RZA on the Ferry

Chess playing, Staten Island dwelling, Sci-Fi Hip Hop making RZA selects a soundtrack for a ride on the STATEN ISLAND FERRY (NY Magazine)

Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes: “Wake Up Everybody”
I remember listening to this as a little kid. I was really poor, and this song made me feel like there was hope.

Peter Brown: “Do Ya Wanna Get Funky With Me”
This is for when you’re heading to the ferry—I used to ride the dollar van, now I walk or ride the bus.

Andrea True Connection “More, More, More”
Listen to this when you go to the concession stand.

Force M.D.’s “Tender Love”
The ferry can be a very romantic place. Take it up to the third deck, you might get lucky and see a pretty woman sitting there alone, right when you pass the Statue of Liberty.

Eric B. & Rakim “My Melody”
This is for the hip-hop side. In the old days of the ferry, there were guys hustling loose joints downstairs. I can see me back then, getting my smoke on, listening to Rakim.

Run-DMC “My Adidas”
There was nothing like coming back to Staten Island fresh with your new Adidas on. I loved Adidas, and shit, I felt so cool when Run-DMC made this song.

Silver Convention “Fly Robin, Fly”
This reminds me of standing outside at the back of the boat, watching the bubbles blow up, seeing the pigeons fly up, maybe throwing them some food.

Paul Simon “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”
When the Wu-Tang got popular, I would ride the boat just to get serenity. This is a song that I advise people to listen to. “Hop on the bus, Gus.” Now, he didn’t say get on the Staten Island Ferry, but that’s another way to do it.

Wu-Tang Clan “C.R.E.A.M.”
You gotta represent Staten Island. Also, it’s how to prepare yourself for New York City. This city’s all about the money.

Elton John “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”
As the Wu-Tang Clan, we needed to get off of Staten Island to find our real life. We used to meet on the ferry on our way to see Russell Simmons. Me and Ol’ Dirty got arrested on the ferry three or four times. I remember fighting cab drivers. Fighting Brooklyn niggas. Hitting on somebody’s girl, and then her boyfriend comes.

Odyssey “Native New Yorker”
This is when you’re approaching Manhattan. I really feel the Yankees, the mustard—I really feel New York when I hear this song.

McFadden & Whitehead “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now”
Now you get off the boat, you’re on your way to the real world. You should have this idea in your head—ain’t no stopping us now.

Don't get your hopes up of bumping into RZA playing his iPod on the Ferry - he doesn't take the Ferry anymore - he moved to LA LA land last year to get closer to the movie industry and start work on his first feature film "The Man with the Iron Fist."


Here he discusses his feelings about Chess to Martin Turrenne

"We have a problem in America, and definitely in the black community, of spontaneous reaction to situations without proper calculation. Chess is a game of calculation, it’s a game of analytical thinking and strategic planning. You’ve got to think two, three, four moves ahead. If brothers had that thinking in their life, maybe they wouldn’t end up dead or in jail.”