He is one of hip-hop’s most influential voices, mastermind of the groundbreaking Wu-Tang Clan collective – as well as a solo star, producer, filmmaker and actor.
Now, US rapper RZA is turning his hand to classical with a symphonic ballet.
He began working on the record during the pandemic, inspired by the discovery of an old Tommy Hilfiger book bag stuffed with notebooks he had filled over five years from the age of 14; lyrics on life and love as a teenage Robert Diggs, who grew up in the housing projects of Brownsville, in Brooklyn, New York, and later Staten Island.
There was a story to be told, he felt. The obvious thing to do would be to turn the words into rap, the music he is best known for. But it evolved into something new.
Image: RZA (left) and members of the Wu-Tang Clan in 2001. Pic: Adam Scull/PHOTOlink /MediaPunch /IPX/AP
“I started reading through these lyrics and I’m recalling all the young love, the young exploration. The first time you had a drink or smoke. All this is written in my lyrics, like a lyrical diary… at first I thought I should rap it, right. Because I’m known as a rapper. But then I said, no, I should just write music to it.”
Starting at his piano, the project became A Ballet Through Mud, a coming-of-age story told through music that delves into the complexities of love and the bonds of friendship – very different to the music most of RZA’s fans will know him for. It was performed to a standing ovation by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and dancers from the Alvin Ailey dance theatre school on stage in Denver 2023. Now, RZA is releasing the score as his first classical album.
“I think I’ve definitely been a guy that’s pushing the boundaries and trying to surprise people,” he says. “Definitely, you know, people would call it leftfield for me. But it’s not, it’s right in my alley.” He describes the work as a “natural creative evolution” and says he has always been “fascinated” by classical music and composers, inspired by everyone from Mozart, Beethoven and Bach to Leonard Bernstein, Duke Ellington, Sergei Prokofiev – who wrote the children’s symphony Peter And The Wolf – and Quincy Jones’s collaborations with Frank Sinatra.
“Looking at Peter And The Wolf and knowing every character, every animal in that ballet or suite had an instrument to match to it – the flute was the bird, the trombone was the wolf… I started learning then that you can take instruments and give them characters,” he says. “As a movie composer, that philosophy got reinforced.”
Image: RZA says he hopes his orchestral score will inspire young hopeful musicians to pick up instruments. Pic: Danny Hastings
The title, A Ballet Through Mud, is symbolic of his own life. He references his formative years in Staten Island, or Shaolin, as Wu-Tang rechristened it. “The mud is considered to be foul, dirty… you know, I’m RZA, I’m from the slums of Shaolin. But yet, out of the mud grows the lotus plant, considered pure, beautiful… so hopefully, you can go through the mud and come back up a lotus.”
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It tells the story of six young people with a theme of “youthful exploration”, he says. “I thought about women in the sense of how men, that we are still kind of in the cave when it comes to our emotions, we’re like cavemen.” One of the characters isn’t sure how to communicate with the girl he likes, he says. “It was from one of my lyrics… as a high school guy, I fell in love with some girl and was scared to tell her.”
His fellow Wu-Tang Clan members are yet to hear the entire score, he says. “But we did a tour last year with Nas and if you came on my bus, you had to hear some [of this] music,” he laughs. “But everybody who heard it, they said it sounds beautiful.”
Of course, RZA isn’t the first hip-hop star to embrace classical music. In July, Cypress Hill made their debut at the Royal Albert Hall in London, performing hits from their seminal album Black Sunday alongside the London Symphony Orchestra. That show happened to be inspired by an almost 30-year-old joke in The Simpsons, famous predictor of the future, but rappers B-Real and Sen Dog have long had classical influences.
Image: Cypress Hill performed with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall earlier this year. Pic: Andy Paradise
“We started off as hip-hop artists, this is what we love to do, the roots of our existence,” said B-Real ahead of the show. “But we’ve always challenged ourselves to be out of the box and do different things.”
In recent years, ravers have also embraced the genre at classical tours by the likes of club favourites Ministry Of Sound and the Hacienda. And there has also been a metal crossover with the likes of Metallica performing releasing albums with the San Francisco Symphony – and even a Black Sabbath ballet.
RZA says there are parallels between hip-hop and classical. “If you listen to some of the Wu-Tang production you hear I bring in strings. You’ll hear some of my production has incorporated classical samples.” He cites famous examples of hip-hop sampling classical scores, such as Beethoven’s Fur Elise in Nas’s I Can.
