Soundtrack

1. Can you describe what the reaction was from everyone was after Inspectah deck first laid down his verse in Triumph? RZA - He slayed it. And everybody knew it. And everybody else tried to slay. But he slayed it 2. Did Ol' Dirty really live up to the craziness that he portrayed in his music? RZA - Times ten 3. What happened first, you naming yourself RZA or your cousin naming himself GZA? RZA - I named myself the RZA first, and I named him the GZA shortly thereafter 4. Did anything inspire you with regards to the choice of beats on Enter the 36 Chambers? Also, are you still an avid chess player? :D RZA - On 36 Chambers, I kind of went on my own inspiration. I was out to prove my abilities. Yes, I still play chess 5. Will we ever get 36 chambers remastered? RZA - Perhaps some of the tracks will be remastered. A lot of them are probably not in multitrack form anymore. So the remaster would still have to come from a stereo mix 6. Ever give any thought to writing/directing a Wu Tang Clan movie to tie in with an album? RZA - Yes, actually. Although making movies is very difficult and it's hard to get green lights, I'm going to keep pushing though. And maybe one day, it will see the light 7. Do I still have to protect ma neck? It's been like 20 years now, I'm getting tired of doing it Love you man. As a producer, as a rapper, as an actor, as a videogame character, ANY dj RZA - You have to protect ya neck til the day you drop brother. Because if you lose ya neck, that will be the day you drop! You must always protect ya neck at all times 8. Long time fan of the Wu. I was amazed by the Kill Bill soundtracks Don't know if you can answer this: Will the Ghostface/MF DOOM album ever be released? RZA - I don't know. But Ghost is one of the dopest MCs, and MF is a dope producer and MC. So I'm sure if they do it, it's going to be great 9. What's your favorite movie, and why is it How High? RZA - Hahahahaheeehohohahaha. Lay off the drugs, cat. LOL 10. I have some beat production related questions: - What's your usual setup? All digital? Any analog instruments? Vinyl sampling? - What DAW do you prefer? -Do you make beats, then send the finished product to rappers to write lyrics to it or do you usually write the song together? - Do you have a specific process for finding samples, or is it all gut feeling? RZA - Well, that's a lot, but: not being egotistic about this, but I have a dozen set ups. And my home studio I use different rooms for setups. So one room is just turntables and a sampler, another would be just keyboards, another will be a digital room, there's one room where everything is analog (live drums, guitars, etc). As a composer, you always need different sounds, so after working with Hans Zimmer, I've learned to use different rooms to write different things or different scenes I prefer writing songs together. In fact one of the problems with making a Wu-Tang album is my refusal to send beats, because I believe that great music is created when people are in a room together I dig and I dig, and if something strikes my ear, I sample it. Then I twist it 11. PEACE Do you still wear those pointy ass rings and have you ever actually punched a hole in a crab's hand with them? RZA - No. I gave them to my little brother and I think he lost em 12. Do you need to be self aware in order to have sex for enjoyment? RZA - Uh oh. It's getting deep on AMA. We said AMAA. But now that you asked, you better be aware of yourself and your partner(s) 13. How did you like your time on Californication? Samurai Apocalypse was a great foil to Hank Moody RZA - It was very fun. Funny. And something was very sexy about that show. Maybe it was Meagan. LOL 14. Hey RZA! Tell us some funny stories from u and the guys in Wu Tang: ) RZA - Here's a story, it may not be funny depending on your point of view, but one time the whole Clan was in Atlanta, and I guess we caused some kind of riot in the building, and thus the police was brought in to end the show. I remember everybody getting away from the cops without any violence, but one cop had got a grab of Inspector Deck and he couldn't get free. When we noticed it, me and Method Man rushed back over to help, but actually, what could we do? We can't hit a cop, could we? That would not have been wise. Instead, Method Man grabbed onto Inspector Deck's arm, and combined his strength with Inspector Deck, which allowed them to get away from the cop, they broke his grip and we all ran. I later told Meth "That was some Wu-Tang Kung fu shit right there." 