With the new album, what should we expect from you that we haven’t seen before?
I don’t know if you can expect anything that you never seen before but new songs man. I do what I do. I don’t do anything different. I mean I keep the same formula, subject matter I spread it out and I just stay lyrical man. Short and brief.
Since you were working on Product at the same time as 8 Diagrams do you feel that the quality of your album may have suffered?
I wouldn’t sy lower quality. Everything is different. When I work with the Clan it’s one thing. When I work GZA it’s something else because I have the time and the space and it’s all me. So I have a lot more space to do what I need to do. I spread it out. And it’s harder work, I have to put a lot more down but I do what I need to do.
2 sold out shows of just you, tonight and tomorrow. You are a part of Wu, but what is GZA’s role in the world of Hip Hop?
I mean I’m just so involved in Hip Hop and I love it. That’s it. I’ve been doing it for years. It feels good to have sold out shows. I sold out shows 12, 13 years ago and it still feels good. It show that you’re relevant. I’m still relevant. On radio I may not be as relevant. The outside world may not see I but those inside see it.
Are you going for the underground approach or do you want the commercial side as well?
Wu-Tang has been commercialized. We all a part of that. Wu-Tang went mainstream and so did each individual. I mean I always been underground cause I’m laid back. I only am who I am. I can only be who I am. I’m not trying to make club songs. This crowd here they ain’t into club songs. They into thought process. They into lyrics that make you thought provoked. They into subject matter. So I’m never gonna club motherfucker. If I happen to make a song like ‘Knock, Knock’ and it happens to be something they wanna hear in a club then they hear it. But I only gotta go with my own heart. See, with this industry you gotta be yourself. Yu can’t change. Whatever formula you have just do what you do. I can’t format my shit to what other n—-s are doing. I don’t give a fuck about it.
So with being yourself, do you feel that the new RZA sound will benefit Wu-Tang?
I think anything we do benefits us. All depends on how we promote it and what we do. I like 8 Diagrams. Everything we do it benefit us. Hat’s the aim and that’s the goal. I think people’s been waiting for years and they wanna hear some new shit. That’s all. But they still wanna hear old shit too.