Wu-Tang Clan rap star RZA pivots to ballet: ‘People would call it leftfield – but it’s right in my alley’

Published

11 months ago

August 26, 2024

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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.

“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.”

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.”

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.

“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

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.

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”.

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.

Entertainment

Salt Path author Raynor Winn responds to claims she lied about ‘true’ story

Published

8 hours ago

July 10, 2025

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Salt Path author Raynor Winn responds to claims she lied about 'true' story

Salt Path author Raynor Winn has said claims she lied about her story are “highly misleading” and called suggestions her husband made up his illness “utterly vile”.

A report in The Observer disputed key aspects of the hit book, billed as an “inspiring and life-affirming true story” about a couple’s coastal trek.

Winn released a lengthy statement denying the paper’s claims and shared medical letters apparently sent to her husband, Moth, that appear to support a diagnosis for a rare neurological condition, Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD).

One letter mentions his prior “CBS [Corticobasal Syndrome] diagnosis”, while another concludes he has “an atypical form” of CBD.

The author said accusations he lied about having CBD/CBS are false and have “emotionally devastated” him.

“I have charted Moth’s condition with such a level of honesty, that this is the most unbearable of the allegations,” Winn wrote on her website.

The Observer claimed to have spoken to experts who were “sceptical” about elements of his story, such as a “lack of acute symptoms and his apparent ability to reverse them”.

PSPA, a charity that supports people with CBD, ended their relationship with the family following The Observer’s claims.

Winn said she had never suggested walking was “some sort of miracle cure” and that there can be “symptoms for many years before they finally reach a diagnosis”.

“Even then, many sufferers’ symptoms present in an atypical way,” she wrote.

“They might not present with the same symptoms, occurring in the same order, or with the same severity.”

Winn also posted the letters on Instagram and said they are grateful Moth’s condition is slow-progressing.

She clarified it is now commonly referred to by specialists as CBS, “which describes the symptoms observed during life”.

The bestselling book was also recently released as a film, starring Jason Isaacs and Gillian Anderson, charting the couple’s 630-mile trek along the Cornish, Devon, and Dorset coast – a journey sparked by the devastation of losing their house.

The Observer claimed the portrayal of a failed investment in a friend’s business wasn’t true, rather they lost their home after Raynor Winn embezzled money from her employer, Martin Hemming, and had to borrow to pay it back and avoid police action.

Winn’s statement said the dispute with Mr Hemmings wasn’t the reason they lost their home – but admitted she may have made “mistakes” while in the job.

“For me it was a pressured time,” she wrote. “It was also a time when mistakes were being made in the business. Any mistakes I made during the years in that office, I deeply regret, and I am truly sorry.”

She admitted being questioned by police but said she wasn’t charged.

Winn added: “I reached a settlement with Martin Hemmings because I did not have the evidence required to support what happened. The terms of the settlement were willingly agreed by both parties.”

The author reiterated the book’s version of events: that the loss of their home in Wales stemmed from an investment in a friend’s property portfolio that went sour.

Her statement goes into legal detail about how it transpired and admits – as The Observer suggested – that the couple at one point tried to raffle the house.

However, the author said they “quickly realised it was a mistake as it clearly wasn’t going to work. We cancelled it and refunded the few participants.”

The 63-year-old also denied having any outstanding debts and said it was “blatantly untrue” the couple were hiding behind pseudonyms after The Observer quoted people who said they knew them by the surname Walker.

“Winn is my maiden name and like most women who have married I’ve used both my maiden name, Winn, and married name, Walker,” said the statement.

She also explained she preferred the first name Raynor, rather than her birth name Sally Ann, so took that as her pen name; while Moth is an abbreviation of her husband’s name, Timothy.

“The legal names we use on our bank records, our utility bills etc. Our friends and neighbours use Sal and Tim interchangeably with Ray and Moth – there is nothing hiding in our names,” she said.

Sky News has contacted The Observer for a response to Winn’s statement.

Raynor Winn had been scheduled to make numerous appearances over the summer, performing with Saltlines, her collaboration with Gigspanner Big Band.

However, the band has since announced on social media that she will no longer be taking part in the tour.

She was also scheduled to take part in various Q&As, conversations, writing courses and festivals.

Entertainment

Reservoir Dogs actor Michael Madsen died from heart failure, says cardiologist

Published

1 day ago

July 9, 2025

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Reservoir Dogs actor Michael Madsen died from heart failure, says cardiologist

Actor Michael Madsen, who starred in Reservoir Dogs and Thelma & Louise, died from heart failure, his cardiologist has said.

The 67-year-old was found unresponsive in his home in Malibu, California, last Thursday and pronounced dead.

His doctor said heart disease and alcoholism will be listed as factors which contributed to the star’s death, reported NBC Los Angeles.

With no suspicious circumstances and the death listed as being from natural causes, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department considers the case closed.

In a career spanning more than 40 years, Madsen’s film credits include Free Willy, Donnie Brasco and Sin City.

