Earlier this month, rapper, actor, director, composer, and co-founder of the Wu-Tang Clan, RZA, hosted a concert at the Los Angeles Theatre showcasing his orchestral album A Ballet Through Mud, a poignant coming-of-age story that delves into the complexities of love the bonds of friendship, and personal growth.
Presented by America’s largest listener-supported radio station for classical music, Classical California (KUSC), in partnership with Platoon and 36 Chambers, the performance was conducted by Oliver Zeffman and performed by USC Thornton School of Music students and alumni, along with a ballet performance by Sorzano Dance Work.
RZA also appeared on the radio station’s flagship series, Classical Californians, which spotlights individuals across the state who are deeply connected to classical music. He took to the airwaves and played selections of A Ballet Through Mud, along with traditional symphonies and film music repertoire that influenced his production techniques.
Classical California is America’s largest listener-supported public media organization for classical music, reaching 1.4 million monthly listeners worldwide. We are dedicated to making everyday life more harmonious. Classical California enriches lives and communities through our innovative on-air and in-person music experiences, making it accessible, entertaining, and relevant for audiences of all ages. Our broadcasts reach across California through ten (10) radio transmitters anchored in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
On this day in 1996, Ghostface Killah’s released highly anticipated debut album Ironman was released on the Loud/RCA imprint. With exclusive in-house Wu production from True Master and the RZA coupled with Raekwon The Chef appearing on almost every song on the album, making this album one of the best concept albums completed by the nine-man conglomerate to date.
The 16-track album featured several hits that bolstered the Wu-Tang Clan’s status as the best rap collective in the game, including the haunting street saga “Motherless Child”, “All That I Got Is You” featuring Mary J. Blige and the late Popa Wu and “Winter Warz”, which appeared on the Don’t Be A Menace To South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood soundtrack.
This album proceeded Ghost’s abstract lyrical content as witnessed on 2000’s Supreme Clientele LP, but its storytelling premise keeps listeners glued to the cadence and rhyme style of Mr. Coles equally as much as they are attracted to RZA’s production.
Ironman finally reached platinum status in 2004, which still proves to be Ghost’s most successful album of his career. The WTC would follow up with albums that attempt to mirror the conceptual preciseness of Ironman, however, none of the Clan’s solo projects can be compared in its totality to that of Tony Starks.
RZA is one of the most respected producers in hip hop history. He served as the architect for the entire Wu-Tang Clan movement, and has worked on classic projects in different mediums. He possesses a lot of insight, so when he speaks on a topic, fans generally listen closely. Such was the case on October 23. RZA spoke to Complex about the Drake and Kendrick Lamar battle, and he broke down the differences between them. He also pinpointed the ways in which he felt like Drake’s people let him down.
RZA claimed that Kendrick Lamar was a “natural lyricist,” whereas Drake was a “trained lyricist.” Both men possess talent, as far as he’s concerned, but Lamar’s natural abilities ultimately gave him the edge. As least, as far as the Wu-Tang founder was concerned. “You could train a fighter and he could be good,” he noted. “Then you got those natural fighters.” RZA conceded that Drake has “bars forever,” but felt K. Dot’s bars had more potency. Especially when it came to to diss records both men released earlier in the year. RZA then turned his attention toward the OVO camp, and stated that Drake should have been told to avoid a direct confrontation.
“The battle, bar for bar,” he explained. “Was something that was just not good advice on Drake’s camp.” RZA seems to agree with most hip hop fans that Lamar won the battle, but he made a point of giving the 6 God his flowers. “Drake is a powerful figure in our culture,” he stated. “He helped the culture when the culture needed it. He expanded it with his melodies… he rose a generation, too. You can’t take that away from him.” RZA concluded his Complex discussion by noting that Drake and Kendrick Lamar are still alive and very much active, which is what matters most.
The Wu-Tang founder told the outlet that Tupac and Biggie’s deaths added a weight to rap battles that previously hadn’t existed. RZA was present throughout the battle, and even produced records on Big’s final album. He notes that he gained wisdom and clarity over time, and put old grudges behind him. He hopes Drake and Kendrick Lamar ultimately do the same. “Hopefully, as they mature more,” RZA added. “They can go ‘Wow that sh*t was crazy.’”
