From Hip Hop Purism To Picking Up Instruments

Many musicians succumb to complacency mid-career. But RZA (aka Robert Diggs) is becoming more adventurous. The Wu-Tang Clan MC, producer and mastermind is now furnishing a long-canvassed album with Interpol frontman Paul Banks as Banks & Steelz. And Anything But Words transcends fusty notions of 'rap/rock' - it's indie, Shaolin-style.

Meeting in 2011, the surprise "buddies" bonded over, not only music, but also chess. So the first question for the New Yorkers, on a patched-in call, is who typically wins? They laugh. The exuberant Diggs quips, "People like to hear that, don't they?" Banks reveals it's Diggs.

"I was totally dedicated to the genre... I didn't even see it as a 'genre' - I saw hip hop as the only form of music."

For Banks, Anything But Words isn't so incongruous. He is an old hip hop head, moonlighting as DJ Fancypants. However, in the '90s Diggs was a purist - the Wu infamously the antidote to "R&Bullshit". He's often spoken of a youthful, cultural "antagonism" towards rock. "I was just a hip hop junkie. I was totally dedicated to the genre... I didn't even see it as a 'genre' - I saw hip hop as the only form of music." Diggs considered alternative genres merely as breakbeat-sample sources. Yet Diggs has since "evolved". He's picked up instruments - including guitar.

Banks & Steelz enjoy a mutual appreciation of artists like Leonard Cohen, Elton John and John Frusciante. While making Anything But Words, Diggs shared various rock discoveries. Banks "got a real kick" when Diggs stumbled upon Nick Cave through a trailer for 20,000 Days On Earth. The assiduous duo studied each other's studio techniques, too. Banks, a maximalist, learnt from Diggs that removing something from a song can improve it. Diggs was "inspired" by Banks' melodic flair.

Anything But Words has impressive guests — the Wu's Ghostface Killah (the first single Love & War), Kool Keith and Florence Welch.

Banks & Steelz, currently touring North America, are keen to hit Australia. Beyond that, Banks envisages a follow-up LP. "I'd love there to be a sequel," he enthuses. "There's a bunch of material we didn't get to finish for this album, and there's a bunch of material that we've yet to write that I feel very compelled to do... There's definitely more to come."

Both have independent projects on the go. Banks has talked of a solo LP. "It could be an Interpol record, I think, next for me — it's more likely," he discloses now. "It's about all I could say." Meanwhile, Diggs' latest directorial effort, the hip hop drama Coco, starring Azealia Banks, is slated for release around Valentine's Day 2017. ("She did a great job as an actress," he says of the femcee. "I think she has a future.")

Then word is that Diggs is mastering the trumpet. His progress? "Well, the thing about the trumpet is that, even though I practise a lot in my house in the woods, I still have people that live there with me," he laughs. "Learning the trumpet is a very challenging thing for the rest of the family. I do hear, 'Oh Dad!' - I get some of that 'dad shit'... So I'm working on it."