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The early ’90s marked a turbulent time for New York hip-hop as artists from the city’s five boroughs struggled to compete with the new generation of emerging West Coast talent. Enter the Wu-Tang Clan, whose goal was to put their Staten Island turf on the map while reclaiming the magic that established the Big Apple as a rap epicenter a decade earlier. The Wu Tang Clan, consisting of RZA, GZA, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God and Masta Killa – and Cappadonna joined later – broke up with their bands in late 1992 debut single “Protect Ya Neck,” which made a splash in underground circles and college radio. The success of the raucous, hookless posse-cuts caught the attention of Loud Records CEO Steve Rifkind, who signed the group to a landmark non-exclusive recording deal that gave the group’s individual members the freedom to sign solo deals with competing record labels.* 100003*
months after their debut in November 1993 Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) the Wu-Tang clan became hip-hop’s hottest crew and earned platinum status while single-handedly conquering New York City conquered on her back. After Enter the Wu-Tang with a string of solo albums by Method Man, GZA, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Raekwon and Ghostface Killah, the clan peaked in 1997 with their second double album *100009 *Wu-Tang Forever* 100010*, which debuted on the Billboard 200 and was certified 4x platinum by the end of the year. From there, the group continued to thrive collectively and individually, however internal turmoil and a lack of cohesion as a unit caused the crew to fall apart, a journey chronicled in Mass Appeal and Showtime’s documentary series Wu-Tang became clan: Of microphones and men.
The four-episode series chronicles each clan member’s humble beginnings, the formation of the group, and their rise to fame. As various members speak openly about what prompted the group’s disagreements, the series delivers a rawness akin to the brand of music they’ve presented to fans over the decades.
After watching Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics And Men, VIBE highlights ten things learned and provides an additional glimpse into the inner workings of one of them rap cult collectives.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=yGCoyIGDsCs
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Wu Tang Clan roots in Brooklyn
The Wu-Tang Clan are often credited with putting Staten Island on the rap map and are seen as cultural ambassadors for the often-overlooked borough. While the majority of the clan members hail from Shaolin’s infamous Park Hill and Stapleton housing projects, the crew’s origins can be traced back to Brooklyn, home of GZA and the Ol’ Dirty Bastard. As two of the founding fathers of the All in Together Now crew – which would eventually evolve into the Wu-Tang Clan – the pair, along with RZA, originally named BK Home Base, cultivated their talents in GZA’s neighborhood of Bed Stuy and Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s childhood home in East New York. After RZA and GZA’s unsuccessful stints on Tommy Boy and Cold Chillin’ Records, respectively, the trio returned to the drawing board, hunkered down on Staten Island and joined forces with the remaining members of the Wu-Tang Clan, and the rest is history .
RZA connection to Steubenville, Ohio
A revelation that came to light in Of Mics And Men is the importance of Steubenville, Ohio in the transformation of Prince Rakeem’s RZA and the founding of the Wu-Tang clan as a whole. In 1990, RZA and his mother moved to Steubenville, where the producer became embroiled in a fight for his freedom after he was charged with attempted murder for injuring two men during a shootout. “It was a bad night,” RZA remembers the intense encounter. “I was in trouble while there was violence. A k was shot resulting in my facing eight years in prison. I went to the trial and black guys don’t really go to the trial and win. Prosecutors made no deals with me.” Luckily for RZA, it would be determined that he acted in self-defense and was found not guilty, a moment he marks as a turning point in his life.“My mother came out and she saw me. She looked me in the eye and said, “This is my second chance, don’t look back, go straight. Walk this straight path.” I have done that. I have returned.” Following his acquittal, RZA returned to New York City with a renewed focus, leaving behind his criminal exploits to dedicate his life to music.
The Story Behind the Wu Tang Clan Logo
The Wu Tang Clan “W” logo is one of the most distinctive and iconic stamps in hip-hop.Of Mics And Men explores the story behind the logo created by Wu Tang Clan producer Mathematics for RZA. After sketching several variations to flesh out his Eas, a tough 24-hour deadline set by RZA prompted Mathematics to develop the final version of the Wu Emblem. “I went to the store, I went to the weeds,” Mathematician recalls. “I came in, curled up, smoked. I drank my 40 [oz.], then I remember sitting on the floor. So I drew it and knowing all the sketches we went through before and all the talk, I was like, ‘You know what? It has to be.” Mathematics was paid $400 for his services—half of RZA’s monthly rent at the time—and later earned production credits for several albums by members of the Wu and the group themselves, but the “W” is his most enduring contribution to culture.
Mitchell “Divine” Diggs’ tenuous relationship with the Wu-Tang Clan
RZA is considered the face of the Wu-Tang Clan, but behind the scenes, his older brother Mitchell “Divine” Diggs pulled the strings and orchestrated various deals and partnerships for the clan. A self-proclaimed “bully” and callous businessman, Divine’s exact role in the Wu hierarchy has long been a mystery, but Of Mics And Men helps provide context and sheds light on the shadowy figure. In the Wu’s early days, Divine played as a silent investor in the background, using funds raised on the streets to fund the crew’s efforts. Over time, Divine was inducted into Wu’s leadership team, a role in which he thrived, according to Of Mics And Men. “Whatever I did was the basis to create Wu-Tang. They came to my house to make the music. RZA is my little brother. So RZA says, ‘Okay, I do all the music, you do the business,’ and I start the company. I remember getting my first Macintosh and thinking, “What the hell are you doing with a computer? And within a month or two I had QuickBooks in, Peachtree, which is basically a bunch of software for accounting purposes because I manage the group. And I ended up just getting good at it. Before I knew it, I was reading all the contracts, negotiating all the deals. Wu-Tang Productions grew, we expanded as a company.”
However, Divine’s professional and working relationship with the Wu-Tang Clan became strained in what members perceived as shady business tactics, including his refusal to release her from her contracts with Wu-Tang Productions upon request. Divine admits he is reluctant to sign the papers and credits his brother RZA with convincing him to wave the white flag. “I’m saying, ‘I’m not giving anything back,'” he says, referring to the right to give Wu members the right to pursue other opportunities. “And RZA said, ‘Give back all their rights. Make them cancel all their contracts. “If you don’t let her go, you’ll never have her.’ In that sense, my brother is smarter than me.” Divine claimed to have lost an average of $10 million a year doing this. According to Divine, he and the group no longer speak to each other because his interview for the series was conducted separately from the other members, despite his estrangement from the Wu.
Oliver “Power” Grant’s role in the Wu-Tang Empire
Another covert figure from the Wu-Tang family tree is Oliver “Power” Grant, a fellow Staten Islander whom Wu member U-God describes as “a stone-cold hate machine.” Though Power, who was partner to RZA’s older brother Divine, had no experience in the music industry, he was called upon by RZA to break into the ground floor of what would become the Wu Empire.”Divine is my man,” Power shares in Of Mics And Men. “I never really hung out with RZA, but obviously, yes, that’s my male brother. He’s like, “Yo, still wanna do that music shit? We have to do it now if you want to do it.”
By investing heavily in the Wu-Tang Clan’s future with funds raised on the street, Power was listed as executive producer on the Wu-Tang Clan’s debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang: (36 Chambers ). Power also played a pivotal role in launching Wu Wear clothing, which he began mail order on the back cover of Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linxalbum of the Wu Tang Clan with the fashion world led to the opening of various Wu Wear stores across the country, resulting in annual sales of over $25 million during the group’s peak years Of Microphones and Men* 100067*.