Rihanna says that her children, RZA and Riot, are teaching her as much as she’s teaching them. She discussed the kids as well as her experiences with motherhood during an interview with Access Hollywood‘s Scott Evans on Thursday at the launch of a new line for her Savage X Fenty brand.
“It’s fun, I literally, I enjoy it so much,” Rihanna said. “I am just looking at them and living through them and I’m amazed by every new discovery of theirs, even their boundaries. They’re teaching me how to be their mom as much as I’m teaching them how to be in this world and guide them as best as I can.”
Rihanna Attends Savage X Fenty Celebration Of Lavish Lace Debut
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 10: Rihanna attends the Savage X Fenty Celebration of Lavish Lace Debut at Nordstrom Century City on October 10, 2024, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Savage X Fenty)
From there, Rihanna discussed how her eldest child, RZA, has handled becoming a big brother. “The second that his baby brother cries, he’s there,” she said. “He’s running down, he’s actually crying too. He’s worried. He loves him! It’s just hard to share toys and pacifiers.” She and ASAP Rocky welcomed RZA back in May 2022 as their first child. The two had first confirmed they were dating during an interview in 2021.
Rihanna Reflects On Motherhood
Check out Rihanna’s full comments from this week’s Savage X Fenty event below. The interview comes as she continues to prepare for her long-awaited ninth studio album. Additionally, Rocky is gearing up for the release of his new album, Don’t Be Dumb, which was originally slated for release in August. He cited sample clearances and leaks as the reason for the delay. Savage X Fenty is now available at Nordstrom stores and the company’s website. Be on the lookout for further updates on Rihanna on HotNewHipHop.
Rihanna jokingly compared being the mother of a boy to an Olympic sport in an adorable post featuring her son, RZA, on social media, on Friday. In the video, the 2-year-old acrobatically makes his way out of his playpen. Rihanna played the theme song for Mission Impossible in the background of the video. “Being a boy mom is an Olympic sport,” she wrote in the caption.
The comments section was flooded with laughing emojis from fans. “The way he walked by like nothing happened,” one user wrote. Another posted: “Rza meant he was getting that cup! Determined! Love it!”
PARIS, FRANCE – JUNE 21: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY – For Non-Editorial use please seek approval from Fashion House) Rihanna and Asap Rocky attend the A$AP Rocky X American Sabotage by AWGE Menswear Spring/Summer 2025 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on June 21, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
Speaking with Interview magazine, earlier this year, Rihanna confirmed that she’d be open to having more kids with ASAP Rocky. “I don’t know what god wants, but I would go for more than two. I would try for my girl. But of course, if it’s another boy, it’s another boy,” she told the outlet. Regardless, Rihanna has also spoken about how much she enjoys being a boy mom. “It makes me feel really cool to be a boy mom,” she told E! News’ Francesca Amiker at a Fenty Beauty event in April. “Like I get to be as casual and busted as I want to, but it also forces me to embrace the epic things about being a woman, and a female and all my femininity. I embrace it so much more now, like I wear pink. I go between wearing jerseys and like, ‘I’m wearing a dress today! I’m the only one in this house who can do that right now.’”
In other news, Rocky is currently gearing up to drop his fourth studio album, Don’t Be Dumb, which he delayed from an August release, last month. Check out the cute clip Rihanna shared of her and Rocky’s son, RZA, below. Be on the lookout for further updates on the couple on HotNewHipHop.
Azealia Banks is verbally attacking SZAonce more, and this may be her most scathing set of comments yet. According to HipHopDX, the New York singer and rapper appears to be going after the R&B phenom for no reason whatsoever over a past RZA team-up. As per usual, she took to X (Twitter) and kicked things off by saying, “Sza is really such an ugly person for having rza on her album after asking me to be on it, Me politely and honestly declining, after news of him trying to pimp me out to Russell Crowe broke. That was really a huge slap in the face and truest sign of a b**** who will always be ugly”.
Then, after attacking her character, Banks insulted SZA’s looks. “Sis can get all the procedures in the world. She’ll always be that insecure fat Muslim girl from New Jersey with the big chin and the gay husband”. Then, she kicked dirt in the SOS creator’s face by placing a crude “curse” on her. “Cursed with a lifetime supply of fresh out the bootyhole d**k in her mouth for eternity… Lmfao b**** ya p**sy HARAM FOH”. This all appears to be in relation to Ctrl, as SZA did have the Wu-Tang affiliate assist her in rolling out the 2017 project.
