The Rza on 5 songs that changed his life

The Rza has always been the architect behind the sound of the Wu-Tang Clan, from the razor sharp synths to the Shaolin samples, he created an entire universe for his brothers to play in. But he hasn't always had the chance to showcase his skills as an emcee. 

"Sometimes you hear me not as lyrical, like my other brothers is doing all the shining and I'm like popping in, you know what I mean?" he says over a recent Zoom call with CBC Music. He gives the example of Raekwon's classic 1995 solo debut, Only Built for Cuban Linx, produced entirely by Rza. "I mean, I got two verses on that album, you know what I mean? But I was in the studio every day."

Rza has been releasing solo albums under his alter ego Bobby Digital since 1998, as he's moved further away from the sound he first crafted all those years ago on Wu-Tang Clan's debut, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).

Now on his latest Bobby Digital project, Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater, we see him return to that classic Wu-Tang sound. This time around DJ Scratch handled all the production, tasked with recreating that classic Rza-type beat.

"With Scratch as the producer, it takes a weight off of me," he says. "And especially Scratch being so good at what he do and capturing that vibe, that sound that I may have walked away from." 

In fact, Rza submitted beats for consideration but Scratch passed on them. "He was like, nah, nah, let's just keep it right here," Rza said with a laugh. "It was really good because it gave me, first of all, the confidence that it's going to be in my chamber, in my vibe, and then it also gives me the freedom to emcee. … So in this particular case, it's like I get to, you know, show my lyrical swordplay."

To mark the release of his new album, we asked Rza to reflect on five songs that changed his life. From classic breakbeats like "Synthetic Substitution" and "Apache" to the first rap song he heard on the radio, Rza looks back on the music that shaped him in the video above.