RZA, like everyone else, thinks Björk is pretty cool. In 2009 the rap legend released a remix of “Bachelorette,” a track off Björk’s 1997 album Homogenic. Wu-Tang’s own ‘97 banger “Reunited” also featured the lyric, “Talk strange like Björk.” RZA actually had a lot of first-hand experience overcoming communication issues with the Icelandic goddess. Soon after Homogenic was finished, Björk was treated to a RZA-guided tour of New York City, complete with seven of the Wu-Tang Clan acting as bodyguards. This was a consolation offer of sorts: RZA was supposed to go to Spain to produce beats for Homogenic, but missed the RSVP deadline by a few months. Instead Björk came to New York for a tour and some spontaneous studio sessions. Those recordings were never released.
This forgotten passage in musical history comes from Björk’s latest interview with FACT. “I was in Spain, and Wu-Tang Clan were supposed to come to Spain,” she recalled of asking the group to come record with her. “RZA was supposed to come. But then months passed. Then the album got finished and I delivered it. Then RZA was like, ‘I’m ready! Shall I come to Spain?'” Eventually, they managed to cross paths. “I really think what we made was magic,” Björk continued, adding that the tracks were “better as an idea.”
“In my eyes, they’re punk,” she said of Wu-Tang Clan. “We are definitely [similar] – we do things in, like, a ritual way. The good thing was that I got to hang out with them. I got to see Wu-Tang’s version of New York. Which was pretty cool. A very specific angle on that city that I feel very blessed to have experienced.” Björk didn’t detail their tour itinerary, but we suspect they didn’t spend much time at M&M’s World.
Björk’s new album, Utopia, is out now, and a late contender for this year’s best album.