The rapper began studying more himself when he scored his first film, Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai, starring Forest Whitaker, released in 1999. He went on to score other films, including Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill. “These types of ideas have been evolving in me through my progression of work,” he says. “It’s like it’s in my blood now.”
As we speak, RZA is working in post-production on his latest project, the upcoming film One Spoon Of Chocolate, which he has directed. Across music and film, he has never wanted to tie himself down to one genre or medium of art. In September, the Wu-Tang Clan play shows in Las Vegas – extra dates added to a residency billed as “more than a concert… a tribute to their prolific careers as individuals and as the most storied group in hip-hop history”.
The most expensive album ever made
Image: RZA pictured at A Wu-Tang Experience in New York in 2023. Pic: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
And earlier this year, their famous unique and rarely-heard 2015 record Once Upon A Time In Shaolin, the most expensive album ever made, made headlines once again as it went on display briefly as a piece of fine art in Australia. The album exists in a sole physical CD copy, created at the time as a statement on the value of music as streaming started to take over, and comes with a legal stipulation that the owner cannot publicly release the tracks until 2103.
The record was bought at auction for $2m (£1.5m at the time) by pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli in 2015, but was sold again by the US government to clear debts after he was jailed for defrauding investors. Earlier this year, about 500 fans got to hear the music – complete with a reported Cher cameo – at secret listening sessions.
Image: The Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA has composed a ballet score, A Ballet Through Mud. Pic: Danny Hastings
It has been a wild journey. “Some of its journey has taken me by surprise and I think rightfully so,” says RZA. “To me, that album has a life of its own and that’s something I wanted for it, in all reality. It was a statement that was supposed to breed conversation. You know, should music be devalued? Is there more value on it when you can’t have it? Is music really considered a serious form of art by today’s society?
“Because it was like that as I was growing up… to get up and save my coins and then get on a bus and go to a record store and get it and read it, the cover, and open it and put it on, and to hold it… so you don’t get fingerprints on it. It is something we value. And now it’s more like swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe. I always said that it was similar to an Egyptian sceptre, something that belongs in museums and art galleries. It ended up there this year and that had nothing to do with me, you know. I heard that people came from around the world, they flew in to hang out, you know. And I wasn’t even there. It’s like my son right now. He’s over in college right now, hanging out with his buddies, and I don’t know what’s going on, he’s just having his own life.”
There is a part of him that would love to still be involved in some way, he says. But that was never the point. “There’s always a piece of me on anything that I’ve created or been part of that, you know, you want it kind of for yourself – but it don’t belong to you. It’s created for the world. And whoever gets a chance to hear it and enjoy it and create their own memories with it… those memories won’t belong to me.”
For now, though, he is concentrating on his classical work. He hopes it will inspire young children to learn instruments and feel “it’s cool to grab that violin or oboe”.
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He continues: “It’s a certain type of brain stimulation that comes from this type of music creation. Hip-hop and rock music, or just say today’s music, has been able to be created on a computer, and that’s great, that’s the power of an orchestra in your hand.” But knowing how to play an instrument, he adds, enables you to be “more elaborate, more communicative – not cookie-cutter”.
And after A Ballet Through Mud, there is more to come, he promises. “I’m not going to stop here. I’ve already started writing something for the future that I’m also fascinated with.”
You heard it here first. RZA, the hip-hop legend – now adding another string to his bow.
Despite The Who’s Quadrophenia being set over 60 years ago, Pete Townshend’s themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.
The album is having a renaissance as Pete Townshend’s Quadrophenia A Mod ballet is being brought to life via dance at Sadler’s Wells East, and Sky News has an exclusive first look.
As Townshend puts it, the album he wrote is “perfect” for the stage.
Image: Pete Townshend
“My wife Rachel did the orchestration for me, and as soon as I heard it I said to her it would make a fabulous ballet and we never really let that go,” he tells Sky News.
“Heavy percussion, concussive sequences. They’re explosive moments. They’re also romantic movement moments.”
If you identify with the demographics of Millennial, Gen Y or Gen Z, you might not be familiar with The Who and Mod culture.
But in post-war Britain the Mods were a cultural phenomenon characterised by fashion, music, and of course, scooters. The young rebels were seen as a counter-culture to the establishment and The Who, with Roger Daltry’s lead vocals and Pete Townshend’s writing, were the soundtrack.
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Quadrophenia the album is widely regarded as an essay on the British adolescent experience at the time, focusing on the life of fictional protagonist Jimmy – a young Mod struggling with his sanity, self-doubt, and alienation.
Townshend sets the rock opera in 1965 but thinks its themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.
