RZA

Robert F. Diggs, aka The RZA, is a man of many talents and passions and the epitome of a multifaceted artist. He hails as rapper, recording artist, creator, and founding member of the world-renowned Wu-Tang Clan, Grammy® award-winning music producer; BAFTA nominated film composer, author, actor, director, chess aficionado, philanthropist and entrepreneur.

As the proverbial “Abbot” of Wu-Tang Clan, RZA offers the world a glimpse into the intricacies of the Clan’s mystique, by deciphering and explaining some of the Clan’s lyrics in his first book, Wu-Tang Manual Volume 1.

His second book, Tao of Wu, is a journey of contemplation and excursions into highly philosophical and spiritual thoughts as RZA recounts his with diverse cultures.

His self-taught understanding of music has allowed RZA to create a sound that is uniquely his own. Integrating fragments of martial arts film into layered musical landscapes, he will enable the listener not only to hear but also see his music come to life. This skill is what makes him one of the most prominent and admired figures in music.

When creating music wasn’t enough self-expression, RZA began to gain knowledge in the medium of film, an interest that he developed during the process of post-production work studying under Quentin Tarantino during the filming of Kill Bill.

RZA's appreciation of film and how music drives the storyline is essential to the journey he creates within the medium of film. Creating soundtracks such as Fist Fight, Codename: The Dragon, Brick Mansion, Obscurity, Blade Trinity, and composing music for films such as Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, Afro Samurai, Meet The Blacks and The Man with the Iron Fist, his directorial debut.

His directorial work now includes the critically acclaimed Love Beats Rhymes released December 2017 and he is current film to be released 202, Cut Throat City also contains his fingerprint in musical construction that drives the stories.

RZA has built his feature film and television resume as an actor working alongside top- tier directors. Ridley Scott in "American Gangster,” Judd Apatow in “Funny People, ”Todd Phillip in “Due Date,” Paul Haggis in “The Next Three Days,” and Camille Delamarre in EuropaCorp’s “Brick Mansions,” with his most recent appearances in films such as; “The Dead Don’t Die", by his friend Jim Jarmusch. “Mr. Right” and “G.I. Joe: Retaliation”

RZA has appeared in numerous T.V. shows such as Snowfall and The Simpson’s Hip-Hip episode. The "Wu-Tang: An American Saga" being his first Executive Produce episodic show on HULU as showrunner and writer of the first three episodes with his writing partner Alex Tse.

With all of these facets to RZA, his first and undying passion is music, which he cultivated over the past twenty-five years. His artistic collaborations as a producer and artist have ranged across many genres of music, as RZA has worked with artists such as Bjork, James Blake, SZA, A$ A.P. Mob, and Wiz Khalifa, just to name a few.

RZA singlehandedly revolutionized the music industry, when in the early 90’s he signed the Wu-Tang Clan to Loud Records but allowed each of the individual group members to pursue solo deals with different record labels, thus effectively penetrating the music business with Wu-Tang releases while increasing the value of the legendary “W.”

Pushing the limits creatively and geographically with World According To RZA, he impressively showcases that Hip Hop is truly a global phenomenon. “There is no American Hip Hop - there is no European Hip Hop, Hip hop is universal. It is the sound and soul of a generation,” RZA states.

RZA is a risk-taker, and He would later make another ballsy and unprecedented business move by selling only one copy of the Once upon a time in Shaolin” album to the highest bidder for $2 million in August 2015.

RZA’s artistic collaboration with Paul Banks of Interpol lead to the creation of Banks & Steels, who released the album Anything but Words August 2016.

Robert F. Diggs, aka the RZA, has so many facets that he took his idea of fashion, veganism, hip-hop, and Chinese culture to create a clothing line www.36chambersalc.com that melds all those things together. Yet the one that he enjoys on the humanitarian side is his ability to give back to the community via his charity Children Literary Society (CLS) that has helped families in the Staten Island area.