RZA's Real Name: Robert Diggs

Quick answer: The rapper and producer is known professionally as RZA. AllMusic lists the name Robert Diggs and gives the birth date July 5, 1969, in Brooklyn, New York. An NPR interview independently identifies him as Robert F. Diggs of Brooklyn, New York, and a Guardian report independently gives the real name Robert Diggs. Contemporary Musicians, via Encyclopedia.com, also uses Robert Diggs but gives the birth as about 1968 in Brooklyn. The sources differ on the year. The longer initial in "Robert F. Diggs" appears in the NPR account only.

Real name and early life

AllMusic's fact box lists the birth as July 5, 1969, in Brooklyn, New York, and includes Robert Diggs, Prince Rakeem, and Bobby Digital among his aliases. NPR introduces him as Robert F. Diggs of Brooklyn and later refers to him as Robert Diggs, "far better known as RZA." The Guardian, covering a 2015 SXSW keynote, likewise gives the real name Robert Diggs. Encyclopedia.com's "For the Record" line gives "Born Robert Diggs, c. 1968, in Brooklyn, NY," which conflicts with AllMusic's 1969 date. The Encyclopedia.com narrative says he spent his first three years in Brooklyn and later lived on Staten Island. AllMusic independently describes an early group later known as All in Together Now, with GZA and Ol' Dirty Bastard, and a 1991 Tommy Boy EP issued as Prince Rakeem.

Career highlights

AllMusic and Encyclopedia.com both describe him as the chief producer and a founding member of Wu-Tang Clan and name the group's 1993 debut, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). AllMusic dates a later focus on Wu-Tang Forever to 1997; Encyclopedia.com dates that album to 1999, a discrepancy between the sources. Both accounts discuss the Gravediggaz and his work as Bobby Digital, including the 1998 album RZA as Bobby Digital in Stereo. AllMusic independently discusses later soundtrack and film work including Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, score work connected to the Kill Bill films, and his 2012 film The Man with the Iron Fists, which he wrote and directed. NPR independently notes that he was the lead composer for Kill Bill: Volume 1 and discusses his 2009 book The Tao of Wu.

Name notes for searchers

People looking up RZA, Robert Diggs, Robert F. Diggs, Prince Rakeem, or Bobby Digital are looking for the same Wu-Tang Clan producer and rapper. The sources used here agree on Robert Diggs; they do not agree on a single birth year.