RZA

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RZA
RZA on the cover of Scratch Magazine in 2006
Background information
Birth name	Robert Diggs
Also known as	Bobby Digital, Ruler Zig-Zag-Zig Allah, Bobby Steels, Rzarector, Abbott, Prince Rakeem
Born	July 5, 1969 Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York
Origin	Staten Island, New York City, New York, United States
Genre(s)	Rap, Hardcore Rap
Occupation(s)	Rapper, Producer, Actor
Years active	1991 – present
Label(s)	Columbia, EMI, Virgin
Associated acts	Wu-Tang Clan Gravediggaz

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

His production technique has evolved significantly over the years. His innovative techniques include the inclusion of sped-up soul samples in some of his beats, an influence on successful producers such as Kanye West and Just Blaze, use of high-pitched cinematic strings, and an avant garde, experimental approach which has inspired many artists in the genre of underground rap. He is responsible for the Wu-Tang Clan's trademark sound, providing all the beats for the group's early albums and many of the members' most respected solo albums.

Currently RZA is working on his new Bobby Digital album and the new Wu-Tang Album 8 Diagrams, as well as the highly-anticipated sequel to Raekwon's mafioso rap classic Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (also produced by the RZA), according to a hiphopgame.com interview.

[edit] Biography

[edit] Mid-80s-1991: Early career

After an impoverished childhood in a family of 11 children, RZA began his hip hop career 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). The group consisted of 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 and 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.

[edit] 1992-1993: Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)

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 single "Protect Ya Neck," which was driven by a raucous RZA-produced beat, made the group into underground sensations, the group released their debut LP Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). 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 lean, gritty and very distinctive production style.

[edit] 1994-1997: Early Wu-Tang solo projects

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 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. RZA is associated with The Nation of Gods and Earths.

[edit] 1997: 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.

[edit] 1998-2000: More Wu-Tang solo projects

During the 1998-2000 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", receiving mostly positive 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.

[edit] 2000: The W

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.

[edit] 2001-2004: Post The W solo projects

In 1999 the RZA moved into composing film scores. His first work, Jim Jarmusch's Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999), earned praise; 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[1].

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 Blade: Trinity, and Soul Plane. 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 highbrow 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, Germany's Xavier Naidoo and Italy's Frankie HI-NRG MC) entitled The World According to RZA, which was successful in many countries, despite not being sold in the USA.

[edit] 2004-present: Iron Flag and more solo projects

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 in and score movies such as Derailed, Blood of a Champion and Miami Vice. In 2006 he contributed four beats to Method Man's latest album 4:21...The Day After and also executive produced the project.

Currently he is working with Raekwon on his highly anticipated Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II . He has also recorded with the Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante and is set to contribute to Cannibal Ox's upcoming album, along with Pete Rock and El-P.^{[citation needed]}

Talks are on between System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian and RZA regarding a collaboration between the two artists called ACHOZEN.[2] GZA is also involved in the project and has stated so in an interview.[3]

In late January of 2007 he announced that he was working on a new Bobby Digital Album tentatively titled DigiSnacks.[4]

Also in 2007 he did the score of the American adaptation of the Japanese anime Afro Samurai starring Samuel L. Jackson.

Rza's most recent role, and possibly his biggest to date, is in American Gangster. American Gangster is a 2007 crime drama film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe.

[edit] 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.

His Bobby Digital albums introduced tweaked-out new age elements to his sound; these have incorporated themselves more fully into his beats on newer albums such as Method Man's 4:21...The Day After.

[edit] Influences

RZA has stated Ennio Morricone, Syl Johnson, The Fall, Augustus Pablo and Danny Elfman as musicians he is fond of and has taken influence from.

[edit] Aliases

The Abbot
Chester Benningston
The Razor
Bobby Digital
BZA-Bobby
Bobby Steels
Prince Delight
Prince Rakeem
Prince Dynamite
RZArecta (from resurrector - waking up the mentally dead)
The Scientist
Bob Digi
Robert Diggs
Bobby Boulders
Bob Digitech
The Kid Wit Braids

[edit] Discography

Also see the article Wu-Tang Clan discography

[edit] Albums

Album Name	Release Date	Status
Ooh I Love You Rakeem	July 1, 1991
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
The Formula for the Cure	December 9, 2004
DigiSnacks	No Said Date

[edit] Scores

[edit] Compilation Albums

The RZA Hits

[edit] Singles and EPs

1991 "Ooh I Love You Rakeem" (EP)
1999 "NYC Everything" (featuring Method Man)
1999 "Holocaust (Silkworm)" (featuring Ghostface Killah)
2001 "La Rhumba"
2001 "Brooklyn Babies"
2003 "We Pop"
2003 "Ich kenne nichts" (featuring Xavier Naidoo)
2004 "Grits"

