Wu-Tang Clan Archives - Nardwuar the Human Serviette Radio Show!

Nardwuar vs. Wu-Tang Clan

Nardwuar — Mon, 01 Aug 2016 00:35:10 +0000

Nardwuar The Human Serviette vs Wu-Tang Clan

Nardwuar: Who are you?

RZA: I’m me, yo. The zig zag zane, born the zig zag zig a law, the RZA, aka Bobby Steels, Bobby Digital, you know what I’m saying? RFD, know what I mean, the scientist, the Rzarector, the Abbott, you know what I mean? They say there is 99 names of a law, right, I’ve got 16 so far baby, I’m working on it.

Nardwuar: Wu-Tang Clan, live in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. And who is beside you? Can you introduce, who do we have in the room right now, RZA?

RZA: Well, we’ve got a lot of people in the room, you know what I mean? Can I curse? Alright, cool. I like this. Okay the first of all, come on.

Ghostface Killah: You know me. You know me. You know me.

Nardwuar: Who are you?

Ghostface: Tony Stark. Ghostface, baby. We in the building.

Nardwuar: And who else is in the room right now?

RZA: If you really want to get ninja, if you want to get ninja, if you go right here to the left corner over there, you got Raekwon the Chef.

Nardwuar: Hello, Raekwon the Chef!

Raekwon the Chef: Don’t you believe it.

Nardwuar: RZA, Wu-Tang Clan, I have a gift for you here, a special poster. What can you tell the people about this poster right here? It a movie you have sampled from, Shaolin versus…

[Nardwuar hands Shaolin vs Lama poster]

RZA: Hold on, hold on. Oh Shaolin vs the Lama, oh this is one of my favourite kung-fu flicks right here .We find beauty in things that has been neglected, we find beauty in things, like, like, like Buddha said. He said, “a lotus, it grows on mud,” but yet it’s the symbol of their whole religion. So even in mud, beauty can grow. So we find things in the most unpredictable…that’s why it’s witty, unpredictable, it’s talent here. But we will find something, and we will make something better out of it. Maybe only, maybe only 15,000 people in the whole world seen this movie, but now 1 million knows about it, you know what I’m saying?

Nardwuar: Now when you watched these movies years ago you saw them in theatres. How dirty were the theatres, were they ex-porno theatres?

RZA: No, they became pornos. They were so dirty that they couldn’t, they went down to porno theatres, you know what I’m saying? [laughter; laughs] Right?

Nardwuar: What about Channel 5, you could watch them on Channel 5, right?

RZA: Yeah, you know what I’m sayin’? This guy knows a lot, man. Hey Nard, you’re starting, you know what I mean, you’re starting to surprise me. [laughs] You’re starting to surprise me, kid. [laughter] You know what I mean?

Nardwuar: RZA, I wanted to ask you, going way back, Prince Rakeem, what can you tell the people about Prince Rakeem. [Nardwuar hands RZA a Prince Rakeem LP]

RZA: Wah, wah, wah. Lemme…[laughs]

Nardwuar: Ghost, what can you tell the people about your Prince Rakeem LP?

Ghostface: Yo, you’re genius, you’re genius. That’s my brother, yo.

RZA: Let me just talk about this, I can finally talk about this, I never got a chance to talk about this. This is back when, I think, MC Hammer and the Fresh Prince was, like the biggest, and Young MC were the biggest rappers, and so the labels were trying to make everybody be a certain way. So they decided to draw a character, thinking that it would be cool. It kind of looked more like a West Coast, what’s my man, Humpty Hump and them. Yeah.

Nardwuar: The Digital Underground.

RZA: Yeah, The Digital Underground, that’s my man, I like Shock G and them. But it’s kind of, that seems more the inspiration, but if you look on the back of this thing, I want to show you all something, if you zoom in here on the back of the record, what it says there – “Wu-Tang Mix.” I was already ready, they just wasn’t ready. [Laughter] They wasn’t ready, son. Then we also had the DMD, yes another crew, Dick ‘Em Down, talk about the Dick ‘Em Down, you come around, we dick ‘em down. Ladies, they ain’t getting away from us, you know what I mean? Back then, like I said, we was young, supporting our brothers, and we also wanted to be seen. So that is how it is. But now, I duck cameras, you know what I mean? They had to ask me 15 times to do this interview with you.

