RZA has been busy writing, directing, and acting in the upcoming martial arts movie The Man With the Iron Fists, which hits theaters on November 2. A trailer for the film, which stars Russell Crowe, Lucy Liu, Pam Grier, and more, suggests it has plenty of what everybody likes: violence, sex, RZA. There’s also a highly promising soundtrack lineup including Kanye West, the Black Keys, the Wu-Tang Clan, Wiz Khalifa, and, yes, RZA.
Just in case Hollywood stops returning RZA’s calls, though, the newest track from the Wu-Tang maestro (via Some Kind of Awesome) shows his day job should still be plenty safe. Not a Bob Dylan cover, thank God, Bobby Digital’s new “Blowin’ in the Wind” is cinematic, thrilling hip-hop, incorporating all kinds of sound-effect samples atop lurching, sinister synth fanfares. In the thick of it all is RZA’s measured, breathy, steadily intensifying rapping, with a funny shoutout to William Shatner. “They thought I was out / But they brought me back in,” RZA hisses. It’s a welcome, if slightly spooky, return to what the man does best.