Wu Tang Clan’s music was allegedly banned by Hot 97
Weeks after the Wu-Tang Clan’s seismic second album, Wu-Tang Forever, debuted at the top of the Billboard albums chart, the best of Staten Island headlined the annual Summer Won New York radio station Hot 97 jam concert. However, in Of Mics and Men, Wu member Inspectah Deck revealed that the group’s appearance at the concert was the result of an alleged ultimatum issued by the network itself. “Hot 97 back then, they wanted us to do Summer Jam,” he claims. “The deal was, ‘You have to come back and we have to do this Hot 97 Summer Jam or we won’t play any more of your records at our station.’ To add insult to injury, upon the group’s arrival at the venue, they noted, that the Bad Boy Records set had bled into their own, which Wu-Tang road manager Mook and the rest of the crew took as a sign of disrespect on the part of the group from Hot 97. “We’re coming out of our own pockets, getting our own tickets and fly back,” recalls Mook. “We’re coming to Summer Jam, Puffy’s on stage. It was him and Ma$e.” In response to the perceived slight, Ghostface Killah did the unthinkable and coaxed the crowd into a “F**k Hot 97” chant, at which point the group’s microphones were muted and the stadium lights came on, which interrupted her performance.
While various members of Wu shared Ghost’s feelings, his verbal attack on Hot 97 came at a price when the station banned the group from the network and removed their music from their playlists. According to Inspectah Deck, the Wu’s beef would prove costly with Hot 97 and change their bottom line as a group as well as soloists. “They’re not playing our records for the next ten years,” claims Deck. “Not having us involved while they played the biggie shit and they played the nas sh*t and everyone who was rocking with us at the time has impacted our sales. That influenced our tours, that influenced everything. That affected our presence.”
The Impact of Leaving Rage Against The Machine’s Tour
Rap’s kinship with rock music is a storied one, with superstars from both genres collaborating on some of the most beloved songs in music history and responsible for many of pop culture’s unforgettable moments. With their cult following that earned them rock star status and the success of their second album Wu-Tang Forever, the Wu-Tang Clan shone, taking part in the Rage Against The Machine tour in the summer of 1997 , like a no-brainer, offering the group an opportunity to expand their audience and extend their reach even further. “Wu-Tang Forever [tour] was the first time I saw Black, White, Native American, Hispanic and my Asian brothers [together],” RZA recalled in Of Mics And Men. “I saw clearly, I saw gay brothers and I just had an epiphany: the five human families, the black, red, yellow, white and brown are all in one room. Everyone rocks with us. So I’m like, I’m like, ‘Yo, it’s in my hands. These five families come together and these [hands] become our wings.’”
As the tour progressed, however, tensions within the group boiled over, and members of the Wu debated whether to continue or end the tour, a decision that depended in part on the group’s dissatisfaction with their compensation as opposed to Rage Against The Machine. “People were crazy about us,” says Mook. “It was beautiful, but the clan niggas felt like they should be getting more than $45,000 a night. Rage [Against The Machine] [got] all the money.” The fallout from the Wu’s decision to leave the tour early would mark what many are calling the beginning of the end of their legendary run as a full unit.
How police brutality affected the group
During the Wu-Tang Clan’s dominance of the ’90s, the group’s relationship with law enforcement was often strained, with members and their associates feeling under attack from the police, particularly in their home county of Staten Island. One incident that shook the clan was the murder of Ernest “Kase” Sayon, a close friend of Method Man, who died in police custody after being attacked by police. Footage of the attack quickly spread and prompted a series of protests in Park Hill and the surrounding area, leading to a close examination of the history of police brutality against African American resentment on Staten Island. In addition to Sayon’s murder, tensions between the Wu and law enforcement reached a high when Ol’ Dirty Bastard was charged with shooting at plainclothes police officers during a chase, a charge that was eventually dropped after it was discovered that the The rapper did not possess a firearm during the spur time. These two cases, highlighted in Of Mics And Men, were clear signs that even their fame could not shield the Wu from the harsh realities of race relations in America.
Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s Beef with RZA signs to Roc-A-Fella Records
RZA’s professional relationship with various members of the Wu-Tang clan was disputed, but the rift that hit the producer the hardest was his altercation with Ol’ Dirty Bastard, who subsequently requested a release from his Wu-Tang production contract his release from prison in 2003. Announcing a partnership with Damon Dash and Roc-A-Fella Records — as well as a name change to Dirt McGirt — during a press conference on his first day as a free man, Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s Switch teams decision shook a few feathers, most notably RZA, who shared his feelings about the situation in Of Mics And Men. “I don’t want to take Dirty out of Wu-Tang Productions,” he explains. “I had a lot of plans with him. ‘Yo, you’ll come home, I’ve got a home for you. I have a studio for you. You’ll have at least half a million bucks to sit around and play with, and we’ll make the best damn album. And that’s what I had planned for him. And for him to think that anyone will care more about him or his music or his career or his life or the lives of his babies than me is trick knowledge to me.”
However, according to Ol’ Dirty’s mother, Cheryl Jones, her son had no choice but to separate from his cousin due to a lack of financial stability. “He was penniless,” Jones recalls. “He had no money when he came out. I called RZA, I said, “Come on.” Everyone thought he shouldn’t have returned to work, but if he had rushed back to work, he would have been back in jail. Because if the child support wasn’t pa, they would have locked him up again.” Unfortunately, Ol’ Dirty Bastard never got the chance to release his Roc-A-Fella debut as the rapper died on November 13, 2004 of a drug overdose and put out the light of one of rap’s most vibrant characters.*100104 *
Masta Killa’s connection to Marvin Gaye
Of all the members of the Wu Tang Clan, the most mysterious is Masta Killa, one of the last artists to join the Wu family. Hailing from Brooklyn’s East New York, Masta Killa’s love of music can be traced back to his youth when his father introduced him to R&B. “My dad was a singer, he was into R&B,” says Masta Killa. “And sometimes he would even come around the block singing.And when I heard his voice, I would almost jump out the window because I was excited to know that my father was coming home. When he left home for good, it was traumatic for me.” But although he was physically absent, his father’s record collection helped foster a spiritual bond between the two. “One thing he left behind was all his records and I played them every day because I connected with him like that. I remember him singing that record and I picked it up and put it on the turntable and listened to it just to remember hearing his voice.”
In Of Mics And Men, Masta Killa reconnected with his father, who offered insight into the rapper’s rich legacy, which includes ties to one of the legendary singers of all time as well as a legendary revolutionary. “When he was a baby, I used to sing The Stylistics to put him to sleep,” says his killa’s father. “He was always calm, that’s his nature, but he just needed that music to put him to sleep, he just walked right out (laughs).” Killa adds, “Music has always been our foundation in my family. My mother’s cousin was Marvin Gaye and we had this music in the family, the art. My mother, her male name was Gaye. My mother is from North Carolina and my father is from Virginia, we are direct descendants of Nat Turner. This is his family.”
The Wu-Tang Clan is about to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their debut album Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). The New York hip-hop collective has made it to a silver anniversary, not without tragedy or conflict. Founding member O.D.B. died in November 2004. Surviving members have been vocal about inequalities within the group and criticism of RZA’s production. Perhaps no member has spoken more publicly about family dysfunction than U-God.
In late 2016, the Staten Island, New York native hit RZA and his bandmates with a reported $2.5 million lawsuit over Unpa royalties. The MC has not been responsible for group work since 2010, despite a released $2 million album that sold at auction, solo records on the RZA label and the group’s major label release, A Better Tomorrow . Last October, the Golden Arms MC missed the release of The Saga Continues album, only to appear on an official Hood Go Bang remix by the end of the year. Now, male-born Lamont Hawkins has released his memoir, Raw: My Journey Into The Wu-Tang. U-God claims there are some very human flaws in his legendary group.