Nardwuar: Thank you.

RZA: I got emails, texts all the way up to the last day like you’re gonna do it, you’re gonna do it? I’m like, fuck it, I’m going to do it, you know what I mean?

Nardwuar: And also I had heard Raekwon, I heard that you believe that Wu Tan Clan could have invented Facebook and Twitter, is that true?

Raekwon: Where do you get them slacks from, B?

Nardwuar: Tiger of London.

Raekwon: [Pointing to Nardwuar’s pants] This snake got the illest fit on in the world, B.

RZA: Hey Nard, come back, come back, come back, come back, come back. Let me tell you something, let me tell you something. Wanna hear something? Ready, son? Music inspires, and over the years I’ve met doctors, screenwriters, scientists, I mean, even you know, you know, billionaires, you know, have told me Wu-Tang has inspired them to do certain things, you know? One guy told me that the internet itself, the modem, was invented listening to Wu-Tang.

Nardwuar: Now there’s a guy out there that calls you the “Poon Tang Clan.”

RZA: I don’t know where you are coming from.

Nardwuar: And you have sampled him. In fact, he has a new album out. Blowfly calls you the “Poon Tang Clan. “

[Nardwuar shows RZA Blowfly record]

RZA: Well now Blowfly, there’s a funny dude right there now.

Nardwuar: And you sampled him on ‘Uzi’.

RZA: I sampled…listen. First of all, Blowfly has been around since we was kids, he’s a dude like Richard Prior, he make dirty jokes, Blowfly Zodiac, that was my joint. We did sample him on one of the songs before. But no, Blowfly is a great musician. He also wrote songs like Cleanup Woman from Betty Wright, you know him. You know I know that.

Nardwuar: Clarence Reid.

RZA: Clarence. Blowfly is Clarence Reid, for those who don’t know. Check it.

Nardwuar: Ceral Killa sampled the Rub.

RZA: Exactly. The point I’m making though is, he said the Poon Tang Clan. How come he always thinks about pussy?

Nardwuar: He calls you the “Poon Tang Clan,” but he actually also said ODB was incredible because ODB sampled him for 36 Chambers, Return to the 36 Chambers.

RZA: Yeah, sampled him. He parodied him. What happened was, like I said, we used to listen to this dude’s record, we used to listen to his records and say his shit, then Dirty did a version of that, he was like [sings] ‘the first time ever you sucked my…’ That was someone else. [laughter]

Nardwuar: What’s cool though is Blowfly has said ODB sent him a cheque for $6,000 just because he loved him so much. Have you ever heard of stuff like that happening? Do you know if ODB actually did that?

RZA: Let me tell you something. You want to talk history? You know we sampled a song, there’s a song called Different Strokes, when the song plays, when it starts going off on a 45, like the last fade-out when you can hardly hear anything, I sampled that one part. I had to normalize it over and over on my sampler just to get that loop, aiyt? And that became one of the top hip hop songs in history, sampled by Syl Johnson. And you know what I did? Syl Johnson was not being respected at the time by the music industry and not, you know, getting what he was getting. And we sent him a cheque between $60-100k, put him back on his feet. We told him we were going to use more of his music, I loved what he does. He was underrated in his time, and he got back on his feet after some energy like that, you know what I mean? And think about Sonny Carson, you know what I mean, The Education of Sonny Carson, a movie you had never heard of until Ghostface used it on the Ironman album, you know what I mean? We went and built a studio for his family at the Brooklyn Restoration, where many kids was able to come and make music. You know, Wu-Tang always give back. We don’t get out there and talk about it, actually I shouldn’t be talking about it anyway, we’re not talking about it for merit, but it’s no surprise for Ol’ Dirty to send six grand to Blowfly. Wu-Tang, we are giving back so much because we gained much, you know what I mean? At the same time, you got some people who don’t even deserve nothing trying to come take from us, you know?

