Rza is doing an AMA on reddit right now

[mortuus est]

what happened first, you naming yourself RZA or your cousin naming himself GZA?

authenticRZA
I named myself the RZA first, and I named him the GZA shortly thereafter.

 

[mortuus est]

replly to that long post

authenticRZA
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.

 

[mortuus est]

Peace, Bobby Digilino!
I had no idea that this ama was coming up so I had no questions planned or anything. I just wanted to say that you're one of my biggest inspirations! the knowledge the Wu has brought me, amongst others, has changed my life for the better! Love the Wu, love Bobby, and all your wisdom and philosophy. Keep doin' what you're doin' and you'll keep inspiring tons of people like myself.
Peace!

authenticRZA
This statement inspires me to continue. Thank you.

 

[infamousred]

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?

people nowadays always talk about how this beat maker is a producer and whatnot, but rza was really living that kind of thing. when you make beats specifically for certain artist in mind you know you have that gift as a "producer"
@ his response to the boot camp question
that would've been one crazy battle...i'm not even talking beef

 

[mortuus est]

Which rappers are you listening to the most outside of your Wu-Tang crew?

authenticRZA
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.

 

[mortuus est]

What was the first film you can remember as being the reason you're such a big fan of martial arts movies?

authenticRZA
It was called Fury of the Dragon. It was a Bruce Lee film. But once I saw the Five Deadly Venoms, I was totally addicted.

 

[mortuus est]

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.

authenticRZA
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.

 

[mortuus est]

Hey RZA, how did you become a vegetarian?

authenticRZA
I just snapped out of eating dead animals.

 

[mortuus est]

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?

authenticRZA
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.

 

[mortuus est]

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."

authenticRZA
LOL.

 

[mortuus est]

I read your book Tao of the Wu, And alot of your ideas and views were interesting and ones ive never heard of. My question would be what books on the heavenly jewles, mathmatics, chess ect.. do you recommend?
Also with your love of martial arts what do you think of the UFC?

authenticRZA
There are really no books on the Jewels or mathematics. There are many books on chess. I would suggest Bobby Fisher. I love the UFC. Pissed off when Anderson lost and broke his own leg! But the fight goes on.

 

[mortuus est]

With your busy schedule nowadays how do you get yourself inspired to set time aside for composing beats/songs or just focusing on music in general?
Was the Blakroc album created through being friends or did you/the black keys contact the other about wanting involvement?
Do you listen to many of the rappers coming out of NYC scene? If you have the time for that who would you say are your favorites?
Thank you so much for your work and passion towards different expressions of art over the years!

authenticRZA
Nowadays, you actually can have beat machines that work on airplanes. And guess what I have…
Beat machines that work on airplanes.
We met through Damon Dash, and we hung out a few times and liked each other's energy, they actually told me that Liquid Sword was one of their favorite albums. I think our respect for each other made us record together.
I mean, right now, ASAP and his crew are holding weight. Flatbush Zombies, Joey Badass from Brooklyn, you also have Troy Avenue, you got Action Bronson from Queens, Core from Long Island / Brooklyn, New York will always have great MCs. It's just will they get their chance to surface or rise to the top is yet to be told.
Bong bong. Thank you for listening. Check out Brick Mansions this weekend.

 

[mortuus est]

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?

authenticRZA
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.

 

[mortuus est]

RZA, I'm a film major and a huge Wu-Tang fan. What are some of your favourite films?

authenticRZA
Since you're a film major, I don't need to speak on martial arts films, but I would suggest you spend time studying films from Asia, not just martial arts but also Wong Kar-Wai. On a normal basis, some of my favorite films are the Godfather, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, West Side Story, and On The Waterfront. And Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

 

[mortuus est]

How did you come up with the name RZA

authenticRZA
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.