Wu-Tang Clan mastermind RZA has collected a trophy room full of honors over the course of his nearly-four decade career. But it is a recent unexpected tribute that had the veteran MC/producer feeling super special.
“[It’s a] great honor to know that there’s another generation that’s not even of my own household that feels the strength and the inspiration of that name,” the Grammy-winning rapper born Robert Fitzgerald Diggs told CNN on Thursday (July 6) when describing his feelings about Rihanna and A$AP Rocky naming thier 13-month-old son after him.
“RZA is only a name, it’s a title,” RZA added. “So it’s an honor and I salute her and A$AP and their family. All the blessings in the world from me.” According to Hip Hop in America: A Regional Guide Vol. 1, RZA came up with his rap name as he began to delve into Islam and learned about the significance of the letter Z, which refers to the highest level of human consciousness. He’s said the name stands for “Ruler, Zi-Zag-Zig, Allah,” which translates into “Ruler, Knowledge-Wisdom-Understanding, Allah.”
Back in May, Rocky posted a series of photos and a video of the couple’s son on Instagram, including a caption that included the name RZA and a Wu-Tang shout-out. “‘WU TANG IZ 4 DA CHUREN’ HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY TO MY 1st BORN . RZA,” he wrote at the time. Just days before the Daily Mail claimed that it had obtained the baby boy’s birth certificate, which reportedly noted that his full name is RZA Athelston Mayers; Rocky’s birth name is Rakim Athelston Mayers.
The happy couple celebrated summer earlier this week when Rihanna showed off her view from the beach via a cute photo of Rocky holding RZA up the sky. With a palm tree and setting sun background, she captioned the sweet scene, “my Bajan boyz…🇧🇧❤️,” suggesting that the family — which will soon by joined by baby No. 2 — is taking some R&R time in RihRih’s home country of Barbados.