Ghostface: You Ready? We gotta go, baby.

RZA: Yeah, that’s it. That’s it.

Nardwuar: And lastly, I have another poster, another gift here for you, Wu-Tang Clan, from Run Run Shaw’s greatest movie from me, Nardwuar the Human Serviette, to you. His greatest movie that he ever produced.

RZA: This is his greatest movie you got?

Nardwuar:: Run Run Shaw?

RZA: Run Run Shaw, his greatest movie was Eight Diagram Pole Fighter.

[Nardwuar hands RZA a Dirty Ho movie poster]

Nardwuar: This is his greatest movie, from me to you, a gift. The name of the movie?

RZA: Dirty Ho right here. Dirty Ho. Yeah.

Nardwuar: What can you tell the people about Dirty Ho, I was curious.

RZA: Well first of all, Dirty Ho, classic movie, got Gordon Liu, you know what I mean, Wong Yue, it’s a very, very, directed by Lau Kar-leung. And we also had a homie that was down with us named Dirty Ho who hanged with ODB. ODB loved that movie, Dirty Ho, he gave that name, Dirty Ho to his man.

Nardwuar: Well thanks so much Wu-Tang Clan, really appreciate your time. Anything else you want to add to the people out there at all?

RZA: Man! [laughs] Yo, thank you. Oh yeah, anyway, my name is RZA, you’re with the Wu-Tang Clan. Also you can check us out…just check us out, man.

Nardwuar: Well thanks very much Wu-Tang Clan, keep on rocking in the free world, and Doot Doola Doot Doo…

RZA: Doot Doo!

The post Nardwuar vs. Wu-Tang Clan appeared first on Nardwuar the Human Serviette Radio Show!.

Nardwuar vs. Ghostface Killah

Nardwuar — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 23:42:56 +0000

Nardwuar: Who are you?
Ghostface Killah: Ghostface Killah Wu-Tang clan.

Nardwuar: Ghostface, welcome to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Ghostface Killah: Thank you so much, it’s an honour.

Nardwuar: Ghostface, you have a song called “Apollo Kids”.
Ghostface Killah: Yes I do, it’s an album.

Nardwuar: And in it you sample Solomon Burke.
Ghostface Killah: Solomon, which song was that one?

Nardwuar: “Apollo Kids” has actually got a sample of Solomon Burke in it.
Ghostface Killah: Right, hold on, I’ve got an album called Apollo Kids and I have a song on Supreme Clientele called “Apollo Kids”.

Nardwuar: The song!
Ghostface Killah: The song.

Nardwuar: The song!
Ghostface Killah: Alright, so that’s on Supreme Clientelle.

Nardwuar: Yes, and I thought wow you must dig Solomon Burke, so I have for you a Solomon Burke poster, a gift for you.
[Nardwuar gives poster]
Ghostface Killah: Ohh, check that out! Yeah. Only thing missing is my face up there now, you know?

Nardwuar: What can you tell the people about you and Solomon Burke and the soul?
Ghostface Killah: I mean I had soul since I was a young’un, and these people right here, it’s like, you know, Wilson Pickett and them, I grew up like basically not singing in that era, but you know listening to that music, like that, you know what I mean, and it just moved on, moved on up though, but it’s like as far as soul, it’s like, it’s in me. You know what I mean, my mother, my father had it, when I was young they used to play all the soul music, you know what I mean, inside the living room, used to kick me out of the living room and tell me to get in the room cos I was too young to be around the grown folks while they was, you know, getting their little drink on, listening to all the stuff like that, so as they closed the door on me it just been in me. You know what I mean, I grew with that, you what I mean, so that’s how come when old soul music, when we take our samples from it, I’d rather deal with samples than non samples, because samples to me felt like that music back in the days felt like something that you could feel. You know what I mean, for some reason, you know I mean, like yo, you could feel whatever they was… you know what I mean, whatever they felt, or however they was doing like you could feel it more than the music, you could feel like it came more from the heart than just from here. [points to head]

Nardwuar: Ghostface, now you can put that on your wall, that’s a gift for you.
Ghostface Killah: Thank you so much, I appreciate that.

