RZA just dropped a new song, "Be Like Water," inspired by ESPN's upcoming 30 for 30 documentary, Be Water, about the late martial arts icon, Bruce Lee. It's no secret that Lee and his films were instrumental to the creation of the Wu Tang Clan, so it's only right that the hip hop group's de facto leader would pay tribute to the fighting legend through music.
“Bruce Lee’s teachings extended beyond physical martial arts,” RZA said in a press release for the song. “He was full of philosophy and mindfulness. His quote ‘Be Water my friend’ is profound and multi-tiered in definition. It inspires the idea that in adapting to life situations, sometimes we have to flow smoothly as a stream, while other times we have to crash like a Tsunami.”
The title of the song and the documentary comes from one of Lee's most famous quotes: “Don’t get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle; You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”
RZA also released some accompanying visuals to "Be Like Water" as a tribute to Lee.
Be Water premieres on ESPN on Sunday, June 7th at 9:00pm EST.
Quotable Lyrics
Synthesize all days into one
We all one under the same sun
So why you gotta fight against him,
And he gotta fight against Dun?