RZA

Today in Hip-Hop History: Ol’ Dirty Bastard Released ‘Return Of The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version’ 27 Years Ago

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On this day in Hip-Hop history, Wu-Tang Clan’s Ol’ Dirty Bastard released his debut solo LP, Return of the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version. Released by Elektra Records, Return of the 36 Chambers was only the second solo LP by any Wu-Tang member. Largely produced by fellow Wu-Tang emcee RZA, the album had a mostly positive commercial reception.

Peaking at number seven on the Billboard 200 and number two on the Top R&B/Hip Hop chart, Return of the 36 Chambers sold 81,000 albums in its first week and was certified gold later that year. The album was also nominated for “Best Rap Album” at the 1996 Grammy Awards.

Coming off such a successful group debut, there were little critics could say to discount the record. The Source, Rolling Stone and Allmusic have all given the project four out of five stars. In 1998, The Source selected the album to be a part of its 100 Best Rap Albums list.

Following Return of the 36 chambers: The Dirty Version, ODB went on to release one more solo album, Nigga Please, before his untimely demise in 2004. Ol’ Dirty will forever be remembered as one of the most talented and unique emcees to ever grace the mic.

The post Today in Hip-Hop History: Ol’ Dirty Bastard Released ‘Return Of The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version’ 27 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

[PHOTOS] RZA & DJ Scratch Listening Party, “Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater”

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RZA & DJ Scratch Listening Party

Hip Hop legends, RZA and DJ Scratch released their joint full-length album, Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater produced by DJ Scratch via 36 Chambers ALC/MNRK Music Group.

The two rap icons’ collaborative album is inspired by their love for martial arts. The project serves as a love letter to the kung fu movies that ran on local television channels every Saturday when there were only five options.

RZA & DJ Scratch Listening Party

Just ahead of Friday’s release the duo hosted a star studded listening party filled with music industry guests, such as Rocnation’s Young Guru, actor, Flex Alexander and more.

 Cocktail waitresses dawned in Wu Tang branded martial arts uniforms served guests as DJ Carisma provided the tunes. 

“We named it that because we are flashing back to the days when we were young men coming from Brownsville Projects, then moving to Staten Island moving to Park Hill, Killa Hill,” RZA shared to the crowd on their inspiration for doing the album.

“It took us to a place far far far away, because we have never been to China. We have never been to Thailand…and we saw men protecting women, fighting oppression. We saw chivalry and one man taking down 20 men, breaking bricks, using num-chuks,” added RZA.

RZA & DJ Scratch Listening Party

DJ Scratch who produced the album solely, previously explained:

“It was an honor to produce and  executive produce an entire album for a legendary MC, who happens to be one of the greatest Hip Hop producers of all time. This album is like a movie. The first track gives you the synopsis of the movie. The beats & the videos we shot will take you back to when you couldn’t wait to turn to channel 5 every Saturday at 3 pm to watch Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater. I’m proud of this project and I can’t wait to perform these songs live.”

RZA & DJ Scratch Listening Party
RZA & DJ Scratch Listening Party
Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater
RZA & DJ Scratch Listening Party
RZA & DJ Scratch Listening Party
RZA & DJ Scratch Listening Party

Enjoy Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater on all DSPs.

Share your  thoughts with us on social media.

The post [PHOTOS] RZA & DJ Scratch Listening Party, “Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater” appeared first on The Source.

RZA Believes “Hip Hop Has Become One Sided” When Talking About Rise In Rap Violence and Deaths

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RZA recently spoke on the alarming rise in violence and deaths in hip hop in a new interview with the Financial Times.

“We’ve lost more hip-hop artists in the last few years than ever before,” the legendary rapper and producer said. “Growing up in the golden age of hip-hop, we lost maybe like a couple of artists, but not a dozen artists or more.”

RZA continued, saying that “Sometimes Hip Hop music glamorizes certain things. It glamorizes prison life, it glamorizes gangsters and thugs. I understand that, because I grew out of that. But it doesn’t give you the total tragedy of what that can end up being, nor are we being represented with a lot of alternatives. The point being made is there was more bounce, there was more substance. Hip Hop has become one-sided.”

Do you agree with RZA?

RZA is set to drop a collaborative project with DJ Scratch, entitled Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater on March 4th. You can preorder here.

The post RZA Believes “Hip Hop Has Become One Sided” When Talking About Rise In Rap Violence and Deaths appeared first on The Source.

