Credit: David Shankbone

RZA was a platinum artist before he could read music or play instruments. Wu-Tang Clan released Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time, in 1993 without the Brooklyn rapper/producer knowing anything about sheet music. He went on to produce other classics such as Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… and GZA’s Liquid Swords before adding some knowledge to his repertoire in 1997.

Shortly before the release of Wu-Tang Forever, RZA built a new studio and spent $300,000 on equipment. He was given $4million to make the album, so, with a bit of an ego, he purchased some new gear from a music store. Despite being a successful artist, his self-esteem was quickly shot down by an encounter with an angry customer who claimed he wasn’t a real musician.

“I was at a music store buying equipment,” he told MTV. “I went platinum. I probably was feeling myself egotistically, and a regular musician stopped me ‘cause people were giving me attention like, ‘That’s the RZA.’ This guy said [to me], ‘You’re ruining music.’ [I was like], ‘What’s this guy talking about?’”

The man claimed RZA was putting people out of business by succeeding without knowing how to play instruments. “He was a musician, but because of sampling, he can’t get a job,” he said. “Because of drum machines, his drummer can’t get no work. He said, ‘You’re not a real musician.’

“I said, ‘What are you talking about I’m not a real musician? I’ve got a platinum album.’ He said, ‘Yeah, but you’re not a musician. You don’t know nothing about music.’ He was right; I couldn’t tell him what a C note was. So he challenged me, basically.”

Bobby Digital took it upon himself to put in the work and study musical theory to believe he deserved his success. “I didn’t say nothing to him, I just took it to myself,” he said. “I came back a week later and bought some music theory books and started studying music theory so I could be a legitimate musician, just to respect the craft of music.”

He added, “He was right; it’s unfair sometimes to have success on things when we haven’t paid our dues. I had paid my dues to hip-hop, but I didn’t pay my dues to music, so I went and started studying theory.”

RZA picked things up quickly and used the knowledge to create some of the biggest songs of his career. “I knew what it sound like,” he told Q with Tom Power. “I knew how to put sounds together, I knew how to tweak five things and make them and pick the right balance. I had the ear, but I didn’t have the knowledge and skillset like that.

“Once I learned the Circle of Fifths – that’s why you hear Wu-Tang Forever, you hear songs like ‘Triumph’ and ‘It’s Yourz’, you hear those progressions. You hear the violin come in on ‘Reunited’. Not even a year, six, seven months, boom. I’m now understanding what I was looking for.”