RZA: Raekwon Has List Of Demands For Wu-Tang Clan's "A Better Tomorrow"

by DANIELLE HARLING

RZA sends a message to his fellow Wu-Tang Clan members, says they should stop taking what the media reports for face value.

During an appearance on Hot 97, Wu-Tang Clan rapper RZA made it clear that lack of communication is one of the factors that has contributed to fellow Wu-Tang spitterRaekwon being absent in the creation of the group’s next studio album as well as the back-and-forth that has taken place between the two artists over the past few weeks.

When Hot 97 personality Ebro Darden spoke on clashing with his co-workers for the greater good, RZA revealed that it’s a similar situation between himself and Raekwon, only they aren’t able to interact on a daily or even weekly basis.

“We can call it arguing or we can call it building. But also sometimes—You guys may get a chance to come together every day or every week and communicate and work it out,” RZA said. “What we’re not doing though as brothers and as business brothers is [putting] time together. So, I gotta read about how he feels. He gotta read about how I feel…I try to make myself as available as I can. I will not deny I’m a busy man. I can’t deny that.”

RZA spoke further on his situation with Rae and informed listeners that an interview that was published by Rolling Stone may have created a misunderstanding between the two. He also added that he has spoken to Raekwon recently and received a list of demands they’re currently working on.

“I wanna clear one thing up on the Raekwon thing because the newest article in Rolling Stone, Raekwon says that I’m a bold-face liar, right? Which I’m far from,” RZA said. “I don’t need to lie. Okay, I’m a grown man…But what happened was I did an interview a few weeks ago that just came out later. And I guess when it came out he read it then, but I spoke to Raekwon about eight days ago. But the interview was probably 14 or 16 days ago. So, he says in his interview ‘RZA’s a liar. He spoke to me.’ No, when I did the interview brother I didn’t speak [to you]. I hadn’t spoken to him in six months before that. Until recently. Last time I saw that brother was on tour in the summer. So, we didn’t get a chance to chop up the ideas of what I’m trying to do.

“But then we did speak a few days ago,” he added. “About six, seven days ago. And he gave me his demands. Which we presented to the company. Like ‘Yo, this is his demands.’ If they can be reached they can be reached. It they can’t they can’t. And if they can’t then we gotta reevaluate what we’re gonna do. But it was no lying there. And the only thing I would say is that I would respect if—like when I read something that Rae say I don’t really take it as if he said it cause he didn’t say it to me. I don’t know what these writers write…So, I wanted to say to all our Wu brothers that we should never take this press and media on face value. We can easily reach out to each other and get the facts. Don’t read the facts. Hear it right from the source.”

During an interview with Grantland last year, RZA revealed that Raekwon had been the most inactivewhen it concerned putting in studio time for Wu-Tang Clan’s upcoming album, A Better Tomorrow. In the time since that interview, both RZA and Raekwon have remained vocal about the project and their contributions to it, or lack of.

Most recently, RZA cited creative differences as one possible reason why Raekwon hasn’t lent his assistance for A Better Tomorrow.

“Raekwon has not been participating with that particular record,” the rapper said during an interview with Vlad TV published this month. “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.”