RZA Delivers An Epic Nine Minute Freestyle On Funkmaster Flex

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RZA of Wu-Tang Clan performs onstage during the 2017 Governors Ball Music Festival - Day 2 at Randall's Island on June 3, 2017 in New York City.
RZA comes through with some crazy bars on Funkmaster Flex.

RZA's been popping up much more frequently the past few months. Mind you, he's always working and has ventures past music that he frequently puts his focus to. In the past week, he, along with the rest of the Wu, delivered their compilation record The Saga Continues. Today, he hit up Funkmaster Flex to deliver an impeccable freestyle.

Funkmaster Flex's radio show's become a place for up and comers to show and prove as well as a place for veterans to continuously prove that they still got game. Over the years, he's helped facilitate some of the most memorable freestyles in hip hop history. Bringing the legendary Wu-Member, RZA, through today is an example of the task that he puts on artists. RZA goes off for about 9 minutes straight, hitting some classic beats as well as some newer hits. He kicks off the freestyle by tackling A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie's "Drowning" dropping gems and flexing his influential career. 

Funkmaster later throws on Jay-Z's "Ain't No Nigga," where RZA opens up the track with a reflection on America's current climate, addressing racism, poverty, police brutality while simultaneously shedding a bit of hope. He also flexes the fact that the Once Upon A Time In Shaolin record was sold for 2 million at Art Basel. My portrait got flipped at Art Basel," he raps, "The last Wu-Tang album, two million appraisal."

Later on, the Wu-Tang member tackles "Tunnel Vision" by Kodak Black. He concludes the last bit of his freestyle while reminiscing about his early relationship with hip hop. He raps in the first portion, "From the rugged land of Shaolin to 125th," he raps, "These kids used to spin on their heads." 

It's a lengthy freestyle. However, RZA takes the moment to bring his off-kilter flow and address some of the bigger issues. It's also a little bit of a history lesson from the perspective of one of hip hop's most revered figures. With the release of The Saga Continues as well as the release of his upcoming movie Loves Beats Rhymes, RZA continues to spread his legacy into the next generation of rap.

Watch the clip below:


About The Author
Aron A.
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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