Rza - Biography

Last Editor: kamalmce				Rza Biography -   Name : Rza Profession : Singer

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The RZA (pronounced Rizza, born Robert Diggs, July 5, 1969 in Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York, USA) is an American producer, rapper and the de facto leader of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. He was also a member of the group Gravediggaz. As well as producing almost all of the Wu-Tang's albums, he has also produced many of their solo and affiliate projects, as well as releasing a succession of solo albums (two under the alter-ego Bobby Digital) and composing several film scores. After an impoverished childhood in a family of 11 children, RZA began his career in hip hop in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a member of the trio Force Of The Imperial Master (which subsequently became known as the All in Together Now Crew after they had a successful underground single of that name) with future Wu-Tang members, and his cousins, GZA (then known as the Genius) and Ol' Dirty Bastard (then known, respectively, as Ason Unique, the Specialist, and the Professor). Once this acclaimed local band dissolved, both he & GZA attempted to kick start solo careers. With the help of GZA's friend Melquan (then owner of Jamaica Records) they both secured single deals with album options at successful labels, GZA going to Cold Chillin and RZA to Tommy Boy. GZA ultimately released the Words from the Genius album, but RZA's stint at Tommy Boy ended with only the EP "Ooh I Love You Rakeem" to show for it when he went to jail soon after its release. GZA's album flopped, and the two cousins became determined to conquer the hip hop industry on their own terms. From this determination came the Wu-Tang Clan, formed with Ol' Dirty Bastard as well as with 6 others. With the Clan, Prince Rakeem started going by the name RZA (pronounced "the rizza" and derived from the word "Razor", his graffiti tag). After the singles Protect Ya Neck and Method Man, both driven by raucous RZA-produced beats, made the group into underground sensations, the group released their debut LP Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers. The album eventually went platinum, and was heralded by hip-hop fans as a classic. Enter the Wu-Tang revolutionized hip hop and helped bring the East Coast back into the spotlight after Dr. Dre's G-funk had come to dominate the rap scene, in large part thanks to RZA's sparse, lean, gritty and very distinctive production style. As each of the group's members embarked on solo careers, RZA continued to produce nearly everything Wu-Tang related during the period 1994-1997, producing in both the "hip hop producer" sense (composing and arranging the instrumental tracks) and in the wider "music producer" sense (overseeing and directing the creative process as well as devising song concepts and structure). Indeed, RZA's rule over the Clan at this time is described by himself in 2004's Wu-Tang Manual book as "like a dictatorship". His sound was to develop from the raw, minimalist sounds of Method Man's Tical and Ol' Dirty Bastard's Return to the 36 Chambers to more cinematic and expansive soundscapes driven by string sections or thick layers of synthesizer on Ghostface Killah's Ironman, GZA's Liquid Swords and Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. All of the group's albums during the period from 1994 to 1996 are highly regarded by critics and hip hop enthusiasts. During this time, RZA also took part in the Gravediggaz, an off-and-on rap supergroup including Frukwan of Stetsasonic, Poetic The Grym Reaper of The Brothers Grym, and Prince Paul who released the critically acclaimed album 6 Feet Deep in 1994. As part of the Gravediggaz, he went by the name RZArecta. The success of Wu-Tang Forever, which hit number one on the charts after selling 600,000 in its first week, also marked the end of RZA's "five year plan"; at the group's inception, he promised the group if he had total dictatorial control of the Wu-Tang empire, it would conquer the hip hop world within five years. After Forever's success, RZA ceased to oversee all aspects of Wu-Tang product as he had previously, delegating much of his existing role to associates such as Oli "Power" Grant and his brother Mitchell "Divine" Diggs, and giving each Clan member more individual control. This move was designed to enable the Wu-Tang empire to expand further and further into the fabric of the hip hop industry, and in accordance with this an extremely large amount of Wu-Tang music was to be released over the next two years. This had already to some extent begun on Wu-Tang Forever, which for the first time featured RZA delegating a small number of beatmaking duties to other producers in the Wu-Tang camp, such as his proteges True Master and 4th Disciple (known as the Wu-Elements) and Inspectah Deck. During the 1997-2000 period RZA ceased to produce every Wu-Tang solo album as he had done previously, but continued to contribute usually one or two beats on average to each record as well as receiving an Executive Producer credit. He also released his first solo effort titled RZA as Bobby Digital in Stereo in 1998 (see 1998 in music). This was an experimental concept album featuring him rapping as his hedonistic, fun-loving alter-ego Bobby Digital and showcasing a unique keyboard-driven sound RZA called "digital orchestra", but it received mixed reviews. He also reformed with the Gravediggaz for the album The Pick, The Sickle & The Shovel, a calmer and more mature album than their horrorcore-oriented debut. After helming another Wu-Tang group album titled The W (his production on which received much praise) and providing narration to a Clan greatest hits album titled RZA Hits, RZA released another Bobby Digital album, 2001's Digital Bullet. Digital Bullet was an attempt to develop Bobby Digital further, and the album followed a loose story arc which saw the character becoming more "enlightened" and more disillusioned with hedonism as the album went on.