Sitting down with Life + Times the Abbott breaks down his The RZA as Bobby Digital In Stereo cut (he couldn’t do “Domestic Violence” instead?) and the Wu-Tang Clan’s formal introduction to rap.
PREVIOUS: RZA On the Challenges of Directiong a Movie vs. Producing an Album (Video)
Sitting down with Alex of Ruby Hornet, RZA speaks (once again) on his foray into filmmaking.
PREVIOUS: RZA Talks “White Dress” & Working w/ Kanye West (Video)
Shot by Shake, Tnel Moniq & ChristianFGY.
In this part of the dopehouse and TheWellVersed’s interview with The Abbott, RZA speaks on his works with Mr. West from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy to “White Dress:”
“Kanye to me is one of the best artists in the game. Not only because of his record sales, but because of his focus,” RZA said. ” I met a man who was so focused that I admired him.”
Also, head down bottom for a separate piece with RZA speaking to Hot 97′s morning crew.
PREVIOUS: RZA On the Challenges of Directiong a Movie vs. Producing an Album (Video) | RZA Talks Sampling Of Kung Fu Films For Movie & The Difference Between Biting Vs. Influence (Video)
Shot by Shake, Tnel Moniq & ChristianFGY.
In the second part of 2DopeBoyz and TheWellVersed‘s sitdown with RZA, we ask him about the differences and difficulty of producing vs. directing.
“The bigger task is directing,” RZA says from his couch nestled at Eli Roth’s Goretorium haunted house in Las Vegas. “Producing, of course, is a hard task. But you’re talking to a man that produced dozens of albums. Directing is producing to the 10th power.”
Citing the amount of people involved in the process of directing as opposed to being more or less the only man concocting beats, RZA says that the challenge can be quite overwhelming. However, the higher ups at Universal, Strike Entertainment and Arcade Pictures allowed RZA to do his thing without too much interference.
“I was able to do this as a dictator in a way,” RZA says. “I had advisors, but I was a dictator. They trusted me to bring back the goods. So I had to bring back the goods.”
As many (and hopefully all) of you know, RZA’s directional debut with his first feature film “The Man With The Iron Fists” which is in theaters now! And if you haven’t already, be sure to check part one of our 2dope conversation where RZA speaks on sampling Kung Fu flicks for movies and the difference between “biting” and “influence.”
Shot by Shake and Tnel Moniq. Additional footage by ChristianFGY.
The Abbott sat down with the DopeHouse and TheWellVersed to speak on his movie (which is out today) and more.
The RZA has gone from being a master to becoming a student as his film The Man With The Iron Fists releases today. After years and years of being considered one of the best hip hop producers of all-time, the man behind Enter the 36 Chambers began a new venture into the art of film. His first foray being his debut movie that is heavily influenced by Shaw Brothers kung fu flicks and overseen by producer Quentin Tarantino and co-writer Eli Roth. But for RZA, making a feature film isn’t all that different from crafting a classic album in the sense that the art of sampling is still intact.
2DB X TWV INTERVIEWS: ScHoolboy Q On Kendrick Lamar’s Success, Shyne and “Beef” w/ Blu (Video)
Directed by Chris Marrs Piliero
The Keys and The Abbott’s <em>The Man With The Iron Fists single gets the visual treatment.
Up top is a video with Funkmaster Flex and the Abbott speaking on how, exactly, did the legendary rap crew came to be, while the NY Times asked him about the possible reunion of the Clan for the 20th anniversary of their seminal debut…
“There’s one last job Wu-Tang Clan must do. The 20th anniversary [of Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)] is next year. And we need to, one time, completely, efficiently, properly, professionally represent our brand. One more time. But this time, showing up on time for press and for concerts and studio. Do it one time, perfect. We did good – people love it and I’m proud of what we’ve done. But all that was done – I would always say in my old interviews, “This is organized confusion.” It was kept and contained, but it was a lot of chaos.”
Head here for another interview with the NY Times as well.
PREVIOUS: A Look Inside “The Man With the Iron Fists” (Video)
The Abbot talks about a new Wu album celebrating their two decades-long career (which would drop next year, if it were to happen), his upcoming film and more.
PREVIOUS: Wu-Tang Clan – Six Directions of Boxing
Samurai Apocalpyse hit Sway’s studio and kicked a few bars as well.
PREVIOUS: Ghostface Killah, M.O.P. & Pharoahe Monch – Black Out
During a talk with MTV, RZA speaks on Kanye West’s contribution to a track off the upcoming soundtrack to The Man With The Iron Fists.
