RZA (also Prince Rakeem, Bobby Steels, the Abbott, the Rzarector, Ruler Zig-Zag-Zig-Allah, Bobby Digital b. Robert Diggs July 5, 1960s - exact year unknown) is the record producer and a leader in the hip hop crew the Wu-Tang Clan. He got his start in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a member of All in Together Now along with future Wu-Tang members GZA and Ol' Dirty Bastard. Once this acclaimed local band dissolved, then-Prince Rakeem started going by RZA (pronounced "the rizza") and joined the Wu-Tang Clan for their debut, . The album was incredibly successful, revolutionizing hip hop; one of the major reasons was RZA's sparse, lean production that made the sound distinctive. While continuing with the Wu-Tang Clan, RZA produced many of their solo albums, for Ghostface Killah, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard and Method Man. He also took part in the Gravediggaz, a short-term rap supergroup including Frukwan of Stetsasonic and Prince PaulOriginally a member of the self-proclaimed hip hop band Stetsasonic, Prince Paul a. Chest Rockwell, produced De La Soul's 1989 debut album Three Feet High and Rising''. After two more albums, he left them, putting together two solo projects: Psychoanalysi. In 19981998 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar), and was designated the International Year of the Ocean''. Events January January 1998 A massive ice storm, caused by El Nino, strikes New England, southern Ontario and Quebec, resulting, RZA released RZA as Bobby Digital in Stereo , his first solo effort, to mixed reviews. The album featured RZA rapping as his alter-ego Bobby Digital, which rapper Kool KeithAn original member of New York's new school pioneers Ultramagnetic MCs and sometime patient of Bellevue asylum, Kool Keith Thornton is also a somewhat controversial solo rapper known for pornographic and brutal yet also very abstract lyrics. Under the nam claimed was rather too heavily influenced by his own Dr. Octagon, and retaliated by creating a new alter-ego named Robbie Analog. After another Wu-Tang group album, RZA released another Bobby Digital album, 20012001 is a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar), and also: The International Year of the Volunteer The United Nations Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations Events January January 1 A black monolith measuring approximately nine feet tall ap's Digital Bullet , and in 20032003 is a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar), and also: The International Year of Freshwater The European Disability Year Summary Perhaps the defining global event of the year 2003 was the Invasion of Iraq launched by the U released Birth of a Prince , his first album released as The RZA. Birth Of A Prince spawned the hit single We Pop, and featured a mix of lighthearted Bobby Digital tracks and more lyrically complex RZA tracks. Both Digital Bullet and Birth Of A Prince received mixed reviews from the press and fans. In 2003 he also released an album of collaborations with international rap and R&B musicians (including France's Saļan Supa Crew and Germany's Xavier Naidoo ) entitled The World According to RZA , which was successful in many countries, despite not being sold in the USA.
More recently he has moved into composing film scores, earning praise for his hip-hop score to Jim Jarmusch's Ghost Dog - The Way of the Samurai, and appearing for a brief cameo in the film itself. He also created and produced the original music for the Quentin Tarantino film Kill Bill. RZA and GZA also made appearance in one segment of Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes opposite Bill Murray (or as RZA/GZA referred to him as "billmurray").
RZA has been promising for many years to release an album titled The Cure, which is said to be an epic containing collaborations with high-profile artists such as Stevie Wonder, and to be mostly in the wordy, Five Percent Nation-influenced style of Wu-Tang tracks such as Sunshower. There appeared to be light at the end of the tunnel in mid-2004 for Wu-Tang fans awaiting this release when RZA authorized the limited release of the mixtape Formula For The Cure which was intended to build anticipation for the finished article.
RZA
Rappers
United States musicians
