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Hip Hop superproducer RZA has told how he was inspired working with Kanye West and compared his dedication to music to the training and discipline of a world champion fighter.
The rapper-turned-director, who is adding the finishing touches to his debut Kung Fu flick The Man with the Iron Fist, said he strives to retain the work ethic of a student and learn something new every day.
The Wu Tang Abbott worked with Kanye on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and RZA recalled that he took away a lesson in the level of consistency and dedication needed to go all out for No.1.
Talking about the recording experience with his ‘Wu Tang brothers’ – he said they would just show up when they felt like it and didn’t have the same energy he sees in Kanye.
He said: “Never stop being a student because you learn something everyday. You gotta have clear focus.
“Kanye would get up in the morning, have breakfast with a whole team of people, he’d go to the gym, they’d work out together, then they’d do a little charity work, and go to the studio.
“Kanye would be the first one there, and last one to leave. My Wu-Tang brothers, we didn’t have that kind of energy.
“We showed up whenever, and I was like, ‘Wow, this kind of focus is what is really needed.’ If you have a hunger to be No. 1, you have to work hard, put many hours into it.
“Boxers, they train hard to be No. 1; it’s the same thing with songwriting. When you write a song, you don’t know if it’s going to be a hit or not. You can’t think about if it’s going to be a hit, it just has to be the most free expression of yourself.”