He was also known for his collaborations with director Quentin Tarantino, including in Kill Bill: Vol. 2, The Hateful Eight and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.

The Chicago-born actor also linked up with Tarantino when he played Mr Blonde in 1992’s Reservoir Dogs.

His sister, Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen, paid tribute to her brother in a statement to Variety.

She wrote: “My brother Michael has left the stage.

“He was thunder and velvet. Mischief wrapped in tenderness. A poet disguised as an outlaw. A father, a son, a brother – etched in contradiction, tempered by love that left its mark.”

Madsen was preparing to release a new book called Tears For My Father: Outlaw Thoughts And Poems.

A statement by managers Susan Ferris and Smith, and publicist Liz Rodriguez, said the book by “one of Hollywood’s most iconic actors” was currently being edited.

Entertainment

Fantasy v reality: Lena Dunham’s Too Much is a new spin on the London romcom

Published

2 days ago

July 9, 2025

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Fantasy v reality: Lena Dunham's Too Much is a new spin on the London romcom

Horse-drawn carriages, picturesque gardens and endless cups of tea are just some of the stereotypical tropes that have shaped America’s romanticised image of England before even stepping foot on the island.

Thanks to classical literature and a steady stream of period dramas, Lena Dunham was no exception.

“I had so many fantasies,” she tells Sky News about growing up slightly obsessed with British culture.

“I loved Jane Austen, I loved Charlotte Bronte, I love British film, I was one of those little Anglophile kids.”

The writer and director believed it would be that area of classically depicted England that would fill her time when she first moved to “jolly old London” as a teenager with her mother for a brief time.

Instead, her attention was taken by another, and possibly equally influential group of artists.

“There was a pop show about S Club 7 and all I did was just sit in the hotel and obsessively watch things relating to [the group],” she said.

“So, I didn’t go home with all this cultural British knowledge. I went home with a deep abiding love of S Club 7 and came back to school when everyone was obsessed with the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC.

“For me, I was literally like, ‘Guys, you got to hear this hot track right off the presses, it’s called Reach For The Stars’.”

It wasn’t until her 30s, when the actress moved again to the city, that reality took hold and she quickly learned the difference between the imagined London and the real city.

Some stereotypes hold true, like the universal love for Paddington. Still, TV tropes like renting a flat on a single income in the city does not necessarily mean you’ll be treated to lavish rooms and a picturesque garden.

She says it was social cues she found most challenging to adjust to, as well as the different dictionaries used when speaking, technically, the same language.

“You come to a new country and even though you speak the same language, you’re totally absent from those tools,” she says.

“And I found that really striking as an adult in my 30s, trying to make friends, trying to date. I found it confusing enough to be a person in my own city of origin, so this was extra confounding.”

Too Much, her new Netflix series, is loosely inspired by her own London chapter and follows a workaholic New Yorker in her 30s who is sent across the Atlantic to work on a new project.

The 10-episode show is produced by Working Title – the company behind Bridget Jones, Notting Hill, About A Boy and Love Actually – and stars Hacks breakout actress Megan Stalter and The White Lotus actor Will Sharpe.

Dunham says she always wanted to write about her time in the UK, but it was a conversation with Irish actor Andrew Scott that got the ball rolling.

“Actually, he’s the reason that I came to know Meg as an actor because he loved her on Hacks and he loved her videos, and he said: ‘Have you watched this woman’s work? I feel like there’s a real connection between you two’, and I started watching because of him and built a show around her.”

In a full circle moment, Scott appears in the series briefly as an arrogantly odd man who crosses paths with Megan Stalter’s character Jessica.

The Ridley actor isn’t the only famous face joining the cast in a cameo role. Dunham put a call out to most of Hollywood, and luckily lots were on board.

To name just a few, guest stars include Jessica Alba, Stephen Fry, Adwoa Aboah, Kit Harington, Rita Wilson, Rita Ora, Richard E Grant, Emily Ratajkowski, Andrew Scott, Prasanna Puwanarajah and Jennifer Saunders.

“It was one of those situations where you just reach for the stars, literally, and then you can’t believe when they appear,” says Dunham.

“It was just a non-stop parade of people that I was fascinated by, wanted to be around, completely enamoured of.”

She adds: “I remember asking Naomi Watson, thinking, there’s absolutely no way that you’re going to want to come play this slightly demented woman. And she’s so playful and she’s so joyful and she just wanted to come and engage.

“Also, Jennifer Saunders has meant so much to me for so long, I had the AbFab box set as a kid, and I just think Patsy and Edina are the ultimate kind of messy women.

“She really showed me what comedy could be and… the space that women could occupy in comedy, and so having her come and join the show was really incredible.

“That was an episode that someone else was directing, Alicia McDonald, an amazing director, so I just got to sit and watch at the monitor like I was watching a movie, and it was very surreal for me.”

Too Much is out on Netflix now.