Kanye went in. Kanye’s a dope lyricist, but what he did on this particular song, it ain’t 16 bars, he’s going like how Ghostface goes. Like, 40 bars, just goin’. He’s goin and he’s killin’ it, yo!
The OST (which is 2-for-2 as far as leaks go with Tick Tock featuring Pusha T, Raekwon and Joell Ortiz and Built For This featuring Method Man, Freddie Gibbs and Streetlife) drops October 23 while the actual movie hits theaters on November 2nd.
To assist promote his upcoming film The Man With The Iron Fists (in theaters November 2), the RZA is hitting the road with some surprise guests.
A live band will back RZA’s headlining performance, and he promises each tour stop will be a unique experience as he calls on friends and special guests to perform from city to city. The Iron Fist Tour will feature a unique musical experience curated by Wu-Tang Clan’s chief architect, The RZA. It will feature a very special live performance from The Abbott and his band. This once in a lifetime performance pays tribute to his directorial debut, The Man With The Iron Fists. Special guest will join The RZA in each city and every night will feature a unique set list inspired by kick-ass Kung Fu and genre bending beatdowns. Some fans will get to meet the master himself while others interact with RZA’s ultimate live experience via mc battle and b boy exhibitions. Imagine RZA’s musical mashup “Tiger Style.”
Cities/dates after the jump.
10/03 Music Hall of Williamsburg, New York, NY
10/04 The Royale, Boston, MA
10/07 Soundstage, Baltimore, MD
10/08 The State Theatre, Falls Church, VA
10/10 Vinyl, Atlanta, GA
10/12 St. Andrew’s, Detroit, MI
10/13 Shrine, Chicago, IL
10/15 Beauty Ballroom, Austin, TX
10/16 Fitzgerald’s, Houston, TX
10/19 House of Blues, Las Vegas, NV
10/24 House of Blues, Los Angeles, CA
PREVIOUS: Pusha T, Raekwon & Joell Ortiz – Tick Tock | Method Man – Built For This f. Streetlife & Freddie Gibbs
RZA’s kung-fu flick The Man With the Iron Fists is coming soon, and with the soundtrack dropping October 23rd he lets loose another cut off of it for this week’s #WuWednesdays.
For this week’s installment of #WuWednesdays (which obviously dropped yesterday, sue me), RZA liberates a mash-up he crafted that pairs Nas’ vocals from The Set Up with RZA’s production from B.O.B.B.Y. Dope.
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Samurai Apocalypse returns back to his #WuWednesdays experiement with this new track. Props to HHNM.
DOWNLOAD: RZA – Blowin’ In The Wind | Alt
PREVIOUS: The Man With the Iron Fists (Trailer) [Directed by RZA]
Yeah, I didn’t know what MNET was either until I looked it up. Hell, I don’t even think I have that channel, & DirecTV has every channel known to man. There’s moreover a feature on (2)Dope mainstays The Airplane Boys as well. The entire thing airs this Wednesday (May 9th) at 9pm.
If you’ve been watching this season of Californication, you’d know that the RZA portrays a mega-successful rapper/entrepreneur/goonie goo-goo named Samurai Apocalypse that, while unknowingly sharing his not-really girlfriend Meagan Good with the series’ central character Hank Moody, received Hank to write a an action movie script for him called Santa Monica Cop (yeah, I know). Here is the trailer to that fictional flick. *dead* at all of this. Props to Mike for the heads up.
Californication, Sunday evenings on Showtime.
PREVIOUS: RZA – Shock Me
Look, I’m a fan of Showtime’s Californication yet RZA is essentially portraying himself this season. I mean, “Samurai Apocalypse?” Come on. Meagan Good though? Jesus Cristo. When did all of that develop? #ThumbsTheFuckUp.
Back to this post’s song, this is an old Bobby Digital demo from back in the day.
Speaking of the RZA, according to the Wu-Tang’s official Facebook page he & Method Man & currently working on Meth’s last album. Damn, hopefully this will result in an LP that Meth fans have been wanting for a long time.
During a sit down with Red Bull Music Academy in Madrid, RZA breaks down the inner workings of Kanye West.
I jut saw a preview of Californication last night, where both the RZA & Meagan Good are slated to have recurring roles this season. Definitely can’t wait for that show to return to television next month. Anyways, The Abbot just released his first app which, according to the description, is supposed to “bridge RZA’s library of work, exclusive content & a passion for chess.” Interesting combination.