15. How was working with Earl Sweatshirt? I've heard that during the making of Molasses, you spit a freestyle for three hours RZA - Yeah, we got zoned out that night. He's a cool cat. And I think he will be a great talent in hiphop 16. Hey RZA, how did you become a vegetarian? RZA - I just snapped out of eating dead animals 17. BONG BONG! Been a fan for 20+ years 2 questions: Whats your all time favorite Martial Arts flick? What is your favorite ODB verse/line/metaphor/song? RZA - I'll tell you the 3 that inspired me the most. Shaolin versus Wu-Tang. 8 Diagram Pole Fighter. And the Five Deadly Venoms For ODB "I be the answer to your why, the tear to your cry." It's off a song he did with Killer Priest 18. Who's the best chess player in the Wu Tang Clan right now? RZA - Hahahahahahaha. All I can say is that I had the hiphop chess belt 19. What was it about Gravediggaz, and the horrorcore genre in general, that appealed to you when it was first starting? RZA - At the time, being young and thinking of my childhood nightmares, I wanted to write songs from the darker side of my mentality. I feel like the Gravediggaz are the pioneers of this mentality of lyricism. Hiphop could use a few more doses of it now 20. Hey RZA! You seem to be a very calculated, meditative and, for lack of a better word, spiritual person. Was there a certain event in your life that led you to be this way or is this the way you've always been? Peace & thanks for the AMA RZA - Yes, certain events led me to this, which is hard for me to describe to this, which are hard to describe. But I can say that it was a growth process. Would you believe I was once obnoxious 21. Can you share any memories of your tour with Rage Against the Machine? RZA - That was one of the highlights of my career. At the time, Wu-Tang had the #1 album in the country, and we began playing some of the biggest venues that we had to that date. One of my best memories is when Zack broke his leg on tour, and needed a little energy during the New Jersey show, and I came out and rocked the stage with him. The rest of the Wu went home. :( 22. Have you considered being on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast? I can't remember if it was a tweet or during his own AMA, but Rogan said he would love to have you on as a guest RZA - Yes, I would love to be on as a guest someday. I'll wait for the time for him to invite me 23. Hey RZA! really glad you're doing this AMA. I read somewhere that you and John Frusciante have recorded a ton of material. I really liked FM. Any chance you two might release a full album in the future? That would be awesome RZA - here's a chance for that. If life permits 24. actor in Brick Mansions. AMAA Hey hey now, let's not forget the awesome performance in "The Man with the Iron Fists!" Good job man. How much fun is it being so versatile? RZA - It's very challenging. Because some of my friends are thinking I'm becoming a little schizo. Wow, the life of an artist 25. I was recently in a yoga class and the instructor said "protect your neck" and I immediately thought of Wu-Tang and giggled to myself. What do you think about a rap-inspired yoga class? Would bring a whole new meaning to "flow." RZA - LOL 26. Many critics believe double albums usually contain filler and do not hold them as in high of regard as they could and should be. What would you say were the main reasons "Wu-Tang Forever" was made into a Double album instead of 2 different albums with a later release date for songs not used on first album? Was some of the inspiration for making it a double album taken from the success of "All Eyez on Me" or more that you wanted to get more music out? RZA - Actually, a double-album was part creative, and part business. If i can recall, we hadn't done an album as Wu-Tang Clan for four years. And so we wanted to give Steve Rifkin an abundant amount of material. But also we demanded a budget so high that to appease it, they said "how about a double album?" 27. Prince Rakeem! Just wanted to give you a shout out for saving my life (or at least my wallet) way back when 12 years ago, I’m serving a Mormon mission in Brazil. I’m assigned to a poverty stricken area of Curitiba, a city of about 2 million people. I’m 20 years old, young enough to think I’m invincible and stupid enough to not heed the advice to stay out of this particular neighborhood. This is one of those “favelas” that you hear about in the news. Houses made of plywood, cardboard and tarp; a river of feces, trash and decaying dog carcasses; red dirt roads that turn into streams during rainstorms and a whole lot of people walking around that didn’t really have anything to do other than observe those who didn’t belong. This is the same place where you read about nightly murders in the newspaper. The problem was, this neighborhood was right in the middle of our area and it made it difficult to get from one