Rza is doing an AMA on reddit right now

[mortuus est]

I am the RZA. Artist, musician, producer, author, and actor in Brick Mansions. AMAA. : IAmA

 

[mortuus est]

cot damn so many questions and no answers yet lol

 

[TEKBEATZ]

I hate the reddit layout

 

[Zach Lowe]

These are getting played
They only answer the easy questions anyway

 

[mortuus est]

I hate the reddit layout

ill post some stuff to make it wasy

Something I always wondered, on the album version of CREAM, Inspectah Deck says:
“A young buck, selling drugs and such, who never had much, trying to get a clutch of what I could not…”
With the word “touch” being implied but not spoken. But on the single and video versions, and whenever I've seen Wu-Tang live, Deck always actually says the word “touch.”
I always thought implying but not saying “touch” was deep and artistic, emphasizing how those things were out of reach for you guys. But then with the word “touch” being included in every other version/performance of the song I’m wondering if that was actually the intent, and if so why has the lyric since been changed?

[

–]authenticRZA 2 points 3 minutes ago
It was the intent during the production.

 

[mortuus est]

How did your collaboration with James Blake came about? He's on of my favorite artists and I really like "Take a Fall For Me".
permalinksavereportgive goldreply

authenticRZA1 point 2 minutes ago
Well, thanks for enjoying the song. Our managers are friends. And they suggested that we get together and make a song. I heard some of his music, and enjoyed it, and what really pushed me that GZA's son Kareem was a fan of James', and I kind of did it to impress him.

 

[mortuus est]

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?

authenticRZA
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.

 

[mortuus est]

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!

authenticRZA
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.

 

[mortuus est]

So what was your favorite part about working on "The Man With the Iron Fists?"

authenticRZA
Getting a chance to bring a childhood dream to reality. To work with martial arts stars, who I grew up loving, such as Gordon Liu and Chen Kuan-tai was almost unbelievable to me. And getting a chance to direct one of the greatest actors in the world, Russell Crowe, and the pretty Lucy Liu, yeah, yeah, yeah. I had fun.

 

[mortuus est]

How did the transition from Wu-Tang to movies and film production affect your films? Was the score always in the front of your mind because of your production skills? Love your work and can't wait to hear both the new albums! Wu-Tang FOREVER!

authenticRZA
Scoring was my transition. It wasn't always on my mind. Jim Jarmusch came to me and thought I would be a good composer. And also gave me a cameo in Ghost Dog. But I didn't forecast on being an actor. It took an executive to see that quality in me. And push me to pursue it. Now, when I do films, I just do the job that they hired me for!

 

[mortuus est]

Ever give any thought to writing/directing a Wu Tang Clan movie to tie in with an album?

authenticRZA
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.

 

[mortuus est]

Mr. RZA, good day, I would like to say thanks for doing this AMA, also big fan of your work, Grits- Birth of a Prince and I can't go to sleep on The W where you used Isaac Hayes was gold for me, I probably listened to those songs until the cd broke.
My questions is though, have you ever considered a collaboration with a philharmonic or orchestra for an opera type of production? If so when, and what theme?

authenticRZA
Not actually. Working as a composer I have been in front of orchestras as large as 80 pieces, and I've actually written out 36 Chambers in orchestra form. Now all I gotta do is one day get it played!

 

[SoulController]

i like the musical stylings of the RZA

 

[mortuus est]

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

authenticRZA
On 36 Chambers, I kind of went on my own inspiration. I was out to prove my abilities. Yes, I still play chess.

 

[mortuus est]

Hi, big fan of all your work and I have a great deal of respect for your outlook on life (I try to live to build up the twelve jewels myself), only question I can think of off the top of my head is, given that you've produced a lot of hip-hop, does the beat need to go with the lyrics? As in one of the two books you wrote you mentioned having hundreds (perhaps thousands, I don't recall) of beats that you've made that are just lying around waiting to possibly get used. I'm making rather a mess of the phrasing of this question, but essentially I'm curious about the production process of whether the lyrics come before the beat, or the beat comes before the lyrics, or the lyrics are written and then you find a beat you've already made but not yet used. Thank you.

authenticRZA
All these processes are used. In a song like Method Man, he came to my house with the lyrics written, at the same time, I had just finished a new beat. We put the 2 together, and made a classic. Yet there's been many cases such as on Cuban Links, when Ghost and Ray took a tape of beats with them to Barbados, and Miami, and wrote the lyrics to the beats. So this process goes back and forth. As far as the thousands of beats that I have that have not been heard by the world, I hope that one day a generation (whether it's my children or somebody else) comes across them, records songs to them, and continues the Wu-Tang expressions.