This is Fresh Air, I'm Tanya Mosley.

We're wrapping up the 50th anniversary of hip-hop

by looking back at some of our most memorable interviews

with performers who hold a significant place in history.

Our first interview is with Rizza,

the chief composer and producer of the Wu-Tang Clan,

which has often been called one of the most revolutionary

rap groups of the mid-90s.

They turn the concept of a hip-hop crew inside out

by creating a collective of nine MCs

who also created their own music under different pseudonyms.

Rizza is also known as Prince Raqim, Bobby Digital,

the Rizerector, and Robert Diggs, which is his birth name.

He joined his cousins, Jizza the Genius,

an old dirty bastard in 1992 to form the Wu-Tang Clan.

Marshall Arts movies had a big influence on Rizza growing up.

The name Wu-Tang Clan was inspired by Kung Fu movies

and a mythical Marshall Sword technique.

Rizza also composed music for several films,

including Jim Jarmuch's Ghost Dog,

as well as Kill Bill in its sequel,

directed by Quentin Tarantino.

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