RZA

Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin

Rick Rubin

Society & Culture, Arts, Philosophy

4.6 • 908 Ratings

🗓️ 15 January 2025

⏱️ 152 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

RZA is a rapper, producer, composer, actor, director, and the creative mastermind behind the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. Since the group’s classic 1993 debut, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), he has produced the most albums for the group and its respective members, pioneering a style rooted in stark booming beats, vintage soul samples, and gritty narratives. Beyond Wu-Tang, RZA launched the horrorcore group Gravediggaz and released music as his alter ego, Bobby Digital. His artistic range extends to scoring films like Dallas Jackson’s Thriller, acting in projects like G.I. Joe: Retaliation, and collaborating with artists across genres, including Paul Banks of Interpol in the duo Banks & Steelz. In August 2024, RZA, alongside Colorado Symphony and Christopher Dragon, released his first classical album, A Ballet Through Mud, continuing to redefine boundaries in music and storytelling. ------ Thank you to the sponsors that fuel our podcast and our team: Athletic Nicotine https://www.athleticnicotine.com/tetra Use code 'TETRA' ------ Squarespace https://squarespace.com/tetra Use code 'TETRA' ------ Vivo Barefoot http://vivobarefoot.com/tetra Use code 'TETRA25' ------ LMNT Electrolytes https://drinklmnt.com/tetra Use code 'TETRA' ------ Sign up to receive Tetragrammaton Transmissions https://www.tetragrammaton.com/join-newsletter

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Tetragrammaton
0:02.0	Tetragrammaton
0:06.0	When I finished man with the Iron Fest, my next film was supposed to be one spoon of chocolate.
0:29.6	And I remember going to the university and pitching some ideas.
0:33.6	And the one that Adam Fulgson thought was cool was one spoon of chocolate.
0:38.3	And so I was like, okay, I'll start writing it and got stuck.
0:42.3	And it wasn't until I was on a tour with the New York State of Mine with Nause,
0:49.3	that I started writing it again.
0:53.3	Then I was like, I'm gonna do it.
0:55.9	Did something trigger it?
0:57.3	What do you think allowed it to happen then
0:59.4	where it didn't happen before?
1:01.8	I think it was, you know, you go back through your old lyrics
1:04.5	and your old things.
1:05.5	I think it was like, because I don't know if it's a time,
1:08.8	because it's actually pretty dark film.
1:11.6	It sounds simple, but it has some strong racial connotations in it as well.
1:15.6	And I don't really feel that type of, I don't feel that personally.
1:19.6	I'm kind of more naive to it than consensus to it.
1:23.6	But my writing and then my ideas of my characters is very prevalent.
1:30.3	How do you think?
1:32.3	I think as an artist, I've always been able to put descriptions of life in art, whether I agreed or disagreed with it.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Rick Rubin, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Rick Rubin and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.