RZA | |
|---|---|
.jpg) RZA at the 2018San Diego Comic-Con | |
| Born | Robert Fitzgerald Diggs (1969-07-05)July 5, 1969 (age 55) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1984–present[1][2] |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 10 |
| Relatives |
|
| Musical career | |
| Also known as |
|
| Genres | |
| Discography | |
| Labels | |
| Member of | Wu-Tang Clan |
| Formerly of | |
Robert Fitzgerald Diggs (born July 5, 1969), better known by his stage nameRZA (/ˈrɪzə/RIZ-ə) orthe RZA, is an American rapper, record producer, composer, actor, and filmmaker. He is thede facto leader of the hip hop groupWu-Tang Clan,[4] having produced most of the group's albums and those of its members. Known for his signature use ofsoul samples, sparse beats, and cinematic elements, his production style has been widely influential in hip-hop.The Source andVibe both ranked him among the greatest hip-hop producers of all time,[5][6] whileNME included him on its list of the 50 Greatest Producers Ever, spanning all genres.[7]
RZA has released solo albums under the alter-egoBobby Digital and was a founding member of thehorrorcore groupGravediggaz, performing asthe RZArector. He has also worked extensively in film and television, composing scores for major films such asKill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) andKill Bill: Volume 2 (2004). He made his directorial debut withThe Man with the Iron Fists (2012) and later directedLove Beats Rhymes (2017). He served as anexecutive producer onWu-Tang: An American Saga (2019–2023), for which he received aPrimetime Emmy Award nomination forOutstanding Original Main Title Theme Music.
As an actor, he has appeared inAmerican Gangster (2007),G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013), andA Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas (2011), as well as the TV seriesCalifornication. He has also done voiceover work, including roles inThe Simpsons andMinions: The Rise of Gru (2022).
Diggs was born on July 5, 1969, inBrownsville, Brooklyn. He was named after the Kennedy brothersRobert andJohn Fitzgerald, both of whom his mother greatly admired.[8] Diggs has called his given name an "honorable" name, given the legacy of both Robert and John. Diggs has a younger brother, Terrance Hamlin, better known as the rapper9th Prince, and an older brother named Mitchell “Divine” Diggs.
From ages three to seven, Diggs spent summers inNorth Carolina with his uncle, who encouraged him to read and study.[9] Diggs was introduced tohip hop music at the age of nine, and by eleven, was competing inrap battles. He relocated toSteubenville, Ohio, in 1990, to live with his mother. He spent weekends inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where his father ran a convenience store in the city'sHill District.[10]
Diggs got involved with petty crime and drug-dealing, and was charged with attempted murder while in Steubenville. He was acquitted of the charge, giving him what he has called a "second chance".[11]
Diggs first became interested in making his own hip-hop music in 1979 when a friend of his introduced him toRapper's Delight byThe Sugarhill Gang and in 1984, Diggs formed a rap group with his cousinsRussell Jones, then known as The Specialist, andGary Grice, then known as Allah Justice, called "Force of the Imperial Master", which they soon after renamed as"All in Together Now" in 1985. Around this time Diggs formed the DMD Posse which consisted of RZA, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, U-God,Inspectah Deck, 4th Disciple andMethod Man.[1] Diggs and Grice then signed with Jamaica Records for management purposes and Jamaica convincedTommy Boy Records to sign Diggs as a solo artist in 1989 under the namePrince Rakeem.[1] He released the originalOoh I Love You Rakeem promotion version of the EP, but was forced to remix and rerelease the single when Tommy Boy failed to acquire the rights to the original sample. The rereleased version underperformed commercially, and Diggs was subsequently dropped by Tommy Boy.[1]
After a shoot-out in Ohio in 1992, he faced eight years in jail. "When they said 'not guilty', my face stuck in a smile for three days," he recalled. "I was just walking around town, thinking about my daughter and my wife. Right then I said goodbye to anything that would put me in that situation again. I was up on trial on anattempted murder charge. I was a motherfucking fool, with all that knowledge in my head and ending up there."[12]In 1992, Diggs formed a new group with his two cousins and five other childhood friends. They named the groupWu-Tang Clan, after the 1983kung fu filmShaolin and Wu Tang. As part of the group's formation, each member chose a new nickname for themselves. Diggs chose "RZA", based on a nickname he had been given by fans of his music, "Rza Rza Rakeem", which in turn was based on a song by All in Together Now, "Pza Pza Pumpin", as well as Diggs'graffiti tag, "Razor". He created abackronym for "RZA", stating that the name stood for "Ruler, Zig-Zag-Zig, Allah" which further translated into "Ruler, Knowledge-Wisdom-Understanding, Allah" when using theSupreme Alphabet.[13]
Wu-Tang Clan released its first single, "Protect Ya Neck", in December 1992.Masta Killa then joined the group in 1993, becoming its ninth member. They released their debut album,Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) in November 1993.[14] RZA operated as Wu-Tang Clan's de facto leader, producing the group's songs and deciding who would get placed on which tracks.