[edit] Appears on (producer)

1991 "Pass The Bone" (from the Genius (GZA) album Words from the Genius)
1993 Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers (album by the Wu-Tang Clan)
1994 "Diary of a Madman" and "Graveyard Chamber" from Gravediggaz's 6 Feet Deep
1994 "Mommy What's A Gravedigga? (RZA Mix)" (Gravediggaz single)
1994 Tical (album by Method Man)
1994 Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version (album by Ol' Dirty Bastard)
1994 "No Hooks" (from the Shaquille O'Neal album Shaq-Fu-Da Return)
1995 Only Built 4 Cuban Linx (album by Raekwon)
1995 Liquid Swords (album by GZA) (all tracks except for "Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth")
1995 "Killa Hill Niggas" (from the Cypress Hill album Cypress Hill III: Temples Of Boom)
1995 "Doe or Die (RZA Remix)" (AZ)
1996 Ironman (album by Ghostface Killah)
1996 Box In Hand (Remix) (Ghostface Killah single)
1996 "Warface" (from the Bounty Killer album My Xperience)
1996 "Eyes A Bleed (Remix)" (Bounty Killer single)
1996 "Step Right In" (from the Dog Eat Dog album Play Games)
1996 "Tragedy" from the Rhyme & Reason soundtrack
1996 "Wu Wear" from the High School High soundtrack
1997 Wu-Tang Forever (album by the Wu-Tang Clan)
1997 "Bachelorette (RZA Remix)" (Björk single)
1997 "Long Kiss Goodnight" (from the Notorious B.I.G. album Life After Death)
1997 "Wake Up" and "War Face" from Killarmy's Silent Weapons For Quiet Wars
1997 The Pick, Sickle & The Shovel (album by the Gravediggaz)
1998 "The Legacy", "Concrete Jungle", "Co-Defendant", "Execute Them", "And Justice For All", "97 Mentality" (from the Wu-Tang Killa Bees: The Swarm compilation)
1998 "Run", "Blood On Blood War", "MCF", "Young Hearts", "Pump Your Fist" The Pillage (album by Cappadonna)
1998 "Perfect World", "Retro Godfather", "Suspect Chin Music", Tical 2000: Judgement Day (album by Method Man)
1998 Bobby Digital In Stereo (Album)
1998 "Whatever Happened (The Birth)" (from the AZ album Pieces Of A Man)
1998 "Say What You Want (All Day Everyday)" (Texas single)
1998 "Tribulations", "Inmates To The Fire" & "Can I See You" (from the Sunz Of Man album The Last Shall Be First)
1999 "They" & "Stand Up" (from the Charli Baltimore album Cold As Ice)
1999 "1112" (from the GZA album Beneath The Surface)
1999 "Movers & Shakers" & "Friction" (from the Inspectah Deck album Uncontrolled Substance)
1999 "Turbo Charge", "Stay In Your Lane", "Enter U-God" & "Turbulence" (from the U-God album Golden Arms Redemption)
1999 "Cereal Killer" & "Run 4 Cover" (from the Method Man & Redman album Blackout!)
1999 "Tres Leches (Triboro Trilogy)" (from the Big Punisher album Capital Punishment)
2000 "The Grain", "Nutmeg", "Buck 50", (from the Ghostface Killah album Supreme Clientele)
2000 The W (album by the Wu-Tang Clan)
2000 Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai - The Album compilation
2001 Iron Flag (album by the Wu-Tang Clan)
2002 Wu-Tang Killa Bees: The Sting compilation
2002 "Maxine", "Walking Through The Darkness", "Flowers" & "Jealousy" (from the Ghostface Killah album Bulletproof Wallets)
2003 "Rough Cut" (from the GZA album Legend of the Liquid Sword )
2004 "School", "Old Man", "No Said Date" (from the Masta Killa album No Said Date)
2004 "The Turn" (from the Method Man album Tical 0: The Prequel)
2004 "Run" (from the Ghostface Killah album Pretty Toney Album)
2004 Disciples of the 36 Chambers: Chapter 1 (album by the Wu-Tang Clan)
2005 "Lovely Ladies" & "Brutality (Grindz Remix)" (from the Prodigal Sunn album Return Of The Prodigal Sunn)
2005 "Biochemical Equation (from the Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture compilation)
2006 "4:20", "The Glide", "Konichiwa Bitches", "Intro", "Presidential MC" (from the Method Man album 4:21...The Day After)

[edit] Appears on (vocals)

