One year later, he released his second Bobby Digital record, Digital Bullet.
WU TANG CLAN CREAM TRIU SERIES
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, his soundtrack for the Jim Jarmusch film - in which he made a cameo, beginning a series of small acting roles - was released in 2000. In 1999, RZA Hits, a compilation of some of the Wu-Tang family's best-known tracks, from both group and solo projects, was released under RZA's name.
In addition to remaining a member of the loose-knit Wu-Tang family and producing many of the group members' solo efforts, RZA also joined the Gravediggaz, helming their 1995 debut 6 Feet Deep his first full-length solo LP, RZA as Bobby Digital in Stereo, followed in 1998. Throughout most of his youth he enjoyed watching various kung-fu movies and purchasing countless albums which he would later sample in most of his music.įollowing All in Together Now's dissolution, he signed to Tommy Boy under the name Prince Rakeem, issuing the 1991 EP Ooh I Love You Rakeem before joining the Wu-Tang the group's 1993 debut, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), was one of the most influential hip-hop records of the era, with RZA's lean, menacing production work much imitated throughout the rap community in the years to follow. GZA’s album flopped, and the two cousins became determined to conquer the hip hop industry on their own terms. GZA ultimately released the Words from the Genius album, but RZA’s stint at Tommy Boy ended with only the EP Ooh I Love You Rakeem to show for it when he went to jail soon after its release. With the help of GZA’s friend (then owner of Jamaica Records) they both secured single deals with album options at successful labels, GZA going to Cold Chillin and RZA to Tommy Boy. Once this local band dissolved, both he and the GZA attempted to kick start solo careers.
The group consisted of future Wu-Tang members and his cousins GZA (then known as the Genius) and Ol’ Dirty Bastard (then known as Ason Unique, the Specialist, and the Professor). RZA began his hip hop career in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a member of the trio Force of the Imperial Master (which subsequently became known as the All in Together Now Crew after they had a successful underground single of that name). A young RZA also spent many years living in North Carolina with his uncle. named him 3rd on their list of best hip hop producers of all timeīorn in Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York, RZA spent time in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as a child, where his father had a convenience store in the Hill District. He has made cameos in several movies including Coffee and Cigarettes, American Gangster, Gospel Hill, Life Is Hot in Cracktown, Ghost Dog, Funny People, Repo Men. In addition to the Wu-Tang Clan and his solo releases, RZA was also a founding member of the rap group Gravediggaz where he used the name The Rzarector. He has also released solo albums under the alter-ego Bobby Digital. He subsequently gained attention for his work scoring and acting in films. He has produced almost all of Wu-Tang Clan’s albums as well as many Wu-Tang solo and affiliate projects. A prominent figure in hip hop music, he is the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan. Ahead of the Colorado gigs, Method Man announced he was pairing with a Boulder-based cannabis company for his own strains of marijuana named after his Tical LP.Īs for the Colorado Symphony, they’ll next perform alongside Brandi Carlile at a pair of Red Rocks shows scheduled for September 11th and 12th.Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known by his stage name RZA (pronounced /ˈrɪzə/ born July 5, 1969), is an American Grammy winning music producer, author, rapper, and occasional actor, director, and screenwriter. Wu-Tang Clan are also scheduled to perform a non-symphonic show at Denver’s Mission Ballroom on Saturday. The Colorado Symphony also had a front row seat for performances of “Method Man” and “Shimmy Shimmy Ya,” the latter featuring Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s son Young Dirty Bastard. The Denver orchestra took a break from its usual schedule of Mozart and film scores to form an unlikely pairing with the Wu-Tang Clan, accompanying the RZA, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon and company on tracks like “C.R.E.A.M.” and “Protect Ya Neck” ( via Stereogum).
The Wu-Tang Clan staged their first concert in over a year Friday at Morrison, Colorado’s scenic Red Rocks Amphitheatre, a gig that featured the rap collective backed by the Colorado Symphony.