As each of the group's members embarked on solo careers, RZA continued to produce nearly everything Wu-Tang released during the period 1994–1996, which included both composing and arranging the instrumental tracks as well as overseeing and directing the creative process. RZA's rule over the Clan at this time is described in 2004'sWu-Tang Manual book as "a dictatorship". He also released a hit single of his own, in the form of "Wu-Wear: The Garment Renaissance". The song was featured on theHigh School High soundtrack, and was released to promote the Wu-Tang clothing brand, also called "Wu-Wear". It peaked at #60 on theBillboard Hot 100, and #6 on theHot Rap Singles chart.[15]
When it came time for the Gravediggaz,Prince Paul was thinking about putting a group together. He wanted to get some good MCs.Poetic was another dope MC who was underrated out onLong Island. He had one single out on Tommy Boy that didn't take off, but he was a dope MC. As the Grym Reaper, you know how many dope lyrics he dropped. Frukwan, one of the top lyricists out ofStetsasonic. He and Paul were friends already. He told him about me. He said, "I know this one guy who is super-dope."At the same time, I was also trying to do Wu-Tang. I was trying to start my own company and stuff, so when Paul called me up and invited me to his crib on Long Island and told me his idea for forming this group, I thought it would be an honor to be in a group with him. But I told him, "I'm also producing a group, and I'm also part of a family that I'm building." He said, "Yo, that's crazy." We would talk a lot of times. [Ol' Dirty Bastard] came to his house a lot of times with me. [Method Man], too. We all would just go there and try to find ways to get out of the streets. Me, I was trying to get out of the ghetto. Paul had a lot of respect for me, so he helped me break out of it. I think he liked that I was so dark, but I didn't know I was dark.[16]
1997 saw the release ofWu-Tang Forever, the Wu-Tang Clan's highly anticipated second album. The album for the first time featured RZA delegating a small number of beat-making duties to other producers in the Wu-Tang camp, such as his protégésMathematics,True Master and4th Disciple who are known as the originalWu-Elements, and Clan memberInspectah Deck.[17]
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 songs on average to each record as well as receiving an Executive Producer credit.
"I had to put outBobby Digital instead ofThe Cure because if I didn't do that I would've suffered two things. First, I would have revealed where I was musically too soon. Wu-Tang is the perfect medium to expose anything new because I got the most people coming together to buy it. For me to expose it for my own self, I don't think that would've been a wise thing for me to do. I might've caught more people than Bobby Digital caught, but I still wouldn't catch the magnitude of what the Wu-Tang could catch. Maybe this year or next year the game may be different.The Cure is so intimate in writing that you gotta live that Cure shit. I was living like Bobby Digital in '98, '99 na'mean? So if I put "The Cure" out, then I wouldn't even be able to get on stage and perform it for ya'll cause I'd be lying."
