RZA Explains Why He Didn't Let Wu-Tang Clan Work With Outside Producers During Early Run

RZA famously developed a “five-year plan” at the beginning of the Wu-Tang Clan‘s run. Now, he has explained why his beats were such a big part of that vision.

During a recent interview with Torae on SiriusXM’s HipHopNation, the Abbot reflected on why he was not only the sole producer on the group’s 1993 debut album (with two co-productions from group members), but also did almost all the beats on the initial solo projects from Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, GZA and Raekwon.

“In the old days, I was very dominant,” RZA admitted. “Like, it’s all my beats. And that’s because in the old days, I didn’t feel that other producers were giving the Hip Hop type of beat that I thought was dope for Wu.”

You can see the snippet below.

Elsewhere in the conversation, RZA discussed how the crowd reaction to early Wu tracks was something he was very intentional about.

“If you pay attention to Hip Hop and you listen to Wu, one thing you may recognize is that a Wu joint will come on, and nobody won’t dance. Everybody [will] listen,” he said.

“That’s because I didn’t want you to dance. I want you to listen. And that means that while a lot of producers was producing for the club, and trying to make people dance and produce a radio hit, I was producing for Hip Hop.”

Last month, RZA shared a different little-known aspect of the group’s past with Hot 97’s Peter Rosenberg — how Method Man got his name.

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The producer revealed that Method Man only adopted the moniker after recording the song of the same name for the group’s debut album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).

RZA said: “Method Man was Shakwon until he made that song — Shakwon the Panty Raider. Then, after he made that song, everybody in the hood called him Method Man.”

Method Man, whose real name is Clifford Smith, adopted the persona after the song’s success.

“It was the concept because meth is weed. He’s the king of smoking weed. So he’s the method man. A year later, he’s Method Man,” RZA continued.

The Abbot also said it was a group decision for the name switch: “It was a conscious decision by us as a crew, but the streets did push it.”