Wu-Tang Clan member RZA has sold off the rights to half of his entire music catalog.
According to Variety, RZA has sold half of his music to the music company Hipgnosis Songs. The company now owns 50 percent of his catalog, which comes out to about 407 tracks. Hipgnosis also acquired the rights to music from #JackAntonoff, #Timbaland, and No ID.
Following the news, RZA wrote a statement about the new collaboration. “I wear various hats in my artistic expressions, but the one that has been so deeply reflective of my life’s journey is my songwriting. I’m honored to partner up with Merck and the Hipgnosis team to usher my songs into an exciting future.”
Hipgnosis Songs founder Merck Mercuriadis shared RZA’s excitement in his own statement, saying, “RZA and the Wu-Tang Clan did not invent hip-hop, but they took it from being fun to something that represented a true reflection of what the streets and being Black in America was really like. They were and are the most authentic band and brand in hip-hop, and it all starts with RZA’s vision, his songs, and his struggle, manifested in music, that could show the entire world what was really going on. He is now globally recognized as a true renaissance man of hip-hop, and most would argue that he is the GOAT.”
On top of his new business ventures, RZA is also coming together with Good Humor to write a new ice cream truck song due to the infamous ice truck song’s racist history. The original ice truck song “Turkey In The Straw,” was used by blackface minstrel show actors, who adopted it and wrote its racist lyrics. RZA says his new song aims to “make a new ice cream jingle for a new era.” He says he wants “to make a melody that includes all communities that’s good for every driver, every kid.”
