RZA

Robert Fitzgerald Diggs (born July 5, 1969), better known by his stage name RZA, is an American rapper, actor, filmmaker, and record producer.

He is the de facto leader of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, having produced most albums for the group and its respective members.

He is a cousin of two other original Wu-Tang Clan members: GZA and Ol' Dirty Bastard.

He has also released solo albums under the alter-ego Bobby Digital, along with executive producing credits for side projects.

Diggs was born on July 5, 1969, in Brownsville, Brooklyn.

He was named after the Kennedy brothers Robert and John Fitzgerald, both of whom his mother greatly admired.

Diggs has called his given name an "honorable" name, given the legacy of both Robert and John.

Diggs has a younger brother, Terrance Hamlin, better known as the rapper 9th Prince, and an older brother named Mitchell “Divine” Diggs.

From ages three to seven, Diggs spent summers in North Carolina with his uncle, who encouraged him to read and study.

Diggs was introduced to hip hop music at the age of nine, and by eleven, was competing in rap battles.

Diggs first became interested in making his own hip-hop music in 1979 when a friend of his introduced him to Rapper's Delight by The Sugarhill Gang and in 1984, Diggs formed a rap group with his cousins Russell Jones, then known as The Specialist, and Gary Grice, then known as Allah Justice, called "Force of the Imperial Master", which they soon after renamed as "All in Together Now" in 1985.

Around this time Diggs formed the DMD Posse which consisted of RZA, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, U-God, Inspectah Deck, 4th Disciple and Method Man.

They named the group Wu-Tang Clan, after the 1983 kung fu film Shaolin and Wu Tang.

As part of the group's formation, each member chose a new nickname for themselves.

Diggs chose "RZA", based on a nickname he had been given by fans of his music, "Rza Rza Rakeem", which in turn was based on a song by All in Together Now, "Pza Pza Pumpin", as well as Diggs' graffiti tag, "Razor".

He created a backronym for "RZA", stating that the name stood for "Ruler, Zig-Zag-Zig, Allah" which further translated into "Ruler, Knowledge-Wisdom-Understanding, Allah" when using the Supreme Alphabet.

Diggs and Grice then signed with Jamaica Records for management purposes and Jamaica convinced Tommy Boy Records to sign Diggs as a solo artist in 1989 under the name Prince Rakeem.

He released the original Ooh I Love You Rakeem promotion version of the EP, but was forced to remix and rerelease the single when Tommy Boy failed to acquire the rights to the original sample.

The rereleased version underperformed commercially, and Diggs was subsequently dropped by Tommy Boy.

He relocated to Steubenville, Ohio, in 1990, to live with his mother.

He spent weekends in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where his father ran a convenience store in the city's Hill District.

Diggs got involved with petty crime and drug-dealing, and was charged with attempted murder while in Steubenville.

He was acquitted of the charge, giving him what he has called a "second chance".

After forming the Wu-Tang Clan, RZA was a founding member of the horrorcore group Gravediggaz, since 1992, where he went by the name The RZArector.

RZA has been heavily involved in filmmaking since the late 90s.

After a shoot-out in Ohio in 1992, he faced eight years in jail.

"When they said 'not guilty', my face stuck in a smile for three days," he recalled.

"I was just walking around town, thinking about my daughter and my wife. Right then I said goodbye to anything that would put me in that situation again. I was up on trial on an attempted murder charge. I was a motherfucking fool, with all that knowledge in my head and ending up there."

In 1992, Diggs formed a new group with his two cousins and five other childhood friends.

Wu-Tang Clan released its first single, "Protect Ya Neck", in December 1992.

Masta Killa then joined the group in 1993, becoming its ninth member.

They released their debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) in November 1993.

RZA operated as Wu-Tang Clan's de facto leader, producing the group's songs and deciding who would get placed on which tracks.

As each of the group's members embarked on solo careers, RZA continued to produce nearly everything Wu-Tang released during the period 1994–1996, which included both composing and arranging the instrumental tracks as well as overseeing and directing the creative process.

He has scored a number of films, most notably Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) and Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004).

He has written and directed in film and television, starting with his directorial debut, The Man with the Iron Fists, in 2012.

He has also acted in numerous films and TV series, including the films American Gangster and Brick Mansions, and the TV series Gang Related and Californication.

He is especially known for his music production, with a style that includes the use of soul samples and sparse beats that has proved highly influential.

The magazine The Source placed him on its list of the 20 greatest producers in the magazine's twenty-year history.

Vibe listed him among the top 8 greatest hip-hop producers of all time, and NME placed him on their list of the 50 Greatest Producers Ever.