RZA has not given much thought to the performance part of Wu-Tang Clan‘s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction. It’s no small feat, given the more than 1,000 songs to choose from among the Clan’s group and solo discographies. “I’m still just absorbing the idea that this is real,” he tells Rolling Stone one day after the group found out they’d be in the Class of 2026.
On past legs of their massively popular Wu-Tang Forever: The Final Chamber Tour, the group tried to gin up support for a Rock Hall win by directing audiences toward the fan vote. “Every night, we put the QR code on the screen and tell the fans to vote,” RZA says. “I did it humbly, like, ‘It’d be an honor if you feel you want to vote for us.’ Raekwon would be like, ‘Nah, fuck that. Y’all better vote.’”
The Wu-Tang mastermind was in “high spirits” speaking about the induction, something he says was “almost unfathomable” early in his career.
Congratulations. It’s not really a capstone since you still have a ton of projects in the works, but it’s such a pinnacle.
I mean, it’s close to a capstone [laughs]. We’ve got more to do, and we’re blessed to still be creating art in one form or another. But this is definitely one of those pillars in life and one of those signposts for me. My first house I ever bought was in Cleveland. I drove past or visited the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame hundreds of times.
Walk me through how you found out.
My partner invited me to come get a bite [on Monday], and my wife was like, “I’m gonna go with you.” So we get there, and there’s a bottle of champagne on ice. He pops the bottle, pulls the glasses, and then my wife told me. My wife and I actually watched the East Coast and West Coast version of American Idol [to see the announcement Monday night]. Then I woke up [Tuesday] morning and the first thing my wife said was, “Good morning, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer.” The child in me feels it.
The group has been eligible since 2018. Has getting in been on your mind over the years or did you never really think about it?
I didn’t think that. This is the accolade that was unpredicted for me, especially back in my early career. Being platinum, getting your little Grammy nominations or a win as a producer, all that stuff feels great. But Rock & Roll Hall of Fame wasn’t tangible to me, because even when we did the Rage [Against the Machine] tour [in 1997], I still would go home back to Cleveland and drive by the Hall of Fame and started buying guitars and shit — but hip-hop just seemed like it wasn’t going to be in that building. It was almost unfathomable.
When we became eligible, Questlove hit me and was like, “Yo, y’all guys are eligible.” And I was like, “Yeah, OK, but we’ll see what life gives.” As the years went by, I remember three or four years ago, I heard some whispers that we was going to get nominated, and it didn’t happen. When we got nominated this year, I was with my brother Russell Crowe, who’s a musician as well. And he said, “This is a really big thing, but a lot of people don’t get in on the first try, so don’t worry about that.” And now, we in! Bamalama!
Love Music?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in Australian/New Zealand music and globally.
Have you spoken to everyone in the group yet?
In some way, shape, or form, yes. The vibe is happiness. There’s another long text that came out this morning from Inspectah Deck that was just beautiful. The journey. The thanking each other. Knowing where we came from to where we’re at and being grateful to each other. Everybody just chimed in. “Thank you, brother.” “I love you, brother.” It was a lovefest.
Few groups have had more intra-band squabbling over the past three decades than you guys. I imagine all that was put aside this week.
Indeed. Super indeed. Just a few weeks ago, the Australian misfortune was bad news and we was navigating through that with management calls and then — bamalama — good news. Everybody feels the proudness of it, and then the bad smell goes away when the good smell comes in.
Is anyone not planning on attending?
To my knowledge, I don’t see nobody not attending that. I don’t see nobody taking some type of boycott.
There’s definitely been inductees who have boycotted the event.
We’re taking it as a proud moment. Of course, your fans are everything and you don’t do it for the accolades. You do it because it’s what you love. Whether they was going to pay you or not, this is what you’re going to do. But when you are successful and when your peers in the community [honor you], they’re special moments that artists should appreciate. The musician could be whatever they want to be, but as an artist and as a professional, this is professional accolades, bro.
My first lawyer from Ohio was in a rock band in college. He’s a judge now, but he loves music. He hit me to say congratulations and he’s proud of me. How many people love music, been in bands, and tried and they not going to get this type of accolade? And it means even more coming from hip-hop. And even though there’s been some peers who have entered before us, it’s still a very small group and we’re so grateful and thankful, bro, and that’s in all sincerity.
