The RZA Explains Why He Didn't Let Wu-Tang Clan Work With Outside Producers During Early Run

[Bugzbunny129]

Love Rza but we also can’t forget key components of the production/beat making like 4th disciple, true master, mathematics, y Kim , etc. who added heavily to the production. Most of the cats I mentioned don’t fukk with Rza because of how he ran and controlled things and there were always big rumors that Rza would take 4ths beats and add a few things and take the production credit. It was alluded to with several beats on ob4cl only for Rza to shut that down and say he did EVERYTHING on that album…. I think the truth is somewhere in between because of how bitter all the wu elements seem to be where they don’t want nothing to do with wu anymore.


@BillyOcean would be someone who could expand on this shyt more even tho he tends to take the Rza perspective more than most….

4th and true both werenon doggie diamonds and stated every beat they produced. Said they got credits for all their work. 4th contributed scratches and a few skeleton beats early on. Rza still touched brooklyn zu. The way these guys work rza touches everything to get it right because they werent there yet.

some of rzas beats got credited to them (south of the border) and visa versa (paper plates, fat lady sings)

Also. That is what production is. Rza brought these guys together and set the plan in motion and guided the process. Those guys were just making beats. Its up to rza to pick the beats and take them to 100%.

You better believe if dr dre was making these albums, it would say “produced by dr dre” for shyt like supreme clientele.

Check 4ths production credits on wiki…. He’s credited co producer on 3 ob4cl tracks. I’m not saying I believe them over Rza I’m just saying they definitely put in a lot of work and rumored even more uncredited. True Master made some of the NASTIEST wu bangers (Brooklyn zoo, fish, biscuits and a LOT of the best beats on tidal 2000 were true master)

Idk why wiki says co production, Those are mixing credits

Early on 4th was rzas right hand/engineer before math and true became team/producers in house. He was RZAs engineer at the time. Hes actually listed as engineer and

• Mixed By [Co-mixed By] – The 4th Disciple* (tracks: 7, 14, 16)

He only mixed the beats. He doesnt have co production on cuban linx. Scratches on 36, sub crazy on tical, damage on regurn, bible on liquid; but only mixing on cuban.

Islord had a credit on cuban linx too for the same thing.

 

[Awesome Wells]

he Wasn’t in his prime years later. limiting who u work with is never a good thing.he could made a classic with JD or baby face or something.

I think if he got at RZA right after OB4CL, he could've easily gotten off another classic album.

There's no way RZA didn't still have a lot of heat in the stash for him in the late 90's. But even if he wanted to branch out, he didn't have enough vision and direction on his own to do that either. RZA could've helped him like he did Starks on SC. At least bring him in for direction.

 

[Cladyclad]

I think if he got at RZA right after OB4CL, he could've easily gotten off another classic album.

There's no way RZA didn't still have a lot of heat in the stash for him in the late 90's. But even if he wanted to branch out, he didn't have enough vision and direction on his own to do that either. RZA could've helped him like he did Starks on SC. At least bring him in for direction.

Just a damn song. One song. JD could remixed Ice Cream or some shyt. same shyt happened with gunit

 

[Crumple]

"RZA famously developed a “five-year plan” at the beginning of the Wu-Tang Clan‘s run. Now, he has explained why his beats were such a big part of that vision.

During a recent interview with Torae on SiriusXM’s HipHopNation, the Abbot reflected on why he was not only the sole producer on the group’s 1993 debut album (with two co-productions from group members), but also did almost all the beats on the initial solo projects from Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Ol’ Dirty b*stard, GZA and Raekwon.

“In the old days, I was very dominant,” RZA admitted. “Like, it’s all my beats. And that’s because in the old days, I didn’t feel that other producers were giving the Hip Hop type of beat that I thought was dope for Wu.”

You can see the snippet below.



Elsewhere in the conversation, RZA discussed how the crowd reaction to early Wu tracks was something he was very intentional about.

“If you pay attention to Hip Hop and you listen to Wu, one thing you may recognize is that a Wu joint will come on, and nobody won’t dance. Everybody [will] listen,” he said.

“That’s because I didn’t want you to dance. I want you to listen. And that means that while a lot of producers was producing for the club, and trying to make people dance and produce a radio hit, I was producing for Hip Hop.”

Last month, RZA shared a different little-known aspect of the group’s past with Hot 97’s Peter Rosenberg — how Method Man got his name.

The producer revealed that Method Man only adopted the moniker after recording the song of the same name for the group’s debut album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).

RZA said: “Method Man was Shakwon until he made that song — Shakwon the Panty Raider. Then, after he made that song, everybody in the hood called him Method Man.”

Method Man, whose real name is Clifford Smith, adopted the persona after the song’s success.

“It was the concept because meth is weed. He’s the king of smoking weed. So he’s the method man. A year later, he’s Method Man,” RZA continued.

The Abbot also said it was a group decision for the name switch: “It was a conscious decision by us as a crew, but the streets did push it.”

RZA Explains Why He Didn't Let Wu-Tang Clan Work With Outside Producers During Early Run

Jesus Christ, Rza's the greatest!

