A Taste:

The Beatles, Leonard Bernstein, Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield

RZA knows the hood.

However, he’s always had a philosophical perspective on it. That perspective has made him a bona fide ghetto prophet-poet-warrior. From creating Wu-Tang Clan’s spacey samurai soundscapes to his searing screen portrayal of Life Is Hot In Cracktown’s drug dealer Sammy, RZA always delves deep. In Cracktown he explores life on the edge in an enigmatic fashion, staring at the darkness with poignant understanding. For the multi-platinum, producer, musician and composer, acting is another brush for him to paint with, but there’s always music cranking in the background.

He shared his playlist with us in this exclusive feature, check it out below and catch RZA in Life Is Hot In Cracktown and Funny People this summer. If that’s not enough, he’s also on the Rock the Bells tour, sure to hit a town near you.

RZA’s Playlist:

1. Leonard Bernstein

I’ve studied Leonard Bernstein. When I began scoring films, I started looking up to people like Bernstein and Conti.

2. Ennio Morricone

He’s one of the masters of the masters.

3. The Beatles — “Come Together”

My playlist varies. Right now, we’re rocking “Come Together” by The Beatles. I’m listening to some old greats, while I’m reading the script for The Man with the Iron Fist. I’m going through for it corrections. I’m listening to some good vibes and shit like that.

4. Caravelli — “April Orchestra”

5. Randy Newman

I respect Newman, Zimmer and all of those cats. I love Spider-Man. Those movies keep you enjoying the popcorn, baby [Laughs]. There are a lot of good composers out there.

6. Hans Zimmer

7. Issac Hayes

I had to check out Isaac Hayes and Curtis Mayfield. Their music, in some cases, made the movie! No disrespect to the movies, but one day, if you watch the movie without the music, there ain’t shit happening! [Laughs]

8. Curtis Mayfield

9. Conti

10. Bernard Herrmann

I just watched Taxi Driver no longer than eight days ago. Bernard’s scores for that, Psycho and Vertigo are all classics. At least Herrmann got a chance to knock it off with the last score for Taxi Driver. That’s like how Richard Pryor said his father died having sex. That’s a good way to go. Fuck it; it’s like recycling.

—Rick Florino
06.07.09