Breaking down all of RZA’s nicknames
The man born Robert Diggs is known primarily by one name in particular: RZA, or sometimes the RZA. But the Wu-Tang Clan mastermind has plenty of other nicknames, too.
RZA’s playful approach to names emerged right at the beginning of the Wu-Tang story, when he and his cousins Gary Grice and Russell Jones decided to start a rap group called Force of the Imperial Master, otherwise known as the All in Together Now Crew. Each of the trio decided to record under nicknames, with Grice becoming The Genius and Jones becoming The Specialist. Diggs became The Scientist, and also Prince Rakeem.
As time went by, the cousins decided to take on new aliases as they evolved their styles. Grice, aka The Genius, became GZA, while Jones, aka The Specialist, became Ol’ Dirty Bastard. Prince Rakeem became RZA. GZA, RZA and ODB would, of course, go on to form a core part of the Wu-Tang Clan, whose other members tended to also bear interesting nicknames.
Apparently the name “RZA” was inspired by something that his fans called him when he was performing as Prince Rakeem. They apparently used to call him “Rza Rza Rakeem,” which itself was based on a song the All in Together Now crew had made called ‘Pza Pza Pumpin’.’ Diggs also used to tag graffiti as “Razor,” which also fed into his new RZA name.
RZA decided to retrospectively make the letters in his nickname stand for something, opting for Ruler, Zig-Zag-Zig, Allah. In the parlance of the Supreme Alphabet, a linguistic system forged by the Five-Percent Nation cultural movement, this name means “Ruler, Knowledge-Wisdom-Understanding, Allah.”
But beyond Prince Rakeem and RZA, there are plenty of other names that Robert Diggs has gone by. The Abbot, Bobby Digital, Bobby Steels, Prince Delight, Prince Dynamite—these and others have been used by the man. He was also called the RZArector during his days in the horrorcore supergroup Gravediggaz.
RZA has spoken publicly about his tendency to switch between nicknames over the years, as in a 2005 conversation that he had with the website Hip Hop Core. While admitting that he’d been drinking as he spoke, he proved characteristically eloquent as he explained the religious character to his decision.
“I’ve been drinkin’ a little so don’t take me too deeply,” he warned, “but there are many names to Allah plus one you don’t know. And each name is an attribute that flexes his characteristics: the Benevolent, the Merciful, the All-Knower… And to me, my names be flexin’ personalities of myself.”
What RZA was referring to is the fact that, within the Islamic faith, there are 99 different ways to refer to God, with each one bearing a specific characteristic. On top of that is another name, the 100th name, which is characterised as the Supreme Name of God. This manner of thinking, ultimately, helped to shape the way RZA understands his own monikers, as he explained.
“Prince Rakeem, Bobby Digital, Bobby Steels, the RZA, the Rzarector,” he began, “these are personalities of myself. I’m able to realise that. You do the same thing: you don’t act the same with your mother, with your friends, with your girl, with your fuckin’ boss. I’m able to recognise that and put a name on each of these motherfuckers.”
In other words, his nicknames all denote a different side of who he is as a person. “Every aspect of your personality,” he said, “if you’re wise, you’re able to separate each one of them and put them to use at the best time for the best position.”