RZA, producer and the mastermind behind the influential hip-hop collective Wu-Tang Clan, will be presented with the TEC Innovation Award at The NAMM Show’s 2024 TEC Awards on Jan. 27 in Anaheim, Calif. The award honors individuals who have set the highest standards of excellence in the creative application of recording technology.
The award was formerly known as the NAMM TEC Les Paul Innovation Award, in honor of the legendary guitarist, songwriter and inventor who died in 2009. RZA will be the first recipient who is known primarily for hip-hop. Previous recipients include Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and Stevie Wonder, best known for R&B, and Herbie Hancock, best known for jazz and R&B.
“RZA’s formidable body of work and talent is unquestionable,” John Mlynczak, NAMM president and CEO, said in a statement. “His legacy of accomplishments and lasting power on music inspires many music makers beyond hip-hop and he deserves this high recognition.”
RZA (Robert Diggs) is a trailblazer in culture and in hip-hop, having created the group’s widely-imitated core sound consisting of stark, booming beats, and chilling samples heavily drawing from vintage soul records as well as kung fu movies.
The Staten Island group debuted in 1993 with Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Rolling Stone ranked it No. 27 on its 2020 update of its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, with the magazine noting, “Their raw, hectic debut launched rap’s greatest franchise and reasserted New York’s hip-hop dominance the early Nineties.” In 2022, the album was inducted into the National Recording Registry overseen by the Library of Congress.
The group’s second album, Wu-Tang Forever, entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in 1997 and received a Grammy nomination for best rap album.
RZA scored Jim Jarmusch’s 1999 film Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai and organized and orchestrated Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Kill Bill Vol. 2 (the latter, in tandem with Robert Rodriguez). RZA is among the stars of the 2023 comedy film Problemista, which premiered at SXSW. He is also an executive producer for, and directed several episodes of Wu-Tang: An American Saga, the original Hulu series honoring his group.
Now in its 39th year and presented by NAMM, the TEC Awards recognizes the best in professional audio and sound production and takes place as a part of The NAMM Show, the world’s largest music trade show. All finalists will be celebrated at a reception being held on the campus of the Anaheim Convention Center on the evening of Saturday, Jan. 27.
The NAMM Show will include live music, including a performance by emerging female hip-hop artist Blimes, and sessions such as Innovate and Elevate: Exploring DJ Technology with DJ Hapa, as well as signature events such as the Parnelli Awards and She Rocks Awards.
Learn more about the TEC Awards here and purchase tickets here.
Here’s the full list of previous recipients of the NAMM Innovation Award, when it was called the NAMM TEC Les Paul Innovation Award:
1991: Bob Ludwig
1992: Bob Clearmountain
1993: Peter Gabriel
1994: Herbie Hancock
1995: Alan Parsons
1996: Brian Wilson
1997: Stevie Wonder
1998: Neil Young
1999: Sting
2000: Paul McCartney
2001: Steely Dan
2002: Robbie Robertson
2003: Bruce Springsteen
2004: Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
2005: David Byrne
2006: Steve Miller
2007: Al Kooper
2008: Ray Benson
2011: Lindsey Buckingham
2012: Steve Vai
2013: Pete Townshend
2014: Todd Rundgren
2015: Slash
2016: Don Was
2017: Joe Perry
2018: Jackson Browne
2019: Peter Frampton
2020: Joni Mitchell
2022: Carol Kaye