New music from vocalist Snoh Aalegra, produced by the almighty RZA, channelling Raekwon’s “Verbal Intercourse.”

In case you were wondering what RZA says at the end of the title track on Wu-Tang Clan’s A Better Tomorrow LP, we’ve reversed the audio for you. Play the clip below to hear RZA’s words, “The original man is god. The supreme being, black man from asia.”

The Wu-Tang Clan speak to MTV about Raekwon and RZA’s internal beef, and how they reconciled to get the Clan back together for their upcoming LP, A Better Tomorrow.

RZA teams with pop rock act, Faulkner, for this new track dedicated to the city that never sleeps.

As we reported a few days back, here is the first EP release from Dr. Pepper’s new One Of A Kind studio sessions, featuring four new RZA productions, with guest support from Rockie Fresh, Tinashe, RAC, and Robert Delong. EP’s from Dave Sitek and The Hood Internet will follow. RZA talks about the EP in the video clip down bottom.

RZA sits in with radio station Power 99, to discuss his new film Brick Mansions, working with Paul Walker, and the status of the new Wu-Tang Clan reunion album.

Soda giant, Dr. Pepper, has opened up a recording studio in Hollywood, a space that will be used to record a series of EP releases from various artists, as a part of their One Of A Kind series. Among the producers tapped to record for the series are each RZA, Dave Sitek, and The Hood Internet, who will collaborate with artists such as Robert DeLong, Rockie Fresh, Tinashe and RAC. Dr Pepper will distribute the EPs via various blogs and social media outlets.

“We actually had a chance to work with the producers to identify artist that they were genuinely excited about working with,” Jaxie Alt, senior VP of marketing at Dr Pepper told Billboard. “It was also important that we had talent who felt authentic to our brand and embodied what being ‘One of a Kind’ truly is. Through all of our creative, we wanted to tell the stories of unique artist and capture the collaborative process between producer and artist.”

The series begins May 14th, with RZA’s four-song Only One Place To Get It EP.

RZA sits in with The Breakfast Club to speak on both Once Upon A Time In Shaolin and A Better Tomorrow, and further elaborates on Raekwon’s recent comments.

Ebro and Peter Rosenberg interview RZA on the Hot Morning Show. Looks like they are getting somewhere, at least with RZA….

Well, cats out of the bag. Raekwon just opened up to Rolling Stone about his potential absence from Wu-Tang Clan’s A Better Tomorrow LP, and really lets the sparks fly. No filter. All we can say is, this is quickly turning into a PR nightmare. Fix up, look sharp, gentlemen. Read on:

RZA told Vlad TV, “I haven’t had a chance to really talk to him about why [you're not involved with the album]. But I would say that maybe creatively we on different paths.” What’s your response to that?

I don’t know why he said he didn’t speak to me, because he did speak to me. We spoke about two weeks ago. It was me, him, his brother and business partner Devine and we talked about why I’m not there right now. They know where I’m at and at the end of the day, him saying he didn’t speak to me is a bold-faced lie.

It’s sad. It hurts. It’s all about the fans. It’s all about them saying, “This is my favorite fuckin’ hip-hop group in the world.” I have a job to do for them. And I would never let my fans down and make something I feel is mediocre just to say I made it. That’s not Raekwon.

The Wu-Tang Clan’s limited edition album, Once Upon A Time In Shaolin – of which only *1* copy will be produced and sold to the highest bidder – has gotten offers up to $5 million, RZA told Billboard.

“Offers came in at $2 million, somebody offered $5 million yesterday. I’ve been getting a lot of emails: some from people I know, some from people I don’t know, and they’re also emailing other members of my organization,” RZA said. “So far, $5 million is the biggest number. I don’t know how to measure it, but it gives us an idea that what we’re doing is being understood by some. And there are some good peers of mine also, who are very high-ranking in the film business and the music business, sending me a lot of good will. It’s been real positive.”

More light has been shed on the project, at its official website, which describes the album as follows:

“EZCLZIV introduces The Carmen Clandestine Experience, the world’s first private music service. Its first release for private sale is The Wu – Once Upon A Time In Shaolin… a new double Wu-Tang album consisting of 31 new tracks exclusively recorded with the entire Wu-Tang Clan. It includes special guest appearances by Bonnie Jo Mason, Redman, FC Barcelona soccer players and a unique tapestry of guest performers. The album was produced over a period of six years by Wu Tang producer Cilvaringz under the tutelage of The RZA. The album encapsulates the Clan’s legendary dark funk and avant garde sound and is produced in the original Wu Tang style of the 90s. This is the first high-profile album never to be commercially released to the public and the first of its kind in the history of music. The music is available for purchase and ownership by one individual only. It is presented in a hand carved nickel-silver box designed by the British Moroccan artist Yahya,” reads the website’s “About” section.

It continues in the Edictum: “Wu-Tang producers Cilvaringz and The RZA present the first ever private music album. The music will only ever have one incarnation. It will not be made available digitally or in any other existing mass format. After touring the album at festivals, museums, exhibition spaces and galleries for the public as a one off experience, it will be sold exclusively to one buyer. The music industry is in crisis. Creativity has become disposable and value has been stripped out. Mass production and content saturation have devalued both our experience of music and our ability to establish its value. Industrial production and digital reproduction have failed. The intrinsic value of music has been reduced to zero. Contemporary art is worth millions by virtue of its exclusivity. This album is a piece of contemporary art. The debate starts here…”

“The main theme is music being accepted and respected as art and being treated as such,” RZA added. “If something is rare, it’s rare. You cannot get another.”