1991 "Pass The Bone" (from the Genius (GZA) album Words from the Genius)
1993 Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers (album by Wu-Tang Clan)
1994 "No Hooks" (w/ Shaquille O'Neal & Method Man)
1994 6 Feet Deep (album by the Gravediggaz)
1995 "As Long As You Know (from the Scientifik album Criminal
1995 "Mr. Sandman" (from the Method Man album Tical)
1995 "Snakes" and "Cuttin' Headz" (from the Ol' Dirty Bastard album Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version)
1995 "Wu-Gambinos" (from the Raekwon album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx)
1995 "4th Chamber", "Liquid Swords" & "Living In The World Today" (from the GZA album Liquid Swords)
1995 "Killa Hill Niggas" (from the Cypress Hill album Cypress Hill III: Temples Of Boom)
1996 "Marvel", "Assassination Day" & "After The Smoke Is Clear" (from the Ghostface Killah album Ironman)
1996 "Step Right In" (from the Dog Eat Dog album Play Games)
1996 "Wu Wear" from the High School High soundtrack
1997 "Third World" from the DJ Muggs album Soul Assassins, Chapter 1
1997 Wu-Tang Forever (album by Wu-Tang Clan)
1997 The Pick, Sickle & The Shovel (album by the Gravediggaz)
1998 "Sucker MC's" from the In The Beginning.. compilation
1998 "And Justice For All" (from the Wu-Tang Killa Bees: The Swarm compilation)
1998 "Whatever Happened (The Birth)" (from the AZ album Pieces Of A Man)
1998 RZA - Bobby Digital In Stereo
1999 "Hip Hop Fury" (from the GZA album Beneath The Surface)
1999 "The Anthem" (from the Sway & King Tech album This or That) also featuring Tech N9ne, Eminem, Pharohe Monch, Xzibit, Kool G Rap, Jayo Felony, Chino XL and KRS-One
1999 "The End" (from the Ras Kass album Rasassination)
2000 "The Grain", "Nutmeg" and "Stroke of Death" (from the Ghostface Killah album Supreme Clientele)
2000 The W (album by Wu-Tang Clan)
2000 "Cakes", "Fast Shadow", "Samurai Showdown" (from the Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai - The Album compilation)
2001 Iron Flag (album by Wu-Tang Clan)
2001 RZA - Digital Bullet
2002 Wu-Tang Killa Bees: The Sting compilation
2002 "Bankstaz" (from the Sunz Of Man album Saviorz Day)
2003 "Fam (Members Only)" (from the GZA album Legend of the Liquid Sword )
2003 "Da Great Siege" (from the Mathematics album Love, Hell Or Right)
2003 RZA - Birth of a Prince
2003 "Neckbone" (From the Rockin' Da North album Star Warz)
2004 "School", "Old Man" (from the Masta Killa album No Said Date)
2004 "Intro" (from the Method Man album Tical 0: The Prequel)
2004 "A Day In The Life" (from the Handsome Boy Modeling School album White People with AG and The Mars Volta)
2004 Disciples of the 36 Chambers: Chapter 1 (compilation by Wu-Tang Clan)
2005 "Strawberries & Cream" (from the Mathematics album The Problem)
2005 "All In Together Now" & "Advanced Pawns" (from the GZA & DJ Muggs album GrandMasters)
2005 "Biochemical Equation" (from the Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture compilation)
2006 "9 Milli Bros" (from the Ghostface Killah album Fishscale)
2006 "Deep Space" (from the Lord Jamar album The 5% Album)
2006 "Iron God Chamber" (from the Masta Killa album Made In Brooklyn)
2006 "Presidential MC" (from the Method Man album 4:21...The Day After)

[edit] Filmography

Played a mail clerk named Winston in the film Derailed in 2005.

[edit] External links

Wu-Tang Clan

Members

Ghostface Killah · GZA/Genius · Inspectah Deck · Masta Killa · Method Man · Ol' Dirty Bastard · Raekwon · RZA · U-God

Albums

Words from the Genius · Ooh I Love You Rakeem · Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) · Tical · Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version · Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... · Liquid Swords · Ironman · Wu-Tang Forever · Tical 2000: Judgement Day · Bobby Digital in Stereo · Wu-Chronicles · The RZA Hits · Beneath the Surface · Nigga Please · Blackout! · Uncontrolled Substance · Golden Arms Redemption · Immobilarity · Supreme Clientele · The W · Wu-Chronicles, Chapter 2 · Digital Bullet · Bulletproof Wallets · Iron Flag · Legend of the Liquid Sword · The World According to RZA · The Movement · Birth of a Prince · The Lex Diamond Story · The Pretty Toney Album · U-GODZILLA presents the Hillside Scramblers · Tical 0: The Prequel · No Said Date · 718 · Disciples of the 36 Chambers: Chapter 1 · Legend of the Wu-Tang Clan · The Formula for the Cure · Mr. Xcitement · GrandMasters · Put it on the Line · Fishscale · The Resident Patient · Made in Brooklyn · 4:21...The Day After · More Fish · Swift & Changeable

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RZA