U-God says $2M Wu Tang album isn’t exciting (Veo)
Today (March 20) Rolling Stone released an excerpt of the Picador Books publication.”Right now it seems the Wu brothers aren’t on the same page, each other go for the throat and miss shows and all that” U-God pens. “But for me it’s really been years that BS has caught up with RZA. See, he blamed his family for the shit, and for years we took to the streets, but money has run out,,” the excerpt begins. RZA’s brother, Mitchell “Divine” Diggs, has been part of the group’s management since the 1990s, along with Oli “Power” Grant. Another brother of The Abbott, 9th Prince is a member of Killarmy and a solo artist. RZA has previously authored two books: The Wu-Tang Manual (2005) and The Tao Of Wu (2010).
In the piece of sample text, U-God says that he, Masta Killa, and Inspectah Deck received an unfair hit from Wu. These were the last three artists to release solo material. U-God, whose solo set began with 1999’s Golden Arms Redemption on Wu-Tang/Priority Records, writes that the group found it difficult to promote his solo work on the biggest stages the way others did early on. “It’s been a long time since we rocked new songs on stage. Sh*t, we didn’t even support the last few albums with proper touring; I mean we went on tour but kept performing the ics. This is backwards for me. In order for us to ask fans to support us, we first had to support ourselves by performing new material – all for one and one for all,” Hawkins writes. In early days, RZA orchestrated Wu members’ support on solo albums and on the road for early members. While Method Man, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon and GZA all released solo albums by 1996, U-God, Rebel I.N.S. and Masta Killa a whopping 11 years to secure a spot on record shelves.
MF DOOM, Inspectah Deck & Esoteric deliver a Veo fit for vicious rhymes
“When [Raekwon’s Only Built 4] Cuban Linx… came out, no one knew the record was going to be the next Wu album, but when Raekwon signed the deal we all agreed to let him have it for.” no problem with his solo joint. Years later, as revenue streams began to dry up, members, used to living crazy lives, began complaining that all fees were the same. This resulted in some of the guys missing shows and holding the entire group for ransom before agreeing to go on tour. Conclusion: No solo member has ever played to sold-out arenas; the whole group is the basis. There is no earth without wind and fire!” he demands and compares the clan with the soul group.
U-God says each member of the group made an investment (he estimates $40,000) to get Wu-Wear off the ground in the ’90s.”None of us – the original members who each invested a significant amount from our 36 Chambers Royalties and the Rage [Against The Machine] tour – have ever gotten a penny back from the first version of the lineage formed in 1997. And that needs to be addressed and corrected,” explains the Babygrande Records artist. He also says that while the group has never used a “high school” talent company as a representative office, they have used RZA for its solo endeavors. In recent years, the clan leader has moved into feature film roles, brand partnerships with Chipotle, and working with James Blake and Kanye West.
Wu Tang Clan partner singer Allah Real has passed away
The MC releasing Venom on March 30 accuses RZA of shady dealings with the group’s iconic logo. Last fall, RZA and DJ Mathematics (formerly Allah Mathematics) performed together at The Breakfast Club. In an interesting moment, Charlamagne Tha God pushed the two into Maths designing the logo, which ended up being owned by RZA. According to U-God, this logo is currently being used as a revenue stream for solo releases to take money from Wu members. “DJ Mathematics painted this logo on the back of a napkin back then. RZA quickly trademarked it, and to this day his brother gets annoyed whenever any of the original members try to use it. This is crazy to me – I mean, I understand if someone used it without the group’s permission, but the members of the group themselves? Wow, that’s just crazy,” he writes. For this reason, according to Golden Arms, members like GZA and Meth’ mimicked the “W” for their “G” and “M” respectively as a workaround. Mitchell “Divine” Diggs reportedly charges members for use of this brand, as well as for third-party bookings made by individual artist managers.
U-God accuses RZA of intentionally sneaking into group songs, like the chorus of 2000’s “Gravel Pit,” to create favorable release splits for The Abbott. In his own Breakfast Club interview earlier this month, U-God confirmed the existence (although he didn’t elaborate) of the existence of salary scales that members receive for Wu projects.
Wu-Tang Clan was originally RZA, GZA & O.D.B. But “Protect Ya Neck” Changed Everything (Veo)
The Wu-Tang Clan is scheduled to headline the Soundset Festival in May 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is currently unclear if U-God will join his crew.
With a full excerpt on Rolling Stone, U-God’s Raw: My Journey Into The Wu-Tang is available now in print, digital and audiobook to read by yourself.
American hip hop artist
musician
Gary Earl Grice[2] (born August 22, 1966), better known by his stage names GZA ( JIZ-ə) and *100013 *The Genius,[3] is an American rapper and songwriter. A founding member of hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, GZA is the group’s “spiritual head” and is both the group’s first member to receive a recording contract and its oldest member.[4] He has appeared in solo projects by his Wu-Tang peers and has embarked on a successful solo career beginning with Liqu Swords (1995).
His lyrics often discard typical rap storylines in favor of science and philosophies that span us, and have been characterized as “armed with sharp metaphors and a smooth flow”.[5][6][7][8]. ] Analysis of GZA’s lyrics revealed that he has the second largest vocabulary in popular hip-hop music. He teamed up with an education group to promote science education in New York City through hip hop.[11]
discography
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collaboration albums
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- Grandmaster with DJ Muggs (2005)
Early Life
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After being born on August 22, 1966 in Brooklyn, New York City, Gary Grice developed an interest in hip-hop by attending block parties as a child in the early 1970’s. He dabbled in breakdancing, graffiti and DJing. He developed an interest in writing at an early age, studying Mother Goose and children’s songs. He listened to The Last Poets in 1974–1976, before moving to Brooklyn from Staten Island;[12] however, he was drawn to profanity rather than substance and did not understand the underlying messages until many years later. The Last Poets, as well as songs by The Isley Brothers, the Commodores and the O’Jays played a large part in his early life, particularly in terms of the tone and cadence of the language.[13] He later began listening to hip hop and R&B, such as Secret Weapon and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.[14] In 1982, Grice dropped out of high school in the tenth grade.[15]
He formed a three-man group with his cousins Robert Diggs and Russell Jones, later known as RZA and Ol’ Dirty Bastard. At the time he didn’t like the sound of his voice.[13] The group FOI: Force of the Imperial Master and later All in Together[16] saw the three rap and DJ, change names and perform local shows; Living in different boroughs, GZA and Ol’ Dirty traveled from Brooklyn to Staten Island to meet up with their cousin RZA, after which the three traveled around New York City challenging other MCs to fights. He left school in the 10th grade but nurtured his affection for science as he developed his skills as a copywriter.[18]
After a few years, GZA was signed to Cold Chillin’ Records as a solo artist under the name The Genius.[19] He released his debut album Words from the Genius (1991) which was mainly produced by Easy Mo Bee but after it didn’t sell as the label didn’t promote it and his rocking experience on tour, Grice had fed up and asked to be released from the label.[12][20] The album’s beat selection resembles the ic boom bap sound of the early 1990s, while the lyrical theme is the everyday situations of an individual living in parts of New York.[21] At that time he was working as a bicycle messenger.[17]
Solo career
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1995–1999: Liquid Swords, Below the Surface
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*100098*
These guest appearances continued in 1995 with GZA’s second studio album, Liqu Swords, which was produced and recorded entirely in RZA’s basement studio with the participation of all the original clan members. It was released by Geffen Records on November 7th.[22] The album’s complex composition featured dialogue sampled from the film Shogun Assassin. The album met positive reviews and sold well. It is considered one of the best albums from the Wu Tang camp. It reached #9 on the Billboard 200 chart and #2 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[23] On October 8, 2015, the Recording Industry Association of America announced that the album had received platinum certification for selling more than 1 million copies. It was the first Wu Tang-related album to be certified since 2004, when Method Man and Ghostface Killah both received plaques.[19] He also directed music videos for four album singles.[16]
After appearing on the Wu-Tang Clan’s second album, Wu-Tang Forever (1997), his third studio album became Beneath the Surface by MCA Records released in 1999. The album and its singles “Crash Your Crew” and “Breaker, Breaker” received critical acclaim.[24] The album received a Gold certification from the RIAA[19], peaked at #9 on the Billboard 200 chart and topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[25]
In 2000 the single I live for hip hop was released with DJ Tomekk and reached number 11 in the German charts.