In 1999 the RZA moved into composing film scores. His first work,Jim Jarmusch'sGhost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999), earned praise; he also had a brief cameo in the film itself, as a fellow samurai wearing camouflage. The experience was positive and, as he noted during an interview onNational Public Radio'sFresh Air, the work with traditional musicians gave him the desire to learn how to read and write music.[18] In 2004, he co-scoredDavid S. Goyer's"Blade: Trinity" with composerRamin Djawadi.
.jpg)
This is one of my biggest adventures, and one of my [best] feelings. We watchedKill Bill inManhattan. At the premiere, that happened, but you know, that's Hollywood. But in Manhattan, a theater, just a bunch of kids coming from wherever New York, inside a movie theater and the movie's coming on. They don't even know that I'm the man with the music, and when it said, "Original Music by The RZA", we hear the audience clapping. And they didn't clap for nothing else, because the movie's just coming on. I was like, 'Wow, what the fuck is that about?' That's different. It actually might be something special. You never care who did that... Once you see who stars in the shit, you don't read "edited", you don't read all that. You be eating your popcorn and it go right by you. But, for somebody to see that and then clap, that's a different thing right there. That felt pretty pleasing.
He has also stated that the long-delayedThe Cure album will be his final solo album, so that he can devote more time to his movie directing career.[19]
Before signing withSRC Records in 2007, RZA was flooded with offers fromBad Boy Records,Aftermath Records,Interscope andDef Jam among others for the Wu-Tang Clan super-group.[20]
In 2007, he produced thescore of the Japanese animeAfro Samurai starringSamuel L. Jackson. In 2007 he released the little-publicized instrumental albumThe RZA-Instrumental Experience, and worked with Raekwon on his highly anticipatedOnly Built 4 Cuban Linx II. From 2005 to 2008 he collaborated withSystem of a Down bassistShavo Odadjian on the projectAchozen[21] The group released two singles, one of which, "Deuces", was included in the 2009 filmBabylon A.D. The group also recorded an album that has remained unreleased, although eight of the songs were released in 2015.
"The time is right to bring some older material to the masses digitally. Our fans have been dedicated and patient, and they're hungry to hear the music that has set us apart from so many others.Hip-hop is alive inWu Music, and with The Orchard, we've got a solid partner that understands our audience and is committed to doing all they can to help us reach the fans. I'm definitely looking forward to working with them to see what else we all come up with. There's much more to come."[22]
In 2010 he worked on what was intended as a solo album for GZA,Liquid Swords II,[23] but the album remains unreleased. RZA also worked withKanye West on the latter's fifth album,My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,[24] as well asWatch the Throne by Kanye and Jay-Z.
In a 2011 interview, RZA revealed that he had recently decided to clean out his beat machines of instrumentals he made for the Wu-Tang Clan that were never used; as a result, he gave away ten beats each toNas,Busta Rhymes andTalib Kweli, as well as 20 beats for Kanye West, including two that were used on West's previous two albums.[25] RZA produced UK artistJosh Osho's 2012 debut albumL.I.F.E.
RZA also contributed vocals to three songs onJohn Frusciante's 2012 EPLetur-Lefr and in 2013 he contributed vocals to one song onKid Cudi's 2013 albumIndicud. In August 2012 RZA founded a new record label,Soul Temple Records, with a distribution deal fromRED Distribution. On September 28, 2012, he hosted one episode of the web seriesEquals Three, substituting for regular hostRay William Johnson. He appeared onEarl Sweatshirt's albumDoris, contributing a verse on the track "Molasses". Despite artistic disagreements withRaekwon, RZA and The Wu-Tang Clan released their sixth albumA Better Tomorrow in 2014.
In 2013, RZA andPaul Banks began to collaborate asBanks & Steelz for what became the 2016 albumAnything But Words.[26][27] Guest appearances include Kool Keith, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, and Masta Killa.[27] Two singles were released from the album, "Love + War" and "Giant".[27] RZA collaborated withRamin Djawadi, with whom he co-scored Blade Trinity and Blake Perlman for the song "Drift" for theGuillermo del Toro film"Pacific Rim".