Nardwuar: Now speaking of growing up and stuff, what can you tell the people about these Staten Island MCs, the Force MDs?
[Nardwuar shows LP]
Ghostface Killah: Legends! These is legends! These is legends! Before they was the Force MDs, they was the Force MCs. And they was battling, like crews, like Cold Crush, you know what I mean, groups that was around back then. You know what I mean, this is when, we was on, they had tapes before DVDs, CDs and all the stuff like that, when they was really going to the big park, plugging in your equipment inside the park. You know what I mean, with the speakers and the DJ, with the mixer, the echo chamber, you know what I mean, the strobe lights and all the stuff like that, really doing it in the park when they were the Force MCs. And they always knew how to sing, you know what I mean, a lot of them. So they started, you know, I guess when they become, after that era, you know what I mean, when they started singing, I think they changed to the Force MDs because you still couldn’t be the Force MCs when you’re singing, you know, because you know, now you’re singing now, you know what I mean?

Nardwuar: I heard they got signed after singing on the Staten Island Ferry. Did you ever sing on the Staten Island ferry with Wu-Tang?
Ghostface Killah: Never did that. You know what I mean, never did that. They had to do it, you know what I mean, but they paved the way for us on Staten Island, you know what I mean, and I had them on a few of my records, you know what I’m saying, “The Soul Controller” and “Datona 500.” It’s like, yo, these guys right here, you know what I mean, they’ve got tears, love is a house, you know what I mean, they would have been, took New Edition’s spot in Krush Groove, when that movie came out, you know what I mean, but you know, you know how the politics be and stuff like that, so they didn’t really get the whatcha-ma-call-it, but, whoever’s from back then they know about the Force MDs.

Nardwuar: What about the UMCs, Ghostface Killah, another Staten Island crew?
[Nardwuar shows another LP]
Ghostface Killah: um, these guys, this is my man Haas, right here, I grew up with him, we lived in the same building, you know what I mean, but, yeah, when I was out of state, you know what I mean, doing my thing, they came through and it was like wow, you know what I mean, and my man, I was happy for him because this is one of my guys, I really played football with, you know what I mean, touch football, tag football, whatever, stick ball and all that stuff like that, but to see them go ahead and make it, he was the one who produced “Apollo Kids” for me. You know what I mean, he produced Apollo Kids for me off Supreme Clientele so, you know, it’s all love, it’s all good.

Nardwuar: Just curious there Ghostface, do you ever still ever eat instant Ramen with Louis Rich luncheon meat?
Ghostface Killah: Louis Rich? Na, see that was in my book. You know what I mean, I just said you could probably put it in there like that, you know what I mean, but they took it too far and had the shit looking real disgusting and shit, you know what I mean, but I’m just saying though, yeah, we all eat Roman noodles, Ramen noodles, whatever the case may be when you are on a bus, you can just go ahead and crunch it up and get some hot water and you know, do what they do, you know what I mean, or even if you are at home, you know what I mean, so it’s not, we still got hood characteristics in us, the hood, you know what I mean, it’s never going nowhere, you know what I mean, that’s what it is. Food is food, you know, noodles is noodles, you know what I mean, so we do what we do.

Nardwuar: And I’m taking away now for some tiramisu. Thank you for doing this interview because you are missing your tiramisu right now, aren’t you?
Ghostface Killah: Yeah, I mean it’s all good, I just wanted to taste it, that was my main thing like that, I just wanted to taste it to see how, it looked that good, so I just took a little swipe of it, you know what I mean, and took it down real quick.

Nardwuar: Ghostface Killah, I have a quote for you. “Under my wing like Sanford and …
Ghostface Killah: Son.”