 

[Awesome Wells]

Just a damn song. One song. JD could remixed Ice Cream or some shyt. same shyt happened with gunit

Erick Sermon did some remixes for Wu joints.

But I think they see him as extended family, lol.

Lord Digga did too.

 

[Bugzbunny129]

Just a damn song. One song. JD could remixed Ice Cream or some shyt. same shyt happened with gunit

JD was on caps album…

 

[BuddahMAC]

4th and true both werenon doggie diamonds and stated every beat they produced. Said they got credits for all their work. 4th contributed scratches and a few skeleton beats early on. Rza still touched brooklyn zu. The way these guys work rza touches everything to get it right because they werent there yet.

some of rzas beats got credited to them (south of the border) and visa versa (paper plates, fat lady sings)

Also. That is what production is. Rza brought these guys together and set the plan in motion and guided the process. Those guys were just making beats. Its up to rza to pick the beats and take them to 100%.

You better believe if dr dre was making these albums, it would say “produced by dr dre” for shyt like supreme clientele.


Idk why wiki says co production, Those are mixing credits

Early on 4th was rzas right hand/engineer before math and true became team/producers in house. He was RZAs engineer at the time. Hes actually listed as engineer and

• Mixed By [Co-mixed By] – The 4th Disciple* (tracks: 7, 14, 16)

He only mixed the beats. He doesnt have co production on cuban linx. Scratches on 36, sub crazy on tical, damage on regurn, bible on liquid; but only mixing on cuban.

Islord had a credit on cuban linx too for the same thing.

Co-sign & to further it, 4th was asked in an interview specifically if the "co-mixed" credit was a mislabeled co-production and he said flat out that the only thing he did on Cuban was mix on the credited songs and engineer.

 

[bigillwill06]

4th and true both werenon doggie diamonds and stated every beat they produced. Said they got credits for all their work. 4th contributed scratches and a few skeleton beats early on. Rza still touched brooklyn zu. The way these guys work rza touches everything to get it right because they werent there yet.

some of rzas beats got credited to them (south of the border) and visa versa (paper plates, fat lady sings)

Also. That is what production is. Rza brought these guys together and set the plan in motion and guided the process. Those guys were just making beats. Its up to rza to pick the beats and take them to 100%.

You better believe if dr dre was making these albums, it would say “produced by dr dre” for shyt like supreme clientele.


Idk why wiki says co production, Those are mixing credits

Early on 4th was rzas right hand/engineer before math and true became team/producers in house. He was RZAs engineer at the time. Hes actually listed as engineer and

• Mixed By [Co-mixed By] – The 4th Disciple* (tracks: 7, 14, 16)

He only mixed the beats. He doesnt have co production on cuban linx. Scratches on 36, sub crazy on tical, damage on regurn, bible on liquid; but only mixing on cuban.

Islord had a credit on cuban linx too for the same thing.

 

[Whips-n-Chains]

Erick Sermon did some remixes for Wu joints.

But I think they see him as extended family, lol.

Lord Digga did too.

What remixes? I'm not familiar

 

[BuddahMAC]

He's just talking about How High & Brooklyn Zoo, which are well known and credited besides Sermon's remixing his own beat on How High.

 

[Bugzbunny129]

What remixes? I'm not familiar

Wu gambinos hidden chamber remix
Rain dayz remix
Forgot who exactly did these. Id have to check discogs.

The brooklyn zoo and shimmy shimmy remixes i think lord digga did one of them forget which

And he did good times, ghostface on pretty toney etc

 

[mbewane]

It's crazy that it's even a discussion as to why a group would have only in-group production.

This is what it meant back then : when you listened to certain artists they had a specific identity. When you listened to a Wu artist, you knew what kind of sound you were getting. Same with someone associated with Mobb Deep and them. Same with someone around DR, or around Def Squad, or Boot Camp, or Flipmode, etc. That's what made it a great era, it's that these crews were trying to have their own identity.

 

[Whips-n-Chains]

Wu gambinos hidden chamber remix
Rain dayz remix
Forgot who exactly did these. Id have to check discogs.

The brooklyn zoo and shimmy shimmy remixes i think lord digga did one of them forget which

And he did good times, ghostface on pretty toney etc

I'm almost 100% sure Wu Gambinos hidden chamber is still RZA - sounds very Wu elements if not

Rainy Dayz is Diamond D & Mr Dalvin

 

[mbewane]

It's their story to tell, BUT as a fan gotta question the origin story/timeline of Meth's stage name

They had METHOD MAN across the screen, and those were his first words in Protect Your Neck song and video

and in the introduction for Method Man, the song starts with GZA running down their names....and Meth is the last name said as the song starts

Those were the two first songs they released. Only way this adds up is if they added the GZA intro to the song after it blew up on mixtape circuit

Story sounds like cap, but then again ain't they notorious to having had some of these songs out before they were ever officialy released?

 

[Atsym Sknyfs]

y'all cant look at music from back then through today's eyes. Other than making a tape in the studio for yourself a song was not released. Songs were local for months.

If you even watch some Method Man interviews he was even tired of the song when it dropped officially because it was a year old and he wanted to focus on his new stuff.