In June 2020, ice cream companyGood Humor approached RZA to create a new jingle forice cream trucks to play,[28] to replace the tune "Turkey in the Straw", long associated withminstrel shows that often featured racist lyrics. (Good Humor does not directly operate any trucks, but the company wanted to encourage ice cream truck drivers to not play the song.)[29] RZA's resulting composition was released in August 2020.[30]
In a 2020 interview, RZA discussed how being stuck at home during theCOVIDglobal crisis resulted in him resuming work on his long-unreleasedThe Cure album.[31]
In August 2024, RZA released the albumA Ballet Through Mud, an orchestral ballet score. The score was conceived during theCOVID-19 pandemic based on a notebook of lyrics RZA had written as a teenager. Before being released as an album, the score premiered in 2023 on stage through a performance by theColorado Symphony.[32]
Since the early 1990s, variousWu Tang Clan-affiliated recording labels were established. The earlier labels are believed to be dissolved. The connection that RZA had to these labels is unknown.
Other record labels were later founded in the early 2000s, and are still active in the present. Very little is known about these labels, other than the fact that RZA produces music on them. It is unknown if RZA is CEO, or has high position within these labels, considering that he was never known to have a CEO position of any recording label.
RZA's production technique, specifically the manner of chopping up and/or speeding or slowing soul samples to fit his beats, has been imitated by hip hop producers includingKanye West andJust Blaze. West's own take on RZA's style[33] briefly flooded the rap market with what was dubbed "chipmunk soul," the speeding of a vocal sample to where it sounded as though the singer had inhaled helium. Several producers at the time copied the style, creating other offshoots. West has admitted that his style was distinctly influenced by the RZA's production, saying[34]
"Wu-Tang? Me and my friends talk about this all the time... We think Wu-Tang had one of the biggest impacts as far as a movement. From slang to style of dress, skits, the samples. Similar to the [production] style I use, RZA has been doing that."[35]
In response, RZA himself has spoken quite positively of the comparisons:
"All good. I got super respect for Kanye. He came up to me about a year or two ago. He gave me mad praising and blessings... For people to say Wu-Tang inspire Kanye, Kanye is one of the biggest artists in the world. That goes back to what we say: 'Wu-Tang is forever.' Kanye is going to inspire people to be like him."[36]
After hearing Kanye's work onThe Blueprint, RZA claimed that a torch-passing had occurred between him and West, saying, "The shoes gotta be filled. If you ain't gonna do it, somebody else is gonna do it. That's how I feel about rap today."[36]
His Bobby Digital albums introduced tweaked-outnew age elements to his sound; these have incorporated themselves more fully into his beats on newer albums such as Method Man's4:21... The Day After.
"The way I produce now is I produce more like a musician", RZA said. "In the old days, I produced more like a DJ. I didn't understandmusic theory at all. Now that I do understand music theory, I make my music more playable, meaning not only could you listen to it, you could get someone else to play it. Before, you couldn't even write down Wu-Tang music. I think almost 80 percent of this record can be duplicated by a band, which is important for music, because that means 10 years from now, somebody can make a whole song out of it and cover it like how I'm coveringThe Beatles song."[37]
In a 2010 radio interview with UK hip hop station Conspiracy Worldwide Radio, RZA spoke in great detail about the homemade, candid ethos of much of his work, including the organic creation process behind ODB's debut album.[38]
RZA is known for having multiplealiases, for different lyrical styles and personalities: Prince Rakeem, The Abbot, Bobby Digital, Bobby Steels, the Scientist, Prince Delight, Prince Dynamite, Ruler Zig-Zag-Zig Allah.[39] During his time with theGravediggaz, he went by the name the RZArector, which is for waking up the mentally dead.[40]
RZA has hadcameo appearances in films includingFunny People,Due Date,Gospel Hill,Ghost Dog,Life Is Hot in Cracktown andPopstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.
