RZA on Hot 97 morning show. Long interview...addresses Raekwon comments

[Frida Giezman]

great interview... even with ebro constantly trying to make it about himself

but who lied to rza and told him he can get 30k for a verse lol

 

[King Sun]

great interview... even with ebro constantly trying to make it about himself

but who lied to rza and told him he can get 30k for a verse lol

you do know that's on a low end for even someone like him

 

[Frida Giezman]

you do know that's on a low end for even someone like him

In this day and age i don't imagine too many people calling rza for a verse let alone paying for it.

the people who would want rza on a track can't afford it and the people that can afford won't pay because it'll probably be a better look for rza appearing on their track

facts

 

[King Sun]

In this day and age i don't imagine too many people calling rza for a verse let alone paying for it.

the people who would want rza on a track can't afford it and the people that can afford won't pay because it'll probably be a better look for rza appearing on their track

facts

 

[Frida Giezman]

and don't get me started on the 60k for a beat....

 

[pimpineasy]

go back and listen to the scratch skits on duel of the iron mics off of liquid swords

 

[VladTheImpaler]

Insightful interview. I really gained a whole new level of respect for RZA.


My two cents....


Raekwon and (to an extent) Ghostface are hood nikkas with hustler mentalities whose main goal in life is the abstract goal of "winning". This is a mindset, that growing up in impoverished conditions, is instilled within you when young. The "kill or be killed" mentality is a main factor of SURVIVAL within the ghetto. Many successful MC's have taken this mindset and parlayed into success within the industry. The "moving in a room full of snakes" concept if you will. Raekwon wants to win, by any means necessary, and winning to him signifies his demands be met. Whether he's actually worthy of the demands or not don't mean anything, common sense means nothing in this equation, because common sense dictates that these 8 black men should've been either incarcerated or dead before they reached 25. Defying the odds is something that has been ingrained in each and every one of them, it's what allowed RZA to create a dynasty, what allowed Rae to make such a HUGE comeback after successive failed albums, what allowed GZA to come back from a hellish experience with his first album to become one of the most celebrated lyricists of all time, what allowed Ghostface to continually reinvent himself album after album, and what made Method Man a star. How could you, as an MC who has accomplished so much, possibly find it easy to swallow what it is that MAKES you great and take a backseat to another man's vision and direction? And doing so WITHOUT getting some concession in return?

THIS is what's at the heart of the disagreement. It's no coincidence that Rae and Ghost have had issues with RZA and a Wu-Tang album dating back to 8 Diagrams. Remember it was Ghost who first mentioned the wanting of having other producers besides RZA involved a Clan album. Then Rae came forward and said that the next Clan album (which became Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang) would excise RZA completely. If you read an early Ghost interview where he talks about suing RZA for money, he highlights the fact that he won, he doesn't even talk about the money so much as he's happy that he WON, that HE was in control. It's going to take allot more than RZA returning to his old apartment to make dusty 90's soul samples with Karate Chop interludes to convince 8 lifelong HUSTLERS entering middle age to relinquish complete control without the promise of a guaranteed "win".

First, very interesting view point.

I will say though, they always took a back seat to Rza direction and happily for years.....and kept coming back to do so. They had to, as it was his vision. They chose to be the arms and legs to Rza's head. And guess what, there is nothing wrong with that. If you study ego, you realize that much of ego is built on romantic notions and castles made of sand. So for Rae to now have an issue with being a pixel in the digital picture, than his ego has now manifested itself. That is not necessarily bad of it's own self, BUT the idea that someone "take a backseat to another man's vision and direction" is now some how NOW seen as the ultimate Rae self smack in the face and someone NOW would be Rae undermine his own manship....to me is not only weak but also not sensible since he has done this over an over again. Is it just now an issue.

Good points breh.

 

[mortuus est]

 

[BuddahMAC]

RZA said Wu tang Produtions was worh 40 to 50 million, and basically everybody the hell outta there. I guess some arguing is over money over the brand of Wu tang and who owns what? It seems that some of them didt know th business at theat time, butRZA said everybody walked away with millions

The Wu-Tang Productions deal was the original structure that broke down songs on albums kinda like 47.5% MC/ 47.5% producer/5% Wu-Tang overall. The overall fund would help those without solos yet, add funds for future albums, overall promotions, etc... anything Wu-Tang related. So, for example, when Meth went platinum, the Wu went platinum and that helped ODB, Rae & GZA's projects overall and that money helped Deck & U & Masta eat between group albums. It also allowed them to pretty much get all their in house production for free because they were just paid off each song they did instead of some giant up front fee they would have got like RZA & Elements did for outside production in Wu's prime. What the Wu members wanted at the time was a bigger slice of the budget for their projects and outside production. So they asked out of their Wu-Tang Production contracts, which RZA gave them, that ended any funding for the Wu brand in general as RZA now funded the W himself, is why 4th Disciple & True Master started fading off of releases early 2000s (RZA would usually do beats without charging anything outside publishing b/c he could afford it, 4th & True gotta eat and would need to get paid up front for beats now), and why Wu albums started getting more hit & miss.

 

[mortuus est]

The Wu-Tang Productions deal was the original structure that broke down songs on albums kinda like 47.5% MC/ 47.5% producer/5% Wu-Tang overall. The overall fund would help those without solos yet, add funds for future albums, overall promotions, etc... anything Wu-Tang related. So, for example, when Meth went platinum, the Wu went platinum and that helped ODB, Rae & GZA's projects overall and that money helped Deck & U & Masta eat between group albums. It also allowed them to pretty much get all their in house production for free because they were just paid off each song they did instead of some giant up front fee they would have got like RZA & Elements did for outside production in Wu's prime. What the Wu members wanted at the time was a bigger slice of the budget for their projects and outside production. So they asked out of their Wu-Tang Production contracts, which RZA gave them, that ended any funding for the Wu brand in general as RZA now funded the W himself, is why 4th Disciple & True Master started fading off of releases early 2000s (RZA would usually do beats without charging anything outside publishing b/c he could afford it, 4th & True gotta eat and would need to get paid up front for beats now), and why Wu albums started getting more hit & miss.

 

[Family Man]

I don't get it. Why don't RZA just divide up UGod's cut of the money among all the other members and keep it moving? No one would notice that UGOD is missing.

 

[Black Ball]

In this day and age i don't imagine too many people calling rza for a verse let alone paying for it.

the people who would want rza on a track can't afford it and the people that can afford won't pay because it'll probably be a better look for rza appearing on their track

facts

He said Cudi called him and shot him 25-30 for a verse.

 

[MilesTeg]

Sorry, RZA but you are not the expert on how much you make per beat and per verse - random people on message boards are. THEY know best.

 

[Animal House]

Great fukkin interview
One of the best ebro has done in my opinion
and rza dropped jewels for everyone especially cats who want to make moves in the industry. There is a lot of knowledge to take away from this even if you already know it you gotta respect it

 

[DaHNIC82]

Great interview from RZA.. The personalities didn't act like fukk bowys like many do these days by focusing on bullshyt instead of the music. Bet you Charlamagne would have came out of the gate and asked him "What you think of Mimi Faust sex tape?"