The Wu-Tang MC recalls Eminem’s debut album release party, Shady’s cyphers with Killer Bees, and exchanging compliments with Dr. Dre.
RZA’s extended interview on the Flagrant podcast offered listeners a record amount of firsthand insight into hip hop history and the craft. One of the stories the hosts were eager to hear was how RZA met Eminem for the first time.
First impression
The East Coast legend chuckled, remembering the occasion. “I went to Eminem’s first album release party. I met him there”, RZA shared. “I was probably the only East Coast motherfucker in there, bro. It was in LA”.
So, before even the success of The Slim Shady LP, RZA decided that this party was the place to be. Apparently, what little RZA had heard was enough to form an opinion on a new artist: “The single was doing well. Lyricists recognised him immediately”.
Connected through music
However, that was not the only reason RZA went to that party. Both human connection and personal circumstances played their roles as well.
Back then, many up-and-coming artists, actors, and musicians who came to California for work would stay in corporate housing at the Oakwood Apartments. Apparently, this is where Eminem was staying at that time, as well as the young artists RZA was working with.
“Eminem was there at the Oakwood, and he met some of my younger Killa Beez,” RZA says, referring to younger artists that he and Wu-Tang Clan were promoting and sometimes managing. At that time, some of them lived in the same building, where they got to know an interesting neighbour. Moreover, they were passing the time together rapping. “They met Eminem back in those days, and they told me about him, ’cause they would get to cyphers. I went to the album release. I just went”.
Besides this connection, RZA had the kind of personality that did not allow him to shy away from opportunities. Also, he was so far from home. “In that phase of my life, I just moved to Cali, I’m the type of a motherfucker that will show up. If somebody’s like, ‘Oh, they got a hip hop so and so tonight. You want to pop in?’ Why not? It’s a party! And I’ll be the only motherfucker from the East Coast in the whole party”.
Respectful encounter
So, did he feel intimidated, or was the Wu-Tang’s reputation already beyond regional divides?
“No, I felt super comfortable, and there was love”, RZA reassures the audience. “I mean, come on. Dr. Dre, that’s like the godfather of it all. When I first met him, it was a pleasure, a joy. And it’s mutual. He’s giving me some great compliments, and it’s mutual”.
RZA mentioned that Dr. Dre sets the gold standard for polished album sound, while the Wu-Tang MC leans into the lo-fi, street-rooted sound. However, it did not come between them, as both hip hop legends were able to respect and appreciate the craft of the other.
The first thing that captures attention in RZA’s story is how mundane things and events look. Just a young MC, living in corporate housing, hanging out with other artists, working towards success, a rapper heading to a hip hop party to find his way in LA.
Who could have predicted that Slim Shady would become the most successful rapper the genre had seen? At least, RZA knew he had met real talent, backed by a legend respected on both US coasts. And just months later, RZA and Eminem would meet on an impressive cypher, “The Anthem”. Sway & King Tech brought together RZA, Tech N9ne, Eminem, Xzibit, Pharoahe Monch, Kool G Rap, Jayo Felony, Chino XL, and KRS-One.
Honestly, hip hop history often feels like a maze, where even parallel lines sometimes cross. Also, history is made by people, and RZA’s story is a good reminder of that.