated in the 1993 single “Protect Ya Neck” that introduced the group’s raw, eerie, hypnotic sound.

The planned short break that followed was then not filled by a video interlude, but with the appearance of Hill, who had also joined the group during the previous evening’s show in North Jersey.

Accompanied by three backup singers and wearing a Wu-Tang shirt, she slayed the crowd with “Killing Me Softly,” her version of the Roberta Flack hit recorded for the Fugees’ 1996 album The Score.

She sounded equally soulful on “To Zion,” from 1998’s classic The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, and was joined by her now fully grown son Zion Marley, who she wrote it for. She then sang her own “Ex-Factor” which samples the Wu’s Gladys Knight-sampling “Can It All Be So Simple.” And then she sang the hook on that song, as she was joined by Ghostface and Raekwon. It all came together seamlessly.

Shortly thereafter, Freeway — the Philly rapper born Leslie Pridgen — repped the city with “Flipside” and his signature song “What We Do,” which he intro’d as “the national anthem.”

That interlude was energized and effective, but it was upstaged a short while later. A Method Man segment was juiced by the unexpected appearance of LL, the legendary Long Island rapper who was the scheduled headliner at Philly’s Fourth of July fireworks celebration but canceled in solidarity with striking city workers.

Looking spry and sounding sharp with a red hoodie pulled over his head, LL exchanged bars with Meth on his 1990s hits “Doin It” and ‘4,3,2,1,” leaving the crowd wondering what had just hit them. Method Man expressed mock consternation at the star turn, saying LL “stole my show without a gun.”

Highlights of the latter stages included the Meth, Ghostface, and U-God showcase, and James Brown-sampling gem “Gravel Pit.” And in an extended remembrance of deceased rappers, RZA paid tribute to the Notorious B.I.G., DMX, A Tribe Called Quest’s Phife Dog, and Biz Markie, among others, joyfully leading the crowd in rap- and sing-alongs to bits of their hits.

He also spoke up about the need to end the plague of gun violence in Black communities, saying he was raising his voice despite the advice of his wife, who suggested he be cautious and stay out of politics.

“The government tries to regulate women,” he decried, “but not regulate guns.”

The energy slowed toward the end, but emotions ran high on a closing all-hands-on-deck combo of “C.R.E.A.M” and “Triumph.”

“Hip-hop has been entertaining, inspiring, and educating for over 50 years now,” RZA said in one last hortatory speech, so when I say “‘Wu-Tang!,’ you say ‘Forever!’” A roomful of fans did as asked, raising Wu-Tang hands in appreciation for what they hoped won’t really be the last time.

Run The Jewels, the twosome of rappers Killer Mike (who wore a Phillies cap and jacket) and El-P, put on a terrific 12-song set of both playful and politically charged hip-hop. A high-quality opening act that speaks to the Wu-Tang’s generosity of spirit and quality control.

“This is a song for a yoga or massage spa class,” El-P said before “Close Your Eyes (and Count to [Expletive]).”

He was joking; it was better suited to a mosh pit.