A sequel to his second solo album, Legend of the Liqu Sword, was released in 2002.[13] It was well received by critics, but did not sell well and was not certified Gold. GZA toured both solo and with the clan in 2004, appearing with RZA in Jim Jarmusch’s film Coffee and Cigarettesalongside Bill Murray. The two also appeared in the Chappelle Show sketches “Wu Tang Financial” and “Racial Draft.”[26]
In 2005, GZA and DJ Muggs (the producer of hip hop group Cypress Hill) released the collaboration album Grandmasters. Muggs did all of the production for the album, with GZA using chess as a metaphor for the rap game, with most of the songs having a chess-themed title.
GZA performing at Pa Dues in New York City, 2008
In the summer of 2008, his fifth solo studio album Pro Tools was released by Babygrande Records. It featured production from Black Milk and Jay “Waxxx” Garfield, RZA, Mathematics and True Master. A highly controversial song on the album was titled “Paper Plates,” a gently flowing response aimed at rival rapper 50 Cent. After the release, GZA toured various parts of Europe on a “Liqu Swords Tour”, performing songs by Liqu Swords as well as Pro Tools.[20] Later he traveled parts of the USA.[28]
2010–present: Dark Matter
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2010 he spoke at Harvard University[17] and has since visited MIT, Oxford, USC, NYU, Cornell, among others, where he met with scientists such as Dav Kaiser and Sallie W. Chisholm[14 ][29] to seek inspiration.[30][31][32] In 2012, he spoke to Neil deGrasse Tyson about “Hip-Hop and Science.”[33][18]
To improve science education in New York City and beyond, he began work on a pilot program called Science Genius B.A.T.T.L.E.S. in late 2012 with support from Columbia University Professor Christopher Emdin and the website Rap Genius. (Bringing attention to the transformation, teaching and learning of science). This initiative motivates young high school students, especially African American and Hispanic students who together make up 70 percent of New York City’s student body, to learn science through hip-hop, create science raps, and enter a rap contest. 35][36][37]
Meanwhile, he continued to work on a related new studio album called Dark Matter, based on a journey through spacetime, universe and physics.[29][38] In late 2015, GZA canceled European tour dates to focus on work on the album with composer Vangelis.[16][39][40] It is planned to be one in a series of earth-related albums, with subsequent albums being conceived around oceans.[18] GZA indicated that the albums will be free of parental references, profanity and nudity.[18]
In February 2015, GZA released a single “The Mexican” (a cover of Babe Ruth’s song) featuring guitarist Tom Morello and singer Kara Lane. They performed the song live with The Roots on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.[41] On June 30, 2016, he released a new space-themed title, The Spark, produced by Paul Ryder, for NASA’s Destination: Jupiter project, in celebration of the agency’s ongoing Juno mission. 42][43][44]
In 2020, GZA had a speaking role on Netflix’s Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts as Bad Billions and contributed a song to the series.
Wu-Tang Clan
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In 1992, GZA joined the Wu-Tang Clan, a nine-piece group formed by his cousin RZA.GZA had some high-profile performances on the group’s debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)* 100175* (1993), including a solo track, “Clan in da Front”.[22] This, combined with appearances on albums by other clan members such as Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version (1995) and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx.. (1995) brought him a lot Recognition. According to Method Man, “We form like Voltron and GZA happens to be the head”.[22]
References
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- GZA on Facebook
- GZA on Twitter
- GZA via Genius
- GZA at IMDb
The Wu-Tang Clan is about to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their debut album Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). The New York hip-hop collective has made it to a silver anniversary, not without tragedy or conflict. Founding member O.D.B. died in November 2004. Surviving members have been vocal about inequalities within the group and criticism of RZA’s production. Perhaps no member has spoken more publicly about family dysfunction than U-God.
In late 2016, the Staten Island, New York native slapped RZA and his bandmates in a reported $2.5 million lawsuit over Unpa royalties. The MC has not been responsible for group work since 2010, despite a released $2 million album that sold at auction, solo records on the RZA label and the group’s major label release, A Better Tomorrow . Last October, the Golden Arms MC missed the release of The Saga Continues album, only to appear on an official Hood Go Bang remix by the end of the year. Now, male-born Lamont Hawkins has released his memoir, Raw: My Journey Into The Wu-Tang. U-God claims there are some very human flaws in his legendary group.
U-God says $2M Wu Tang album isn’t exciting (Veo)
Today (March 20) Rolling Stone released an excerpt of the Picador Books publication.”Right now it seems the Wu brothers aren’t on the same page, each other go for the throat and miss shows and all that” U-God pens. “But for me it’s really been years that BS has caught up with RZA. See, he blamed his family for the shit, and we hit the streets for years, but money’s been running out,,” the excerpt begins. RZA’s brother, Mitchell “Divine” Diggs, has been part of the group’s management since the 1990s, along with Oli “Power” Grant. Another brother of The Abbott, 9th Prince is a member of Killarmy and a solo artist. Previously, RZA has written two books: The Wu-Tang Manual (2005) and The Tao Of Wu (2010).
In the piece of sample text, U-God says that he, Masta Killa, and Inspectah Deck received an unfair hit from Wu. These were the last three artists to release solo material. U-God, whose solo set began with 1999’s Golden Arms Redemption on Wu-Tang/Priority Records, writes that the group found it difficult to promote his solo work on the biggest stages the way others did early on. “It’s been a long time since we rocked new songs on stage. Shit, we didn’t even support the last few albums with proper touring; I mean we went on tour but kept performing the ics. This is backwards for me. In order for us to ask fans to support us, we first had to support ourselves by performing new material – all for one and one for all,” Hawkins writes. In early days, RZA orchestrated Wu members’ support on solo albums and on the road for early members. While Method Man, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon and GZA all released solo albums by 1996, U-God, Rebel I.N.S. and Masta Killa a whopping 11 years to secure a spot on record shelves.
MF DOOM, Inspectah Deck & Esoteric deliver a Veo fit for vicious rhymes
“When [Raekwon’s Only Built 4] Cuban Linx… came out, no one knew the record was going to be the next Wu album, but when Raekwon signed the deal we all agreed to let him have it for.” no problem with his solo joint. Years later, as revenue streams began to dry up, members, used to living crazy lives, began complaining that all fees were the same. This resulted in some of the guys missing shows and holding the entire group for ransom before agreeing to go on tour. Conclusion: No solo member has ever played to sold-out arenas; the whole group is the basis. There is no earth without wind and fire!” he demands and compares the clan with the soul group.
U-God says each member of the group made an investment (he estimates $40,000) to get Wu-Wear off the ground in the ’90s.”None of us – the original members who each invested a significant amount from our 36 Chambers Royalties and the Rage [Against The Machine] tour – have ever gotten a penny back from the first version of the lineage formed in 1997. And that needs to be addressed and corrected,” explains the Babygrande Records artist. He also says that while the group has never used a “high school” talent company as a representative office, they have used RZA for its solo endeavors. In recent years, the clan leader has moved into feature film roles, brand partnerships with Chipotle, and working with James Blake and Kanye West.
