Chess + Hip Hop + RZA

We like to play chess at the playjazzloud HQ. We also like hip hop. Previously the only time chess & hip hop came together as far as we knew was Marc Mac's (of 4 Hero fame) great ode to Cadet records "How about a game of chess." Now we hear RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan is bringing chess & hip hop to a new level. RZA has been a life long chess fan and brings to you wuchess.com as he takes his hobby from the home and into the world of .com startups.

Here's an excerpt from a recent New York Times article with RZA...

"Chess has long had an important role in the aesthetic of the Wu-Tang Clan, which has songs about the game. In “The Wu-Tang Manual,” a 2005 book about the group and its members, RZA (pronounced RIZ-a) wrote that chess is part of the Wu-Tang essence “because it’s a game of war — it’s about battle. And Wu-Tang was formed in battles, from challenging each other.”

You can read the full article here. Check out the hiphopchess federation in action. Yes you read that correct, we said "the hip hop chess federation!"

3 comments:

analogged said...

Hey julian,

Another interesting aside about Chess is that there's a film currently in the making about the history of Chess records. I can't remember too much about it but i think it's due to drop this year.

Ps, im adding a link to your great blog over at analogged.

All the best,

O

analogged.blogspot.com

Julian said...

hey thx mate for the add. Will need to dig for the Chess documentary for sure. Thx for the heads up :)

Julian said...

hey man any chance of an invite code to your blog? looks like you guys have gone private :(

cheers, J