RZA appeared inDerailed,Coffee and Cigarettes, andAmerican Gangster. He appeared inG.I. Joe: Retaliation, as the characterBlind Master.[41] In 2010, RZA appeared in the science fiction action filmRepo Men.[42] In 2014, RZA took on the role of Tremaine Alexander in the filmBrick Mansions oppositePaul Walker andDavid Belle, a remake ofDistrict 13. He played "Mr. L.C.", the main antagonist, in theThai martial arts filmTom Yum Goong 2.
RZA directed and starred inThe Man with the Iron Fists (2012).
In 2013, RZA provided guest voices in thesixth season episode ofRobot Chicken. "Botched Jewel Heist", in three sketches. His first role is an anthropomorphic strawberry who is shot dead in a mob hit, causing his jelly blood to splatter onto a large slice of bread below (which was covered in the peanut-butter blood ofMr. Peanut, who was killed the same way moments before). In his second role, he plays himself, and raps about being apescetarian, although RZA had shifted from a pescetarian diet to avegan diet in 1997. His third role was as the Halloween Road Warrior in a sketch where in a post-apocalyptic world, a family is pursued by road warriors representing forgotten holidays, who aim to kidnap their two children.
RZA played the role of Samurai Apocalypse in the television seriesCalifornication in 9 episodes.[43]
RZA played the supporting role of Shotgun Steve in theromanticaction comedy movieMr. Right withSam Rockwell andAnna Kendrick.[44]
RZA portrayed Dean in 2019 filmThe Dead Don't Die.[45]
RZA narrates a character, known as Wesley, on the 2019 Netflix original seriesDay Break in Season 1, episode 5 named "Homecoming Redux or My So Called Stunt Double Life".[46]
RZA portrayed Harry Mansell, brother of the protagonist, in the 2021action comedy filmNobody withBob Odenkirk andConnie Nielsen.
I made my albums like movies, you know what I mean? I wanted people to be able to listen to a movie in their car while they was driving. "I want to start off making movies where people will know they're at a movie. Like my man Tarantino, he did that moviePulp Fiction – classic movie, man. Every time it comes on TV or cable, I have to stop and watch it. And it's based on nothing, really. There's only a few people out there that are able to do that, where it comes from nothing but the vision and imagination of the artist.[47]
In the late 1990s, RZA began production of a feature-length film based on "Bobby Digital", an alias he used on various albums. Though the film was never completed, he continued shooting music videos for his side projects and solo tracks.
RZA directed his first feature film,The Man with the Iron Fists, in 2011, from a script he wrote the previous year. DirectorsQuentin Tarantino andEli Roth were involved in production, writing, and casting according to several movie websites.[48][49][50] The film was released in fall 2012.
