Kosha on RZA and catching up
Kosha Dillz on touring with Rza! Rza is a laid back dude that seems to have experienced it all in music, and that’s probably why It seemed cool to come along. Every night he performed and when we would meet, he said “ok tonight’s gonna be fun…yall ready to have some fun?” Ironically, Wu Tang’s founding father is also in the movie “Funny People” with Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen. I guess after touring basically every country in the world…you figure that he knows how to have “fun.” He also said ” if you’re not having a good time, you are wasting your time.” As people looked in awe, I said to myself, ” this guy is funny. We got to play some ping pong in Bellingham, and yeah…his acting/rapping skills seem to be further along than his ping pong. I first met Rza 4 years ago at BET trying out for freestyle friday, a rap competition that occurred once a week and drew heavy nationwide publicity. Through out my career, being on road with affiliated members of the Wu like Killah Priest and then him was a huge difference in growth and crowd response.
Also the situation that brought it about was merely the pure reason why DIY is so awesome. I rolled to his portland gig, freestyled for him backstage along with Boy Jones (ol dirty bastard’s first son) and was allowed to get a few minutes on stage. From there I rocked it so hard with freestyles I was given a set at the next two gigs and invited to Vancouver’s Rock the Bells, but I had border issues, so I went back to the states. I was told to roll to the RTB in LA and San Fran, I showed up early…to sell merch and pass out 1500 2000 fliers. I got about 3 minute of stage time, and got to rock out to songs I grew up onstage infront of thousands. The difference I see in these worlds in comparison of street hip hop and probably rockin with Matisyahu, is that the level of the fan base on the clientele. With my rent a car and driving through the night, the level of respect I got from the artists was immense, I think its the drive they hope their own people can have. Not only did I link with RZA on a level further than “Funny People” but I saw how he has constructed a world wide following. I got to link with everyone from Chali2na to Big Boi of Outkast and Black Thought of the Roots back stage. It was sort of like a all star game. One dressing room was KRS ONE and Tech 9 the other was the ROOTS then there was Busta Rhymes and next to him was Damien Marley. It’s a nice jump from rocking 30 person shows to being a guest at 20,000 person festivals todays in a row. Its just a tad bit different than usual. After I won the Hot 97 Battle at Giants Stadium for Duck Down. It looks to me like I’m really supposed to be the next up and coming guy in line for his turn.
For now I’m just gonna keep working hard, and I’m stoked that we’ll be doing it again. Its nice to be invited back to places with big people, especially when smaller acts are there that turned me away before. My conclusion: “I’m improving, and I’m learning!” See you on the road.
– Kosha
