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RZA

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RZA (pronounced Rizza, born Robert Diggs, July 5, 1969 in Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York, USA) is an American producer, rapper, de facto leader of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan and actor. He was also a member of the group Gravediggaz. As well as producing almost all of the Wu-Tang's albums, he has also produced many of their solo and affiliate projects, as well as releasing a succession of solo albums (two under the alter-ego Bobby Digital) and composing several film scores.

His production technique has evolved significantly over the years, and his inclusion of sped-up soul samples in some of his beats has had an influence on successful producers such as Kanye West and Just Blaze. He is responsible for the Wu-Tang Clan's trademark sound, providing beats for all of the group's early albums and many of the members' solo albums.

Contents

Early career

After an impoverished childhood in a family of 11 children, RZA began his career in hip hop in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a member of the trio Force Of The Imperial Master (which subsequently became known as the All in Together Now Crew after they had a successful underground single of that name) with future Wu-Tang members, and his cousins, GZA (then known as the Genius) and Ol' Dirty Bastard (then known, respectively, as Ason Unique, the Specialist, and the Professor). Once this acclaimed local band dissolved, both he & GZA attempted to kick start solo careers. With the help of GZA's friend Melquan (then owner of Jamaica Records) they both secured single deals with album options at successful labels, GZA going to Cold Chillin and RZA to Tommy Boy. GZA ultimately released the Words from the Genius album, but RZA's stint at Tommy Boy ended with only the EP "Ooh I Love You Rakeem" to show for it when he went to jail soon after its release. GZA's album flopped, and the two cousins became determined to conquer the hip hop industry on their own terms.

From this determination came the Wu-Tang Clan, formed with Ol' Dirty Bastard as well as with 6 others. With the Clan, Prince Rakeem started going by the name RZA (pronounced "the rizza" and derived from the word "Razor", his graffiti tag). After the singles Protect Ya Neck and Method Man, both driven by raucous RZA-produced beats, made the group into underground sensations, the group released their debut LP . The album eventually went platinum, and was heralded by hip-hop fans as a classic. Enter the Wu-Tang revolutionized hip hop and helped bring the East Coast back into the spotlight after Dr. Dre's G-funk had come to dominate the rap scene, in large part thanks to RZA's sparse, lean, gritty and very distinctive production style.

As each of the group's members embarked on solo careers, RZA continued to produce nearly everything Wu-Tang related during the period 1994-1997, producing in both the "hip hop producer" sense (composing and arranging the instrumental tracks) and in the wider "music producer" sense (overseeing and directing the creative process as well as devising song concepts and structure). Indeed, RZA's rule over the Clan at this time is described by himself in 2004's Wu-Tang Manual book as "like a dictatorship". His sound was to develop from the raw, minimalist sounds of Method Man's Tical and Ol' Dirty Bastard's Return to the 36 Chambers to more cinematic and expansive soundscapes driven by string sections or thick layers of synthesizer on Ghostface Killah's Ironman, GZA's Liquid Swords and Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. All of the group's albums during the period from 1994 to 1996 are highly regarded by critics and hip hop enthusiasts. During this time, RZA also took part in the Gravediggaz, an off-and-on rap supergroup including Frukwan of Stetsasonic, Poetic The Grym Reaper of The Brothers Grym, and Prince Paul who released the critically acclaimed album 6 Feet Deep in 1994. As part of the Gravediggaz, he went by the name RZArecta. The Gravediggaz, alongside the likes of the Flatlinerz and Esham, are regarded as one of the originators of the Horrorcore genre of rap. RZA is associated with The Nation of Gods and Earths.

Wu-Tang Forever

The success of Wu-Tang Forever, which hit number one on the charts after selling 600,000 in its first week, also marked the end of RZA's "five year plan"; at the group's inception, he promised the group if he had total dictatorial control of the Wu-Tang empire, it would conquer the hip hop world within five years. After Forever's success, RZA ceased to oversee all aspects of Wu-Tang product as he had previously, delegating much of his existing role to associates such as Oli "Power" Grant and his brother Mitchell "Divine" Diggs, and giving each Clan member more individual control. This move was designed to enable the Wu-Tang empire to expand further and further into the fabric of the hip hop industry, and in accordance with this an extremely large amount of Wu-Tang music was to be released over the next two years. This had already to some extent begun on Wu-Tang Forever, which for the first time featured RZA delegating a small number of beatmaking duties to other producers in the Wu-Tang camp, such as his proteges True Master and 4th Disciple (known as the Wu-Elements) and Clan member Inspectah Deck.

