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The Tao of Wu
by
The RZA
A unique book of wisdom and experience that reaches from the most violent slums of New York City to the highest planes of spiritual thought by the RZA, founder of the Wu-Tang Clan andhip-hop's most exalted wise man.
The RZA, the Abbot of the Wu-Tang Clan and hip-hop culture's most dynamic genius, imparts the lessons he's learned on the journey that's taken him from the Sta...more
The RZA, the Abbot of the Wu-Tang Clan and hip-hop culture's most dynamic genius, imparts the lessons he's learned on the journey that's taken him from the Sta...more
Hardcover, 224 pages
Published
October 15th 2009
by Riverhead Hardcover
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This is a must-read for any fan of the Wu-Tang Clan.
Let's be honest: if you're not a Wu-Tang fan, I'm already judging you a little. But if you read (and like) this book, I will have a far higher opinion of you.
(Just kidding. Sort of.)
In this fascinating book, Rza tells several tales simultaneously.
He talks about his personal evolution and how his interest in comic books, Islamic teachings and Kung Fu culture all helped shape the man he is today. He ruminates on loss and identity and love.
He a...more
Let's be honest: if you're not a Wu-Tang fan, I'm already judging you a little. But if you read (and like) this book, I will have a far higher opinion of you.
(Just kidding. Sort of.)
In this fascinating book, Rza tells several tales simultaneously.
He talks about his personal evolution and how his interest in comic books, Islamic teachings and Kung Fu culture all helped shape the man he is today. He ruminates on loss and identity and love.
He a...more
The Tao of Wu is awesome! Rza is a very intelligent man who tells the story of his life and the creation of his hip hop group Wu Tang. The Rza shows how knowledge brings wisdom. He brought together a group of artists who came from nothing and have become some of the most well known hip hop artists today. Rza gives a lot of religious quotes and original lyrics that are powerful coming from different study’s his mind wrapped around from as early as ten years old. Also Rza teaches his knowledge ar...more
Jan 13, 2012
Eli
added it
This book pretty much rocked. It was written by the RZA, who is a lot smarter than you would think, given that he's a gangsta rapper who spits about kung fu and meth. Throughout the book, the RZA gives simple, but deep, knowledge through his experience with the Pillars of Wisdom, kung fu, living on the street, Mathematics, Islam, and the Wu-Tang Clan. He tries to make his lessons as universal as possible, so even the most sheltered, white people can relate to what he has to say. In our close-min...more
3 likes · like · see review
view 1 comment
Last but not least I picked up the Tao of RZA at Border’s closing sale last week for %70 off. Out of the 3 books I probably enjoyed this one the most. The writing was definitely the strongest, but I think a lot of credit could go to the fact that he had a co-writer to organize all of his thoughts. Basically, RZA sat down and did just rambled about his philosophies for a several hours and the co-writer organized it into something more cohesive. Like Jay-Z, RZA is at his strongest when telling the...more
RZA’s book is chaotic. There’s no table of contents. The random meditations, life lessons, and stories seem misplaced. His life chronology is jumbled up and difficult to follow. The pillars of wisdom aren’t parallel and they’re hard to apply. The Tao of Wu is like starting in a middle of a conversation. He is God but Allah is greater. He had the knowledge but then he pretended to forget it as his superhero alter ego. He was reborn but still dead. He’s not religious but Islam is the way. The cont...more
( this book counts as 2 )
this book is by one of the greatest rapers and original rapers of all time. this book talks about his child life and how they got there name and this is like an autobiography.
this book talks about how his life growing up and how it wasnt easy, it seams like every rappers life as a kid was hard, but how when he was younger how he used to live with a lot of people in one small project house and how he couldnt even get to sleep on a bed. also i think he got the name of hi...more
this book is by one of the greatest rapers and original rapers of all time. this book talks about his child life and how they got there name and this is like an autobiography.
this book talks about how his life growing up and how it wasnt easy, it seams like every rappers life as a kid was hard, but how when he was younger how he used to live with a lot of people in one small project house and how he couldnt even get to sleep on a bed. also i think he got the name of hi...more
WHAT I LEARNED FROM THIS BOOK:
* Dragon Ball Z represents the journey of the black man in America
* RZA stands for Ruler-Knowledge/Wisdom/Understanding-Allah
* RZA lost his virginity when he was 11 to an older woman. She also taught him how to play chess.