RZA is the brother of9th Prince, and the cousin of rappersGZA,Ol' Dirty Bastard, andFlavor Flav.[51][52]
RZA provided the afterword toSee You at San Diego: An Oral History of Comic-Con, Fandom, and the Triumph of Geek Culture.[53] His hobbies include watchingmartial arts films, and he is considered an "encyclopedia of martial arts films" due to his knowledge of the genre.[50] RZA met and befriended Shaolin MonkShi Yan Ming after being introduced by Ol' Dirty Bastard's managerSophia Chang.[54][55] His favorite movies includeFive Deadly Venoms,[56]The 36th Chamber of Shaolin,[56]Ninja Scroll[57] andFist of the North Star.[57] His second well-known hobby ischess. He is a Director of Development and champion of the Hip-Hop Chess Federation.[58][59][60][61]
RZA is avegan[62] and has promoted the vegan lifestyle and compassion for animals on behalf ofPETA.[63][64] Until 1997, he was apescetarian; "I tell you one thing I did use to like: the fish and chips," he stated. "But I stopped eating fish this year. One day I just felt the death in it."[65]
RZA is a resident ofMillstone Township, New Jersey.[66]
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Rhyme & Reason | Himself | |
| 1999 | Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai | Samurai in Camouflage | |
| 2003 | Coffee and Cigarettes | RZA | |
| 2005 | Derailed | Winston Boyko | |
| 2006 | Rap Sheet: Hip-Hop and the Cops | Himself[67] | |
| The Lather Effect | Danny's Friend | ||
| Rock the Bells | Himself | ||
| 2007 | American Gangster | Moses Jones | |
| The Box | Duece | ||
| 2008 | Gospel Hill | Lonnie | |
| 2009 | Funny People | Chuck | |
| Life Is Hot in Cracktown | Samy | ||
| 2010 | Repo Men | T-Bone | |
| Due Date | Airline Screening Marshall | ||
| The Next Three Days | Mouss | ||
| 2011 | A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas | Lamar | |
| 2012 | The Man with the Iron Fists | Blacksmith | Lead actor, director, and co-writer |
| 2013 | G.I. Joe: Retaliation | Blind Master | |
| Tom Yum Goong 2 | Mr. LC | The Protector 2 | |
| 2014 | Brick Mansions | Tremaine Alexander | |
| 2015 | The Man with the Iron Fists 2 | Blacksmith | Lead actor and co-writer |
| Mr. Right | Steven | ||
| AWOL-72 | Det.Adams | ||
| 2016 | Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping | Himself | |
| 2017 | Love Beats Rhymes | Director | |
| 2018 | Thriller | Principal Hurd | Lead actor, executive producer and composer |
| Mutafukaz | Shakespeare | Voice actor | |
| 2019 | The Dead Don't Die | Dean | |
| 2020 | Cut Throat City | Director | |
| Life in a Year | Ron | ||
| Hard Luck Love Song | Louis | ||
| 2021 | Nobody | Harry Mansell Jr. | |
| Clean | Pawn Shop Kurtis | ||
| King of Cool | Himself | ||
| 2022 | Minions: The Rise of Gru | Biker | Voice actor |
| Poker Face | |||
| 2023 | Problemista | Bobby | |
| Not an Artist | |||
| 2025 | One Spoon of Chocolate† | — | Director and writer |
| Nobody 2† | Harry Mansell Jr. | Post-production | |
| TBA | Blood Brothers† | — | Director and writer |
| Me and My Girlfriend† | Marceo | ||
| The Prophet Sees† |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | America's Next Top Model | Himself | Season 2, Episode 7 |
| 2009 | Afro Samurai: Resurrection | DJ | Voice over |
| 2010 | Outlaw | Greg Beals | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2012 | Californication | Samurai Apocalypse | Featured role (nine episodes) |
| 2013 | Robot Chicken | Himself/Strawberry/Halloween Road Warrior | Voice role (Episode: "Botched Jewel Heist") |
| 2014 | Gang Related | DEA Agent Cassius Green | Main cast |
| 2017 | The Simpsons | Himself | Voice role (Episode: "The Great Phatsby: Part 2") |
| Marvel's Iron Fist | Director (Episode: "Immortal Emerges from Cave") | ||
| Snowfall | Swim | Episode: "Cracking" | |
| 2018 | Fresh Off the Boat | Himself | Cameo (Episode: "Measure Twice, Cut Once") |
| 2019 | Daybreak | Himself | Voice role (Episode: "Homecoming Redux or My So Called Stunt Double Life") |
| Wu-Tang: An American Saga | Executive Producer | ||
| 2022 | The Tiny Chef Show | Himself | Episode: "Lemonade" |
| Year | FilmC | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style | Himself | Voice over |
| 2005 | Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure | Stake | Voice over |
Media from Commons
Quotations from Wikiquote
Data from Wikidata| Wu-Tang Clan albums |
|
|---|---|
| Wu-Tang Clan compilations | |
| Wu-Tang Clan singles | |
| Wu-Tang albums |
|
| Wu-Tang compilations |
|
| Related | |