Sza is really such an ugly person for having rza on her album after asking me to be on it, Me politely and honestly declining, after news of him trying to pimp me out to Russell Crowe broke. That was really a huge slap in the face and truest sign of a bitch who will always be…
But this appears to have cut even deeper for Banks, as she references the Russell Crowe incident in her first tweet. If you remember back in 2016, Azealia was on pace to sign a record deal with RZA. However, that all came to a crashing end after the two MC’s attended a party at the actor’s home. Banks claimed to be physically removed and that she was also verbally and physically attacked by Crowe. RZA defended his friend, saying that Banks was “erratic” and “obnoxious” and that she was instigating things first. Since then, she has had beef with both males and SZA seems to be collateral in a sense with this rant.
More Tweets From Banks
Cursed with a lifetime supply of fresh out the bootyhole dick in her mouth for eternity. pic.twitter.com/qarX1EvAq7
What are your thoughts on Azealia Banks unleashing on SZA for her past work with RZA? Do you think this is all stemming from the rapper’s past issues with the R&B star? Could you see the latter responding, or even RZA? Whose side are you taking? We would like to hear what you have to say, so leave your thoughts in the comments. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the latest news surrounding Azealia Banks, SZA, and RZA. Finally, stay with us for everything else going on in the music world.
However, even after the body of work was purchased by digital art company PleasrDAO, Shkreli seemed to still have access to the recording as heard in his past livestreams.
Now, a judge has supposedly ruled in PleasrDAO’s favor. In order to retain its one-of-one nature and enforce punishment over Shkreli’s violation of the original purchase agreement terms and forfeiture order, he has been prohibited from “possessing, using, disseminating, or selling any interest in the album.”
In court documents, this also applied to “its data and files or the contents of the Album, or in any way causing further damage to Plaintiff respecting the album.”
Shkreli has until Friday, August 30 to “sequester and turn over all of his copies, in any form.” The court has also required Shkreli to file an affidavit disclosing the “information regarding alleged copies of ‘Once Upon a Time In Shaolin,’ people he might’ve given them to, and any money he might’ve made from distributing or playing the album.” But he has until September 30 to submit that filing with the courts.
Wu-Tang is for the children and now apparently law-abiding citizens.
“The Abbott” of the Wu Tang Clan held back tears during the premiere the new Ol’ Dirty Bastard documentary A Tale of Two Dirtys.
RZA was slated to participate in a Q&A panel with the documentary’s producers and members of Dirty’s family in L.A. last week, but declined to sit on the panel at the last minute after becoming overwhelmed with emotion following the screening.
Video footage shows the moment that RZA was called to the stage, but took a second to tell the people on stage that he would not be on the panel because he has “too many emotions running through my head.”
“I’m not gonna stay for the event; I got too many emotions running through my head,” he said. “I just want to thank you guys for a great — it’s my first time seeing the documentary for the first time completed so I got a lot in my head. But good job.”
See the emotional moment on stage when RZA declines sitting on the panel HERE
The documentary was directed by Sam and Jason Pollard and premiered on A&E yesterday (August 25).
Legendary artist and Wu-Tang Clan visionary RZA has announced the release of the title track of his highly anticipated classical composition, A Ballet Through Mud. This original orchestration, produced in collaboration with Platoon and 36 Chambers, is set to become available on all streaming platforms on August 30th, marking a significant departure from RZA’s storied hip-hop roots into the realm of classical music.
“A Ballet Through Mud” is not just an album; it’s a deeply personal coming-of-age story that traverses the complexities of love, friendship, and personal growth. Originally performed by the Colorado Symphony, the composition weaves an emotional tapestry that resonates with both the highs and lows of life’s journey.
RZA found inspiration for this project during the global pandemic. While in lockdown, he stumbled upon old lyrical notebooks he had filled as a teenager. These early musings, brimming with raw emotion and youthful insight, sparked the creation of what would become his first classical album. The project grew into a ballet, which was brought to life on stage in 2023.
The album features characters named after Greek musical scales, echoing RZA’s own journey from the project housing of Staten Island to the refined concert halls where this work now resides. The narrative, filled with themes of love, loss, and exploration, is also infused with RZA’s deep philosophical reflections, drawing heavily from his journey into Chan Buddhism. The result is a piece that oscillates between idealism and orchestration while remaining grounded in its universal appeal.
