He came and he chatted with members of the Friends of the Library, hip-hop fans and a broad variety of folks assembled at San Francisco Public Library’s Koret Auditorium.
For nearly two hours, RZA and Commonwealth Club Literary Director Barbara Lane traipsed through RZA’s past. Born Robert F. Diggs, he grew up in the New York projects and Staten Island, first smoking pot at age 9. After skipping school to watch kung fu movies in Times Square, he opted to become a musical monk, first as Prince Rakeem then as Abbot extraordinaire of the Wu-Tang Clan, founded with his cousins GZA and Ol’ Dirty Bastard and a crew of friends. Read more of the story here .
Fun!
All we ever got at my library was John Kerry.
Speaking of the RZA…
And speaking of the RZA… Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai .
If you haven’t seen this movie, you need to. The RZA’s soundtrack is top notch. He’s one of the few artists in hip-hop today I actually have some respect for if for no other reason than the intelligence that lies behind his flow. But more importantly this film is about how a book can shape your life.
Forest Whitaker’s character (Ghost Dog) comes from the streets. When he’s young, a mob boss stops a group of gang bangers from beating and perhaps killing him. To repay the debt, Ghost Dog becomes a hitman for the family. However, he does so in a very different way than you might think.
He reads. Actually he reads a lot. Ghost Dog is not some gang-bangin’, thug life hitman. He’s highly intelligent and reads constantly. Yet one book changed his life and that was the Hagakure , a book written in the 18th century by Yamamoto Tsunetomo. From it he adopts not only the samurai’s way of life, but also the philosophy of the samurai. Even his style of killing draws from the samurai tradition and he uses firearms like katanas.
Books change the lives of the characters in the movie, something I think we can all agree is possible.
Re:Speaking of the RZA…
I agree with Great Western Dragon — this is a movie well worth catching on DVD if you can find it. Excellent and subtle.
He’s also an author …
I ordered The Wu-Tang Manual for my library after seeing Jon Stewart interview The RZA on The Daily Show a few months ago. Not a terribly deep book, but it has its moments. “The same girl who took my virginity, she also taught me how to play chess.”
And add me to the list of people who recommend Ghost Dog. Excellent flick.
Wu Tang Name Generator
You can get your own Wu Tang Clan name here. It’s an old site, but still a chuckle.
Use it wisely, soldier,
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