‘ gnt knn'wledge at a _\nttng age. hut I I didn't prnperl} aeeept it in m} wnrd and
in} heart and m} aetinns until I was ahnut 23.' R'/..'\ is sermnnising here. hut that's snmething he's l'amed t'nr. When he e\p|nded intn the glnhal musie ennseinusness in l‘)‘).‘~. as leader nl the l'erneinus nine-headed heast that is Staten Island‘s \K'u-l‘ang ('lan. hip hnp musie ehanged t'nr ever. The grnup shnw ed up with a snund. l_\rieal attitude and R/.-\ prn\ided a eerehral and musieal eentre as prndueer and de lttcln spnkesman. keen tn espnuse his ideas thrnugh analngies ahnut ehess nr nhseure marshal arts. A relreshing antidnte tn the hunt} and hling \aeuit} nl' the era.
()n tnp nl‘ this he has earned plaudits as the senrer nl eunning lilm snundtraeks l‘nr the likes nl‘ .lim .larmuseh's (i/inx/ Due; The Hut nf'I/u' Samurai and hnth instalments nl‘ Quentin 'l’arantinn‘s Kill Iii/l. He is. )nu shnuld knnw, a man wnrth listening tn.
‘lt’s like kung-luf he enntinues. 'Ynu enuld have a hlaek helt at the age nl' l5. httt }ntt wnn't he lull} pnwerl‘ul lnr ten mnre _\ears. 'l'hat's like Me tn me; l'x'e heen dning this sinee l was lh’. hut I'm still learning. It wasn‘t till I was 23 that l deeided l was gning tn li\'e my lite uphill. tn ehase that dream everyme has l‘nr eennnmieal treednm. l'nr lreednm tn he ni_\ sell‘. 'l'hat's when I started living rightenus’.
llere. Rnhert l)iggs l'nrmer 'had hn_\" and nnw a lather and sueeessl‘ul husinessman is defining the dil'l‘erenee hetween his R/A and Bnhh} Digital persnnas. the latter nl‘ whieh he'll he appearing under at these dates.
‘.\l_\' musie's intended tn ehrnniele Ill) lil‘e.‘ he sa_\'s. ‘Ynu talk tn me tnda_\ as R/A. I speak ahnut makin~ and senrin‘ mm ies. and sittin‘ nut here in .\lalihu. But that part nl’ me tnnk )L‘tll's tn get here. and when l gn haek tn my past. I gn haek tn Bnhhys wnrld. 'l'he R/A is what I'm ele\'ated tn. while llnhhy‘s like a l'lashhaek in the llt()\’lL‘\. the hit when _\'nu see the guy when he was )nung and he was a l’uekin' maniae.‘
An e\euse tn speak ahnut gangsters and guns and all the \‘iees the nlder R/A has lel‘t hehind. 'Bnhh}. lit‘sl appeared nn l‘Nh’K RXA (ls Bub/iv Dig/ml in Sim-w alhum. and will he haek nn his eurrentl}-in-prnduetinn new snln alhum. R/A dnesn‘t sa_\ mueh ahnut the reenrd. while he plays his cards elnse In his Chest nn whether nt‘ nnt last year‘s 8 Diagrams will he the last Wu- Tang (‘lan reenrd (the first sinee 200] 's lrnn Hug. the making nt‘ which was plagued h_\' rumnurs nl' internal stril'e). It’s a nnn-tnusieal prnjeet. in l‘aet. whieh seems tn ltax‘e him mnst exeited at the mnment.
‘I start direeting In} first feature film in anemherf he sans. ‘lt‘s ealled 'I‘lu' .llun ll'iI/i the [run Fist. it‘s gnnna he a elassie. linr the last si\ years l‘\'e heen mentnred h_\' .\lr 'l'arantinn. the hest lilm sehnnl _\nu ean gn tn. We heeame huddies and w atehed l’ilms tngether. I sat in nn his last three mmies. and l gnt the green light nnl_\' a few mnnths agn. I graduated elass and I'm read) tn gn tn wnrk?‘
The truth is. R/A has nex'er really stnpped. and this is just the next phase in nne nl the mnst seminal eareers in hip hnp histnr).
The RZA plays the Liquid Room, Edinburgh, Fri 25 Apr; Arches, Glasgow, Sat 26 Apr. He presents special screenings of Ghost Dog at Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Fri 25 Apr; GFT, Glasgow, Sat 26 Apr.
‘IVE BEEN DOING THIS SINCE I WAS 18, BUT I'M STILL LEARNING'
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‘ Av 27/: THE LIST 23