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Jay-Z released one of his best albums on the fateful day of September 11th, 2001. Hov’s sixth studio LP, The Blueprint, showcased soulful production from the likes of Kanye West, Just Blaze and Bink, but one of the biggest inspirations for the project apparently came from a member of Wu-Tang Clan.

During an interview with Rolling Stone, RZA, the de facto leader of the legendary ’90s group, revealed that The Blueprint wouldn’t have existed without him. “I think that what I did was necessary, I think that it was ordained,” he said about his iconic career. “One day, Jay-Z told me, ‘Yo, I got [the idea for] The Blueprint from you.’”

He added, “At that time, I was headed to Hollywood already. ‘Now, here’s a path, here’s a way it can work.’ And it continued to work in different regions of the country and with different crews.”

Despite being released on the same day as the World Trade Center attacks, The Blueprint sold over 427,000 copies in its first week, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. Eminem served as the lone feature on the album, appearing on the song ‘Renegade’ which he also produced.

Although RZA didn’t appear on the project in any capacity, he later produced ‘New Day’ for Jay and Kanye’s Watch the Throne album in 2011. “I’m really honoured to be a part of the project,” he said. “These two are obviously very capable in their own right, so to include me in this classic project is a testament of how much respect we share for one another.”

Ye asked RZA to send over beats to potentially appear on the project when he was filming his directorial debut The Man with the Iron Fists, which hit cinemas in 2012. “Kanye asked me to send tracks while they were in Australia,” he said. “I just thought I would send some shit that would be rugged. I know they can find the poppy, hip-hop places, but I wanted to send them some real edgy shit. Apparently they thought they were great – Kanye said, ‘Send some more of that Wu shit!’”

Prior to its release, RZA felt Watch the Throne was going to be superior to another Jay-Z collaborative album that dropped in 2002. “In the past, when Jay-Z did Best of Both Worlds with R Kelly, I thought it was a great album but the campaign went south because of personalities,” he said. “With this project, it’s the best of many worlds. These two guys have a great chemistry and a great relationship. I’m excited.”

RZA once revealed that he wanted to go head-to-head with Jay-Z in a chess match after hearing he plays the game in his spare time. “[Jay-Z] does play, actually,” he said on Conan. “I heard he plays vertical chess. I’ve never played that yet but I’m looking forward to it. Jigga’s my man. I love Jay-Z but I would love to get on the chess board with him. Maybe we could get Don King to promote it. Right? Pay-per-view: RZA and Jay-Z chess match!”