ThaFormula.com - Now you've seen how Hip-Hop has changed since the first Wu albums, has that been the reason for you changing your production style over the years?

Rza - I don't know. Everything changes with time you know what I mean. As far as Hip-Hop, yeah it has definitely changed but at the same time it cycles you know what I mean?

ThaFormula.com - Have you ever seen so many wack producers and MC's as there is now in Hip-Hop? I mean it seems like the amount of wack artists now is at an all time high?

Rza - I know what you mean but on the real I felt that way about Hip-Hop even back then, that's why I came out the way I came out. At the same time I do respect the change and growth that's why I adapt to what's going on out of respect to other brothas livin' it to. I'm not the only one who's livin this. You always had your Father MC's, your Heavy D's and you always had your Biz Mark's.

ThaFormula.com - Do you hear it a lot from the industry how the Wu-Tang is basically done with?

Rza - Yeah, not a lot but I hear that maybe 25 percent, close to 35 percent of the people that just say "yo when are y'all niggaz gonna come pop another one for us?" I think about 25 percent of muthafuckas are on some bullshit, but 75 percent of niggas are like "yo whenever y'all niggaz are ready to pop it off, pop it off, I'm ready to pop it with you."

ThaFormula.com - It seems like the Ghost Dog soundtrack was the closest thing I heard in a few years that resembled your early Wu days production style…

Rza - Well I don't think you been listening close enough then in reality because...

ThaFormula.com - And this is not a diss at all. it's just that in the past few years of releases I was wondering why there was such a difference in production between the Ghost Dog soundtrack and the rest of your releases especially since a Wu album dropped not long after that?

Rza - Right, but at the same time with the Ghost Dog soundtrack that was a total freedom to do whatever I wanted. So when I have my freedom there is no boundaries on it. I think the album that came out after that was "The W" which is more really like breaking bread. That album was really a bread-breaking album with the industry niggaz in the game and shit. I didn't only break bread with like rappers that were on the album like Snoop and Busta and all them niggaz, but with other people in the game. At the same time though I'm so opposite of what a lot of these niggaz is, it's like it ain't worth doing that shit nah mean? But I do that though. I break bread with all my niggaz. I got respect for everybody in the game cause I know it's a struggle whether we agree with each other or not. So we all gotta respect that part of it. That's why I did that "World According to Rza" album. It was more like a barrier breaking album. It put the barriers down for a second and it went with what we all have in common.

ThaFormula.com - Was it your choice to not do production for many people outside of the Wu camp or was it something where not many people were askin? I mean I know you did a good amount of outside singles here and there but not like some of the producers today that do tracks for anybody…

Rza - Yeah because they don't have a foundation of their own so they got to build their own. We grew our own tree and so we had to nurture our own tree. I remember one nigga told me that he wanted a Rza beat, but he had to try hard to get one so he got one that sounded like it, fuck it (Laughs).

ThaFormula.com - No doubt cause a lot of people were bitin' your style at that time...

Rza - At this time also one way or another.

ThaFormula.com - Now you were the only one to ever produce a track on a Cypress Hill LP other then Muggs. I mean some others did remixes but you were the only one to get on an LP. I was wondering how you and Muggs built such a good connection?

Rza - What he told me was that yo I was the first one to actually inspire him in a way. So out of respect for whatever I sparked and shit, he let me rock one with him.

ThaFormula.com - …and the track that you and Gza did on Muggs' Soul Assassins LP?

Rza - That was showing respect back you know what I mean. After listening to his music for years and shit and listening to the level he had gotten to in his style and his choices of samples and shit. It made me wanna flip one of his joints.

ThaFormula.com - On "The W" LP you guys for the first time brought in special guests on your LP. Why did you never bring in a guest producer?

Rza - Well actually I invited some producers on "The W" and shit but conflicting time schedules or maybe uh I didn't reach out the them myself, I had label niggaz reach out for them. So it didn't come together and shit but the show went on and I did "The W" album. I took my time on the W album. It was the "Iron Flag" album I did in 45 days.