“I have been composing my whole life, although I didn’t know initially that was what I was doing,” RZA shared. “The inspiration for ‘A Ballet Through Mud’ comes from my earliest creative output as a teenager, but its themes are universal—love, exploration, and adventure. I hope people use it to score their own lives, to transform a drive to the grocery store or sharing a meal with loved ones into something magical, to be inspired and let their imaginations take them into a different chamber, if only for a moment.”
The album’s tracklist is a journey in itself:
Aeolian Beauty
Clear Sky After Storm
A Ballet Through Mud
Winds From The West
Divine Intervention
Freedom of Movement
Soft Footsteps
Good Night 1st Movement
The Night Dances When You Least Expect It
Moving Meditation
The Lotus Arrives
Each track invites the listener to explore different emotional landscapes, while the title track, “A Ballet Through Mud,”encapsulates the essence of the album’s narrative—finding beauty and growth even in the most challenging of circumstances.
The composition, produced and composed by RZA, was performed by the Colorado Symphony under the baton of conductor Christopher Dragon. The album was mixed and mastered by Pietro Rossi, with additional orchestration provided by Ming-Hsueh Lin, Scott O’Neil, Tan Onwimon, and Joseph Colmenero. The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus contributed the Dolby Atmos Mix, ensuring a rich, immersive listening experience. The original performance was choreographed by Yusha-Marie Sorzano, with intimacy direction by Sarah Lozoff.
This project marks RZA’s first collaboration with Platoon, and it is a testament to his versatility as an artist. The full album, A Ballet Through Mud, will be officially available to stream on August 30th via Platoon.
As RZA continues to break boundaries and redefine genres, A Ballet Through Mud stands as a powerful testament to his creative evolution—a piece that invites listeners to embark on their own journey through life’s trials and triumphs, guided by the transformative power of music.
Once Upon a Time In Shaolin is a rare piece of hip-hop history. The album was recorded over the course of six years, and features every living member of the Wu-Tang Clan. Crucially, only one copy of the album exists. It was sold for a staggering $2 million in 2015, with the caveat that the album cannot be played in public until 2103. Cool in concept, but the Once Upon a Time In Shaolin story has been marred by issues with legal loop holes and the guy who bought it. The album is now considered a polarizing release by Wu-Tang, instead of a seminal one. Method Man shed light on this transformation during a recent interview with Vanity Fair.
Method Man admitted the album is a sore point for the group. He also revealed that he was never fully onboard with the concept. “I thought it was some circus spectacle,” he explained to the outlet. “I never really spoke to RZA about it. It’s an uncomfortable subject to most of the guys, so we don’t really discuss it too much.” The reason for the discomfort stems from the way in which is was made. According Method Man, the group, besides RZA, was not let in on the rollout plan. As far as they were concerned, they were making a standard Wu-Tang album for release. “The process of the thing being made was never told to us,” he said. “We were never told what it was. We were recording and being paid to do a certain amount of records.”
Method Man Felt Like He Was Lied To During Recording
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – APRIL 28: Method Man (C) of Wu-Tang Clan performs on Day One of 2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival at Fair Grounds Race Course on April 28, 2023 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images)
The disconnect between the plan, and the recording process, is what has stayed with Method Man. He doesn’t look fondly upon Once Upon a Time In Shaolin as a result. “[Cilvaringz] put them altogether into a compilation of Wu-Tang songs and marketed it as a Wu-Tang album,” he stated. “A single copy of a Wu-Tang album. We all had a problem with it because that’s not how it was described to us.” This isn’t the first time Method Man has spoken out against the single copy rollout. He called out Cilvaringz and RZA during a June interview with XXL. He went as far as to call the 88-year commercial ban against the album “stupid.”
“F*ck that album,” Method Man asserted. “When music can’t be music and y’all turning it into something else, f*ck that. Give it to the people.” The veteran rapper urged RZA to give Once Upon a Time In Shaolin for free, so Wu-Tang fans can enjoy it in their lifetime. RZA did not take the bait. The Wu-Tang leader told Method Man that the commercial ban was necessary to maintain the “integrity” of the album. He wanted to ensure it wasn’t seem as a gimmick. Ironically, it has become just that.