He says: “The phobias and the restrictions and the unwritten laws about how young men should behave. The ground that they broke, that we broke because I was a part of it.
“Men were letting go of [the] wartime-related, uniform-related stance that if I wear this kind of outfit it makes me look like a man.”
Image: Paris Fitzpatrick and Pete Townshend. Pic: Johan Persson
This struggle of modern masculinity and identity appears to be echoing today as manosphere influencers like Andrew Tate, incel culture, and Netflix’s Adolescence make headlines.
For dancer Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy, the story resonates.
Image: Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy in the ballet
“I think there’s a connection massively and I think there may even be a little more revival in some way,” he tells Sky News.
“I love that myself. I love non-conforming to gender norms and typical masculinity; I think it’s great to challenge things.”
Despite the album being written before he was born, the dancer says he was familiar with the genre already.
“I actually did an art GCSE project about Mods and rockers and Quadrophenia,” he says.
“I think we’ll be able to bring it to new audiences and hopefully, maybe people will be inspired to to learn more about their music and the whole cultural movement of the early 60s.”
In 1979, the album was adapted into a film directed by Franc Roddam starring Ray Winstone and Sting but Townshend admits because the film missed key points he is “not a big fan”.
“What it turned out to be in the movie was a story about culture, about social scenario and less about really the specifics of mental illness and how that affects young people,” he adds, also complimenting Roddam’s writing for the film.
Perhaps a testament to Pete Townshend’s creativity, Quadrophenia started as an album, was successfully adapted to film and now it will hit the stage as a contemporary ballet.
It appears that over six decades later Mod culture is still cool and their issues still relatable.
Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet will tour to Plymouth Theatre Royal from 28 May to 1 June 2025, Edinburgh Festival Theatre from 10 to 14 June 2025 and the Mayflower, Southampton from 18 to 21 June 2025 before having its official opening at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London on 24 June running to 13 July 2025 and then visiting The Lowry, Salford from 15 to 19 July 2025.
Russell Brand has been charged with rape and two counts of sexual assault between 1999 and 2005.
The Metropolitan Police say the 50-year-old comedian, actor and author has also been charged with one count of oral rape and one count of indecent assault.
The charges relate to four women.
He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 2 May.
Police have said Brand is accused of raping a woman in the Bournemouth area in 1999 and indecently assaulting a woman in the Westminster area of London in 2001.
He is also accused of orally raping and sexually assaulting a woman in Westminster in 2004.
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Ashna Hurynag discusses Russell Brand’s charges
The fourth charge alleges that a woman was sexually assaulted in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.
Police began investigating Brand, from Oxfordshire, in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations.
The comedian has denied the accusations and said he has “never engaged in non-consensual activity”.
He added in a video on X: “Of course, I am now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.”
Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation, said: “The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.
“The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”
Tom Cruise has paid tribute to Val Kilmer, wishing his Top Gun co-star “well on the next journey”.
Cruise, speaking at the CinemaCon film event in Las Vegas on Thursday, asked for a moment’s silence to reflect on the “wonderful” times shared with the star, whom he called a “dear friend”.
Kilmer, who died of pneumonia on Tuesday aged 65, rocketed to fame starring alongside Cruise in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, playing Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, a rival fighter pilot to Cruise’s character Maverick.
Image: Tom Cruise said ‘I wish you well on the next journey’. Pic: AP
Image: Val Kilmer in 2017. Pic: AP
His last part was a cameo role in the 2022 blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
Cruise, on stage at Caesars Palace on Thursday, said: “I’d like to honour a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer. I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honoured I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick.
“I think it would be really nice if we could have a moment together because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.
“I wish you well on the next journey.”
The moment of silence followed a string of tributes from Hollywood figures including Cher, Francis Ford Coppola, Antonio Banderas and Michelle Monaghan.
Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes told the New York Times on Wednesday that the actor had died from pneumonia.
Image: Tom Cruise at Caesars Palace on Thursday. Pic: AP
Diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, Kilmer discussed his illness and recovery in his 2020 memoir Your Huckleberry and Amazon Prime documentary Val.
He underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments for the disease and also had a tracheostomy which damaged his vocal cords and permanently gave him a raspy speaking voice.
Kilmer played Batman in the 1995 film Batman Forever and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of rock singer Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie The Doors.
He also starred in True Romance and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, as well as playing criminal Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s 1995 movie Heat and Doc Holliday in the 1993 film Tombstone.
In 1988 he married British actress Joanne Whalley, whom he met while working on fantasy adventure Willow.
The couple had two children before divorcing in 1996.