RZA

USA, 1991–now

American producer and rapper, born Robert Diggs in 1969, the architect of the Wu-Tang Clan. He built beats out of dusty soul loops, kung-fu dialogue and deliberately damaged sound, and made the pitched-up vocal sample a technique other producers had to answer.

MusicRoots documents 3 artists who influenced RZA and 1 artist RZA influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced RZA?

• Isaac Hayes — Hayes is the source RZA keeps returning to — 'C.R.E.A.M.' is built on a Charmels record Hayes produced.
• James Brown — The drums under the Wu-Tang sound are lifted from Brown, the way most of the form's are — RZA's account of building a beat starts with a snare from James Brown.
• Marley Marl — The producer who made sampled drums the basis of a record, and whom RZA is named among the inheritors of.

Which artists did RZA influence?

• Kanye West — The chipmunk-soul trick — an old R&B record pitched up until the singer squeaks — is RZA's, and West has said outright that he borrowed it.