Blade 3 Trinity Composer: A detailed Look

The RZA, aka the Abbot, aka Bobby Digital. Man of many aliases and more talents. He is the heart, soul, and brains behind rap’s only true supergoup, the Wu-Tang Clan. In 1993 RZA single-handedly changed the face of hip-hop with the explosive release of "Enter The Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers." His raw and dirty beats influenced virtually every producer that followed in his roaring wake. His talents were requested by everyone from Snoop Doggy Dogg to U2 to Bjork. He also created a precedent for the industry, signing the group to deal that allowed each member to pursue solo deals on other labels. Solo efforts by Method Man, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Raekwon, GZA, and Ghostface all went gold, if not platinum. The group’s second album, Wu-Tang Forever, sold over 600,000 copies in its first week. RZA’s business savvy was heralded on the front page of a New York Times’ Business section, as he has diversified his business interests: a clothing line, a studio, a film production company to name a few. Not only his music sets the RZA apart from other producers, it is also his social, spiritual and political outlook that informs his music. A student of life, RZA is an auto-didactic: self-taught in science, philosophy, music, martial arts, and humanity. He can quote the Koran, the Bible, and Sun Tzu.

In 1999 RZA made history as he became the first rapper to perform at the 1500 year old Shaolin Temple in China. On the same trip he made a pilgrimage to the actual Wu-Tang Mountain in Hebei Province where he had a meeting with the other Abbot of Wu-Tang who presented him with some special music from the Temple. The next year director Jim Jarmusch reached out to RZA to score Ghost Dog, a modern samurai film. It was a good call. While many other hip-hop producers may have simply thrown samples and breakbeats at the picture, RZA did his due diligence. The result was something only he could have achieved: an ethereal soundscape that subtly wove together the ancient Eastern with the modern Western warrior sensibility. To RZA fans, the Ghost Dog score was no surprise because RZA’s music is filmic in its nature. You don’t just hear a Wu-Tang song, you see it. So it’s natural that RZA, as a movie buff and a fanatic of martial arts flicks in particular, would turn his eye to directing. Starting with music videos, such as "Tragedy," a mini kung fu movie shot in Hong Kong, he moved on to directing 3 films entitled "Bobby Digital: Bobby Did It," "Bobby Digital: Digital Bullet,"—both centered around his alter-ego, and "Domestic Violence," a moving look at the phenomenon. Finally, in 2002 he produced a full length kung fu movie called Z Chronicles bringing in talent from Taiwan and Hong Kong to add to its authenticity. In 2003 RZA scored Kill BillVol.1 for Quentin Tarantino, for which he got a BAFTA nomination. In just the first 6 months of 2004 RZA participated in the scoring of Barbershop 2, Soul Plane, and Kill Bill Volume 2. RZA has also made appearances in Ghost Dog, Scary Movie 3, Coffee and Cigarettes, as well as performing twice on "The Chappelle Show."

No matter where he focuses his energy, RZA comes up the master, using his breadth of knowledge and experience to create unique oeuvres. And the world awaits his next creative venture with baited breath.