This is the cover art for Raekwon’s upcoming mixtape Unexpected Victory which drops on Christmas Day and here are some quotes from an interview RZA did with Hip Hop DX. I figured I could lop Tang-related news together, right?

The Man with the Iron Fists, is RZA’s directorial debut and he’s having a tough time translating his visions on to the big screen in his first time running things behind the camera.

“So far, it’s been my hardest job. I thought the Wu-Tang Clan was my hardest job I was gonna have to face in life, you know? Dealing with all my brothers and the stuff we had to go through. But this is actually harder… When you become the leader of such a [large] group of people like that, you have all these ideas. But then you realize that your ideas have to travel through so many other vessels that they may have to be compromised. That’s what I learned directing. There were certain scenes that I wanted this way, but they were like, “It can’t happen, buddy!” It can happen in your imagination, but to make it practical and make it happen on certain shots was impossible. Some things were maybe too dangerous or just not pracitical within the budget. So you learn to compromise, and you learn the pressure of controlling so much money and delivering.”

However, Pam Grier, RZA’s co-star in the film, and her decades of experience were a few things that have eased RZA’s stresses in China where the movie was shot.

“First of all, we shot this film in China. So she came way over there to play that role for me, and I was honored. I’m a big Pam Grier fan, and she really is a walking well of wisdom on filmmaking. She’s been doing this since back in the 60’s and 70’s… She took time to talk to me. And even though we didn’t have a lot of time together, she just shared that wisdom with me immediately. I grasped it, and it helped me throughout the rest of the shoot.”

Also in featured in the surprisingly star laden cast are Lucy Liu, who worked on Kill Bill along with RZA, and RZA’s co-star in American Gangster, Russell Crowe. The movie is in post production and a release date isn’t out yet.

via [HipHopDX] and [Soul Culture]

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