Wu Tang Clan partner singer Allah Real has passed away
The MC releasing Venom on March 30 accuses RZA of shady dealings with the group’s iconic logo. Last fall, RZA and DJ Mathematics (formerly Allah Mathematics) performed together at The Breakfast Club. In an interesting moment, Charlamagne Tha God pushed the two into Maths’ design of the logo, which grew into RZA’s ownership. According to U-God, this logo is currently being used as a revenue stream for solo releases to take money from Wu members. “DJ Mathematics painted this logo on the back of a napkin back then. RZA quickly trademarked it, and to this day his brother gets annoyed whenever any of the original members try to use it. This is crazy to me – I mean, I understand if someone used it without the group’s permission, but the members of the group themselves? Wow, that’s just crazy,” he writes. For this reason, according to Golden Arms, members like GZA and Meth’ mimicked the “W” for their “G” and “M” respectively as a workaround. Mitchell “Divine” Diggs reportedly charges members for use of this brand, as well as for third-party bookings made by individual artist managers.
U-God accuses RZA of intentionally sneaking into group songs, like the chorus of 2000’s “Gravel Pit,” to create favorable release splits for The Abbott. In his own Breakfast Club interview earlier this month, U-God confirmed the existence (although he didn’t elaborate) of the existence of salary scales that members receive for Wu projects.
Wu-Tang Clan was originally RZA, GZA & O.D.B. But “Protect Ya Neck” Changed Everything (Veo)
The Wu-Tang Clan is scheduled to headline the May 2018 Soundset Festival in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is currently unclear if U-God will join his crew.
With a full excerpt on Rolling Stone, U-God’s Raw: My Journey Into The Wu-Tang is available now in print, digital and audiobook to read by yourself.
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American rapper
Robert Fitzgerald Diggs (born July 5, 1969), better known by his stage name RZA (RIZ-ə), is an American rapper , actor, filmmaker and record producer. He is the de facto leader of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan[4] having produced most of the albums for the group and its respective members. He is a cousin of two other original Wu-Tang Clan members: GZA and Ol’ Dirty Bastard. He has also released solo albums under the alter ego Bobby Digital, along with executive producing credits for those projects. After the formation of the Wu-Tang Clan, RZA was a founding member of the horrorcore group Gravediggaz, where he went by the name The RZArector.
RZA has been heavily involved in filmmaking since the late 90’s. He has written a number of films, most notably Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) and Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004). He has written and directed for film and television, beginning with his directorial debut The Man With Iron Fistsin 2012. He has also acted in numerous films and television series, including the films American Gangster* 100026* and Brick Mansions, as well as the TV series Gang Related and Californication.
He is best known for his music production, which has proved highly influential through its use of soul samples and sparse beats. The Source magazine named him one of the 20 greatest producers in the magazine’s twenty-year history.[5]Vibe listed him in the top 8 greatest hip-hop producers of all Times on,[6] and NME placed him on their list of the 50 Greatest Producers of All Time.[7]
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RZA’s production technique, particularly the way he chops up and/or speeds up or slows down soul samples to fit his beats, has been emulated by hip-hop producers like Kanye West and Just Blaze. West’s own version of RZAs [32] briefly flooded the rap market with what has been dubbed “chipmunk soul,” speeding up a vocal sample until it sounded like the singer had inhaled helium. At that time, several manufacturers copied the and created other offshoots. West has admitted that he was clearly influenced by the production of the RZA[33]
Sa by Kanye West:
“Wu-Tang? Me and my friends talk about it all the time. Similar to the [production] I use, RZA did that.”[34]
RZA himself responded quite positively about the comparisons:
“All right. I have a lot of respect for Kanye. He approached me about a year or two ago. He gave me insane praise and blessings.. When people say Wu-Tang inspires Kanye, it is Kanye is one of the greatest artists in the world. It goes back to what we say, “Wu-Tang is forever. Kanye will inspire people to be like him.”[35]
After hearing Kanye’s work on The Blueprint, RZA claimed that there was a torch-switching between him and West, saying:
[35]“The shoes have to be filled. If you don’t do it, someone else will. That’s how I feel about rap today.”
His Bobby Digital albums added sophisticated New Age elements to his sound; these have become more integrated into his beats on newer albums like Method Mans 4:21.. The Day After.
“I now produce more like a musician”, RZA sa. “I used to produce more like a DJ. I didn’t understand music theory at all. Now that I understand music theory, I make my music more playable, which means you can not only hear it, but get someone else to play it. In the past, you couldn’t even write down Wu Tang music. I think almost 80 percent of this record can be copied by a band, which is important for music because that means in 10 years someone can make a whole song out of it and cover it like I cover the Beatles song.” [36]
In a 2010 radio interview with British hip-hop station Conspiracy Worldwe Radio, RZA spoke at length about the homegrown, open-minded ethos of much of his ic work, including the organic creation process behind ODB’s debut album.[37]
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RZA is known for using multiple aliases for different lyrics and personalities available: Prince Rakeem, The Abbot, Bobby Digital, Bobby Steels, the Scientist, Prince Delight, Prince Dynamite, Ruler Zig-Zag-Zig Allah.[38] During his time with the Gravediggaz he went by the name RZArector, which is used to awaken the spiritually dead.[39] RZA can be rendered phonetically in Japanese kanji: 令座 (furigana れいざ and rōmaji reiza). The kanji 令 “rei” means “order”. And its counterpart “座” means “seat”. The combination means ryō-za or “command”, but can be interpreted as “seat of command” in an appellative sense. In Chinese it would be pronounced lìng zuò.
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Early Life
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Diggs was born on July 5, 1969 in Brownsville, Brooklyn. He was named after the Kennedy brothers Robert and John Fitzgerald, both of whom his mother admired greatly.[8] Diggs has called his first name an “honourable” name given Robert and John’s legacy. Diggs has a younger brother, Terrance Hamlin, better known as rapper 9th Prince, and an older brother named Mitchell “Divine” Diggs.
From the ages of three to seven, Diggs spent summers in North Carolina with his uncle, who encouraged him to read and study.[9] Diggs was introduced to hip-hop music at the age of nine and was competing in rap battles by the age of eleven. He moved to Steubenville, Ohio in 1990 to live with his mother. He spent weekends in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where his father ran a grocery store in the city’s Hill District.[10]
Diggs was involved in petty crime and drug trafficking and was charged with attempted murder in Steubenville. He was acquitted of the charges and given what he called a “second chance.”[11]
Movie career
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Acting
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RZA had cameo appearances in movies like Funny People, Due Date, Gospel Hill, Ghost Dog, Life Is Hot in Cracktown and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stop.
RZA appeared in Derailed, Coffee and Cigarettesand American Gangster. He appeared in G.I. Joe: Retaliation, as the character Blind Master.[40] In 2010, RZA appeared in the sci-fi action film Repo Men.[41] In 2014, RZA took on the role of Tremaine Alexander in the film Brick Mansions opposite Paul Walker and Dav Belle, a remake of District 13. He played “Mr. L.C.”, the main antagonist, in the Thai martial arts film Tom Yum Goong 2.
RZA directed and starred in The Man With Iron Fists (2012).
In 2013, RZA guest-voted on the sixth season of Robot Chicken. “Botched Jewel Heist”, in three sketches. His first role is as an anthropomorphic strawberry who is shot during a mob hit, causing his jelly blood to splatter onto a large slice of bread underneath (which was covered in the peanut butter blood of Mr. Peanut, who was killed the same way). moments before). In his second role, he plays himself and raps about being a pescetarian, although RZA had transitioned from a pescetarian diet to a vegan diet in 1997.His third role was as the Halloween Road Warrior in a sketch, In a Post-Apocalyptic World, a family of road warriors is pursued, portraying forgotten holays aiming to bang their two children.
