RZA praises Drake ahead of ‘Iceman’ album: “I respect him”
RZA has given Drake his flowers ahead of his Iceman album.
Drizzy is set to release his ninth solo album on May 15th, and Wu-Tang Clan’s de facto leader has given him the ultimate seal of approval.
“I’ve met him, I respect him,” RZ said on The Adam Friedland Show. “Sometimes an artist will say, ‘I know you,’ and I can’t say I know him. But yeah, I’m a fan of Drake’s music, I met him, he’s a cool motherfucker.”
Drake famously paid homage to Wu-Tang in 2013 with his song ‘Wu-Tang Forever‘, which appeared on his Nothing Was the Same album.
The song, produced by Noah ’40’ Shebib, samples Wu’s ‘It’s Yourz‘ from their 1997 album, Wu-Tang Forever.
RZA previously co-signed the song while revealing he cleared the sample without charging Drake for using it.
“I appreciate it,” he told Rolling Stone. “He sent me the song because they couldn’t clear the sample. So I did it myself, personally, for free. Free of charge. Because to me, that’s what we meant when we said Wu-Tang is forever.”
He continued, “We didn’t think we were going to live forever. We meant that the energy of what we do would spread on in culture, generation by generation. And by Drake absorbing it and having that influence in his life and having it be a part of him, it proves what I’m saying. And I’m really proud that he chose that rap.”
Drake asked Wu-Tang Clan to feature on a remix of the song, but they declined. In the years since, RZA admitted that he regretted turning down the collaboration.
“That should have happened,” he told Power 106. “First of all, I want to shout Drake out. I think he threw an alley oop to us right there, and I think we missed it.”