During the 1997-2000 period RZA ceased to produce every Wu-Tang solo album as he had done previously, but continued to contribute usually one or two beats on average to each record as well as receiving an Executive Producer credit. He also released his first solo effort titled RZA as Bobby Digital in Stereo in 1998 (see 1998 in music). This was an experimental concept album featuring him rapping as his hedonistic, fun-loving alter-ego Bobby Digital and showcasing a unique keyboard-driven sound RZA called "digital orchestra", but it received mixed reviews. He also reformed with the Gravediggaz for the album The Pick, The Sickle & The Shovel, a calmer and more mature album than their horrorcore-oriented debut.

After helming another Wu-Tang group album titled The W (his production on which received much praise) and providing narration to a Clan greatest hits album titled RZA Hits, RZA released another Bobby Digital album, 2001's Digital Bullet. Digital Bullet was an attempt to develop Bobby Digital further, and the album followed a loose story arc which saw the character becoming more "enlightened" and more disillusioned with hedonism as the album went on.

Recent work

In 1999 the RZA moved into composing film scores. His first work, Jim Jarmusch's (1999), earning praise for his hip-hop score; he also had brief cameo in the film itself. The experience was positive and, as he noted during an interview on National Public Radio's Fresh Air, the work with traditional musicians gave him the desire to learn how to read and write music[link].

The critical success of the Ghost Dog soundtrack led to further work. The RZA created and produced the original music for Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill series, as well as , Soul Plane and the upcoming Miami Vice remake. RZA also appeared alongside fellow Wu-Tang member GZA in one segment of Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes opposite Bill Murray. He and the GZA have also made several appearances on Chappelle's Show, in one appearance pitching a financial services firm called Wu-Tang Financial.

His first solo album as simply the RZA, Birth of a Prince, was released in 2003 (see 2003 in music) and spawned the single We Pop. The album itself featured a mix of lighthearted Bobby Digital tracks and more lyrically high-browed RZA tracks. In 2003 he also released an album of collaborations with international rap and R&B musicians (including the UK's Skinnyman, France's Saïan Supa Crew and Germany's Xavier Naidoo) entitled The World According to RZA, which was successful in many countries, despite not being sold in the USA.

In 2005, RZA served as the Artist in Residence for the LA Film Festival and released the long-gestating book Wu-Tang Manual, an in-depth discussion of the Wu-Tang's virtues, vices and philosophies. RZA continued to star and score movies such as Derailed, Blood of a Champion and Miami Vice. Currently he is working with Raekwon and Method Man on both of their highly-anticipated albums, on Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II and "".

Technique

During the Enter the Wu-Tang period, RZA's production consisted mainly of stripped-down, frenetic piano loops and finger-snaps with heavy bass and drums, though he experimented with more melodic sounds on the album's "Method Man" and "C.R.E.A.M." He also began incorporating skits consisting of clips of old kung fu movies.

The next two solo albums from the Wu, Method Man's Tical and Ol' Dirty Bastard's Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version, featured versions of the same style of production from the RZA; the former delved somewhat into old soul records and became somewhat bouncy rather than quite as gritty, while the latter was at times even more simplistic than the group's debut.

On Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx and GZA's Liquid Swords, RZA would immerse his beats in dark, sinister soul sampling, pioneering the technique of speeding up or slowing down samples to fit the beat that artists such as Kanye West and Just Blaze would later use. He also fully realized the potential of the skit, using old kung fu clips to string the Cuban Linx album together into a loose storyline.

Subsequent Wu group albums saw RZA become even more experimental, usually with soul samples as well as the layers added his beats. Around 1997 he began tutoring 4th Disciple, True Master and Mathematics in production. The early-mid 2000's have seen him move more toward smoother and more tightly-assembled productions, where the melody, drums, bass and other elements play more off each other than they previously had in his beats.

Aliases

Discography

Albums

Album Name Release Date Status
Bobby Digital in Stereo November 24, 1998 Gold U.S.
Digital Bullet August 28, 2001
The World According to RZA April 28, 2003
Birth of a Prince October 7, 2003

Singles and EPs

Appears on (producer)

Appears on (vocals)

External links

Wu-Tang Clan ([http://encycl.opentopia.com/ edit])
9 core members
Ghostface Killah - GZA - Inspectah Deck - Masta Killa - Method Man - Ol' Dirty Bastard - Raekwon - RZA - U-God
Albums
Affiliated artists and groups
Cappadonna - Gravediggaz - Killah Priest - Killarmy - Mathematics - others

 

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