RZAView (Live on WFMU 2008)

(Rza, pronounced riz'-uh, is a composer for film and TV
He began as a rapper. Career had a growth spurt
From flowed words to producer, Wu-Tang Clan founder and father
Rza is also an actor and author.)

We met in New York after he drove his kids to the airport
He held court in his hotel room, exhausted, a rare good sport

"I'm a composer," Rza rose his voice. He knows the choice
Stay in hip-hop ghetto or let go of noise
"Stand still and stagnate in a bad state."
Weakness is revealed by brags, hate

Rza's first soundtrack was for Jarmusch's "Ghost Dog"
Perhaps that was Rza at his most prog. Created a sound
Elated, he'd found "Peter and the Wolf" by Sergei Prokofiev
Assign instrument to each character–borrowed the concept
As long as you move, you can't make a wrong step

Needle-dropped "Kill Bill", and stood behind cameraguy
Scored whole range, Soul Plane, Unleashed, Afro Samurai
Working off animatics was a challenge for Abbot
Music has movement while drawings are static

"Fifty piece orchestra can be $250 G's a week."
That's more than getting treats from Miss Freek-a-leek
"So I got my digital orchestra
Over forty keyboards recording free chords
Sessioners' pay may never be restored

Rza is talkative. Keyboard reps all octaves
Mancini's sample scores have a lot to give

Early eighties -- flashback to Times Square
He and Ol Dirty Bastard stood in line there
To see triple-bill Chinese crime fare
Blown away by discipline and ferocity
Walked away with new styles and philosophy
Sparred raps with each other, practicing constantly
It was ODB, Ghostface, Raekwon, Deck, Rza
Masta Killa, U-God, and Genius AKA Gza (jiz'-uh)
Rza based his urban young crew on verbal kung fu
Though they sold crack on the curb and toted guns too
Quoted Sun Tzu, "Strike at their gaps. Attack when they're lax
Never let the enemy figure out how to act."

[unsound, one pound of fruit at the front takes twenty to check chariot?]

Rza became Abbot. Stat Isle became Shaolin
Crew renamed Wu-Tang. New plans empowerin'
Come strong as a group then sign solo with dif labels
Spend money on mansions, and not just on cables
Talking darts, rocking parties, won flock of hearts like Calista
Edutainment from KRS-1. KRS came from KRiShna. Finish the mishna

Rza forsaken like bacon had to take ten
From classic records that he made in the basement

Around 2000 Rza visited the real Shaolin Mountain
With Sifu Shi Yan-Ming who teach what chi and Chan* can bring
They met the real Wudan abbot. they saw General Wu as the black Asiatic
An American saw snake and terrapin/turtle in Temple of Purple Cloud
From which Zhen Wu hurtled out, higher in sky than the seraphim, take care of 'em

The case that god is a human ain't new to a true fan
Ain't that right, Noah Uman
He changed lots of lives when he stotted the Wu Clan
Which came first? The chicken or egg?
Man made god. Ain't that a kick in the head?
He got sticked and he bled. Rza then said
That "Jesus said, 'Take me off the pedESTal
And polish your vessel.'" What makes you
Different is what makes you special

"What have you achieved that didn't begin as a vision?" I asked him
"Good question," he said. "Some of my children."
He now writes "Wu-Tang Manual Volume 2: The Wisdom."
First chapter, "Universal Changer," he wrote as "lonely" teenager
By "lonely" I think he meant prison. From psycho slums
To microphones to Triton taiko drums, Rza has risen
(Tomorrow's not a given. Make each moment count
Over and out. Thanks for listenin ta Talkin Journalism.)

*Zen Buddhism