{"id":62551,"date":"2026-04-15T18:16:45","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T18:16:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/15\/rza-wants-barack-obama-to-induct-wu-tang-clan-into-rock-hall-of-fame\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T18:16:45","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T18:16:45","slug":"rza-wants-barack-obama-to-induct-wu-tang-clan-into-rock-hall-of-fame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/15\/rza-wants-barack-obama-to-induct-wu-tang-clan-into-rock-hall-of-fame\/","title":{"rendered":"RZA Wants Barack Obama to Induct Wu-Tang Clan Into Rock Hall of Fame"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n\tRZA<\/a> has not given much thought to the performance part of Wu-Tang Clan<\/a>\u2018s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame<\/a> induction. It\u2019s no small feat, given the more than 1,000 songs to choose from among the Clan\u2019s group and solo discographies. \u201cI\u2019m still just absorbing the idea that this is real,\u201d he tells Rolling Stone <\/em>one day after the group found out they\u2019d be in the Class of 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn 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. \u201cEvery night, we put the QR code on the screen and tell the fans to vote,\u201d RZA says. \u201cI did it humbly, like, \u2018It\u2019d be an honor if you feel you want to vote for us.\u2019 Raekwon would be like, \u2018Nah, fuck that. Y\u2019all better vote.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Wu-Tang mastermind was in \u201chigh spirits\u201d speaking about the induction, something he says was \u201calmost unfathomable\u201d early in his career.<\/p>\n

\n\tCongratulations. It\u2019s not really a capstone since you still have a ton of projects in the works, but it\u2019s such a pinnacle.<\/strong>
I mean, it\u2019s close<\/em> to a capstone [laughs<\/em>]. We\u2019ve got more to do, and we\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n

\n\tWalk me through how you found out.<\/strong>
My partner invited me to come get a bite [on Monday], and my wife was like, \u201cI\u2019m gonna go with you.\u201d So we get there, and there\u2019s 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 <\/em>West Coast version of American Idol <\/em>[to see the announcement Monday night]. Then I woke up [Tuesday] morning and the first thing my wife said was, \u201cGood morning, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer.\u201d The child in me feels it.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe group has been eligible since 2018. Has getting in been on your mind over the years or did you never really think about it?<\/strong>
I didn\u2019t 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\u2019t 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 \u2014 but hip-hop just seemed like it wasn\u2019t going to be in that building. It was almost unfathomable.<\/p>\n

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\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n

\n\tWhen we became eligible, Questlove hit me and was like, \u201cYo, y\u2019all guys are eligible.\u201d And I was like, \u201cYeah, OK, but we\u2019ll see what life gives.\u201dAs 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\u2019t happen. When we got nominated this year, I was with my brother Russell Crowe, who\u2019s a musician as well. And he said, \u201cThis is a really big thing, but a lot of people don\u2019t get in on the first try, so don\u2019t worry about that.\u201d And now, we in! Bamalama!<\/p>\n

\n\tHave you spoken to everyone in the group yet?<\/strong>
In some way, shape, or form, yes. <\/strong>The <\/strong>vibe is happiness. There\u2019s 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\u2019re at and being grateful to each other. Everybody just chimed in. \u201cThank you, brother.\u201d \u201cI love you, brother.\u201d It was a lovefest.<\/p>\n

\n\tFew groups have had more intra-band squabbling over the past three decades than you guys. I imagine all that was put aside this week.<\/strong>
Indeed. Super indeed. Just a few weeks ago, the Australian misfortune<\/a> was bad news and we was navigating through that with management calls and then \u2014 bamalama \u2014 good news. Everybody feels the proudness of it, and then the bad smell goes away when the good smell comes in.<\/p>\n

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\t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n

\n\tIs anyone not planning on attending?<\/strong>
To my knowledge, I don\u2019t see nobody not attending that. I don\u2019t see nobody taking some type of boycott.<\/p>\n

\n\tThere\u2019s definitely been inductees who have boycotted the event.<\/strong>
We\u2019re taking it as a proud moment. Of course, your fans are everything and you don\u2019t do it for the accolades. You do it because it\u2019s what you love. Whether they was going to pay you or not, this is what you\u2019re going to do. But when you are successful and when your peers in the community [honor you], they\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n

