Raekwon says that he agrees with RZA’s recent assessment that the two are not in accord regarding the Wu-Tang Clan’s forthcoming A Better Tomorrow album.
“We are at creative differences because at the end of the day, I want to win,” Raekwon says in an interview with Rolling Stone. “I’m used to being a winner. Being that I feel the team is being compromised by his so-called ‘logic’ of making music, I have a problem with that because I love my fans. I would never want to give my fans anything other than the best. So when we’re sitting there discussing the creative process of making a great album for the fans, I’m not going to never settle for less. I’m not the only one [in the group] that feels this way too.”
Raekwon says one example of their differences is the Wu-Tang Clan song “Keep Watch.”
“I hate it,” Raekwon says. “I hate it. I don’t hate shit, but I hate that fuckin’ record. It ain’t the gunpowder that my brothers are spitting. It’s the production. And I ain’t shitting on the producer because he’s one of our soldiers. But if it ain’t where it need to be… It’s 20 years later. We talkin ’bout a whole new generation is sitting here representin’ and making fiery shit and you telling me that we comin out with some mediocre shit? That ain’t part of our plan.”
AD LOADING...
Raekwon On Wu-Tang Clan: “I Am On Strike”
Given his problems, Raekwon says that he has to look at himself from a different perspective.
“It’s the same as being an athlete,” he says. “I don’t give a fuck if it’s Kobe Bryant or Kevin Durant. They will not touch the floor if their managers or lawyers are saying, ‘Listen, shit ain’t right.’ So therefore, I’m in a limbo situation. So yeah, you’re right. I am on strike. It ain’t the fact that I don’t want to be there. Because of course I want to be there. But if we’re there, we gotta do the best everything. We gotta work 10 times harder, because that’s what I’m signing in for. I’m not about listening to somebody that’s not an artist telling me what the fuck they think is hot.
“As far as the RZA, I respect him,” he continues. “I love him – the love ain’t gonna go anywhere – but you’re not in the music world no more. So to me, you need to take a backseat and respect the niggas that is playing the game. I’m always out in the field and finding out what’s going on with the new. Period.”
AD LOADING...
RZA said in an interview published this week that Raekwon was not involved in A Better Tomorrow.
“Raekwon has not been participating with that particular record,” RZA said. “I haven’t had a chance to really talk to him about why not. All I see is the press going back and forth. But I would say that maybe creatively we on different paths. I’m creatively different than I was in the ‘90s.”
In the Rolling Stone article, Raekwon disputes RZA’s statements.
“I don’t know why he said he didn’t speak to me, because he did speak to me,” Raekwon says. “We spoke about two weeks ago. It was me, him, his brother and business partner Devine and we talked about why I’m not there right now. They know where I’m at and at the end of the day, him saying he didn’t speak to me is a bold-faced lie.”
AD LOADING...
RELATED:RZA Explains Why Raekwon Isn’t Working On Wu-Tang Clan’s “A Better Tomorrow” Album