* At the age of 12, RZA had already memorized all the answers to the 120 questions of the Nation of Islam.
* While the rest of New York was caught up in hip-hop fads and trends, Staten Island was nurturing something ancient, "like Mothra."
* Before R...more
* Dragon Ball Z represents the journey of the black man in America
* RZA stands for Ruler-Knowledge/Wisdom/Understanding-Allah
* RZA lost his virginity when he was 11 to an older woman. She also taught him how to play chess.
* At the age of 12, RZA had already memorized all the answers to the 120 questions of the Nation of Islam.
* While the rest of New York was caught up in hip-hop fads and trends, Staten Island was nurturing something ancient, "like Mothra."
* Before R...more
10 likes · like · see review
Oct 25, 2009
Ron
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
celebrities,
magickal,
martial-arts,
memoirs,
motivational,
music,
pop-culture,
self-improvement,
hip-hop,
taoism,
radical
RZA's memoir has plenty on the rise of the Wu-Tang clan, but it's primarily about his spiritual progression through the Divine Lessons of the Nation of Gods and Earth mixed in with the influence of all those Shaolin martial-arts movies he watched growing up, which means you'll be led through a bunch of cosmological and numerological digressions in much the same way Aleister Crowley used to pull out the kabbalistic gematria on a regular basis. (Despite the biographical differences, it does feel l...more
RZA is clearly an intelligent man. His ambition and ability to focus on conquering his fears, obstacles, and shortcomings commands a great deal of respect. The story behind the formation of the hip-hop super group the Wu-Tang Clan is an interesting one and the often salacious "behind the scene stories" from his childhood and onwards are my favorite parts of the book. It did tend to lose me on the more spiritual side of things. I just found it hard to connect this deeply pious person with the RZA...more
A must-read for Wu Tang fans. RZA goes a little deeper into his religious and philosophical beliefs here than he did in "The Wu Tang Manual". This book is as crazy, brilliant, edgy, contradictory, controversial and wild as the best Wu Tang music is. There are nuggets of great wisdom, and many, many interesting stories of Wu lore here. I thought the way the RZA sort of tip-toed into the more insane beliefs at the core of the 5% Nation to be sort of strange and a bit cowardly. For the first part o...more
Sort of was blown away at the density of this read. The RZA is clearly a guy who is just a million times brighter than almost every hip-hop artist ever. This book was probably a little too far over my head for me to honestly give a solid review about it. I enjoyed the autobiographical looks into his past, as he spends about half the time referring to his life and the other half discussing very zen-like matters. I sort of would be more interested to read a biography about the RZA and his rise to...more
The art of Wu by RZA was is an extremely fascinating book much like the auto biography of Malcolm X. It really got into the life of one of my favorite rappers, RZA and explained how it was that he came to be among the ranks of the all time greats of raps. His stories stating from when he was 5 moving from project to project are all riveting and inspiring. They teach many different lessons and can reach a wide audience. I fell that The Tao of Wu was allot more educational than I expected it to be...more
This is a courageous, honest and sincere book and it could only have been written by somebody who has made a profound journey, philosophically speaking. I found myself agreeing with a large amount of the conclusions that he comes to about what is wrong (and right) in life and society, even if he has a very different way of reasoning out those conclusions than I would have.
I love books that surprise me and this one definitely did that. I didn't really know what to expect but one thing I certainly...more
I love books that surprise me and this one definitely did that. I didn't really know what to expect but one thing I certainly...more
As someone who has been listening to the Wu for upwards of 12 years, who has also been a spiritual seeker and who has always recognized the spiritual infusion in the Wu's music, this was definitely a must-read for me (as was the previously-published Wu Manual). Much to my surprise and pleasure, the book was more a biography of a spiritual journey than it is a biography of a musical career... although there is plenty of the latter in this book, as well.