side to the other without passing through. Although my mission companion and I had been through the neighborhood a handful of times during the day, we had never ventured to pass through at night Well, this night a meeting of ours goes particularly late at night and we are dead tired after a long day. From where we were, we were going to have to walk around the outside of the favela to get home and that was about an hour-long walk. Instead, we decide to cut through the favela to cut it down to about 20 minutes. At first, the decision seems like the right one. The moonlight is blanketing the road, the night is freezing but still, and even though there is always the lingering stench of rotting dogs, it just isn’t that bad tonight. The road we choose to walk down is the same one we’ve used in the past, but now that it’s night I start to realize some things I hadn’t before. The road is like a chute, without any roads intersecting it. It’s like a long hallway of back-to-back shanties and decaying cement buildings with no exit other than the two ends. As we walk, I start to see figures in the shadows ahead on both sides of the road. As we get closer, the figures start to meander to the middle of the road. My companion, who has only been in Brazil for about a month is oblivious to anything going on. I casually look behind me to reconsider our choice of road, and I see five figures, evenly spaced across the road, walking toward us. I turn back and see the figures ahead of us have formed a line across the road as well. By this point, even my naïve little friend knows we’re screwed. As we approach the group I notice that the men all wearing heavy black clothing: big coats, baggy jeans, boots, hoodies, winter caps. But one detail struck me immediately. All of them are wearing at least one article of clothing bearing an emblem I knew very well. It was the Wu-Tang logo. Mind you, I was obsessed with Wu-Tang in high school and knew pretty much anything there was to know about the group. As we stop, looking the men in the face, the lines of men behind and in front of us meet to form a circle around us. The man directly in front of us asks, “Perdidos?” and the man to his left reaches into his coat and begins to pull out what looks like the back of a black semi-automatic handgun. Before he pulls the gun from his coat, I almost subconsciously blurt out the only thing I could think to say: in Portuguese, I ask “You guys are Wu-Tang fans?” The man pulling the gun immediately pauses. The man who first spoke asks “What do YOU know about Wu-Tang?” I respond by telling him that I’m a huge fan and I know all about them. Obviously they doubt everything I’m saying. After all, I’m a white kid, wearing a white shirt and tie, with a part in my hair. At that moment I began to realize how I wouldn’t believe myself either. They begin to quiz me! One thing after another—names, nicknames, alternate names, rapping styles—I’m nailing it all! After about 10 minutes of Wu-Tang trivia, they’re convinced and they ask us to come back to one of the guy’s house to watch the latest video. They told us repeatedly how we were the coolest white people they knew From that day on, we were in with the local gang and you really don’t know just how good of a thing that was Edit: Thank you for reading this novel and spreading the love, gold-wielding friend--whoever you are Edit 2: Someone below asked if there was more to the story. If your eyes can take a little more reading, I explained how the night ended here RZA - Wow I always believed that us who follow the way of the Wu have a wavelength and a culture of our own. Something like a subculture within hiphop. This story helps verify that for me. Wu-Tang forever brother 28. Will you ever release a real true solo wu sounding album just like the others did in the 90's??? not discrediting the bobby digital stuff, i like that but a lot of wu fans felt it wasn't a true representation of the 90's rza, hard body lyrics and dusty beats, will that ever happen or does everything need to move forward? i jst wish i had a rza album full of songs like Tragedy RZA - Hmm. Maybe brother, maybe 29. Wu-Tang Forever! How much have comic books influenced you? I still smile every time I hear you name drop Rom, The Space Knight on Impossible RZA - From the age of 9-16, I probably collected thousands of comics. But they all got stolen one day, along with my vinyl collection. And I'm telling you, I used to spend my paper route money on this stuff. I'm still a comic fan. Every once in a while, if I'm in a certain city and they have a comic book store, I will go and pick up a few copies. I love how the new artists are doing the new covers, Grant Morrison's take on classic heroes