RZA — Rapper, producer, and de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan, and a writer-director whose fourth feature film, One Spoon of Chocolate, is produced by Quentin Tarantino.
The gist
Joe Rogan and RZA open with a long conversation about martial arts, tai chi, Shaolin philosophy, exercise routines and cold plunges as tools for mental as well as physical health. They pivot into dark economics: the Sackler family and the opioid crisis, doctors financially incentivized to over-prescribe, and slave-labor cobalt mining in the Congo that powers our phones, which RZA connects to his own lyrics and a film project tracing King Leopold's rubber atrocities. RZA promotes his new film One Spoon of Chocolate repeatedly, discussing its anamorphic look, 35mm prints, his 36 Cinema distribution company, and his passion for the theatrical experience. The back half drifts into music recommendations, veganism and pumpkin seeds, AI as a creative tool, immersive cinema tech (Sphere, Cosm, Vision Pro), and an extended riff on lab-grown diamonds versus mined ones and Chinese super-clone Rolexes.
Big reveals
- RZA says a heroin-addicted boyfriend of his aunt telling him 'you got to get knowledge' is what made him start reading as a kid.
- Joe recounts a deviated-septum surgery where a doctor pushed two opioid prescriptions on him though he wasn't in pain.
- RZA realizes his own song 'The Great Fisherman' described Congo cobalt mining before he had ever seen footage of it.
- RZA admits being called an 'Indian giver' by D'Angelo for licensing a podcast theme beat to the Minions movie out from under him.
- RZA reveals April 22nd, the day his film premieres on 35mm, is the anniversary of his 1992 acquittal that birthed 'RZA' from 'Prince Rakim.'
- Joe and RZA explore Chinese 'super clone' Rolexes that mirror real watches for ~$1,400 versus $30,000 retail.
Things worth remembering
- Opioid overdoses kill upwards of 70,000 people a year in America.
- Chemotherapy runs roughly $30,000 to $60,000 a dose, one of the most profitable medications doctors prescribe.
- A huge share of the cobalt in phones and electronics is hand-mined in the Congo under slave-labor conditions.
- RZA frames the Quran's prophecy of 'abundant wells' as fulfilled by Middle Eastern oil wells.
- Pumpkin seeds (pepitas) are protein- and mineral-rich; RZA keeps roasted ones in his car as a vegan protein source.
- Hemp protein is one of the few plant proteins containing all amino acids and is highly bioavailable.
- RZA hasn't driven a car since 2012 after near-daily near-accidents filming in China.
- Lab-grown and natural diamonds are physically identical; even jewelers need microscopes and UV to find subtle hints of origin.
- Saab went bankrupt in 2011 and no longer makes cars; RZA used a Saab in his film to obscure the era.
- Joe credits the Alamo Drafthouse with pioneering the food-in-theaters concept; his comedy club, the Mothership, sits in the old Ritz on 6th Street.
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One Spoon of Chocolate
RZA
“This is the RZA. I'm sitting here with Joe Rogan. I have a new film coming out May 1st. It's called One Spoon of Chocolate.” — RZA 01:38:49Find it on Amazon
The Man with the Iron Fists
RZA
“So, I wrote my first film and with the IFS. Which was a Quentin Tarantino present as well. And then it was a kung fu movie.” — RZA 01:07:23Find it on Amazon
Love Beats Rhymes
RZA
“My second film I didn't write. It was called Love Beats Rhymes. It was a movie about poetry and a female lead.” — RZA 01:07:23Find it on Amazon
Cut Throat City
RZA
“And then my third film was called Cut Throat City. This once again I hired gun as a director.” — RZA 01:07:54Find it on Amazon
Painkiller
Peter Berg (inferred)
“Did you ever see that Netflix docu-series Painkiller? It's really good. It's all about the Sackler family. Peter Berg made it.” — Joe Rogan 00:32:10Find it on Amazon
Heavy Rhyme Experience
The Brand New Heavies
“one of my favorite albums ever is when the Brand New Heavies got Heavy Rhyme Experience. Oh my god, you got to listen to some of this.” — Joe Rogan 01:12:29Find it on Amazon
Sensuous Sensuous (Isley Brothers)
The Isley Brothers
“I got to put you on some Isley Brothers... I'm going to say Sensuous. Put that one on... your shoulders going to start moving.” — RZA 01:11:27Find it on Amazon
Baddest Man Alive
The RZA & Black Keys
“one of my favorite songs from that first soundtrack is Baddest Man Alive that you did with Black Sheep. That song killed it.” — Joe Rogan 01:08:24Find it on Amazon
Ill Street Blues
Kool G Rap
“Ill Street Blues is amazing. And Kool G Rap, I just think in mainstream just doesn't get the respect he deserves” — Joe Rogan 01:15:33Find it on Amazon