[video] VICE 20th: Ghostface Killah – “Daytona 500”

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Rae and Ghost always deliver.

Ghostface Killah performs “Daytona 500” at the VICE 20th Anniversary Party.

In December, 2014, VICE threw a massive rager for 3,000 of our closest friends at the Duggal Greenhouse in the Brooklyn Navy Yards. VICE staged dozens of performances throughout the evening, bringing together musicians as varied as Megadeth’s Dave Ellefson to The Unicorns’ Nick Thorburn to Ghostface Killah and Lil’ Wayne, to perform some of the songs that have defined VICE over its twenty years. Hell, Jonah Hill even rapped Drake, backed by our very own Spike Jonze on guitar.

Of course we recorded the whole thing and we’ll be putting up many of these unique performances onto the VICE YouTube channel so you can check them out.

[video] WU TANG- New Wu

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I knew it was something in the air, I been listening to early Ghost all week, then I been catching some new fever courtesy of Raekwon, now this. They can f*ck around and salvage the summer if they execute this campaign with precision. Plus I see they got the RZA back in the mix, it needs to be a Shaolin revolution this summer.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

RZA Gets Nod from Tarantino, Set to Make Directorial Debut

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via XXL

After making his mark in the music industry, Rza is ready to put Hollywood in a choke hold. XXLmag.com caught up with the rap renaissance man to find out about his directorial debut, The Man With The Iron Fist and how he sought Quentin Tarantino’s blessing before jumping behind the camera.rza-news

Rza, who has already put in work as a film composer, by scoring several cult classics – Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai and Kill Bill – and actor – American Gangster –is now ready to direct his own film. But first he had to get approval from his friend, director extraordinaire Quentin Tarantino.

“He been my mentor for the last 6 years,” Rza told XXL. “[Let’s start from the beginning] the way this film came about, I wrote it and my buddy Eli Roth had got a chance to read it…he heard me talk about it first and he had got a big movie deal at the studio.”

“[So] he was like ‘Rza I wanna make your movie,’” he continued. “I sent the script over and he when he read it he was like ‘Yo, I definitely want to make this movie. But we gotta go back to the teacher to see if the teacher thinks you’re ready to make it.’ So basically before I could go tell Eli yes I had to go back to Quentin Tarantino and sit down like, ‘Look, do you think I’m ready to do my first film or do I need to wait another year or two.’ And he said ‘I think you’re ready yo.’ And so I was like ‘thank you master (laughs)’ I’m out there in the world ready to show my talent now.” Continue reading →

Wu Tang Preps Afro Samurai Soundtrack, Tour Dates

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afro_samurai2

via HipHopDX

Wu Music Group and the RZA are readying the release of Afro Samurai: The Resurrection. This is the soundtrack to the second season of Afro Samurai, the animated show on Spike TV. The show is home to Samuel L. Jackson, who is the voice of the star character and music for the program is entirely composed by RZA.The soundtrack, which will be released in conjunction with the DVD for the series, boasts an impressive roster of guests. Sly Stone, Kool G Rap, Rah Digga, and Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s son Boy Jones all make appearances.
RZA’s acting will once again be on display very soon. The rapper, who has been in films such as American Gangster, will be working on a major motion picture with Judd Apatow, who is responsible for big screen hits like Superbad and The 40 Year Old Virgin.

The film, which also stars Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen and Leslie Mann, is titled Funny People. It is said to be about a star comedian’s near death experience and fans can expect for the flick to hit screens in the Summer of 2009. Continue reading →

RZA To Co-Produce The Last Dragon Remake

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via HipHopDX

Reuters reports RZA [click to read] and Dallas Jackson are co-producing a remake of Berry Gordy’s cult classic martial arts film, The Last Dragon. Few details have emerged thus far, but Samuel L. Jackson has confirmed he will reprise the part of Sho’nuff the Shogun of Harlem. Dallas Jackson, whose previous film works include production on I, Robot and Norbit, is currently writing the script.