Nardwuar: Sanford and Son.
[Nardwuar shows LP]
Ghostface Killah: Oh, ok, yeah, this is legendary. You know what I mean, I like a lot of old black TV shows and stuff like that. It was kinda fun watching growing up with Soul Train and Carwash and you know, What’s Happening, and things in that nature, you know what I mean and stuff like that. So yeah, this is classic right here, you know what I mean, Masta Killer did a track from the beginning it’s doon, doon, doon, doon, RZA took the sample and they came and had a record all dirty and I was wondering and I asked him why you didn’t put me on it because this is me, and I belong on that. Yeah Sanford and Son, you know what I mean, rest in peace the Redd Foxx, legendary, all legendary, you know what I mean, so it’s good.

Nardwuar: Chubb Rock, as well, Mr Chubb Rock, he’s under appreciated isn’t he, Chubb Rock?
[Nardwuar shows LP]
Ghostface Killah: Yeah, Chubb Rock is a lyricist, he’s a lyricist, you know what I mean, he’s definitely under appreciated, you know what I mean, he knew how to put his words together, he had big words too, he was one of those, you know what I mean, and his voice was like ‘da, da, da, da, da’, and now they Biggy. Back, back then his voice was, he had that nice voice but Chubb Rock, you know what I mean, definitely is, you know what I mean, under rated, and he just got busy, he got busy, he just got busy, yo, he was a lyricist through, this is all my history man. You’re pulling out all my history, this is all my history, you know what I mean, so of course I always take from them because that’s all I know, like I take the sample, that’s all I know, so I take the sample, I do what I do, and it comes out how it comes out, b. All respect, there’s all respect. All respect.

Nardwuar: Ghostface Killah, did you ever meet Sylvia Robinson who founded Sugar Hill Records?
Ghostface Killah: No I never, I never, I never met her, but I use her song on the Pretty Toney Album, I think it was the pillow talk song, I used that, you know what I mean, I was talking over the song and stuff like that before ‘take me back’ came in, that was on the Pretty Toney Album. So when you hear that, you know that’s a, you know, rest in peace Silvia, you know what I mean, Miss Robinson, you know what I mean.

Nardwuar: Starting Sugar Hill, that was really cool I thought.
Ghostface Killah: Very intelligent and smart.

Nardwuar: And doing Pillow Talk, her own tunes are incredible, eh?
Ghostface Killah: Exactly, you know what I mean. She was a business lady, she just owned a lot of people’s material and everything, a lot, a lot of samples, they gotta go through her and her family to get the samples cleared.

Nardwuar: Ghostface, I have another gift for you – the Three The Hard Way soundtrack.
[Nardwuar gives LP]
Ghostface Killah: Yeah, man, these is like, they are incredible man, you know what I mean, like I told you, this is my life, this is what I grew up off of, and …

Nardwuar: When did you first get into Kung Fu movies? Like how did you get into Kung Fu movies? How?
Ghostface Killah: It was like, by like seven, eight, nine years old, you know what I mean. Bruce Lee was the first one, you know what I mean, and going to the centre when I was little, going to watch the karate movies and Enter the Dragon , and this and that and the third, and it just kicked over, and Jim Kelly was in there, you know what I mean, featured in one of them and that was it, and that’s what put me on to Jim Kelly.

Nardwuar: Was there going to be a connection to Wu Massacre, weren’t you going to call Wu Massacre three the hard way or something?
Ghostface Killah: Yeah, but, yeah we were going to call it three the hard way, me Rae and Meth, you know what I mean, but you know, Meth didn’t want the name like that so we changed the name.

Nardwuar: You were on the Arsenio Hall Show, that was incredible, the Arsenio Hall Show.
Ghostface Killah: Yes. Arsenio Hall, yes, that was when he was leaving out, you know what I mean, it was all good, it was like we was new in the game so it was something to be on. Something to be on, you know what I mean and he was the shit at that time too and you know what I mean, we just went up there, we smashed it and we had to say what we had to say man, and that was it.

