Mystery of Chessboxin': RZA & The Black Keys - "The Baddest Man Alive" (Bubble Soccer)
Right before rippin' it up with [the bulk of] his Wu-Tang clansmen, RZA & Ghostface Killah played a quick game of "Bubble Soccer" in Studio 8B's elevator hallway alongside Gerard Butler and host, Jimmy Fallon. They were really there to promote RZA's Man with The Iron Fists film soundtarck. but it was pretty great to see the typically "hard as nails" Wu-Gambinos let their guards down and have some good-spirited fun on live TV. Wu-Tang Clan then performed a BRUTAL version of "6 Directions of Boxing" with Fallon's house band, The Roots; Ghostface, RZA, Cappadonna, GZA, Masta Killa, U-God, and Inspectah Deck were all present for the group's first televised performance together in roughly 10 years' time. The star-studded Iron Fists soundtrack is out today (October 23rd) and it's companion Kung-Fu flick hits theatres on November 2nd.
Album stand-out "The Baddest Man Alive" now has an action-packed music video, too - released online late Monday afternoon. It stars RZA, Dan Auerbach & Patrick Carney, who somehow end up getting into a hilariously violent scuffle over a coveted fortune cookie. Revealed during the video's final moments, the cookie's inscription ironically reads, "You are the baddest man alive!" ... as various scenes from Man with The Iron Fists play on busted TV's, which are barely hanging on the restaurant's back walls, the entire time. Wu-Tang Clan's 8 surviving swordsmen are supposedly in talks to re-unite for a BRAND NEW tour and album, commemorating the 20th anniversary of 36 Chambers.
"Many bands leave us, though – it just happens. The Beatles, they let it go, and that was it. You had to go with Paul or go with John or go with Ringo. They wasn't coming back together, and John [Lennon] dies and it never could happen. It's like ODB has gone. But there's enough of us still alive, and I think there's still enough fans out there. Hip-Hop is stronger than ever, as far as world-wide recognition, and our name is synonymous with it ... I would say, if we get one more shot of me being completely trusted as the driver of the ship, I think [Wu-Tang Clan] could give the world one more record, maybe."
- RZA (New York Times)