Emerging in the mid-1990s, New York City's Wu-Tang Clan proved to be one of the decade's most intense, wacky and essential rap groups. The nine-MC Clan was led by the RZA, who in recent years has gone on to release several solo albums and film scores (Jim Jarmusch's Ghost Dog and Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill). His latest project, a book released this month called The Tao of Wu, is half-memoir, half-spiritual guide. The rapper and entrepreneur, whose real name is Robert Diggs, talked to TIME about the history of hip-hop, cult films and his love of Broadway.
In The Tao of Wu, you lay out your very unique worldview. I
lost track of all the elements involved, which include traditional Islam,
Taoism, Buddhism, chess and numerology. If you had only a minute to tell
someone about your beliefs, what would you say?
First of all, the tao means the way. And there are many ways to get to a
place as long as you stay on the path. So if you want to travel the way of
Jesus, the way of the Prophet Muhammad, if you want to travel the way of
Buddha or Bodhi Dharma, if you
want to travel the way of a great chess master like Kasparov or Fisher any way you can reach self-enlightenment or self-worth works. Many great men
have left paths for us. In the end, we are all searching for the same thing.
We're just taking different routes to the same location.
You turned 40 this summer, and you've witnessed essentially the entire
history of hip-hop. What stands out?
When I first heard hip-hop, in 1976, there were maybe only 500 people
that could do it. Now you got 5 million people. First it was about partying
and fun. Then it went to a way to express oneself without having to
physically express it. Then after a while, hip-hop became more socially
conscious. Then it went to the celebrity [phase]. And now we're in a state
where it's unbalanced. A lot of artists don't necessarily
have the same substance as they once did. I'm 40, and I went through
hip-hop. I lived it. These kids just learned it. They learned it from TV.
Their neighborhoods aren't the same as our neighborhoods were. Their
problems aren't the same as our problems were. They have a black President!
The whole concept of hip-hop has changed. It's become a commodity.
One of the passages in your book talks about the anime movie
Dragon Ball Z and how it represents the journey of the black man in
America. And it struck me because in Inglourious Basterds, there's a
scene about how King Kong represents the plight of the black man in
America. Is there another movie or book or piece of art that you think
represents what African Americans have had to go through?
Tarantino and I agree on King Kong. I'll give you another movie:
John Carpenter's They Live. That's perfect for our times right now.
That's where we're at. I saw that movie, and it really made me think. I
started bugging out in the mall. I just felt like, wow, there was something
about that movie that was real. I got locked up like two hours [after watching it]; I
was drunk and acting crazy.
Who are some musicians that you listen to whom your fans probably
wouldn't expect?
You know who I love? I love the Bee Gees, and I love Barry Gibb and Andy
Gibb. I listen to them almost every day. The arrangements were so simple,
right? But they had a taste of complication about them. Grease? I
watch that film over and over. The hard-core part of me, people know. But the
corny side of me is what they wouldn't know. They wouldn't know that I would
go by myself to watch a movie like what's that one with John Travolta
where he dresses like a woman?
Hairspray?
Hairspray, yeah. Can you imagine me in a theater watching
Hairspray? But I really appreciate choreographed music.
Is there a certain scene in the movie you love?
Every musical performance in there was great. The only one I didn't like
was where John Travolta danced with Christopher Walken. That's the only
scene that was a little shaky, with the two guys dancing. But to me, every
scene, every dance, every lyric resonated. That and Dreamgirls those movies are modern masterpieces. A lot of people don't recognize the
power of Broadway. When I was first successful, about 1998, when I was
living very wealthy, I was always going to Broadway shows. From
Chicago to Rent to Ragtime.
Would you ever do a Broadway show?
Oh, yeah. I got one ready! That's one of my dreams, to get Wu-Tang on
Broadway. I have two entertainment dreams I have to live out. One is to play
Carnegie Hall with an orchestra and me on piano. The other is to have a
play based on Wu-Tang music. The 36 Chambers needs to be on
Broadway, baby!