Unsigned Venice based group Faulkner get a bonus, freestyled verse from RZA on their cut “NY Anthem”, as premiered by Billboard this week.

RZA pays tribute to Nelson Mandela and the cast of Gang Related on this collaboration with vocalist Will Wells. He writes: “”CONTINUING ON GOOD VIBES AND INSPIRATIONS, HERE IS A SONG WE DID THIS WEEKEND IN THE STUDIO ENTITLED ” A GIFT A HOPE” BY THE RZA FT. WILL WELLS. INSPIRED BY THE GREAT NELSON MANDELA AND THE CAST OF #GANG RELATED…
DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON MANY OF US WORKING IN HOLLYWOOD REALIZE WE ARE MIGRATES AND MOST OF OUR FAMILIES ARE ROOTED IN DIFFERENT CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. IT’S COOL WHEN A TEAM OF US WORKING ON A PROJECT HAVE GOOD CAMARADERIE AND ARE ABLE TO BREAK BREAD,SHARE JOY AND LAUGHTER. LONG PROJECTS CAUSES YOU TO MISSED LOVE ONES AND THE HUSTLE AND BUSTLE OF IT ALL MAY LEAVE ONE DISCONNECTED FROM GOOD WILLED PEOPLE AND TRUSTWORTHY COMPANIONSHIP. SOME SAY ITS ALL A SONG AND DANCE OUT HERE. THE DIVERSITY OF THE WORK FORCE HERE ON THE GROUND RANGE FROM ALL ETHNICS AND CLASS OF PEOPLE. MANY COME WITH THE DREAMS AND HOPE OF MAKING IT BIG AND THE MAJORITY MAY NOT SEE THAT DREAM FULFILLED. YET THEY WILL NOTICE THEY ARE STILL PART OF A UNIQUE WORK CULTURE. ONE THAT DEPENDS HIGHLY ON COLLABORATION. ONE WHERE THE BIG FISH SUCCESS DEPENDS HEAVILY ON THE LITTLE FISH. ONE WHERE RACE CREED AND SEXUALITY WILL EVENTUALLY BE SUPERSEDED BY NEED AND DEMAND TO GET THE JOB DONE ON TIME AND ON BUDGET. ONE WHERE THE END PRODUCT WILL BECOME A ENTITY OF ITS OWN, APPEARING TO BE SINGULAR AND INDEPENDENT OF THE MULTICULTURAL MULTI-ETHNIC BODIES THAT CREATED IT, YET AS THE END TITLE CREDITS WILL SHOW THIS IS NO “ONE MAN HORSE AND PONY”. CAST AND CREWS SHOULD TAKE PRIDE KNOWING THAT EVERY LIL BIT OF DEDICATED WORK HELPS… THIS MICRO WORK FORCE CAN BE LIKEN TO A MACRO SOCIETY WHERE – UNTIL THE MEMBERS OF THAT SOCIETY REALIZES THAT WORKING PEACEFULLY AND DILIGENTLY TOGETHER WILL END IN A GREATER REWARD FOR FUTURE OF THE WHOLE ,THAT SAID SOCIETY WILL CONTINUE TO FAIL AND EVENTUALLY IMPLODE AND ERASE ITSELF FROM MAP DUE TO ITS OWN INTERNAL DISCORD. IN THIS VEIN GREATER MEN HAVE PUT DOWN THEIR INDIVIDUAL STRIFE IN THE INTEREST OF BUILDING THE COLLECTIVE. THUS GREAT MEN ARE KNOWN BY THE MARK THEY LEFT ON THEIR COUNTRY MASSES…HARD WORKING MOTHERS AND FATHERS SEE THE RESULTS WHEN THE CHILDREN RAISE THEIR FAMILY TO HIGHER HEIGHTS…PLEASE ENJOY THIS DEMO THAT REFLECT THESE IDEAS…”

Well, that was fast. RZA writes:

“This song, entitled “Destiny Bends” was written last night after hearing the tragic news of the loss of a good man named Paul Walker. I met Paul on the set of the film Brick Mansion, where we talked, laughed, and exchanged ideas of life and fatherhood. I only knew him personally for less than a year, but we knew each other through our work and art. We saw in each other a kindred spirit of men coming from unlikely circumstances, and rising to be the light and beacon of our family and loved ones. Men who learned the joy and pains of love in life, and success, while coming to realize that nothing is more important than family, friendship, and the brotherhood of humanity. Millions of people get to know an artist or movie star through their work, but few are allowed to cross each others’ paths and see through the veil of stardom and find the common denominator that we share. As all physical things will decay and wither away, film, art, and music remain longer than the vessel that delivered them. In this vein, the one thing we can’t take away or give back is time. So, thus, time is the most precious gift. I dedicated my time to compose this song with my two sons and new friend Will Wells, who was kind enough to sing and perform it for me. We dedicate it to Paul Walker. A good man. We had plans to continue working with each other in the future. It seemed destined, but “destiny bends”.

*Note* This song is not for criticism, it’s just a sketch demo. Please enjoy and reflect.

Your comrade in the struggle,
RZA”