RZA played the role of Samurai Apocalypse in the TV series Californication in 9 episodes.[42]
RZA played the supporting role of Shotgun Steve in the action romantic comedy Mr. Right (2015 film) starring Sam Rockwell and Anna Kendrick.[43]
RZA portrayed Dean in the 2019 film The Dead Don’t Die.[44]
RZA narrates a character named Wesley in the Netflix Original Series Day Break Season 1 , Episode 5 “Homecoming Redux or My So Called Stunt Double Life” 2019.
[45]
making movies
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I made my albums like movies, you know what I mean? I wanted people to be able to listen to a movie while driving in their car. “I want to start making films where people know they’re in a film. Like my friend Tarantino, he made this movie Pulp Fiction – ic movie, man. Every time it comes on TV or cable, I have to stop and watch it. And it’s really based on nothing. There are few people out there who are able to do that where it comes from nothing but the artist’s vision and imagination.[46]*100256 *
In the late ’90s, RZA began producing a feature film based on “Bobby Digital,” an alias he used on various albums. Although the film was never completed, he continued to make music videos for his SE projects and solo tracks.
RZA made his first feature film, The Man With The Iron Fists, in 2011 from a screenplay he had written the previous year. Directors Quentin Tarantino and Eli Roth were involved in the production, writing, and casting, according to multiple movie websites. The film was released in fall 2012.
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2005
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Before Wu-Tang Clan
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In 1984, Diggs formed a rap group called “Force of the Imperial Master” with his cousins Russell Jones, then known as The Specialist, and Gary Grice, then known as Allah Justice, which they soon later transformed into “All renamed Together Now” in 1985. Around this time, Diggs formed the DMD Posse, which consisted of RZA, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, U-God, Inspectah Deck, 4th Disciple, and Method Man.[1] Diggs and Grice then signed for management purposes at Jamaica Records and Jamaica, Tommy convinced Boy Records to sign Diggs as a solo artist under the name Prince Rakeemin 1989.[1] He released the original promotional version of the EP Ooh I Love You Rakeembut was forced to remix and re-release the single when Tommy Boy didn’t purchase the rights to the original sample.The re-released version underperformed commercially and Diggs was subsequently dropped by Tommy Boy in.
1992–1993: Formation of Wu Tang Clan
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After a shooting in Ohio in 1992, he faced eight years in prison. “When they were ‘not guilty’, my face was stuck in a smile for three days,” he recalled. “I was just walking around town thinking about my daughter and my wife. At that moment, I say goodbye to anything that could bring me back into this situation. I was on trial for attempted murder. I was a fucking idiot with all this knowledge in my head and ending up there.”[12] In 1992, Diggs formed a new group with his two cousins and five other childhood friends.They named the group the Wu-Tang Clan, after the 1983 kung fu film Shaolin and Wu Tang. As part of forming the group, each member chose a new nickname for themselves. Diggs chose “RZA” based on a nickname given to him by fans of his music, “Rza Rza Rakeem”, which in turn was based on a song by All in Together Now, “Pza Pza Pumpin”, as well as Diggs’ ‘graffiti tag’ Razor”. He created a backronym for “RZA” stating that the name stood for “Rover, Zig-Zag-Zig, Allah”, which when using the Supreme Alphabet was further translated to “Rover, Knowledge-Wisdom-Understanding, Allah” .
Wu-Tang Clan released its first single “Protect Ya Neck” in December 1992. Masta Killa then joined the group in 1993 and became its ninth member. They released their debut album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) in November 1993.[14] RZA acted as the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan, producing the group’s songs and deciding who would be placed on which tracks.
1994-1996: Gravediggaz and Wu-Tang Solo Projects: Round One
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*100359 *
As each member of the group pursued solo careers, RZA continued to produce almost everything Wu-Tang released from 1994 to 1996, which involved composing and arranging the instrumental tracks as well as overseeing and directing the creative process. RZA’s rule over the clan at this time is described as “a dictatorship” in the 2004 book Wu-Tang Manual. He also released a hit single of his own in the form of “Wu-Wear: The Garment Renaissance.” The song was featured on the soundtrack High School High and released to promote the clothing brand Wu-Tang, also known as “Wu-Wear”. It reached #60 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #6 on the Hot Rap Singles chart.[15]
When it came time for the Gravediggaz, Prince Paul thought about putting a group together. He wanted to get some good MCs. Poetic was another wacky MC who was underrated on Long Island. He had a single about Tommy Boy that didn’t go down, but he was a great MC. As a Grym Reaper you know how many cool lyrics he wrote. Frukwan, one of Stetsasonic’s best lyricists. He and Paul were already friends. He told him about me. He says, “I know this one guy who’s super dumb.”
At the same time, I tried to do Wu-Tang. I’ve been trying to start my own company and stuff and when Paul called me and invited me to his daycare center on Long Island and said he approved of starting this group, I thought it would be an honor to be in a group with him to be . But I told him, “I’m also producing a group, and I’m also part of a family that I’m building.” He said, “Yo, that’s crazy.” We would talk often. [Ol’ Dirty Bastard] often came to his house with me. [Method Man] too. We would all just go there and try to find ways to get off the streets. I tried to get out of the ghetto. Paul had a lot of respect for me, so he helped me break out of it. I think he liked that I was so dark, but I didn’t know I was dark.[16]
1997: Wu-Tang Forever
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1997 saw the release of Wu-Tang Forever, the Wu-Tang Clan’s eagerly awaited second album. The album featured RZA for the first time delegating a small number of beat-making duties to other producers in the Wu-Tang camp, such as his protégés Mathematics, True Master and 4th Disciple, known as the original Wu Elements, and Clan member Inspectah Deck.[17]
1998-1999: Gravediggaz and Wu-Tang Solo Projects: Round Two
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During the period 1998-2000, RZA ceased production of every Wu-Tang solo album as he had previously done, but continued to contribute an average of one or two songs to each record and received executive producer credit.
“I had to kick Bobby Digital instead of The Cure because if I hadn’t done that, I would have suffered two things. First, I would have to revealed early on where I was musically.Wu-Tang is the perfect medium to reveal something new because I’ve gotten most of the people together to buy it. I don’t think I would reveal it for myself. It was wise of me to do that. I may have caught more people than Bobby Digital, but I still wouldn’t grasp the magnitude of what the Wu-Tang could catch. Maybe this year or next year the game will be different.The Cure is so intimate when writing that you have to live this Cure shit. I lived like Bobby Digital in ’98, ’99, well, mean? So if I put “The Cure” out then I couldn’t even go on stage and play it for you because I would be lying.”
2001–2004: Contribution The W Solo projects
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1999 the RZA started composing film music. His first work, Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999), received critical acclaim; He also had a brief cameo appearance in the film itself, as a fellow samurai in camouflage. The experience was positive, and as he stated during an interview on National Public Radio Fresh Air, working with traditional musicians made him want to learn how to read and write music.[18] In 2004 he co-scored Dav S. Goyer’s “Blade: Trinity” with composer Ramin Djawadi.
This is one of my greatest adventures and one of my [best] feelings. We saw Kill Bill in Manhattan. That’s what happened at the premiere, but you know, this is Hollywood. But in Manhattan, a theater, just a bunch of people coming from New York, in a movie theater and the movie is on. They don’t even know I’m the man with the music and when it says “Original Music by The RZA” we hear the audience clapping. And they don’t clap for anything else because the movie is just getting started. I thought, ‘Wow, what the hell is this?’ That is different. It could actually be something special. You don’t care who did it. Once you’ve seen who stars in the shit, you don’t read “edited,” you don’t read all of that. You eat your popcorn and it goes right past you. But for someone who sees that and then clap, that’s a different matter. That felt pretty nice.