\n\tMy first lawyer from Ohio was in a rock band in college. He\u2019s a judge now, but he loves music. He hit me to say congratulations and he\u2019s 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\u2019s been some peers who have entered before us, it\u2019s still a very small group and we\u2019re so grateful and thankful, bro, and that\u2019s in all sincerity.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe E Street Band famously spoke for more than 30 minutes in 2014 in what is still the Rock Hall\u2019s longest speech. Are Wu-Tang going to try to break that record?<\/strong>
Some of us could talk. Some of us don\u2019t talk. I talk and it\u2019s done through the lyrics. So they\u2019ll probably nominate one of us. We\u2019ll probably have a conversation like, \u201cWho wants to talk? Let\u2019s regulate this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSo there will be spokespeople and not nine 10-minute-long speeches<\/strong>?
[Laughs<\/em>.] I think we\u2019re gonna have some regulation, bro. Let me give you one joke, though. We had got a Billboard<\/em> award last year. A few brothers went and then I went to close it. Then after I closed it, another<\/em> brother got back on and took five more minutes. And I was like, \u201cFuck it. That\u2019s how he felt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMC Lyte spoke to us<\/a> about her long history with you and the group. What\u2019s it like getting inducted with her?<\/strong>
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\u2019s father had ownership in the record label, so I picked up that knowledge knowing that you could do it yourself. \u201cI Cram to Understand U\u201d played forever and Method Man even did a remix<\/a> of that song. Lyte <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n

And you and Queen Latifah were both on the same label in the very early days.
<\/strong>That\u2019s 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\u2019s something special about that particular range of artists. They came in before more but it\u2019s still that class.<\/p>\n

\n\tAre there any other inductees you\u2019re excited to see?<\/strong>
The whole list is powerful. We\u2019re 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<\/em> came out. [Sings \u201cTake a look at me now\u201d from Phil Collins\u2019 title track.]<\/em> And I just got into a fight with my girl and that song was so fucking gut-wrenching. I got her back, though.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt does feel dumb in 2026 to even ask this question, but there are still people who believe that hip-hop shouldn\u2019t be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. What do you think Wu-Tang\u2019s induction means for hip-hop culture?<\/strong>
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: ASAP Rocky is doing punk rock right now. Jay-Z\u2019s been onstage with a guitar. The cultures have always been so close. Run-DMC, King of Rock<\/em> is the album. It\u2019s the \u201croll\u201d of it. It ain\u2019t just the \u201crock.\u201d The \u201crock\u201d is one thing too, because you got to rock the house, right? Rock the mic, right?<\/p>\n

\n\tThe \u201croll\u201d 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\u2019t really exist yet to say whether or not it belongs or not. But as that culture grew, I think it\u2019s like, \u201cYo, hold on. There\u2019s some of it that does belong there.\u201d Eminem\u2019s \u201cLose Yourself\u201d is a rock song. I think that the board and the judges who are making these choices are looking at it from that perspective.<\/p>\n

\n\tBilly Idol told us<\/a> \u201cIf anyone has a rock & roll attitude, it\u2019s the Wu-Tang.\u201d<\/strong>
[Laughs<\/em>.] Respect. One executive who helped build us up in the Nineties called me today \u2014 I haven\u2019t talked to this guy in years \u2014 and he was always saying, \u201cYou guys are fucking punk rock. You guys are fucking rockers. You guys remind me of the fucking Stones.\u201d When he called me today, I was like, \u201cBro, you fucking was right, man.\u201d ODB was living the rock & roll attitude since the first album. Method Man jumping into the crowd formulated from us watching rock & roll.<\/p>\n

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\n\tIf you had your say, who would you want to induct you?<\/strong>
Oh, that\u2019s a crazy question. Let me throw a few names out. I\u2019m doing one that\u2019s going to be super egotistical, but probably the only person that I\u2019m a super fan of that I never met: Barack Obama. But I always remember Tarantino saying he was a \u201crock & roll director.\u201d Tarantino is a great name. I think Leonardo DiCaprio. I\u2019m 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?<\/p>\n

\n\tThey got in in 2023, but only Tom Morello showed.<\/strong>
What if Rage fuckin\u2019 inducted us? If they would come back out and say, \u201cI want to welcome my brothers back into it.\u201d Fuckin\u2019 one day, do one concert to close that book. One night only. That would be crazy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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