“I’m a huge fan of the original and look forward to bringing Sho’Nuff into the 21st century,” says Jackson.

The as-yet-untitled project will be included as part of Motown‘s 50th anniversary next year. After its release in 1985, the original Last Dragon grossed nearly $26 million. There is currently no word on if RZA will score the film as well. The Wu-Tang Clan’s primary beatsmith has previously scored Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill and also Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai. RZA and Samuel L. Jackson will also be working on the sequel to the Anime movie Afro Samurai, which is expected to be released in 2009.

UPDATE: RZA Says Wu-Tang Reunion Unlikely…Death of a Dynasty?

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All Digital

via ProHipHop

RZA’s in the midst of his Bobby Digital tour for the release of Digi Snax. He’s getting quite a bit of press attention and appears to be taking the opportunity to dig into past history quite freely.

RZA spoke recently on the unlikelihood of another Wu-Tang Clan album:

“I don’t know, really, to tell you the truth…Wu-Tang is forever, I think, and we’ll be making the same sounds, whether we make it together or separately. But as far as making an album together, I don’t know.”

“I wouldn’t want to get into a business relationship with the Wu-Tang Clan because it hurt my business, Universal Music’s business, the record business. It hurt a lot of people when they wouldn’t show up for music videos, for press. It (wastes) a lot of people’s money. A lot of people got fired — the guys don’t even know how many people got fired because of them.”
Continue reading →

The RZAview: An Experiment…Gone Wrong?

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via WIRED by way of Nahright

Below is a noble attempt by a reporter from WIRE magazine to turn his interview into a rhyme. Even though the end product is kind of wack, he gets an “E” for effort

RZAVIEW by MC Paul Barman

As prepared for delivery, WFMU, Thursday June 19, 2008.



Rza, pronounced riz’-uh, is a composer for film and TV.
He began as a rapper. His 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 good sport.



“I’m a composer,” Rza rose his voice. 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 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.


Continue reading →

Hip Hop’s Best Immortalized In a Game of Chess

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Hip Hop Chess Pieces

via Wooohah/Sandra Rose

I wish I was a dad so I could make my kids get me this for Father’s Day. And I don’t even play chess. This chess set was featured in the recent viral Greg Street/Jermaine Dupri video and features 32 hand crafted chess figurines of hip-hop’s greatest artists including Snoop, Jay-Z, Missy, Luda and of course Biggie and Tupac. Set will cost you $5 grand and can be ordered at Incidentals. RZA should be all over this. Check out more closeup pics after the jump.
Continue reading →

RZA To Supply Soundtrack For Afro Samaurai Video Game

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This has definitely been a busy week for RZA! In addition to announcing the creation of Wuchess.com and releasing a video for “The Heart Gently Weeps” sans the rest of the Wu (excluding GZA), news has also emerged that RZA will also be handling the soundtrack to the Afro Samaurai‘s video game release. The Samuel Jackson voiced game will be debuting on Xbox and Playstation 3 sometime this fall, stay tuned! Below is the trailer for the highly anticipated videogame version of the hit cartoon.

RZA Returns To Host Chess Competition

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The Mystery Of Chess Boxing

For the second year in a row Wu Tang’s Abbot The RZA will be headlining The 2nd Annual Hip Hop Chess Federation’s “Mind Over Matter” exhibition that will feature the masterminds in chess and martial arts. There will be grappling demonstrations and symposiums on how to utilize martial arts as a pathway to “non-violence.” RZA took honors home last year as the reigning champ.

This year he will be joined by Rakka of Dilated People, Casual of Hieroglyphics, Paris, Prince Ali and founder Adisa Banjoko. The theme is “Using chess, music and martial arts to promote unity, strategy and non-violence.” For our chess masterminds that want to display their skills the event will go down on the 12th of April in Menlo Park, Cali. CLICK HERE if you wanna get involved.