The E Street Band famously spoke for more than 30 minutes in 2014 in what is still the Rock Hall’s longest speech. Are Wu-Tang going to try to break that record?
Some of us could talk. Some of us don’t talk. I talk and it’s done through the lyrics. So they’ll probably nominate one of us. We’ll probably have a conversation like, “Who wants to talk? Let’s regulate this.”
So there will be spokespeople and not nine 10-minute-long speeches?
[Laughs.] I think we’re gonna have some regulation, bro. Let me give you one joke, though. We had got a Billboard award last year. A few brothers went and then I went to close it. Then after I closed it, another brother got back on and took five more minutes. And I was like, “Fuck it. That’s how he felt.”
MC Lyte spoke to us about her long history with you and the group. What’s it like getting inducted with her?
It means everything to me personally. [Producer] Milk D and her DJ K-Rock in the old days, before Wu got on, you can run into them in the neighborhood. Milk D’s father had ownership in the record label, so I picked up that knowledge knowing that you could do it yourself. “I Cram to Understand U” played forever and Method Man even did a remix of that song. Lyte has always been a hero and one of the best female [rappers] in all reality and even burned a lot of guys, especially in those days.
And you and Queen Latifah were both on the same label in the very early days.
That’s right. The coolest thing is, we all probably met each other late teens in some form or fashion. I remember meeting Latifah on her first single. She was the queen on Tommy Boy and I was the new artist that got signed, trying to get my ones and twos up. So there’s something special about that particular range of artists. They came in before more but it’s still that class.
Are there any other inductees you’re excited to see?
The whole list is powerful. We’re grateful to be beside those names. Our names are beside Luther Vandross, bro. Our name is beside Sade. These are the records that you played as a teenager on your first kiss, bro. A lot of these accolades are these heroes. People that you bought their records. You listen to their songs. You fell in love. Not to go soggy on you, but I remember when the movie Against All Odds came out. [Sings “Take a look at me now” from Phil Collins’ title track.] And I just got into a fight with my girl and that song was so fucking gut-wrenching. I got her back, though.
It does feel dumb in 2026 to even ask this question, but there are still people who believe that hip-hop shouldn’t be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. What do you think Wu-Tang’s induction means for hip-hop culture?
I think hip-hop culture has its own thing, but I think the hip-hop lifestyle has become a rock & roll lifestyle. Look at most of your hip-hop heroes: A$AP Rocky is doing punk rock right now. Jay-Z’s been onstage with a guitar. The cultures have always been so close. Run-D.M.C., King of Rock is the album. It’s the “roll” of it. It ain’t just the “rock.” The “rock” is one thing too, because you got to rock the house, right? Rock the mic, right?
The “roll” of it, though; the way that you roll, the way the music roll, the way things move, the way the rhythm moves. Those things, of course, at one point could be synonymous with rock & roll culture, but hip-hop culture didn’t really exist yet to say whether or not it belongs or not. But as that culture grew, I think it’s like, “Yo, hold on. There’s some of it that does belong there.” Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” is a rock song. I think that the board and the judges who are making these choices are looking at it from that perspective.
Billy Idol told us “If anyone has a rock & roll attitude, it’s the Wu-Tang.”
[Laughs.] Respect. One executive who helped build us up in the Nineties called me today — I haven’t talked to this guy in years — and he was always saying, “You guys are fucking punk rock. You guys are fucking rockers. You guys remind me of the fucking Stones.” When he called me today, I was like, “Bro, you fucking was right, man.” ODB was living the rock & roll attitude since the first album. Method Man jumping into the crowd formulated from us watching rock & roll.
If you had your say, who would you want to induct you?
Oh, that’s a crazy question. Let me throw a few names out. I’m doing one that’s going to be super egotistical, but probably the only person that I’m a superfan of that I never met: Barack Obama. But I always remember [Quentin] Tarantino saying he was a “rock & roll director.” Tarantino is a great name. I think Leonardo DiCaprio. I’m gonna give you one more. How about LeBron James as a unique piece of culture? Let me ask you a question: Are Rage Against the Machine in the Hall of Fame?
They got in in 2023, but only Tom Morello showed.
What if Rage fuckin’ inducted us? If they would come back out and say, “I want to welcome my brothers back into it.” Fuckin’ one day, do one concert to close that book. One night only. That would be crazy.
From Rolling Stone US