ThaFormula.com - Do you think it matters how much time a producer puts into an album or do you think it's all about talent and that time doesn't matter?

Rza - I don't think time really matters. In some cases depending on the vibe you're trying to get. Sometimes time kills you, so it goes both ways. Like for me I like to do my shit quick sometimes and get it over with and get it poppin'. But sometime I don't even start an album until the deadline (Laughs).

ThaFormula.com - Have your production styles changed much since the beginning or do you still have the same format that you have always used?

Rza - I got many different styles, that's really the bottom line. I got many styles and shit and I just use them as, uh like I play one with the keyboards…

ThaFormula.com - Were you using keyboards even in the early days?

Rza - Yeah I always had a keyboard. Like with "Protect Your Neck" and all that shit. Protect your neck was no sample basically. That was a keyboard beat. My first Wu release was a fuckin' keyboard beat. A fucking cheap ass keyboard.

ThaFormula.com - Do you think the second Wu Tang LP, "Wu-Tang Forever" was slept on even though it went platinum?

Rza - Nah I think it did exactly what I said it was gonna do. Niggaz caught it afterwards. Sometimes you get an album and you don't even understand it 'till later.

ThaFormula.com - You hooked up all the solo deals for the Wu when you guys first came and one of the things that I thought was dope was that you didn't drop your solo album first like another artist in your position would have done. Why was that?

Rza - I was the kind of nigga that wanted to see my other brothers shine. That's just how I was like, "yo yall niggaz go ahead."

ThaFormula.com - When you look back do you think it was a good decision or do you think that maybe you should have rocked your solo shit first?

Rza - It was a great decision yo cause look how many people benefited from that decision.

ThaFormula.com - Why have you waited so many years to drop a Rza album?

Rza - Well really some of the stuff I would say I just felt was like not it's time. Now I feel that it's time. Like this album that I'm doing right now, it's coming out October 7th, it's called "Birth of A Prince."

ThaFormula.com - So is this finally an actual Rza album and not Bobby Digital?

Rza - Yeah, it's a Rza album but it's also a prequel album to "The Cure" so you will see the route that I travel and shit. You will hear the production, lyrical content, idea and how I traveled and shit.

ThaFormula.com - The Quentin Tarantino movie, is that still going down?

Rza - Yeah, I got some music on there. I think I got at least about 40 minutes. I did the original score. That's not no rap though. It has a little bit of Hip-Hop in it. It could be Hip-Hop but it's basically a real musical soundtrack. Shit is off the hook yo, and you can smoke a bowl to it.

ThaFormula.com - What's up with Tekitha and when will we see her album?

Rza - We got the product basically finished. I think she's basically just talkin' to labels now. Most people were signed directly through my company but then I released everybody to kind of shop themselves and shit because it seemed like it was a big traffic jam and so all the solo acts got their own solo rights back and all I'm doing right now is really focusing on maybe some Rza albums, the Wu Tang Clan albums and some soundtracks.

ThaFormula.com - Did your label jump off like you would have hoped it would have?

Rza - Nah, but at the same time I think my label definitely came in handy for my life and shit and brought me a lot of knowledge.

ThaFormula.com - Now after the Wu album you produced the entire first Wu member solo albums by yourself, what was the main reason behind that changing since it seemed like it was working perfectly as you guys just kept growing with every album?

Rza - Well 2 reasons. One, some members probably got more like immune to the sound or the effect of the sound to where as they wanted to try different sounds. I think that happens to every artist. I realize that as an artist and shit sometimes you wanna just change the shit up. I think that the artist himself grows into another ear for what he wants. I think sometimes an artist doesn't even know what makes them dope and some artists don't realize that until later. What made some artists in their prime have a good prime year but then when the electronic world came and they tried to switch to electronic how many bands fell from the electronic world. They was better when they had their little 3 piece band and they was soulful, then they went more electronic and they lost it. It's the same thing with Hip-Hop.

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