Nardwuar: What do you remember about his rapping, Chunky A, Arsenio doing the rapping as Chunky A?
[Nardwuar shows LP]
Ghostface Killah: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I forgot about this shit right here man, you know.

Nardwuar: I thought that was pretty cool, he had great guests and then he does the rapping too, Chunky A.
Ghostface Killah: Yeah, yeah, I forgot about that, yeah. But you know, it’s all TV man, it’s all entertainment man, everything is good, you know what I mean, and that’s what it is man, these are just parts of our life man, that we go through.

Nardwuar: Ghostface Killah, speaking of entertainment stuff you have a doll.
Ghostface Killah: Yeah, I had a doll yeah.

Nardwuar: And your good friend MF Doom has a doll. Have you seen the MF Doom doll action figure before?
[Nardwuar shows MF Doom action figure]
Ghostface Killah: No, it’s the first time I’m seeing it.

Nardwuar: What do you think of it? MF Doom’s action figure.
Ghostface Killah: That’s the, yo, that’s the, for you to have your own doll, it’s, you know what I mean, people love you man. So, you can’t take nothin’ away from him man, it’s all the blessing, people love you man, and that’s just what it is right now.

Nardwuar: What do you think about people like MF Doom and the way how they have disguises and stuff, like you are quite into disguises yourself aren’t you? The Ghostface.
Ghostface Killah: Yeah, I’ve been the Ghostface, I’m still the Ghostface, you know what I mean, but it’s you know, whatever you think that you take on is you. You know what I’m saying, and Doom took on the mask thing, alright so that’s Doom, you know what I mean, it fits him and you know he’s dope, you know what I mean, and that’s just what it is.

Nardwuar: Regarding your mask, didn’t you sometimes wear like pantyhose over your face and stuff like that? Was that actually you?
Ghostface Killah: Or stocking caps, I wore masks, I wore turbans, you know what I mean, I did, I had my fair share of covering my face.

Nardwuar: Did you have stand-ins at all, like was it always you in the photo shoots or could it have been somebody else in the photo shoot?
Ghostface Killah: No that was me.

Nardwuar: How can we prove right now it’s the real Ghostface Killah we are speaking to right now?
Ghostface Killah: How could you prove? How you could prove who I am right now [laughs]? I don’t know man, watch the show tonight, B, and then you know my voice, you know, I’m here man, I’m here but I’m not here. You know what I mean, because you all think on a different wavelength to me, I don’t think like how you think. So I could be here, but be out there, you know what I mean, and that’s the real ghost.

Nardwuar: Ghostface, lastly, lastly here, thanks for speaking to me, Nardwuar the Human Serviette. Doesn’t Merlot sometimes need more grapes?
Ghostface Killah: Merlot! I’m not really a wine drinker, you know what I mean, I’d rather taste some Grey Goose and Red Bull over the Merlot. You know what I mean, every time I drink wine I get headaches from it. You know what I mean, probably because it’s too sweet, I’m not sure, but I’ll leave that for the ladies.

Nardwuar: Well, thanks very much Ghostface Killah. Keep on rockin’ in the free world and doot doola doot doot…
Ghostface Killah: Doot doot.

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Nardwuar vs. The Wu-Tang Clan

Nardwuar — Sat, 02 Aug 2014 18:38:31 +0000
http://www.serviette.ca/radio_show/2014/nw20140725.mp3
Interview with The Wu-Tang Clan (Staten Island, NY ) !

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Nardwuar vs. The Wu-Tang Clan

Nardwuar — Mon, 07 Jul 2014 17:07:47 +0000

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Nardwuar vs. Ghostface Killah & The Makeup Sex !

Nardwuar — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 02:40:14 +0000
http://www.serviette.ca/radio_show/2011/nw20111216.mp3
Interviews with Ghostface Killah (Staten Island, NY) & The Makeup Sex (San Diego, CA) !

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Nardwuar vs. Ghostface Killah

Nardwuar — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:54:36 +0000

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