ODB’s Estate is Now Open For Business

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image from Illustrashaw.

Th estate of Russell Jones is now open  for business. A new site boasting new official merch with the likeness of ODB has surfaced, with t-shirts and sweatshirts in colorful pastel designs. This seems to be a company with no direct connect to any Wu-Tang ventures, which seem to be in turmoil after the soft-launch and much delayed video from the 8 Diagrams debacle that was released late last year. Buy your ODB merch here..

Wu-tang Live in NYC (Exclusive Backstage with Rae & Ghost)

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Journey with Street Knowledge as we bring you the Return of the Wu…Wu Tang Clan invades Hammerstein Ballroom on the New York City leg of their 8 Diagram Tour minus the Abbot(RZA). Get a front row invite to the hottest ticket in town as the Clan forms like Voltron and delivers some of their most classic hits from their 15+ year career. Then get a Backstage Pass as we interview Raekwon the Chef, Ghostface Killah and Inspectah Deck with guest appearances by Theodore Unit’s Trife, Ice Water’s Polite & Erykah Badu. Witness the Clansmen perform in rare form then hear them speak on the latest developments like the much anticipated Cuban Links 2 from Raekwon, another Ghostface album and being signed to Def Jam and Aftermath.

Wu Killa Bees Swarm on NYC

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The night of January 12th will forever go down in the annals of Hip Hop history as a packed NY crowd bore witness to the Return of the Wu.  The Hammerstein Ballroom played host to the New York leg of the 8 Diagrams Tour.  Minus the Abbot, the rest of the Clan arrived fashionably late to unleash an all-out assault on the restless concertgoers who were eagerly awaiting the Shaolin Swordsmen.  Greeted by the chants of “Wu Tang!” the Clansmen flooded the stage with a 50 man strong entourage and got right into the thick of things by running through some of their riotous classics like “Wu Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing Ta F’ Wit” and “Bring Da Ruckus.”  Method Man prowled the stage like a rabid pit-bull ready to attack, while Ghost floated from one end to another with the grace of a ghost.  His partner-in-rhyme Raekwon played his post sizing up the crowd, bottle of bubbly in hand while the man with the golden arms, U-God popped in and out to spit his bars.  Cappadonna traded verses with his brother Lounge Lo and Street Life played his part alongside Meth.  GZA and Inspectah Deck held their own on a stage that was filled to the brim with Wu affiliates.  Whereas a packed stage would normally distract from other artist’s stage show the Wu is notoriously known for their swelling numbers and they work the energy exchange from their entourage and the crowd into their routine.  Method brought his A-Game with him this particular night, leaving nothing behind!  When he wasn’t stage diving he was giving top notch renditions of “M-E-T-H-O-D Man” “RockWilder” “Bring Da Pain” and “What The BloodClot.”  On his last joint instead of diving he actually stood on-top of the crowd, towering like a GOD while he nonchalantly spit his bars.  Rae & Ghost dug into their bag of hits and showered the crowd with “Criminology” “Incarcerated Scarfaces” and “Fish.”  GZA didn’t disappoint either as he served up “Liquid Swords” and the classical “4th Chamber.”  Unflammable.  Continue reading →

Lyrical Swords Slashes the Competition

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YinSumi Press is proud to announce the release of Lyrical Swords Vol. 2: Westside Rebellion. This book is an amazing collection of essays and interviews with Hip Hop’s greatest stars. It features Rza, Nas, DJ QBert, Will.i.am, Balance, Del, Frontline, Gza, DJ Muggs, Smash Rockwell, Tragedy Khadafi, DJ Vlad, Slick Rick, Gangstarr, Paris, Run DMC, Jam Master Jay and many others! It also has powerful esays on Hip Hop and it’s relationship to chess, yoga, education, the prison industrial complex and various political issues facing the Hip Hop community. It is a MUST have for any serious student of Hip Hop today. Click HERE for the rest of this article.