2005-Present: Solo Projects: Round Three
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RZA at the Eurockéennes 2007
He has also stated that the long-delayed album The Cure will be his last solo album so he can devote more time to his film directing career.[ 19]
Prior to signing with SRC Records in 2007, RZA was inundated with offers from Bad Boy Records, Aftermath Records, Interscope and Def Jam, among others for the Wu Tang Clan supergroup.[20]
In 2007 he produced the music for the Japanese anime Afro Samurai starring Samuel L. Jackson. In 2007 he released the little-publicized instrumental album The RZA-Instrumental Experienceand collaborated with Raekwon on his highly anticipated Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II. From 2005 to 2008 he collaborated with System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian on the project Achozen. The group also recorded an album which has remained unreleased although eight of the songs were released in 2015.
RZA performs at Virgin Music Festival with Wu-Tang
“The time has come to bring older material digitally to the masses. Our fans have been engaged and patient, and they are hungry to hear the music that sets us apart from so many others, hip-hop lives in Wu Music, and in The Orchard we have a single partner who understands our audience and is committed to doing whatever it takes to help us achieve them Fans. I’m definitely looking forward to working with them to see what else we all can come up with. There’s a lot more to come.”[22]
In 2010 he was working on what was intended to be a solo album for GZA, Liqu Swords II,[23] but the album remains unreleased. RZA also worked with Kanye West on his fifth album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,[24] as well as Watch the Throne by Kanye and Jay-Z.
In a 2011 interview, RZA revealed that he recently decided to rid his beat machines of instruments he made for the Wu-Tang Clan that were never used; As a result, he gifted ten beats each to Nas, Busta Rhymes, and Talib Kweli, and 20 beats to Kanye West, including two used on West’s previous two albums. RZA produced British artist Josh Osho’s 2012 debut album L.I.F.E.
RZA also contributed vocals on three songs on John Frusciante’s 2012 EP Letur-Lefr and in 2013 he contributed vocals on a song on K Cudi’s 2013 album Indicud.*100484 * In at August 2012 RZA formed a new record label, Soul Temple Records, with a distribution deal from RED Distribution. On September 28, 2012, he hosted an episode of the web series Even Three, replacing regular host Ray William Johnson. He appeared on Earl Sweatshirt’s album Dorisand contributed a verse to the track “Molasses.” Despite artistic disagreements with Raekwon, RZA and The Wu-Tang Clan released their sixth album A Better Tomorrowin 2014.
In 2013, RZA and Paul Banks began collaborating as Banks & Steelz for the 2016 album Anything But Words.[26][27] Guest appearances include Kool Keith, Ghostface Killah, Method Man and Masta Killa.[27] Two singles were released from the album, “Love + War” and “Giant”.[27] RZA collaborated with Ramin Djawadi, with whom he composed the song “Drift” for the Guillermo del Toro film “Pacific Rim” for Blade Trinity and Blake Perlman.
Turned in June 2020 For example, ice cream company Good Humor approached RZA to create a new jingle for ice cream trucks[28] to replace the tune “Turkey in the Straw” long associated with minstrel shows with racist lyrics. (Good Humor doesn’t operate trucks directly, but the company wanted to encourage ice cream truck drivers not to play the song.)[29] The resulting composition by RZA was released in August 2020.[30]
In a recent 2020 interview, RZA discussed how being stuck at home during the global COVID crisis led him to resume work on his long-unreleased album The Cure recorded.[31]
Personal Life
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RZA is a Five Percenter and usually wears the flag chain of the 5% nation around his neck. He actively praises the 5% culture (which includes Highest Math and Highest Alphabet). He has also embraced various aspects of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Islam and Christianity as described in his two books The Wu-Tang Manual and The Tao of Wu. He has described the Qur’an, the Bible and the Lotus Sutra as three of his favorite books, stating that each contains enlightenment. His hobbies include watching martial arts films, and due to his knowledge of the genre, he has been dubbed the “Encyclopedia of Martial Arts Films”. RZA met and befriended Shaolin monk Shi Yan Ming after being introduced by Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s manager, Sophia Chang. His favorite films include Five Deadly Venoms, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, Ninja Scroll [53] and Fist of the North Star. [53] His second known hobby is chess. He is Development Director and Champion of the Hip-Hop Chess Federation.[54][55][56]
RZA is a vegan[57] and has promoted vegan living and compassion for animals on behalf of PETA.[58][59] By 1997 he was a pescetarian; “I’ll tell you one thing I used to like: the fish and chips,” he said. “But I stopped eating fish this year. One day I just felt death in it.”[60]
RZA is a Resent from Millstone Township, New Jersey.[61] RZA has fathered son “Robert Diggs Jr”
Wu Record Labels
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Since the early 1990s, various record labels associated with the Wu Tang Clan have been established. The earlier labels are believed to be resolved. The connection RZA had to these labels is unknown.
Other record labels were formed later in the early 2000s and are still active today. Very little is known about these labels other than the fact that RZA produces music on them. It is unknown if RZA is CEO or holds a senior position within these labels as he was never known as CEO of any record label.
References
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- RZA at AllMusic
- RZA Discography at Discogs
- RZA at IMDb
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All is not well in the state of Shaolin, or at least that is what the Wu-Tang Clan U-god claims in his recently published memoir Raw: My Journey Into the Wu-Tang. In an excerpt published inRolling Stonelast month, the rapper called the group’s producer-rapper, RZA, a “control freak” who hired his family to manage Wu with poor results. U-God claimed that RZA trademarked the group’s name and collects franchise fees from the group’s members, adding that RZA and the rest of the ensemble do not support individual members’ solo efforts when touring. In a new interview ahead of a tour that will provide live soundtrack to the film The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, RZA dismisses many of U-God’s complaints.
“You see, every man has the right to write a book,” he says. “Some books are fiction, some are non-fiction. Some are myths, some are fantasy, some are sci-fi – I don’t know if this book falls entirely into non-fiction.”
In the excerpt, U-God called RZA quasi-dictatorial – a claim that makes the producer laugh. “I could never be a control freak,” he says. “If Wu-Tang is a dictatorship, how can each Wu-Tang member have their own contract and career and have released more albums without me than with me? Second, if I’m the problem for anyone’s growth and development in music, why [is it] then 18 years after everyone was released from the Wu-Tang Productions deal in 2000, your growth hasn’t slowed down shown by your own talent? if that’s the problem?”
He also took offense at U-God’s claim that RZA’s hiring of his family members drove Wu-Tang into the ground. In the book, U-God targeted Mitchell “Divine” Diggs, RZA’s brother and CEO of Wu-Tang Productions, with a series of allegations. In his opinion, Divine was unable to sign Wu-Tang to an “A-list agency” like William Morris. “It’s been years that BS has caught up with RZA,” wrote U-God. “You see, he blamed his family for the shit, and for years we took to the streets, but money was running out.”
“Nobody showed up for their own video shoot. But you still want the company to represent you?”
RZA says several people work behind the scenes in the industry – including a co-host of New York radio showThe Breakfast Club, a manager at Def Jam, and managers for Ghostface Killah, Raekwon and Inspectah Deck – started their career at Wu-Tang and were successful.
“We helped the industry through a small Staten Island company that made it to Manhattan and is now thriving,” he says. “Look at the facts: The only person in my family who worked for my company was my sister, who was the head of video promotion and because of her job for other executives, she sparked the success at BET. My cousin became a gift from Wu-Tang Records, which released the gold album Redemption. Of course this is a family business. My brother has always been that guy in my life. I wouldn’t have a record player if my brother didn’t buy the record player. I was the dreamer; he was the doer. It took us two of us to make this happen.”
