RZA Taught Kanye, The Truth About Kendrick vs. Drake, & ODB Used a Paper Towel Condom??? | Ep 702
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What is discussed at the start of this section?
What's up everybody and welcome to Flagrant and today we are joined by a true creative legend, the inspiration, the seed, the architect. We're here with RZA, everybody. RZA's on the couch. Thank you, RZA. Dude, thank you so much for coming. I have a question I have to ask you. I've wondered this for probably, God, I don't know, 30 years. There is a guy in my neighborhood. I grew up in the East Village. Okay, there was a guy. I don't know if he was homeless or not, but he would ask for money on the street on 4th Street in Lafayette. God, I know what you're talking about. No way. There's no way. Mike.
No way. He told us this. I was like, don't bring it up. He's not going to know.
So there was a guy, Metal Mike, right? Yeah. Metal Mike, okay? And the thing about Metal Mike was, I've been waiting to ask you this for years. I can't even.
I'm shocked he knows this. I'm sorry that I doubted you.
I didn't know if he was being genuine or if he was maybe battling schizophrenia or something like that. I had no clue. But the thing was, you could go up to him and you could be like, yo, what's Wu-Tang up to? And he would give you detailed information about what you guys were doing.
You know what's so crazy? He was homeless, and I think one day, I'm better, maybe he came up to me, maybe asked for a few dollars one day. I might have blessed him heavy, you know, that type, you know? Yeah. But I might have talked with him for like 10, 15 minutes, right? And this is when Fourth and Broadway Tower Records was there. That's right, yeah. G Street Records was in that building. Oh. Check it out.
What is the significance of Metal Mike in RZA's life?
Russell Simmons lived on the top floor. Of that apartment. Exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It was an old Cher apartment, actually, that Russell got from Cher. But anyway, and G Street was in that building, and there was also another studio there. So I would always see him. But eventually, he became my man. That's my man, yo. If I had something, he saw me. If he saw me, his day was good. Yeah. You know what I mean? I understand. He was good. He was going to eat well today. But then also it came to a point where I was like, yo, yo, fuck it. Hand out some stickers, bro. You know what I mean? And then, like, I don't know. I don't know what we had in common and shit. But, you know, at this time, I spent like a whole hour talking to him.
Really?
You guys are connected. Yeah, so you probably, if he told you some shit, he got it from the source.
Yeah. That's what I was always wondering. And there were people that would go up to him. Like this was the allure of Wu-Tang, right? Growing up in New York City, which is like, and also you don't have the internet this time. So the access is actual like, you know, word of mouth information. And he had it. There would be dudes that would pull up Throw him five bucks. What up, Metal Mike? Yo, what's it move up to? Oh, and then there was just like random insider riff. They're working on the album. It's coming together. That's crazy. That's insane.
Why did they call him Metal Mike? Do you know? I don't know if it was Metal Mike or something Mike. Motor Mike, Metal Mike. Something, yeah, yeah. I just remember Mike. There was something else in front of his name. But yeah, it wasn't Mental Mike, right? Yeah. I didn't want to make any assumptions. Where's Mike at today? Yeah, where is Mike? I haven't seen Mike in years, bro. I feel like I haven't seen him when the World Trade Center came down or some shit. Like, not the whole city changed. Remember that shit? He told me. He was like, yo, they're going to hit the town. Anyway, if he is out there, you see this podcast, yo, what up, bro?
How did RZA influence Kanye West's music?
Long time, man. Mike, man, love to you, bro. We always believed you, by the way, Mike. That's why we kept asking what Wu-Tang was up to.
We always believed you. man you got all this like just doing the research on you is really fun because it's like nostalgia it's like the little memory lane you get to walk down like you grew up in the city especially and uh i i was watching this uh this drink champs app that you did it was like four hours with nori shout for nori it was unbelievable and there's a moment early in the episode where you even go like like i want to make sure we have time to get into shit i
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is discussed at the start of this section?
0:00–1:33
2
What is the significance of Metal Mike in RZA's life?
1:33–3:31
3
How did RZA influence Kanye West's music?
3:31–6:08
4
What lessons did RZA learn from his teachers?
6:08–1:20:55
5
What humorous story does RZA share about bathroom experiences in China?
1:20:55–1:21:11
6
How does RZA reflect on his relationship with his brother?
1:21:11–1:21:35
7
What insights does RZA provide about the evolution of hip-hop?
1:21:35–1:21:56
8
How does RZA connect his experiences to Kendrick and Drake's competition?
1:21:56–2:42:34
Speakers
4 identifiedMore from Flagrant
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