RZA

Today in Hip-Hop History: Wu-Tang Clan Released Their Debut Single “Protect Ya Neck” 29 Years Ago

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On this day in 1993, the legendary Wu-Tang Clan began their reign as one of the most powerful and influential rap groups in history by releasing their debut single, “Protect Ya Neck.” With this track, Wu-Tang took the rap game by storm with a style unheard and an attitude unseen. “Protect Ya Neck” set a tone in Hip Hop that shifted the genre toward a more hardcore, rugged sound.

Originally recorded in a different order with a completely different beat, group member RZA took the liberty to reconstruct the song in post-production to the goliath that we all know and love. According to him, all he needed was the vocals of the group. The original beat used was just a placeholder used to get the verses. RZA’s unique style also incorporated the kung-fu film dialogue and fought scenes throughout the track. This unique style of production became a trend for Wu-Tang Clan.

To clarify any confusion about who is who on the song, the order of verses is as follows: Inspectah Deck, Raekwon, Method Man, U-God, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Ghostface Killah, RZA, & GZA. The single was first released independently through Wu-Tang Records and had “After the Laughter Comes Tears” as the B-side. Loud Records later re-released it with “Method Man” as the B-side. It sold 10,000 copies.

The post Today in Hip-Hop History: Wu-Tang Clan Released Their Debut Single “Protect Ya Neck” 29 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

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.

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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.”