I liked much of the book and felt there wer...more
I liked much of the book and felt there wer...more
I know this was supposed to be a book about the RZA's philosophy on life but there were a lot of parts where the Tao of Wu was getting interesting and just stopped dead. I personally would have liked to hear him write about the music more. Like when he talked about how he had a separate compressor for every single member of the Wu Tang clan. Or when he talked about how many samples you could have in a track and how he bunked conventional wisdom in his production technique. I would like to know h...more
You gotta give credit to The RZA. He definitely maintains his own style. And has done so for a long time. So you know that when he discusses the influence of Eastern philosophy/religion on his life and profession, you know that he's serious.
This book represents the development and thought process of The RZA. Where he came from. What he thinks. Why he thinks. What he has seen.
I was impressed by The RZA's interest in these topics. He definitely breaks the mold of the typical hip hop artist (or any...more
This book represents the development and thought process of The RZA. Where he came from. What he thinks. Why he thinks. What he has seen.
I was impressed by The RZA's interest in these topics. He definitely breaks the mold of the typical hip hop artist (or any...more
You don't have to be a Wu disciple to enjoy this book...though it helps. RZA is an enlightened, deep thinker and provides insight into not only the world of hip-hop and Wu-slang, but into his spirituality - an interesting combination of Islamic, Buddhist, and Christian studies. He claims not to be a prophet, but one could easily argue that Prince Rakeem comes bearing knowledge and wisdom unique to his personal experiences with Kung Fu, religious practices, and world hip hop domination. After rea...more
It’s no secret that I’m a fan of The Wu-Tang Clan. While I do not have the W tattooed on my face, I do pick up anything Wu related. The Tao of the Wu written by The RZA is a must pick up for all Wu heads. Tao features stories and philosophies that shaped The RZA, subsequently also shaping the Wu-Tang Clan. The RZA has a very distinct voice. That aspect is the same for his writing. The RZA’s bravado and intensity can still be heard throughout the pages. A trait I wish to imitate in my own writing...more
The RZA is wise. This book is brilliant because of its simplicity. He takes complex subjects such as chess, Hip Hop, life, & violence and unites them into wisdom snippets for anyone. He shows how he learned economics from the street hustle. He learned about life from Kung Fu movies and playing chess. And he admits that he wasn't a very kind person while Wu Tang was on the rise. Most importantly, he's humble enough to admit that he doesn't know everything but wise enough to recognize his own...more
"The Tao of Wu" by the RZA is about the RZA and the different life experiences he has gone through that made him who he is today. For you who don't know who the RZA is, he is part of the Wu Tang Clan. The Wu Tang Clan are a group of the RZA's family and close friends. Together they created one of the biggest rap groups within the industry and have had a major impact on rap today. I really enjoyed this book even though I tend to stay away from Non-fiction. I think that the book gave me knowledge...more
This book was very helpful in bringing together the many aspects that the wu tang clan is known for. I remember reading the Ronnie Wood autobiography and feeling like Wood was sitting in a bar telling me funny stories. This was similar. The tone of the book was almost conversational. A conversation that you have with a professor who jumps from topic to topic but always brings back the main point and clarifies.
I found it hard to buy into many of his beliefs but i did not let that stop me from re...more
I found it hard to buy into many of his beliefs but i did not let that stop me from re...more
Very entertaining... the opening endorsement from his kungfu teacher sets up for a cool interrelation between RZA's life and kungfu concepts. Most compelling were the parts describing the way his philosophy developed out of his time in jail and in the projects around Staten Island and Brooklyn, the best bits being descriptions of the turkey burgers and video game tourneys that would constitute their time spent in the bunker underneath their Staten Island apartment, from which sessions came the 3...more
Great book!
Very well written, philosophical, and powerful. Rza's perception and outlook on life in regards to religion is amazing. It's obviously through his personal perspective and a direct correlation to what he believes in, but nevertheless very insightful and interesting.