has always been cool to me, and I actually bought every copy of Reginald Hudlin's new take on the Black Panther 30. Whattup Rza huge Wu Fan and personally you are my favourite producer ever!Thank you for doing this, I have a few questions actually, my first question regards the tracks Method Man and Clan In Da front, Did you tailor a beat for every member in the clan, how did you choose who got their solo songs on the album?Who are your other favourite rapper-producers?Lastly are there any beats that once you had finished then played back you realised that it was going to be a classic.Once again thank you! RZA - Yes, I used to tailor the beats to their rhyme styles. I knew my Wu brothers for so long, and made so many tapes with them, that I grew an ear to what would fit the MC Choosing solo songs for each artist on a Wu-Tang album is something that kind of materializes during the process Pete Rock, Dr. Dre, Kanye West Yes, I have one right now that I just can't wait til the Wu MCs get on, because I just know that this is one of those magical ones 31. Which rappers are you listening to the most outside of your Wu-Tang crew? RZA - Nowadays, I've just become a fan of the culture of hiphop. Somedays I find myself sitting on my downtime watching Yo! MTV raps, or scrolling through YouTube finding up and coming MCs. I love watching URL and all the rap battles. Sometimes when you're making the music, you become so engulfed in yourself that you forget that you started yourself as a fan of the music. Now that I get time to do other things such as act, score and direct, I can actually become a fan of hiphop again 32. What is your relationship with Bill Murray like? You guys were in Coffee and Cigarettes in 2003, and then in 2010, this happened. Do you still talk? RZA - I don't talk to him often, because we both have crazy-busy schedules, but we have a similar circle of friends. What I can say is what a cool dude 33. What's good RZA. First shoutout to /r/hiphopheads. How do you stay creative as you do lyrically and production wise? RZA - I use life as inspiration. And being that I travel a lot, and see a lot of different things, and meet a lot of great people, I stay inspired. Shoutout to /r/hiphopheads 34. Could you elaborate on your infamous flood story? The legend says that you once had a flood into your basement that caused you to lose a few hundred beats you had made that were meant to be put onto the first round of Wu-Tang solo albums Did this actually happen? Did you recreate any of the beats that you lost? If so, which ones? RZA - Yeah, I lost a lot of beats. In those days, I would keep my beats in a floppy disk holder, which held 80 disks per case. And I had the cases sectioned out with names of each Wu member, and beats that fit their styles. Those disks have not been recovered yet. I have some of them, but they won't play 35. Hey RZA, Huge Fan here, I've been listening to you since I was 10. One question Are you not going to publically publish songs off the new WuTang albulm, or will it only be avaliable to the one lucky buyer? RZA - The album, that's entitled A Better Tomorrow, if completed, will be available to the public. The album entitled Once Upon A Time in Shaolin is a piece of art that only one will be made 36. When was the last time you saw Paul Walker? RZA - The last time I saw Paul in the flesh was on the movie set. We had planned on seeing each other again at the premiere. But destiny bends 37. How awesome is it being a Robert? (Mine name is Robert) RZA - Super duper awesome 38. How did you come up with the name RZA? RZA - In my neighborhood, my homies would call me the RZA RZA Ra. Because they said I was razor-sharp. Ra was my chosen name, short for Rakeem. When I decided to improve myself, I changed my name to Rakeem Zig-Zag-Zig-Allah. And RZA is like an acronym for that 39. What's your favourite videogame? RZA - Nowadays? Well it's hard to say your favorite video game, but one game I've been buying for years and continue to buy every version they make is Tekken. Actually, when Wu-Tang first started making money, me and Method Man came to Manhattan and went to the place where they sell real pinball machines and video games, and we tried to buy a Tekken to bring home to our house. And they wouldn't sell it to us at that time. Method Man would up getting one though. I wound up getting a pinball machine. Anyway, Tekken 40. You get a swimming pool but you can't fill it with water, what do you fill it with? Money is not a choice either RZA - Those little plastic balls that you see in ball pits 41. Liquid Swords II when? Btw Liquid Swords is the greatest Hip-Hop album of all time RZA - I think GZA may be in the process of writing that now