RZA Gives Raekwon 30-Day Ultimatum to Agree to Terms for Wu-Tang Album
The Wu-Tang verbal sparring between RZA and Raekwon continued on Wednesday, with RZA telling Sports Illustrated (via Stereogum) that the rapper has 30 days to come to an agreement or risk not being on the group’s upcoming album A Better Tomorrow.
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“The album is slated to come out in July,” said the producer. “If we don’t come to terms within the next 30 days, then this will have to be an album without Raekwon or an album that never sees the light of day. That’s a very strong potential.
“I would never want to put out a Wu-Tang album without every member available,” continued RZA. “At the same time, I don’t want the fans to not have this incredible music we’ve been working on for the last year. So that’s going to be a tough decision, but we have about 30 days to make that decision and come to that conclusion.”
When asked for his gut feeling on if the public will hear A Better Tomorrow, the group’s first album since 2007’s 8 Diagrams, RZA replied, “Yes. My gut has been good. I got a 90% batting average.”
Raekwon’s manager, Anel Pla, declined to comment.
Last week, Raekwon told Rolling Stone that he was “on strike” from Wu-Tang Clan, claiming that RZA was too removed from the music world and that contracts still needed to be worked out before Raekwon would record. “As far as the RZA, I respect him, I love him – the love ain’t gonna go anywhere – but you’re not in the music world no more,” the rapper said. “So to me, you need to take a backseat and respect the n—as that is playing the game. RZA’s the type of dude where, in the Nineties, he ruled. Now it’s a new day. You’re not attached no more. It’s like being a coach and you won rings back in the day, but now your team is in ninth place. It’s time for a new fucking game plan.”
On Monday, RZA appeared on Hot 97 to address the intra-Wu beef, stating that he would prefer to solve internal issues directly with group members and not through the media. “We can call it arguing or we can call it building,” RZA said about his squabbles with Raekwon. “What we’re not doing as brothers and as business brothers is putting time together. So I gotta read about how he feel. He gotta read about how I feel. I try to make myself as available as I can. I won’t deny; I’m a busy man.”