As for U-God’s claim that Divine Wu-Tang couldn’t get a decent agent, RZA says, “It’s out of my control.” “Agents ask you,” he says. “You don’t ask her. I got my agent because I wanted to score movies – I have Ghost Dog– and my manager thought it would be wise to get an agent and I signed with UTA and I ended up becoming a good deal for Hollywood and I grew. That’s it.”
He also objected to U-God’s grouse about having to pay to use the group’s “W” logo. “Divine always told us, ‘You can’t use the ‘W’without paying a trademark fee, and if a promoter calls your manager directly to book a Wu Tang show, you believe him best ‘that you pay this trademark fee,'” he wrote. “Isn’t that a motherfucker!”
RZA says he started enforcing the usage fee because the brand has been diluted in recent years. He bought the rights to the logo himself in the early 1990s and has been using it ever since. “Now if you leave a company, you can no longer use the logo for free,” he says. “Method Man can no longer put Def Jam on his stuff. He is no longer signed to Def Jam. Russell Simmons can’t even use Def Jam anymore and he created it. I can’t even use Loud [records signed by Wu-Tang Clan].”
Mostly RZA has problems with other record companies who use the logo for their own benefit without paying for it. “Even if you’re thinking in old Staten Island mafia terms, you still have to give something back to family,” he says. “For 12 or 13 years, the logo was so watered down, downsized, and publicly available that I had to take legal action.”
Since 1997, he began soliciting royalties for Wu-Tang’s 2014 album A Better Tomorrow“after giving it to everyone,” he says. “Nobody was behind the ‘W’ in reality,” he says. “Who sponsored A Better Tomorrow? No one. Even on [2007’s] 8 Diagramsno one showed up to shoot their own video. But you still want the company to represent you? If he gives [the logo] to [another label] to make money from it, he should at least pay a 10 percent fee for using my logo. Now 10 percent is actually a small fee and that’s all I’m asking. But instead of paying 10 percent, they’d rather not use it at all. He will say he has the right to stamp my logo on his product and not compensate my company? Nope, that’s not fair. So it makes pragmatic sense from a business point of view. And even on a personal level, why wouldn’t you give something back to the abbot when you know that everyone else is giving up on you, he’s going to help you further?”
“Even if you think in old Staten Island mafia terms, you have to give something back to the family.”
One of the complaints from U-God, who agrees with RZA – with one caveat – is that Wu-Tang performs too much older material live at the expense of the more recent solo works of individual members. “I think one thing that hurt my solo releases was that we never got to perform new material on our Wu Tang shows,” U-God wrote. “I never understood that.” And he added: “It’s been a long time since we rocked new songs on stage. Shit, we didn’t even support the last few albums with proper touring; I mean we went on tour but kept performing the ics. This is backwards for me. In order for us to ask fans to support us, we first had to support ourselves by performing new material – all for one and one for all.”
“I disagree with the solo product,” says RZA. “Unless it’s a top 10 or top 20 single, the solo product belongs on the solo show. But I do think that we definitely seem to be stuck in a certain chamber of music on our tours. First, you can’t resist them. Some of these songs work. The crowd loves her. They saw that at some point. But I think that’s also because they’re the most familiar and easiest for us to perform without even rehearsing them. They are our DNA songs.
“But I agree with U-God,” he continues. “We should definitely add to our list of gigs because if we get bored, the audience will eventually get bored too. We need to find ways to spice it up. And DJ Mathematics sometimes spices it up. I remember one night we played a couple of songs we never played like [Ghostface’s] “Fish” and “Assassination Day” and everyone went nuts. Like, holy shit, “Assassination Day” blasting out those fat speakers? We went crazy and started almost fighting each other like the energy we were feeling and the audience loved it.”
Despite that, RZA says he feels no real friction with U-God and looks forward to working with him again. “More than anything, I’m happy because I’ve seen a few interviews with U-God and he seems engaged, happy and content, and that’s what an artist needs,” says RZA.”He’s always been a good artist. In his book he writes that he was looked down on. I think he doesn’t really realize how much people love him, and I think with this particular book tour and promotion, he realizes, ‘Wait a minute, motherfuckers know me and love me.’ I think he’s learning something that we all know.” RZA laughs. “He’s an important piece of this Wu puzzle and I personally have nothing but love for him.”
King Tech sat down with Divine Diggs, the RZA’s brother, to get his take on the show. They talk about Divine’s role in the Wu-Tang and his experiences surrounding the formation of the group. Catch up on Wu-Tang: An American Saga on Hulu.
Who is divine Diggs in Wu-Tang?
Mitchell “Divine” Diggs’ Tenuous Relationship With The Wu-Tang Clan. RZA is viewed as the face of the Wu-Tang Clan, but behind the scenes, his elder brother Mitchell “Divine” Diggs was pulling the strings, orchestrating various deals and partnerships for the Clan.
Is Divine RZA brother?
RZA’s brother, Mitchell “Divine” Diggs, along with Oli “Power” Grant, has been part of the group’s management since the ’90s. Another brother of The Abbott, 9th Prince, is a member of Killarmy and a solo artist. Previously, RZA has penned two books: 2005’s The Wu-Tang Manual and 2010’s The Tao Of Wu.
Are RZA and GZA related?
In 1992, GZA joined the Wu-Tang Clan, a group of nine, formed by his cousin RZA.
What does RZA brother do?
Are Ghostface and Raekwon friends?
Raekwon and Ghostface started off as enemies in the neighborhood. They grew to be best friends after joining the Wu-Tang.” Not mentioned: how Rae and Ghost became so close only after finding a common enemy in RZA.
Is divine a real person Wu-Tang?
About. Divine has successfully managed the business side the Wu-Tang Clan since 1993. As the Owner of Wu Music Group, he oversees the financial growth of the Company.
Is Shurrie Diggs real?
The Shurrie in question is Shurrie Diggs, the fictional sister of RZA (née Bobby Diggs) and anamalgamation of some of real-life RZA’s 11 siblings. “She is the second matriarchal figure in the house, besides their mother,” Griggs explains.
Why did Wu-Tang break up?
Wu-Tang Clan didn’t break up as much as its members mostly switching to pursue solo careers. Wu-Tang rapper Lamont Jody Hawkins, also known as U-God, cited infighting between group members and money disputes as factors.
Is Ghostface Killah brother disabled?
It’s no wonder that Ghostface is widely known as the most emotional MC in the Wu-Tang Clan. The man had a pretty hard childhood, growing up with 12 family members cramped up in one apartment. Which included two disabled brothers with a muscle disease called muscular dystrophy.
Who from Wu-Tang died?
Police in Portland, Oregon, have confirmed that two members of a hip-hop group with ties to the Wu-Tang Clan were killed earlier this week (Tuesday 10 August). The rappers who died were known as 12 O’Clock and Murdock; both were members of the Brooklyn Zu rap crew, according to The Oregonian.
Are Wu-Tang Bloods?
According to the FBI’s massive Wu-Tang dossier, the rap group was deeply affiliated with the Bloods.
Which rapper has the highest vocabulary?
Eminem topped the list with 8,818 unique words used, followed by Jay Z with 6,899, the late Tupac Shakur with 6,569 and West with 5,069. Legendary singer-songwriter Dylan came in fifth with 4,883. Perhaps the top four was to be expected, as rap is by nature dense, given the focus on lyricism.
How accurate is the Wu-Tang saga?
The plotlines of the series are great for conflict and drama. However, many of them are true or strongly rooted in real-life events surrounding the members of the Wu. Back in 2019, RZA told Newsweek that the show was “historical fiction.” He explained, “You can’t take every moment and expound it.
Raekwon on Calling Wu-Tang’s Co-Founder Divine a \”Piece of S***\” (Part 24)
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