During a recent interview with the Associated Press (AP), RZA spoke about Wu-Tang Clan’s upcoming album, explaining the differences between recording now and recording as younger men.
“When you’re a young man, you’re hustling and you’ve got 12 hours a day to dedicate to music,” RZA says in the interview. “It might be more than that. The energy that’s important is constantly pouring out. But when you’ve got to go seek for the energy, it becomes a little more difficult. Wu-Tang is forever. I’ll never take back that statement. But we haven’t recorded a lot of studio albums. This is the first album we’ve recorded in seven years, actually. And we can’t wait seven years for another album.”
The AP interviewer also writes that RZA “hopes to have [the new Wu-Tang Clan album] completed in 45 days or so after sending it to a few outside producers for final touches.”
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As previously reported, RZA says that Raekwon is a missing member on the new project. According to RZA, Raekwon has not contributed verses for the new album, which is reportedly titled A Better Tomorrow.
During the interview, RZA says he wouldn’t be the only person in charge of deciding whether to release a Wu album without Raekwon’s participation.
“That’s something that I would take a vote on with the rest of the crew,” RZA says. “I’m not a dictator about that. Raekwon is a valuable energy to the Wu-Tang, his voice, his lyrics, his approach. Rae is a master lyricist.”
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Earlier this month (November), RZA spoke about Raekwon’s absence from this project.
“One of the guys who showed up the most was Method Man,” RZA said in an interview with Grantland. “He showed the most tenacity, he was the most vocal, he showed up the most, and he got the most lyrics on the new album. He’s already recorded eight or nine songs. He’s been on it. You know, I give Cappadonna credit, he’s been really on it. U-God has been present. Masta Killa be representing. Inspectah Deck has been somewhat present. Ghost has been, you know, 20 percent present. And Raekwon hasn’t shown up at all. When you look at somebody like Masta Killa and U-God, they seem to have that original hunger to complete the legacy. I respect that everybody [is] busy with they own lives. I started with a plan that I thought would work. Now maybe my plan not working.”
Following the interview’s release, Raekwon addressed the situation via Twitter.
Yea i just read that rza article? Shit is funny to me.
— RAEKWON (@Raekwon) November 9, 2013
I love u rza, u know what it really is.
— RAEKWON (@Raekwon) November 9, 2013
RELATED: RZA Talks Wu-Tang Clan Members’ Contributions On Album, Raekwon Responds
