The Rza Biography

Fast Facts

• Formed his first group, All in Together Now, in the early '90s with future Wu-Tang Clan members the Genius (aka the GZA) and Ol' Dirty Bastard
• Released his first solo EP, Ooh We Love You Rakeem, in 1991 under the name of Prince Rakeem
• Joined the seminal rap group Wu-Tang Clan, which released the platinum album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) in 1993
• RZA produced the record and exerted much control over the group's marketing and creative processes
• He went on to produce many of the members' solo releases as well
• Adopted the alias Rzarector in the mid-'90s when he joined the "horrorcore" group Gravediggaz with fellow rappers Prince Paul, Poetic and Frukwan
• Assumed another alias, Bobby Digital, for his first full-length solo LP, Bobby Digital in Stereo, which was released in 1998
• He went on to put out two more albums as Bobby Digital, Digital Bullet in 2001 and Digi Snacks in 2008
• Began composing music for movies with 1999's Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
• He also gained critical acclaim for his work on Kill Bill: Vol
• 1 and Kill Bill: Vol
• 2
• Is a huge fan of kung-fu movies, a passion that has infused much of his work
• (He claims that he was received by kung-fu masters after being banished from China's Tiananmen Square for displaying a billboard promoting himself
• He told Time magazine that he has fans of bootlegs of his music in remote areas of that country
• )