The RZA NYTimes Chess Video
June 8, 2008
Wuchess.com launched this week and is the RZA’s latest project, bringing chess fans and Wu fans together. Finally.
This New York Times video is an interesting meeting of two people of starkly different upbringings hanging out, as the NY Times chess columnist (that’s a job!) and the RZA play chess in a hotel room in Manhattan. The redheaded stepchild of a reporter is a strange match for the RZA.
A Wu friend passed out on the bed makes an interesting appearance with a look that is part fashionista, part prisoner, all anonymous smart ass. It’s unlike any NY Times video I’ve seen, as dude takes a call mid video and defers to his very unsexy friend on the bed while the reporter provides a condescending interrogation that makes it clear he’s not a fan. The writer comes across as one of those guys with a narrow view of how a person should be allowed to express themselves in the English language and a vaguely racist sneer always on the tip of his countenance. Though he may just be a nervous nerd who’s not sure what to say to one of the kings of hip hop. Hello, culture clash.