RZA Files A $2 Million Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Against Wu-Tang Clan Bootleggers

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RZA has filed a lawsuit against multiple e-commerce stores that he claims illegally sold products with the Wu-Tang Clan logo on them. In documents obtained by Complex, the rapper is suing the alleged bootleggers for trademark infringement, counterfeiting, and false designation of origin. It’s also believed that the stores, who are seemingly running their business from China, used the rap group’s brand to convince buyers that they were selling authentic Wu-Tang Clan merchandise.

“Many defendants also deceive unknowing consumers by using the Wu-Tang Clan Trademarks without authorization within the content, text, and/or meta tags of their e-commerce stores to attract various search engines crawling the Internet looking for e-commerce stores relevant to consumer searches for Wu-Tang Clan products,” the documents read. “Other e-commerce stores operating under the Seller Aliases omit using the Wu-Tang Clan Trademarks in the item title to evade enforcement efforts while using strategic item titles and descriptions that will trigger their listings when consumers are searching for Wu-Tang Clan products.”

RZA wants to block the stores from selling the inauthentic merchandise in the future. He is seeking $2 million for the use of Wu-Tang trademarks, or all profits and damages for trademark infringement. He also wants to ask companies like Amazon, eBay, and AliExpress to stop promoting these products.

The lawsuit comes after RZA teamed up for Flatbush Zombies for a pair of tracks: “Quentin Tarantino” and “Plug Addicts.”

RZA And Flatbush Zombies Spin Cinematic Rhymes On ‘Quentin Tarantino’

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Last week, two New York fixtures came together at last on RZA and Flatbush Zombies’ “Plug Addicts.” The video took a page out of Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, with RZA’s beat on the track hearkening back to an important project in his career. “I’ve had my eyes on the Flatbush Zombies for sometime now,” RZA said in a statement last week. “Their style of dark hip-hop lyricism is reminiscent of my days in the Gravediggaz. This type of collaboration was overdue.”

Today, they’ve doubled-down with the as-promised track entitled “Quentin Tarantino” and it’s an overt homage to the iconic director. The track is a vintage RZA production that sounds like it could’ve come out of the Jackie Brown soundtrack. Flatbush Zombies Meechy Darko, Zombie Juice, and Erick “Arc” The Architect carry the torch on the mic on this one, with Arc’s flow packing in a slew of Tarantino films:

“They killin’ us all, but we endure, Reservoir Dog
I’m Mr. Orange, so since we sparrin’, I put my all in
Your whip be stallin’, unchained, unhandled, Django is dormant
They pat me down, nigga you don’t know? You better ask around
It’s been half an hour, blast the sound, where’s Jackie Brown?”

The video has nods to Kill Bill and heavy Pulp Fiction vibes, with the Zombies driving around in the same style of Chevy Nova that Jules and Vincent Vega drove in the film. There’s even a briefcase motif and RZA punctuating the hook asking about the age-old Tarantino film geek mystery: “What the f*ck’s up in that briefcase?”

Watch the video for “Quentin Tarantino” above.

RZA And Flatbush Zombies Link Up On The Tarantino-Inspired ‘Plug Addicts’ Video

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“I’ve had my eyes on the Flatbush Zombies for sometime now,” RZA said in a statement. And when the RZA speaks, people listen. It’s hard to believe that the Brooklyn crew and the Staten Island producer had never linked in the past, given how Flatbush Zombies’ penchant for the macabre seems so aligned with RZA’s cinematic aesthetic. But now here they are, two NYC entities born in different eras, at the start of a new collaborative arc.

In the new “Plug Addicts” clip, the “glorious dead” Meechy Darko, Zombie Juice, Erick Arc Elliott, and The RZA are all dressed like Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs as they take turns dropping a verse. The video is sinister to say the least, and even culminates with RZA’s slasher re-enactment of Michael Madsen’s Mr. Blonde torture scene from the movie. They all play off of each other fluidly on the mic and the production sounds eerily similar to a certain project from the past. “Their style of dark hip hop lyricism is reminiscent of my days in the Gravediggaz,” RZA remarked about the Zombies. “This type of collaboration was overdue,”.

This is the first of their two singles, with another called “Quentin Tarantino” due on December 17th. Flatbush Zombies’ Eric Arc Elliott added some words on the collab:

“In a lot of ways I saw RZA in myself, as a fellow producer/artist. We are making history together at this very moment. The music he’s made over the course of his career had a lot to do with why I wanted to make music in the first place, it’s beautiful to see these things come full circle.”

Watch the video for “Plug Addicts” above and be on the lookout for “Quentin Tarantino” next week.