If you like the rap/hip hop culture along with Confucius/Muslim concepts, definitely read this one. He does talk about the creation of the Wu-Tang Clan and his infatuation with martial arts, which is intertwined within his...more
Very well written, philosophical, and powerful. Rza's perception and outlook on life in regards to religion is amazing. It's obviously through his personal perspective and a direct correlation to what he believes in, but nevertheless very insightful and interesting.
If you like the rap/hip hop culture along with Confucius/Muslim concepts, definitely read this one. He does talk about the creation of the Wu-Tang Clan and his infatuation with martial arts, which is intertwined within his...more
It's interesting to read how it all got started, and specific details that brought this man to a current state of fame. His perceptions are unique and "enlightening" in a sense. You read all the ups and downs, he doesn't shy off the drugs, the sex, and the shootings, but all through that he told us about what he learnt. I think his morals are set on stone, permanent, and resonating. Good words to live by, lots of quotes that can be established in our world now. We need this kind of knowledge, an...more
The concept of the book is cute - a book of personal wisdom laid out in the style of a Taoist tract – but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. He talks about everyday things like hip hop, comics, chess and relationships and RZA has had enough ups and downs in his rich and varied life to be able to impart some genuine wisdom but sadly it's veiled in nonsense like numerology and religious quotations. What I would rather read is a book where RZA reflected on his life and struggles and high-poi...more
I've enjoyed Wu-Tang's music for years, but I was a little skeptical when I heard The RZA wrote a book. The group's lyrics had never seemed particularly deep, aside from the occasional connection to eastern philosophy. His "Bobby Digital" album didn't impress me, and -- his brief appearance in _Coffee and Cigarettes_ notwithstanding -- I never thought of RZA as much of an intellect. When I heard him on NPR, however, I realized I had rushed to judgment, and I ordered the book soon afterwards.
In t...more
In t...more
Know this: The RZA is charlied off his nut.
I have only a passing familiarity with the Wu Tang clan, having been amused by the antics of Ol' Dirty Bastard's persona over the years. I picked up this book after seeing the RZA make a nearly incomprehensible appearance on the Colbert show. After discovering he had written a biographical philosophy book called "The Tao of Wu", I knew I had to read it.
Reading this book gave me a glimpse into a mind that is interesting, to say the least. The RZA draws...more
I have only a passing familiarity with the Wu Tang clan, having been amused by the antics of Ol' Dirty Bastard's persona over the years. I picked up this book after seeing the RZA make a nearly incomprehensible appearance on the Colbert show. After discovering he had written a biographical philosophy book called "The Tao of Wu", I knew I had to read it.
Reading this book gave me a glimpse into a mind that is interesting, to say the least. The RZA draws...more
This was an interesting read. Great mix of Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, and street-thug philosophy. Just when I was about to say it was supremely profound, though, the RZA would break into the nonsensical... Although it's hard to say if what I was finding nonsensical was simply my lack of understanding of Supreme Mathematics (a religious philosophy which stems from the Nation of Islam). Regardless, a great (and quick) Wu read with some gems of wisdom and a real appreciation for the way each reli...more
i had to abandon due to incoherency, but some interesting bits about nation of islam 5%ers, the whole wu story, how horrible poverty in nyc is (it sounds like a bunch of indians in okla, dozens of people living in one house, no food, no hope etc etc but lots of stimulation),
i guess this would be a fantastic book for wu tang, eastern religions, pulling yourself up by boot straps, high life, fans.
i am not really any of those things and could not hang with the rza.
i guess this would be a fantastic book for wu tang, eastern religions, pulling yourself up by boot straps, high life, fans.
i am not really any of those things and could not hang with the rza.
I was forced by a good friend of mine to read this book. I got round to it after a year of constant persuasion by my friend, I managed to fall in love with it in it's opening pages. As a young Hip-Hop fan searching for answers, this book marries the world of Hip-Hop with a spiritual journey that has the reader joining The Rza on his path to enlightenment. I recommend this to any body that's a lover of Hip-Hop and a reader that's loves an interesting story.
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“It's harder to make the glass than break the glass.”
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“Knowing others is wisdom. Knowing yourself is Enlightenment. - Lao-Tzu”
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